tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78348442573213484472024-03-13T22:10:11.294-04:00 Sister Allie KingCalifornia Bakersfield MissionChris Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08779010603129229385noreply@blogger.comBlogger77125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834844257321348447.post-5302197312562152062016-12-26T17:08:00.004-05:002016-12-26T17:08:55.771-05:00<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">These
last 18 months have felt like a dream, its hasn’t hit me that I have to leave
behind the best experience that the Lord has blessed me with yet. He has made
this last week absolutely incredible for Sister Holmstead and me!!</span><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Every time we get out of
the car, we see a miracle. On Monday we felt inspired to go work in the Wilson
ward. We get out, talk to a man (who ended up being very rude) but turned
around to see a young woman walking by with her niece and nephew. We walked and
talked with her and taught her the restoration. By the end of the conversation,
she asks "where can I get one of those Book of Mormons?" When we told
her we would give her one for free she got SO excited and went to read it
immediately! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-arnS_G0CsIE/WGGRYoGDXxI/AAAAAAAA_Uo/aSIJSFmU4xQXD95DQaEaa4QpGjsotWZDgCLcB/s1600/IMG_0884.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-arnS_G0CsIE/WGGRYoGDXxI/AAAAAAAA_Uo/aSIJSFmU4xQXD95DQaEaa4QpGjsotWZDgCLcB/s200/IMG_0884.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bakersfield, CA</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">We worked in the Silver
Creek ward and found and over-sized umbrella that had blown onto someone’s
lawn. When we asked the owner of the house whose it was, they said they didn’t
know, so we began our quest to return it to its owner! Sadly, we did not find
them, but it was a great way to strike up conversation! "Hi, do you know
who this belongs to? Oh, you don’t? Well, we're missionaries, yadda yadda
yadda." People thought it was hilarious. we end up going to talk to this
one man who told us to see his neighbor. we went over and she had a no
soliciting sign on her door, but since we were referred to her we were allowed
to knock and talk to her! She said she just moved in and didn’t know how to
take that sign off ha-ha. She ended up being the nicest person EVER and she was
super interested in learning more about the gospel! She said that she wants her
family to come closer together and closer to God. That same day a member
interpreted my handwriting using Jedi mind tricks (and actual psychological
practices) and she said my handwriting says I’m angry, disobedient, hyper,
stubborn, loud and rebellious. So, it looks like I gotta work on that ha-ha!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Id1MT9skkaY/WGGRqjF9gcI/AAAAAAAA_Uw/hUeDn4yfMWEGRmoVsCrzJZWPv5yCuXYIwCLcB/s1600/IMG_0899.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Id1MT9skkaY/WGGRqjF9gcI/AAAAAAAA_Uw/hUeDn4yfMWEGRmoVsCrzJZWPv5yCuXYIwCLcB/s200/IMG_0899.JPG" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">LA Temple</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SwX8C1leCO8/WGGRqu_oXBI/AAAAAAAA_Us/VzUQ51ixMhguoqTynyvRZRCRDMXzyaleACLcB/s1600/IMG_0896.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SwX8C1leCO8/WGGRqu_oXBI/AAAAAAAA_Us/VzUQ51ixMhguoqTynyvRZRCRDMXzyaleACLcB/s200/IMG_0896.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">LA Temple</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">We went to the temple on
Tuesday. What an AMAZING experience!! That was the last time I’d be able to go
down to the LA temple for a while and it was such an incredibly peaceful
experience. I am grateful to be able to go to the House of the Lord, it's
another testimony to me of the truthfulness of this gospel and the love God has
for all of us! I feel incomprehensible peace and direction when I am there, and
I felt the power of God with me the rest of the week! that evening we went
caroling with the zone, we hit up a different ward each day of the week leading
up to Christmas! It's so awesome to see people’s faces light up when they find
us on their door! we were able to find some people to teach through that and a
lot of less actives and recent converts cried and whatnot. So it was a success!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2EirIabDfUA/WGGR7Qw6uOI/AAAAAAAA_U4/cNcFBjBxHgQlcH__P7yOLsyZkpmqbUR3wCLcB/s1600/IMG_0905.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2EirIabDfUA/WGGR7Qw6uOI/AAAAAAAA_U4/cNcFBjBxHgQlcH__P7yOLsyZkpmqbUR3wCLcB/s200/IMG_0905.JPG" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tehachapi, CA</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8ztiO5ITpKU/WGGR7fH25lI/AAAAAAAA_U0/_gZglbCaryQhPDhYYl8U7BKT2M04Tdn9wCLcB/s1600/IMG_0907.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8ztiO5ITpKU/WGGR7fH25lI/AAAAAAAA_U0/_gZglbCaryQhPDhYYl8U7BKT2M04Tdn9wCLcB/s200/IMG_0907.JPG" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tehachapi, CA</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">On Wednesday, we went up
to Tehachapi in the mountains. It was cold and rainy and BEAUTIFUL!! We did
some service and went out to lunch. I was with Sister Gallacher, whom I love
with all my heart and got to serve with earlier in our missions! A petty thing
that I’ve been sad about is the fact that no one will want to buy me food
anymore after my mission! like, everyone LOVES paying for us and pretty soon I’ll
be a poor starving college student again. WELL, the waitress at the restaurant
we went to give us a HUGE discount on our meals and was super nice! When we
asked why, it wasn’t because we were missionaries but because we were "someone’s
daughters," and she would want people to take care of her son. Just a
cute, tender mercy from the Lord letting me know He will ALWAYS be taking care
of me, whether or not I have a tag on. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Later that day we were searching
for a house but could not find it. It was a former investigator we felt
prompted to see. After traveling all over this GIANT street, we finally find it
and go in to meet him! It turns out there’s a less active who lives there as
well and this man’s mother was a member. He gets me a glass of one of my
FAVORITE sodas and right when I pick it up it shatters and spills all over me!!
So I have to change into pants, dry my socks, dump all the soda out of my
shoes, clean up the mess, is was completely hilarious! But right after that
happened he brought me a plastic cup (so it wouldn’t break) and we taught him
about trials and why we go through hard times to learn to rely on God and His
strength. He was really touched and said he wanted to come back to church and
be baptized, he just needs to get over smoking!! After we got back into town we
caroled in the Rosedale Ward. We had met some people there when we worked in
that area last week and we sang to them and it was AWESOME! They were soo
receptive and the spirit was super strong! One of them said it gave him
confidence that there are still good people, especially young people, in the
world.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">We went to College Heights,
my old area, the next day and it was AWESOME!! We went to see a former investigator
who wasn’t home, but we waved down this guy on a bike to talk to him. He said he’s
been meaning to go to church and we told him about the restoration and how Christ
can heal his family. HE invited US to come back and teach his family more so
they can all come to church! Then we went to see this person I just felt
inspired to see and I thought he wouldn’t remember talking to us before. But
when we saw us he got super excited and said he’s been trying to find the
missionaries again for a while!! THEN we went to another former investigator I
only taught once and they weren’t home. But we went and talked to some girls
standing outside. One asked if our church had a toy drive since she couldn’t
afford anything for her kids. I wasn’t sure about that since I haven’t been in
the area for a while but we gave her a Book of Mormon as a Christmas present. She
had such a look of awe, I had never seen anything like it before. We taught
them more about Christ and how the Book of Mormon can help her and she and her
sister invited us back! I taught an old investigator I was really close with as
well and it was the sweetest reunion!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The west half of the
mission got together to watch <b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038650/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1" target="_blank">"It's a Wonderful Life"</a> </b>so I got to see
all of the missionaries I had served with and gotten close with one last time
before I leave! It was a super tender mercy from God, I have loved everyone I
have met out here.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">We went to work in Olive
Knolls and we just met the MEANEST people! It was like 5 houses in a row where
we left with such sadness! BUT, we kept going and we ended up finding 3 families
to teach who were prepared! God just makes us push through some disappointments.
Then we went caroling in Stockdale, where I just served, and it was AWESOME!! Legit,
can’t say how many prayers we answered of people who needed a pick me up and
some joy this season.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-taMEE1FKDBc/WGGSymZem7I/AAAAAAAA_VI/3BpbzVTP2-8YOKiXMRe7XIx_4Lu-dATDQCLcB/s1600/IMG_0969.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-taMEE1FKDBc/WGGSymZem7I/AAAAAAAA_VI/3BpbzVTP2-8YOKiXMRe7XIx_4Lu-dATDQCLcB/s200/IMG_0969.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Maryland Plates!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-D8SslUz6_rM/WGGSe9BEiZI/AAAAAAAA_VA/8EVmM7HpvmUN9fP6OmK0FKyjSvP4_860QCLcB/s1600/15732642_10154696925480180_7141826791894982264_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="112" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-D8SslUz6_rM/WGGSe9BEiZI/AAAAAAAA_VA/8EVmM7HpvmUN9fP6OmK0FKyjSvP4_860QCLcB/s200/15732642_10154696925480180_7141826791894982264_o.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Skyping on Christmas!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Christmas day was so
fun! We got to help make this huuge brunch for an awesome family and recent
convert in Berkshire! We skyped home and it was so fun to say "oh I’ll see
you in a couple days!" We went caroling, just the 2 of us, and it was
SUPER awkward! People don’t know what to do when it’s just 2. But we ended up
meeting this family who has connections with some members in the snow ward
here! AND we saw a MARYLAND LICENSE PLATE! It was the first time I’d seen
one my whole mission, and I’ve seen just about every other state! Same miracles
happened during caroling again that evening. God just touched our lives every
time we went out and did something for Him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">I want to leave the
words to one of my <a href="https://www.lds.org/music/library/hymns/i-know-that-my-redeemer-lives?lang=eng" target="_blank"><b>favorite Hymns</b></a>, it's a simple testimony about our savior
Jesus Christ:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">I know that my Redeemer
lives.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">What comfort this sweet
sentence gives!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">He lives, he lives, who
once was dead.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">He lives, my ever-living
Head.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">He lives to bless me
with his love.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">He lives to plead for me
above.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">He lives my hungry soul
to feed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">He lives to bless in
time of need.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">He lives to grant me
rich supply.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">He lives to guide me
with his eye.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">He lives to comfort me
when faint.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">He lives to hear my
soul's complaint.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">He lives to silence all
my fears.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">He lives to wipe away my
tears.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">He lives to calm my
troubled heart.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">He lives all blessings
to impart.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">He lives, my kind, wise
heav'nly Friend.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">He lives and loves me to
the end.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">He lives, and while he
lives, I'll sing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">He lives, my Prophet,
Priest, and King.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">He lives and grants me
daily breath.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">He lives, and I shall
conquer death.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">He lives my mansion to
prepare.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">He lives to bring me
safely there.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">I have felt a change of
heart. I have seen others give their lives to Christ and have let him heal
them. I have been guided and strengthened by the power of God. I have felt so
close to Him and His son Jesus Christ. I wish I had the words to say how I
feel, but I cannot even begin to express the love and gratitude I have for my
Father in Heaven. I know that He loves me and each one of us and that He wants
to be actively engaged in each one of our lives. I understand how hope comes
from faith and how we can feel peace in a world that offers none. I know that
God can take us and make us something beautiful, even when we have nothing to
give Him but our desire to follow Him. He allows us to walk with Him because we
want to, not because we deserve it. He lets us come to Him and He will never
turn us away, no matter what we've done. He lets us learn and grow and
progress, no matter what we've done. He lets us repent, Christ paid that price,
He takes away fear, He takes away pain. He is sweet and caring and will lift us
up. I leave you all with my witness that God is real, that Christ can change
us, that the Holy Ghost can guide us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">He lives! All glory to
his name!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">He lives, my Savior,
still the same.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Oh, sweet the joy this
sentence gives:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">"I KNOW THAT MY
REDEEMER LIVES!"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-J8x2DFaCLSE/WGGTwxq7OhI/AAAAAAAA_VU/uCudj6qWzvApSU6aSFDFZoMyEpMuFwL3wCLcB/s1600/2016%2Bmorningside%2B2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-J8x2DFaCLSE/WGGTwxq7OhI/AAAAAAAA_VU/uCudj6qWzvApSU6aSFDFZoMyEpMuFwL3wCLcB/s320/2016%2Bmorningside%2B2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Christmas in Bakersfield</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jlZ2BDQebKU/WGGTxi3xd-I/AAAAAAAA_Vc/5zdCL_nuHsE4oPbGe6nNwozAM8JI3LtIgCLcB/s1600/CIMG6395.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jlZ2BDQebKU/WGGTxi3xd-I/AAAAAAAA_Vc/5zdCL_nuHsE4oPbGe6nNwozAM8JI3LtIgCLcB/s320/CIMG6395.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Christmas in Bakersfield</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-I23jAzjVgjI/WGGTxl-2IzI/AAAAAAAA_VY/q5Ybhrrex98GpM0wbCYF6qg45UoRyp7KACLcB/s1600/IMG_0938.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-I23jAzjVgjI/WGGTxl-2IzI/AAAAAAAA_VY/q5Ybhrrex98GpM0wbCYF6qg45UoRyp7KACLcB/s320/IMG_0938.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Christmas in Bakersfield</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Christmas in Bakersfield</span></td></tr>
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Chris Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08779010603129229385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834844257321348447.post-59192369502525101112016-12-19T18:26:00.005-05:002016-12-19T18:26:44.838-05:00December 19, 2016<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">OKAY,
CRAZIEST WEEK OF MY WHOLE MISSION!!</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fiVwtdUY0pU/WFhqg8Y5N8I/AAAAAAAA_Rw/66wBoE5AWJA1iVa6dzHGQghyYCUVaDB8ACLcB/s1600/the%2Bassisters%2B1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="color: #0da023; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fiVwtdUY0pU/WFhqg8Y5N8I/AAAAAAAA_Rw/66wBoE5AWJA1iVa6dzHGQghyYCUVaDB8ACLcB/s200/the%2Bassisters%2B1.JPG" style="border: none; position: relative;" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 11.88px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Assisters<br />Sister King and Sister Holmstead<br />December 2016</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The only way to describe
the madness is to say that Sister Holmstead and I are essentially APs, we are
called “the assisters” as we finish out our missions! We are technically
assigned to Bakersfield 5th (the APs ward), work wherever we want, go on
exchanges with whomever we want, have unlimited miles, access to all
missionaries, and go to church in Berkshire, my old ward! AND, Holmstead and I
came out together and we're headed home together!!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Assisters<br />Sister King and Sister Holmstead<br />December 2016<br /></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The week starts off with
our departing dinner and evening with the mission president and wife. It was
way nice because while everyone ELSE there was freaking out because they were
going home the next day, we just renewed our fire to go out and CONQUER THE
WORLD our final 2 weeks! It was a really nice evening and we were reflecting on
what we've all learned during our missions. As if I could casually write it
down... BUT, I will say that I have come to feel the hope that springs from
faith in the Savior. All the problems of life seem so small when I remember
that all things are done with the wisdom of Him who created us, and all the
trials we experience here will be but a small moment. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-haJTBKysjCI/WFhqf7_C4SI/AAAAAAAA_Ro/itdltOElUpk0WidudR-VPGRMJJt08p7DQCLcB/s1600/button%2Bwillow%2Bdemon%2Bdogs.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="color: #0da023; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-haJTBKysjCI/WFhqf7_C4SI/AAAAAAAA_Ro/itdltOElUpk0WidudR-VPGRMJJt08p7DQCLcB/s200/button%2Bwillow%2Bdemon%2Bdogs.JPG" style="border: none; position: relative;" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 11.88px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Button Willow, 25 miles outside of Bakersfield<br />"demon dogs"<br />December 2016</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Okay, so we start off
working in the Snow ward for a few days. I served there for a transfer at the
start of my mission so it was so fun to be back!! We were able to find some
cool people to teach and we were in a trio with Sister Carter! One of the
missionaries serving there is sick so while she was prepping to go home we were
with the missionary who will replace her. It was SO FUN to see all the people I
got to work with, and it was awesome to get to introduce them to their new
missionary :D So part of the Snow ward is this little town called Buttonwillow
like 25 miles outside of Bakersfield. It’s about 5 streets, 1000 people, one
school, 2 stores and a few truck stops. We went there to tract a bit (and met
some AWESOME people!). We ended up at the
public library, and we talked with the librarian who invited us to come carol there
a few days later!! When we go back, all the kids there were NOT having it, but
the adults seemed to enjoy it! While we were leaving, thinking nothing of the
situation, we talked with the librarian again and described our roles as
missionaries a bit more. She said she was interested in our message and wanted
to learn more! So caroling DOES bring miracles!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MU9_KcXWEvE/WFhqgDos4SI/AAAAAAAA_Rk/a3O6TSfnObEOrPmc33gRX5A7jzTSgMabACLcB/s1600/button%2Bwillow.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="color: #0da023; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MU9_KcXWEvE/WFhqgDos4SI/AAAAAAAA_Rk/a3O6TSfnObEOrPmc33gRX5A7jzTSgMabACLcB/s200/button%2Bwillow.JPG" style="border: none; position: relative;" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 11.88px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Button Willow, 25 miles outside of Bakersfield</span><br style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;" /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">December 2016</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">We visited a less active
member and a part member family I worked with when I was there a year ago. They
had no interest in coming to church but still loved the missionaries, so we
decided to go see them again. HOWEVER, when we were talking with them, one of
them who is not even a member, she started reeeally opening up, more than
before. When we were leaving she told us to not give up on her, that she really
does want to know if this church is true and she’s ready to discuss some of the
things holding her back!! WHAT?! It’s so cool to see how her heart has softened
over time!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/--_x7JGLJAec/WFhqgAP1ftI/AAAAAAAA_Rs/nbDAhj5nmF0AozewYR3ib4ywyS9ex2w8wCLcB/s1600/miranda%2Band%2Btial.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; color: black; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/--_x7JGLJAec/WFhqgAP1ftI/AAAAAAAA_Rs/nbDAhj5nmF0AozewYR3ib4ywyS9ex2w8wCLcB/s200/miranda%2Band%2Btial.JPG" style="border: none; position: relative;" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Berkshire, CA</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sisters Holmstead and King</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">December 2016</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Also, for zone training
meeting, the zone leaders gave us an overview of the role play for the meeting
and asked US to run it and lead a discussion. So, even though we're just
floaters, we still had to present a training, it shall never end, haha. But
afterwards we worked in an area that has been struggling in finding people to
teach. It was a miracle. On one street we got 4 referrals, 2 potential
investigators, met the kindest old man who has a strong testimony of missionary
work and this one door we knocked on had a kid who SCREAMED, said he didn’t
have time to talk right then but gave us his number and begged us to come back
:D Also, one 4 year old gave me 5 pieces
of candy for being a "good listener."</span><br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bc6dZXj63QA/WFhqeyg1IMI/AAAAAAAA_Rg/_ny8SNr21QoLrIkVjb4omzEXyVwmsm5awCLcB/s1600/berkshire.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #0da023; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="158" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bc6dZXj63QA/WFhqeyg1IMI/AAAAAAAA_Rg/_ny8SNr21QoLrIkVjb4omzEXyVwmsm5awCLcB/s200/berkshire.jpg" style="border: none; position: relative;" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 11.88px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Baptism, Berkshire Ward<br />December 2016</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">On Saturday i got to go
out with one of my trainees and we explored the farms on the outskirts of Bakersfield.
Afterwards I got to go to a baptismal service for Berkshire and 3 people got
baptized!! Afterwards we visited a family I had taught when I served there
before and it was hilarious!! the 7 year old is getting ready to be baptized
and his 2 sisters just turn to him and go "hey, you need an attitude check
before you can get baptized. If you don’t shape up, you’ll be OUR age when you
get baptized!" I was dying. They’re so funny. I also got to see another
girl the elders worked with but whom I was close with. She has been struggling
and had made some mistakes since her baptism, but we were able to testify of
God’s love and the power of repentance. I know that God knows every part of
ourselves that we don’t want to show anyone else, and loves us still. I know
that he’s been in every dark place we have and he is willing to lift us out of
our hard times. I am so grateful for this gospel and the power Christ gives us
to change!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">This week shall be full
of MORE MIRACLES, I cannot wait, we are ending this adventure on the highest of
notes :D I. LOVE. THE. LORD. And all of
you. Have a great week!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Chris Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08779010603129229385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834844257321348447.post-73363483212878022062016-12-12T18:25:00.000-05:002016-12-12T18:25:40.837-05:00December 12, 2017<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sister King, Sister Hayes,<br />Bakersfield, CA, December 2016</span></td></tr>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">This
week has been the perfect fall weather!! Pretty leaves on the trees, 60s and
70s, cloudy and overcast. It’s a shame it’s actually halfway through December
:D</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">This week was strange. Poor
Sister Hayes got the stomach flu so we had to stay in for a good chunk of it :(
BUT, we still saw miracles, so life is grand!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">We were able to see B a
few times. She’s opening up a lot more and she’s better at keeping commitments
and following through, including baptism, which is awesome :D <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">K is having a rough time, so extra prayers for her would be great! She’s
still doing well, has applied to BYU and whatnot :D She is an incredible person
and I just hope I can be half the person she is someday!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">So, not much else
happened other than TRANSFER CALLS! So....... I’m sort of leaving. Sister Holmstead
(who came out with me and will be going home with me) and I will be together
and we don’t have an assigned area. We'll be going to church in Berkshire (my
old area) but other than that will be working all over Bakersfield! All I know
is that we'll be "finding people in areas that are struggling" but
other than that it is all up in the air!! So be prepared for ALL THE INSANITY
THAT WILL ENSUE!! Legit, it is going to be crazy, I’m so excited!! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MdFGQqvIDy8/WE8k8SL_z2I/AAAAAAAA-qE/pjnlXu4sriEpEEOKySD8ID99rGs3xBqawCLcB/s1600/IMG_0852.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MdFGQqvIDy8/WE8k8SL_z2I/AAAAAAAA-qE/pjnlXu4sriEpEEOKySD8ID99rGs3xBqawCLcB/s200/IMG_0852.JPG" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sister King, Sister Hayes,<br style="font-size: 12.8px;" /><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Bakersfield, CA, December 2016</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">So as part of the Light
the World campaign, this video got released and it is AWESOME!! Read the
background of how it was written, but it’s just a simple prayer that is sung. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrPPJCu22ZI" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrPPJCu22ZI</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">I have really learned
the importance of prayer on my mission and the power that can come from it. I
love how prayer enables us to know God’s will, to feel of His love, to gain
peace and forgiveness through our Savior. The whole restoration and miracles
that followed came from a simple scripture and a prayer that followed.<b> <a href="https://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/james/1.5?lang=eng" target="_blank">"If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally,and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him."</a> </b>I have been able to
develop a closer relationship with Heavenly Father and there is nothing that
can be more beneficial to us in this life than knowing our God personally and
fully. I love Him and this gospel so much, sorry it's so short, I’ll write more
next week :D I LOVE YOU!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MpZBx807x4U/WE8k772BIHI/AAAAAAAA-qA/DrVnI6ZevhIbulVQJ5s_f3--9RiVzKZ9gCLcB/s1600/IMG_0848.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MpZBx807x4U/WE8k772BIHI/AAAAAAAA-qA/DrVnI6ZevhIbulVQJ5s_f3--9RiVzKZ9gCLcB/s200/IMG_0848.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sister King, Sister Hayes,<br style="font-size: 12.8px;" /><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Bakersfield, CA, December 2016</span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FunN2xGyYR0/WE8k78ocX9I/AAAAAAAA-p4/mECr4NEcd98iENLjHzWFSd9ZSv5ChekbgCLcB/s1600/IMG_0850.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FunN2xGyYR0/WE8k78ocX9I/AAAAAAAA-p4/mECr4NEcd98iENLjHzWFSd9ZSv5ChekbgCLcB/s200/IMG_0850.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sister King, Sister Hayes,<br style="font-size: 12.8px;" /><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Bakersfield, CA, December 2016</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;"><br /></span></span></td></tr>
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</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zLkR151U5jk/VaWQI0f1utI/AAAAAAAAqAs/220cCECUtcY/s320/Allie%2BMission%2B4.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Way back at the beginning of their missions<br />July, 2015, at the MTC in Provo, Utah<br />Sister King (far left) and Sister Holmstead (3rd from left in the<br />blue and white dress) started their missions together in <br />the same district, and will now finish their missions<br />together as companions, and go home together</span>! </td></tr>
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Chris Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08779010603129229385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834844257321348447.post-27794912669452411972016-12-05T15:09:00.001-05:002016-12-05T15:09:44.239-05:00December 5, 2017<div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="background: #FDFDFD; color: #323232; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I know what everyone’s
thinking, "it's been WAY too long since Sister King has had car
troubles." Well, no need to fear, THEY HAVE COME!! our turbo charger broke
and I won’t account to you all the terrible noises and shakes the car made
while driving it for a day before we could take it to the shop.... and it took
3 times to start every time we got it. BUT, we got to borrow a 2017 Malibu for
the week! Salt Lake just bought them for the mission, and we weren’t allowed to
drive it but they gave it to us anyways. No pressure or anything!!</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: #FDFDFD; color: #323232; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We met with B a few times
this week. We had to push her date back to late in December because she isn’t
super ready to be baptized yet. Keep her in your prayers! We taught her and her
family and the <b><a href="https://www.lds.org/topics/plan-of-salvation?lang=eng">Plan of Salvation</a></b>
and the<b> <a href="https://www.lds.org/topics/atonement-of-jesus-christ?lang=eng">Atonement</a></b>
this week. K, her mom who just got baptized, never ceases to amaze us! She set
goals for scripture study and prayer, both individually and as a family. She
shares her testimony all the time about how the normal stresses
and anxieties she felt before have subsided. She’s a great example to
me about the importance of making sure I stay rooted in the gospel. Even a few
days without meaningful prayer and scripture study will set us back. I am
soo grateful for how easy and simple God made it for us to have
the spirit in our life!</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: #FDFDFD; color: #323232; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We were able to visit with
a lot of less actives this week that we normally don’t have much contact with!
This includes a man who left the church a while back but wants to return and
wants his wife to take the discussions!! </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: #FDFDFD; color: #323232; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">K is still doing great!
This week SHE taught US a lesson!! It was for personal progress; she wants to
finish before she gets baptized and turns 18 in June! We all cried when she
bore her testimony about the Savior. She told us how she knows the importance
of living a righteous life and of staying strong and following God to the end.
The lesson was on prayer and she taught with the SPIRIT! She’s going to
be an incredible missionary someday!!</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: #FDFDFD; color: #323232; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I got to go to the <b><a href="https://www.lds.org/church/temples/los-angeles-california?lang=eng">Temple</a></b>
this week with the departing missionaries and I forgot how much closer to God I
feel in His house and how the Spirit SO STRONG after I leave! It was a strong
testimony builder for me about what this life is all about. It’s about living
in such a way where we can feel comfortable in the temple, God’s house, so that
we can feel comfortable in His presence someday. I love how close I feel to Him
and for how much strength I’m given through the atonement</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: #FDFDFD; color: #323232; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">QUICKLY, I want to share a
quote I found with you all! It applies to me going home from my mission soon
and how I can continue to be converted to God, but it also applies to all of us
as we go through the natural highs and lows of our testimony.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: #FDFDFD; color: #323232; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It's but Elder Cook and
reads: “It is not always convenient to live gospel standards and stand up for
truth and testify of the Restoration. It usually is not convenient to share the
gospel with others. It isn’t always convenient to respond to a calling in the
Church, especially one that stretches our abilities. Opportunities to serve
others in meaningful ways, as we have covenanted to do, rarely come at
convenient times. But there is no spiritual power in living by convenience. The
power comes as we keep our covenants.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="background: #FDFDFD; color: #323232; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I know that Satan is making
it harder to live the gospel for a reason! He knows the blessings that can come
into our lives through diligent service and study and he wants us to feel as
far from our Father as he can. I know that it isn’t easy, but it IS worth it! I
know that God is there to help us with our questions and trials. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: #FDFDFD; color: #323232; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Gotta go, but I love you
and will talk to you soon!</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/--TL2p2g_A5o/WEXJOGK839I/AAAAAAAA-k0/C2JE0iBukacOWphTimu3q0e1pmIX8XtwgCLcB/s1600/king%2Bliebelt%2Bhayes%2B5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/--TL2p2g_A5o/WEXJOGK839I/AAAAAAAA-k0/C2JE0iBukacOWphTimu3q0e1pmIX8XtwgCLcB/s1600/king%2Bliebelt%2Bhayes%2B5.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sister Liebelt, who was Sister King's trainer at the beginning<br />of her mission 17 months ago, came back for a visit.<br />Liebelt, King, Hayes<br />Bakersfield, CA, December 2016</span></td></tr>
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Chris Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08779010603129229385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834844257321348447.post-45237179375456946062016-11-28T19:52:00.003-05:002016-11-28T19:52:31.620-05:00November 28, 2016<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">HAPPY
HAPPY HAPPY THANKSGIVING!! This week was a bit slow because everyone was
out of town. :p Legit, half the ward was in Utah, they could have had a second Stockdale
sacrament meeting there. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FviMvg_RstQ/WDzQjmUmWRI/AAAAAAAA-hE/9Y0pCSF74bMoYC3oRYSqcCg1C-P0cm9WACLcB/s1600/IMG_0837%2B%25281%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FviMvg_RstQ/WDzQjmUmWRI/AAAAAAAA-hE/9Y0pCSF74bMoYC3oRYSqcCg1C-P0cm9WACLcB/s320/IMG_0837%2B%25281%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thanksgiving 2016<br />Bakersfield, CA</td></tr>
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I can honestly say that
my Thanksgiving dinner was the tastiest meal I have ever had the privilege of
consuming. T<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">he turkey was fresh, the sweet potatoes were
after this steakhouse version and it was amazing, along with mashed taters and
ham and cheesy potatoes and the most amazing chocolate cheesecake. GA, amazing.
</span>And one of my favorite families from a previous
area came because her mom is in Stockdale! It was awesome, her sister and
husband came as well. It was awesome to be able to talk about our missions and
the church with everyone. The beauty of the gospel is that, even in times of
darkness, we can always be reminded of the joy and peace we once felt in
following the savior. Those moments of surety when we KNOW that God is there
and that His gospel is restored and true can give us strength when we waiver,
if we allow them to work in our lives.<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Anywho, it RAINED this
week, that was probably the biggest miracle. Poor Sister Hayes has been getting
over a cold for 2 weeks and she was feeling pretty awful Saturday. We were just
praying for success and strength, and sure enough, the first door we tried had
a 15-year-old answer. His mom used to meet with the missionaries, and he said
how he's been trying to come closer to Christ but wasn’t sure how. He knows a
lot of Mormons at his school and his whole countenance lit up when we told him
about the restoration. What a tender mercy, and we walked away from the door
super wet because of the RAIN. RAIN I SAY!!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">We visited a less active
family named after that. We had just assumed that since her work and
problematic situation has prevented her from coming to church, her testimony
had wavered. We shared a scripture on prayer and she testified of how she had
an illness that almost killed her. The doctors said there was no hope, but she
had faith and she prayed for help and guidance and a doctor at UCLA had an
opening and let her come the next day. They gave her proper treatment and she
was able to recover more than she ever anticipated! It was a cool testimony
builder to me to hear about that, but it strengthened her even more to share
it. I LOVE being able to have these experiences with people!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">We had ANOTHER awesome
visit with a member! His wife is from Peru and isn’t a member, he’s less active
but has a pretty strong testimony of the truth. He gave an amazing prayer at
the end of the lesson and the spirit was extremely strong. I guess the biggest
thing I’ve learned this week is that if we are struggling with anything, prayer
is the solution. As we turn to God for help, He will guide us in all aspects of
our life and will bring us safely home.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">We had a lesson with
this couple we found last week, taught along with an amazing member. Apparently, he went to high school with them
here in town in the 90s! They really hit it off, and even though they were a
bit hesitant at first, the member we brought started teaching the restoration
and it really hit home for them to hear it from him. We were able to answer
some of their questions and they agreed to read the Book of Mormon, which they
didn’t want to do!!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Okay, EVERYONE GO TO <a href="http://mormon.org/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">MORMON.ORG</span></a>!!
The church is coming out with a <a href="https://www.mormon.org/?cid=HP_FR_25-11-2016_dMIS_fmorg_xLIDyL1-A_">service
project</a> for December. Every day there is a way the Savior served when he
was on the earth and a suggestion for what we can do in our day! It’s
incredible and it’s an amazing way to remember Christ this season!! SORRY GOTTA
RUN but I’ll leave you with this scripture:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/mosiah/2.17">Mosiah 2:17 </a> And behold, I tell you these things that ye
may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your
fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">He has asked us to
serve, and whenever we feel down or stressed or sad, THAT IS THE SOLUTION!! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Love you all, love this
gospel, have a great week!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BbZD4VPswMs/WDzQkMU0tDI/AAAAAAAA-hI/U0k076Atvq4xo3uWRGQYlmuxqugdzPH0gCLcB/s1600/CIMG6052.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BbZD4VPswMs/WDzQkMU0tDI/AAAAAAAA-hI/U0k076Atvq4xo3uWRGQYlmuxqugdzPH0gCLcB/s320/CIMG6052.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bakersfield, CA<br />November 2016</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bakersfield, CA<br />November 2016</span></td></tr>
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Chris Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08779010603129229385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834844257321348447.post-82597925619870848732016-11-21T22:08:00.002-05:002016-11-21T22:29:10.269-05:00November 21, 2016<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">THIS.
WEEK. WAS. AWESOME!!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">To explain this weird
pic, we all pelted each other with socks full of flour to reenact hunger games.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Anywho, we had some amazing lessons this week!! This little boy had me count
all 207 of his Pokemon, so that was truly the highlight. We met with E. and he
told us all about the crazy patients he had as a psychiatrist for 30 years. He
convinced me that that’s a profession I NEVER want to pursue!!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The week started out a
bit rough, but God is so good, He always delivers us after a trial!! For a Relief
Society activity, we had a Cafe Rio-style dinner and it was AMAZING, it was
pretty close to the real stuff and nothing has ever made me happier, I miss
that place. And a refugee from <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/08/04/burmese-fleeing-ethnic-and-religious-persecution-become-biggest-refugee-group.html" target="_blank"><b>Burma</b></a> came and spoke about her journey to America
and how she got established here. It was super inspirational, it really made us
all appreciate what we had and where we are, this is one of the few places
where you can work hard and rise up. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">We met with B., the recent
convert’s daughter, and she is doing great! She accepted a baptismal date for
the tenth and her mom bore the most AMAZING testimony about how the gospel has
blessed her life. She said that she wants her baptized so that she can have
extra strength and guidance as she goes through life and school and whatnot.
She's been reading and praying and has seen a difference in her life as she's
come closer to God!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">We saw K. again and
talked a bit about what we both learned from Elder Bednar! AND it was on Sister
W.’s birthday, the person that introduced K. to the church! They’re all headed
out to <b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utah">Utah</a> </b>as we speak for <b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utah">Thanksgiving.</a></b>
K. will be getting a tour of <b><a href="http://news.byu.edu/about">BYU</a>,</b> going to a <a href="http://byucougars.com/schedule/m-football"><b>game</b>,</a> going to <b><a href="http://www.templesquare.com/">Temple Square</a> </b>and a few other fun
places, we're so excited for her!! Keep praying that her mom’s heart will
soften so that she can get baptized!!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">We were trying to figure
out what to do to be where we needed to be. There are people all around us who
are searching for the gospel and just don’t know where to find it, and Sister Hayes
and I decided to pray and pick a street on a map of our area. We started
walking around and talking to people and we met this nice couple. They had a
strange experience with missionaries in the past and they thought we didn’t
read from the <b><a href="https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bible?lang=eng">Bible</a> </b>or believe
in Christ. We were able to resolve some of their concerned and introduced the <b><a href="https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm?lang=eng">Book of Mormon</a></b>. They
were totally turned off at first, but once we kept talking they opened up about
how confusing it is to have all the churches and how they just want to come
closer to Christ. We were able to testify of the Book of Mormon and how it was
given to us for just that!! They accepted a copy and are excited to read! They
said they felt like God sent us, and when we told them that we were only on
their doorstep because a prayer led us there, they said they felt like God was
watching out for them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">I love being a
missionary and being able to be and instrument in God’s hands!!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Aaand my FAVORITE FAMILY
FROM A PAST MISSION AREA, AND MY BEST FRIEND FROM HIGH SCHOOL, BOTH CAME AND
SAW ME AT CHURCH and words cannot truly express my joy. Both were surprises, it’s
as though God knew I needed an extra boost and He delivers! I am so grateful
for all the people and experiences in my life.
Juliana is a best friend from high school in Maryland, and is now a
student at Stanford, and an activity fell through, so at the last minute she
and some friends decided to drive down to Death Valley, which takes them
straight through Bakersfield. After a few frantic texts between Juliana, her
mother, my parents, and a contact in my ward here, a plan was hatched, and
after Sacrament Meeting I found Juliana in the church foyer, waiting for me. We
only visited for a couple of minutes, we both had places to be, but at parting
I was able to say “See you next month!” We were only together for a few minutes
but it was glorious.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gxYhRB5buCk/WDO2HmQTIjI/AAAAAAAA-b0/jeKUPMIIo4M42Mb3Qn3N-mL92mzDjC1sQCLcB/s1600/IMG_9423111%2B1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gxYhRB5buCk/WDO2HmQTIjI/AAAAAAAA-b0/jeKUPMIIo4M42Mb3Qn3N-mL92mzDjC1sQCLcB/s320/IMG_9423111%2B1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sister King and Juliana Perl<br />
Bakersfield, CA<br />
November 20, 2016</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">We had a zone conference
and talked about the </span><b style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://www.lds.org/scriptures/tg/jesus-christ-savior?lang=eng">Savior</a></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">
and His sacrifice. The thing that struck me the most was a few scriptures in
the Doctrine and Covenants. The first is the incredible promise made possible
through Jesus Christ. It’s in section 58:42-43 and says, "Behold, he who
has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them
no more. By this ye may know if a man repenteth of his sins—behold, he will
confess them and forsake them." God promises us complete restoration to a
pure and innocent state as we fully follow Him. Not a patched-up job, not
mostly removing a stain, but a perfect fix. And how that is possible is
explained a bit in section 45:3-4, "Listen to him who is the advocate with
the Father, who is pleading your cause before him— Saying: Father, behold the
sufferings and death of him who did no sin, in whom thou wast well pleased;
behold the blood of thy Son which was shed, the blood of him whom thou gavest
that thyself might be glorified." We don’t do anything on our own. We don’t
even plea our case before God on our own. Heavenly Father is satisfied to look
on Christ and pardon us and our trespasses. He looks on one who is perfect and
who paid the price for our sins and then forgives us. No strings attached, we
just need to follow in His footsteps. What was cool when we were teaching B. is
we asked how she would feel if every mistake she’s ever made would weigh on her
forever. Through the Savior, those burdens are lifted. I know this is just kind
of a strange ramble, but I’ve been pondering a lot of how sweet Jesus Christ is
and how perfect God’s plan is. I am excited for the miracles that will continue
to come!!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">For Thanksgiving, we
will have some weekly planning in the morning, then eating dinner at a member’s
house. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">p.s. We DID pray for
food again and God DID deliver, about 10 members gave us something substantial
in 2 days, life is grand.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Chris Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08779010603129229385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834844257321348447.post-6370338189913562016-11-14T21:44:00.000-05:002016-11-14T21:44:25.331-05:00November 14, 2016<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">OKAY,
so I’m emailing at <b><a href="https://www.csub.edu/">Cal State University at Bakersfield</a></b> right
now since we could not do it at the family history center, so I am on a time
crunch!! I’ll tell you what you all want to know... how ELDER BEDNAR
WAS!! </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-v3NH06btXjA/WCpyFMnJw7I/AAAAAAAA-aI/42eUmRtSy8AL556LrQ2L4blw_nyQhn7XQCLcB/s1600/CIMG5933.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-v3NH06btXjA/WCpyFMnJw7I/AAAAAAAA-aI/42eUmRtSy8AL556LrQ2L4blw_nyQhn7XQCLcB/s320/CIMG5933.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sister Missionaries at<br />Elder Bednar's Conference<br />November, 2016</span></td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://www.lds.org/church/leader/david-a-bednar?lang=eng">Elder David
Bednar</a></span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> was in Bakersfield for
a few days and it was just incredible. He met with all the missionaries for 3
hours. He gave us 4 talks to read and study beforehand, and then our first hour together he just had us stand
up and share what we learned. The biggest things that I learned are: 1) the importance
of <i>praying with the intention of acting
on our promptings</i>, not just waiting for things to happen; 2) how important
it is we take the sacrament seriously and strive to have faith and repent
before we go to church; 3) how AWESOME it is the study the scriptures with a
question and with the Spirit so that God can speak to us; and 4) the importance
of continued obedience to allow continued conversion. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">I was expecting Elder
Bednar to just lecture us and fill our brains with knowledge, so this approach
caught us all off guard. Then we spent a while talking about what we gained
from that form of teaching. We didn’t realize it, but hearing from our peers,
and then listening to Elder Bednar’s comments and insights on what was said, was
WAY more effective than his just sharing what he learned. He’s also stinking
hilarious, I wish I could convey all the jokes he made; he said that what’s the
point of having the gospel in our life if we aren’t having fun. TRUD DAT! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/--9JtVU0hXmk/WCpyEsmih6I/AAAAAAAA-aE/Ptxr5gBW2ac0yGRWGFg4IO7PBKJ3XvaYgCLcB/s1600/CIMG5936.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/--9JtVU0hXmk/WCpyEsmih6I/AAAAAAAA-aE/Ptxr5gBW2ac0yGRWGFg4IO7PBKJ3XvaYgCLcB/s320/CIMG5936.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">Sister Missionaries at </span><br style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;" /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">Elder Bednar's Conference<br />November, 2016</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Then the last bit was a Q&A,
which was just stellar, holy cow. The biggest thing I gained from the Q&A
was <i>the importance of conforming our will
to Gods</i>. Following Him requires a lot of hard work and is often
challenging, but He takes our agency and expands it and helps us become new
creatures. And the spirit was just SO STRONG! We were praying and pondering
before he came in, and suddenly I felt such a peace and excitement and joy. I
look up just as Elder Bednar WALKED BY!! It figures I’d feel the spirit when he
was right there. He is such a dedicated servant of the Lord it’s hard to not
feel closer to God around him!! My faith has been even more strengthened that
this really is the <b><a href="https://www.lds.org/liahona/2003/11/receiving-a-testimony-of-the-restored-gospel-of-jesus-christ?lang=eng">Lord’s
church</a></b> on the earth again today, that He really has restored His power
and has called men to represent Him and speak for Him, just as in times of old.
And most importantly, I know that He sent His son, <b><a href="https://www.lds.org/topics/jesus-christ?lang=eng">Jesus Christ</a>,</b>
to pave the path and allow us to feel peace and joy and love and determination
in an ever-changing world. I do not know where I would be without Him, and I
know that He is only in our life to the degree that we allow him. So, it’s my
continuing goal to strive to emulate Him in all I do, to learn of His life and
what He has done, to come closer to Him and to know Him as a person and friend.
What a blessing it is the have the gospel in my life!!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dxBX61TOf28/WCpyFp0sMcI/AAAAAAAA-aQ/JfMDap-weccHk2y-2hN5znVXbkicL9MeACLcB/s1600/DSCN0711.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dxBX61TOf28/WCpyFp0sMcI/AAAAAAAA-aQ/JfMDap-weccHk2y-2hN5znVXbkicL9MeACLcB/s320/DSCN0711.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sister King, Sister Hayes,<br />Bakersfield, CA<br />November 2016</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Okay, updates. K., our
investigator, went to this meeting with the youth and young single adults. She
said it was simply life changing and that she wishes her family could meet
them, THEN they wouldn’t have any trouble letting her get baptized!! The dream.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">B., a recent convert’s
daughter, is doing great! Sadly, we were all hoping her step-dad would want to
baptize her and would work towards reactivation, but he requested that it would
be better to find someone else to do it :( We will keep praying for them!!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">ALSO, we went on
exchanges, which are always a blast!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">I love you all, I love
being a missionary and I hope you have a great week :D<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bbpz7Ann91c/WCpyGs4hYoI/AAAAAAAA-aY/h3vx38Co6hkIvQ835NcrXoGVsHWXii1awCLcB/s1600/DSCN0712.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bbpz7Ann91c/WCpyGs4hYoI/AAAAAAAA-aY/h3vx38Co6hkIvQ835NcrXoGVsHWXii1awCLcB/s320/DSCN0712.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sad Allie.<br />I think she's sad because all the gumballs are pastel colors,<br />and she got a red one. Tragedy.<br />Sister Allie King, Bakersfield, California, and<br />The Land of Sad Gumballs</span></td></tr>
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Chris Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08779010603129229385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834844257321348447.post-32672321004979352212016-11-07T15:44:00.000-05:002016-11-07T15:44:57.256-05:00November 7, 2016<div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">SO
SORRY! I lost track of time but here it goes!!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">This
week was kind of rough, not a lot of finding after a lot of searching. BUT, God’s
work doesn’t cease! Every time I got in a funk the Lord did SOMETHING to cheer
me up! It’s crazy how as soon as I stop focusing on myself and what I’ doing,
even if it has to do with missionary work, I immediately feel better and the Spirit
comes in full force. The day after Halloween we were out knocking doors and
everyone left their bowls of candy from the night before out in front of their
house, so we ended up being able to go trick or treating!!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">We met
this woman knocking on doors who was telling us how she’s essentially Mormon
because she has tons of Mormon family members. We kept talking to her and it
turns out that she’s the grandmother of one of our investigators, B.! AND, she
told us how her cousin has moved into this part of town, and it turned out that
it’s a family in our ward! We told B. and she had no idea how many connections
to the church she has!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">We
had a lesson with a recent convert and her daughter who is investigating the
church! She’s been paying tithing since she’s been baptized and recently she
got a job promotion, pay raise AND insurance! Her husband, who had been less
active for years and his heart of softening towards the church now, had to talk
to his boss about a miscommunication over his paycheck. He told his boss that
he knew everything would work out because the Lord is blessing his family for
their obedience. That is HUGE that he is starting to see God working in his
life! And their daughter is continuing to come to church and they have just
been so blessed because of their savior. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">We
had another lesson with K. She was supposed to get baptized this Saturday but
her family is still against the church and won’t allow her :/ We shared the
story in Mark 5 about the woman who had faith that if she just touched the Savior’s
clothes, she would be healed. Sister White, the member whose family introduced Kayla
to the gospel, talked about her experience with illness. To make a long story
short, her body started rejecting her lungs and after years of seeing doctors
and treatments and having to be home bound on oxygen, she was finally able to
receive a transplant. And the year after THAT, she was finally able to be well
enough to go back to normal life! She spoke of patience and trust in the Lord’s
timing, and K. confessed that she's been going through even more persecution
than before; she now has lifelong friends from school in addition to her family
who are telling her that she’s making a bad decision. For some reason, right
after K. gained a testimony of the Gospel, the Lord started putting her through
the fire. But because of that, she’s become converted! It’s funny, as soon as
people started coming out against her and her choices, she’s become even
stronger. She’s acting on the faith in God she’s received and because of that
she’s a better person. She’s such an incredible example to me of diligent
gospel living, and how even though the world is against us, God is always with
us.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Also,
</span><b style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://www.lds.org/church/leader/claudio-r-m-costa?lang=eng">a member of
the Seventy, Elder Costa</a></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">, came to our stake conference! His wife
screamed when she saw us because she thought they were letting "<a href="http://www.clipartkid.com/images/124/know-my-church-is-true-i-know-the-prophet-speaks-to-me-H7Ipmd-clipart.png" target="_blank"><b>primary kids</b></a> go on missions." BUT, she had me go talk to Elder Costa about his
mission because it turns out HE SERVED IN <b><a href="http://calledtoserveindcnorth.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">WASHINGTON DC NORTH! </a></b>He served in my
home stake back when there was only a Spanish group, and now there are 2
wards!! What a small world :D</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Anyways, gotta skip out, I love you all so much!!</span></div>
Chris Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08779010603129229385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834844257321348447.post-66556343110348635162016-10-31T17:09:00.000-04:002016-10-31T17:09:23.626-04:00October 31, 2016<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Okay,
speeding through this email!</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">This week wasn’t the
MOST eventful for missionary work sadly, BUT, still saw miracles :D The non-missionary miracles both involved
food. We were hungry and were talking about how much we love soup when a member
texts us and says she made extra soup because she was thinking about us and
wanted to give us some... and THEN, we were tracting and I said how I wish
people texted us offering cookies and ice cream when it’s hot outside. So we
stopped by a members house so we could use the bathroom and they open the door
and go "sisters, we just made cookies, do you want some with ice
cream?" So I’m not quite sure why every time I pray for food it’s
answered, but it’s much appreciated!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">We met with our
investigator B. and she got in a really bad car accident. It was on <b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grapevine,_California">The Grapevine</a></b>
going down to LA last week and the car flipped 3 times, but they only got
seatbelt bruises. She's been trying to increase her faith and when she got home
she said she just started praying and crying. She said she felt something that
she's never felt before, and that she actually felt like God was right there
listening to her! She's going through a lot so we probably won’t meet with her
again soon, but it’s been awesome to see how if people truly have a desire to
come closer to God, it happens!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Our investigator K. is still keepin’ on,
still pray that her mom will let her be baptized on the 12th!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">IT WAS SISTER HAYES’
BIRTHDAY!! A member gave us some money to go out to lunch and when we got there
we saw my OLD STAKE PRESIDENT from the south side and paid for us instead! So
we got to go get frozen yogurt :D<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Okay, <b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trick-or-treating#Trunk-or-Treat">trunk or
treat</a></b> on her birthday, it was EPIC! There were like 300 people there,
including this former investigator’s son! His wife was against the church, but
there are some awesome families who are fellowshipping them and her heart is
softening! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--nXmG_yvo0U/WBews3WX1iI/AAAAAAAA-SM/zp2ssC1xxM0hIwbHF1cp73aqqIwbQzpMQCLcB/s1600/IMG_301611.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--nXmG_yvo0U/WBews3WX1iI/AAAAAAAA-SM/zp2ssC1xxM0hIwbHF1cp73aqqIwbQzpMQCLcB/s320/IMG_301611.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Halloween 2016<br />Bakersfield, CA</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XhTvjMtdyyU/WBewsxDrldI/AAAAAAAA-SI/HjZZ_neDPeQyHOZfh7k7sG1-pZTXSmT_gCLcB/s1600/IMG_301811%2B%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XhTvjMtdyyU/WBewsxDrldI/AAAAAAAA-SI/HjZZ_neDPeQyHOZfh7k7sG1-pZTXSmT_gCLcB/s320/IMG_301811%2B%25281%2529.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Halloween 2016<br style="font-size: 12.8px;" /><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Bakersfield, CA</span></span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2uYWEehM5RU/WBews-I6KRI/AAAAAAAA-SE/6c32Fr-HvYIt-Dkcek_olQQYCT9NWYisQCLcB/s1600/trunk%2Bor%2Btreat%2B1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2uYWEehM5RU/WBews-I6KRI/AAAAAAAA-SE/6c32Fr-HvYIt-Dkcek_olQQYCT9NWYisQCLcB/s320/trunk%2Bor%2Btreat%2B1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Halloween 2016<br style="font-size: 12.8px;" /><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Bakersfield, CA</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The APs gave us our
transfer calls early, as a birthday present... and we're BOTH STAYING~~~ what a
blessing :D</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The next transfer is December
14 or something, I leave 2 weeks after that...</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">ALL my college friends will be getting home from their missions in
February and beyond... so it’ll just be me at school next semester :p </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">I don’t like to think about the fact that
we'll all be RMs, I still feel like a Laurel haha.</span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UC2Jq3mtIt0/WBexHTT-WgI/AAAAAAAA-SU/wkRKaBVPOp4_cs5HWjgqU_9gzc9xFWUBACLcB/s1600/district%2B1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UC2Jq3mtIt0/WBexHTT-WgI/AAAAAAAA-SU/wkRKaBVPOp4_cs5HWjgqU_9gzc9xFWUBACLcB/s320/district%2B1.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The District<br />Bakersfield, CA, October 2016</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ii7bKctGkXs/WBexHx7eztI/AAAAAAAA-SY/xCvzo-fb10gc_Ok6MbQY8JhfhLXv1IgGQCLcB/s1600/district%2B2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ii7bKctGkXs/WBexHx7eztI/AAAAAAAA-SY/xCvzo-fb10gc_Ok6MbQY8JhfhLXv1IgGQCLcB/s320/district%2B2.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The District<br style="font-size: 12.8px;" /><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Bakersfield, CA, October 2016</span></span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uyzPuffXC4I/WBexHj1eckI/AAAAAAAA-SQ/0Ez7G9QvwN4y8WXRGJF-isE6X2PcR8HgQCLcB/s1600/district%2B4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uyzPuffXC4I/WBexHj1eckI/AAAAAAAA-SQ/0Ez7G9QvwN4y8WXRGJF-isE6X2PcR8HgQCLcB/s320/district%2B4.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The District<br style="font-size: 12.8px;" /><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Bakersfield, CA, October 2016</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Whoa, so sorry this was
so random and didn’t make sense, but trust me more happened, the Lord is
hastening His work! A recent convert just got a calling, activity days worker
(she'll plan activities for younger girls so they can have fun and whatnot) and
her husband came to church! He’s been less active for years and her testimony
is inspiring him to come back!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Okay, I finished up the <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llBV0Okknhk">war chapters</a></b> in the Book
of Mormon, and I got another insane reminder that if we just do what the Lord
asks us to, he WILL protect us! He's only in our lives to the degree that we
will allow Him, so as we do our best to follow Him, He'll bless us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">HAVE A GREAT WEEK HAPPY
HALLOWEEN!!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-I6pAW8xSCPg/WBexilGHZgI/AAAAAAAA-Sg/0woP8fCrb9Ipl7_DneR_qXIrIKGIOqVOACLcB/s1600/sisters%2B1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-I6pAW8xSCPg/WBexilGHZgI/AAAAAAAA-Sg/0woP8fCrb9Ipl7_DneR_qXIrIKGIOqVOACLcB/s320/sisters%2B1.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sister Missionaries<br style="font-size: 12.8px;" /><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Bakersfield, CA, October 2016</span></span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wG-tw02baWc/WBexilZJRXI/AAAAAAAA-Sk/kyQ1uT1ogM4BYHCC9MOdiAM2n1qP9PNUQCLcB/s1600/sisters%2B2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wG-tw02baWc/WBexilZJRXI/AAAAAAAA-Sk/kyQ1uT1ogM4BYHCC9MOdiAM2n1qP9PNUQCLcB/s320/sisters%2B2.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sister Missionaries<br style="font-size: 12.8px;" /><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Bakersfield, CA, October 2016</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-P4MkQelr-eo/WBexiToGbDI/AAAAAAAA-Sc/t6lUUfoL66wJ5m5TblkjXJg4KYNsbNHnQCLcB/s1600/sisters%2B3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-P4MkQelr-eo/WBexiToGbDI/AAAAAAAA-Sc/t6lUUfoL66wJ5m5TblkjXJg4KYNsbNHnQCLcB/s320/sisters%2B3.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sister Missionaries<br style="font-size: 12.8px;" /><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Bakersfield, CA, October 2016</span></span></td></tr>
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Chris Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08779010603129229385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834844257321348447.post-35398229419216916912016-10-24T14:52:00.001-04:002016-10-24T21:09:00.106-04:00October 24, 2016<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">SO,
this week had its ups and downs. We get ice cream when we're feeling down and
we had to go out for it 4 times. BUT, it ended on a HIGH, so life is still
grand :D</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">We had a lesson with a
less active girl. She's 16 and dropped out of HS and is taking classes at the
community college. She's had a really hard life but is so carefree and chill we
thought it didn’t have much of an impact on her. We taught her the plan of
salvation to help prep her for a youth activity involving it and she opened up
and said all the reasons why she's been hesitant about church and God. She said
it's hard because everyone has "perfect" families and she doesn’t,
she doesn’t know much about the gospel since she wasn’t exposed to it much
growing up, and she feels like she's never felt the spirit. We were able to
testify about God's love for her and her circumstances, about how this is all
part of Gods plan and about how when we can focus on the big picture, things will
get easier. We challenged her to read the Book of Mormon and testified about
how Christ can change us. Her grandma (whom she's living with) texted us after
and said that her views on the church and religion did a 180, that she’s
excited to read AND to come to church! It’s so cool to see the Spirit working
in others’ lives :D<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">We have been struggling
finding people to teach, so Sister Hayes and I pull out a map of our area and
say a prayer and pick a street. We felt prompted to go to "Fremantle,"
so we went and the first few doors we knocked were AWFUL! But we kept going and
we ended up meeting this kid who just graduated from high school. Apparently
missionaries had talked to him and invited him to church a few months ago and
he's been looking for it ever since. He accepted the Restoration really well
and is excited to read the Book of Mormon! God delivers for both us AND His son
who is seeking the gospel!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">On Halloween, our president
is having us stay indoors and is giving us 4 articles to read since we have to
be in early... Good times... My companion’s birthday is on Saturday and that’s
when the ward trunk or treat is, so it should be a BLAST!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">On Saturday I got to see
some of my favorite people from around town since they had the missionaries usher
for a BYU ballroom dance performance in town :D Sadly they didn’t let us stay,
so it was short lived... but amazing, I love this place so much!!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">We met with our
investigator K after church, which was the PRIMARY PROGRAM!! I cried 5 times,
there’s just something special about a ton of cute little kids sharing what
they learned about the Savior. The spirit was SO strong and no one there could
deny that what those kids were saying was true. Our lesson after church was on
learning and serving in the church and this couple talked about their callings
and how the members have been able to strengthen them in hard times. She had
this rare condition where her body was rejecting her own lungs so she had 12%
use of them and couldn’t leave the house for 3 years while she waited for a
transplant. She talked about how God supported her and helped her through the
service of others, and K talked about how much she's been strengthened by
taking the sacrament every week. Our next lesson with her is on temples, but she’s
already been down to the Visitor’s Center and has read a whole magazine on it,
so there won’t be much new information for her haha!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">We saw this one member who
got baptized in August. She is the epitome of integrity and diligence in gospel
living. Her husband was baptized when he was a teenager but still doesn’t have
a desire to come back to church, so she comes with her 3 girls every week. She’s
been going through a hard time and we shared a video with her about the Savior
and how we can keep Him in our lives more often. We shared <b><a href="https://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/isa/49.15,%2016?">Isaiah 49:15-16</a></b>,
which says, "Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not
have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget
thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are
continually before me." It was so cool because I had another amazing
reminder about how mindful God is of us. There is nothing we are going through
that He doesn’t know and there’s nothing that we need that He isn’t aware of. He's
only in our lives to the degree that we allow Him to be, so as we open out
hearts and our minds to Him and His will, we can see the endless blessings He
has to offer us! Her daughter, who is 12, hasn’t been baptized yet and she
agreed to let us teach her more about it to see if it’s something she wants! The
Lord is WORKING with that family, we're excited to continue to see miracles!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">You know how I told you about the member who has great great grandpa <b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Commentary-Book-Mormon-Volumes-1-7/dp/B000KL3Z9C/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&qid=1477357637&sr=8-12&keywords=commentary+on+the+book+of+mormon+sjodahl" target="_blank">Sjodahl’s Book of Mormon Commentary?</a></b> WELL, it came up in conversation with one of my favorite families here and the dad goes and grabs an old copy of it he has and opens it up and shows me! He goes "do you have a copy with your great great grandpa’s name?" I say no and he HANDS IT TO ME and tells me to keep it! They said they bought it last year at DI and they thought they got it for themselves but it turns out they "actually got it for me" HOW SWEET IT THAT?! Also, the Sjodahls were sealed in the Manti Temple, and he was the first man ever to be endowed AND sealed there! I really gotta get more into family history when i get back... </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I ate pig stomach! The pig itself was good, nice and flavorful and juicy, and the skin was really crunchy like a chip, and the stomach was delicious. And I ate chilies the other day; we are not allowed to play "dare" games, but someone told me to eat 3 chilies, so I just did it…</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Watch the video That <b><a href="https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2014-06-001-always-remember-him?lang=eng">They
Do Always Remember Him</a></b>, it’s 6 minutes long and is supa cute. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I LOVE YOU ALL HAVE A
GREAT WEEK!!</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fMR1d601Q24/WA5W2gmvpVI/AAAAAAAA-JU/zuCr_SsdhAYikvyt-JT0PCgQA9cuvWA9ACLcB/s1600/dewars%2Band%2Bsush%2Bfor%2Bolsens%2Bbday%2B1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fMR1d601Q24/WA5W2gmvpVI/AAAAAAAA-JU/zuCr_SsdhAYikvyt-JT0PCgQA9cuvWA9ACLcB/s320/dewars%2Band%2Bsush%2Bfor%2Bolsens%2Bbday%2B1.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sister King and Sister Hayes at Dewars Ice Cream<br />
Bakersfield, CA, October 2016</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Sister King and three of her current and former companions!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">At Dewars for some ice cream for</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Sister Larsen's birthday</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Bakersfield, CA, October 2016</span></td></tr>
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Chris Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08779010603129229385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834844257321348447.post-5557738670897317932016-10-17T18:47:00.001-04:002016-10-17T18:49:55.800-04:00October 17, 2016<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Okay, this week was random and jumbled but EPIC, legit!!</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 16.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">We finished teaching K the commandments and she went to the LA
temple on Saturday! The youth went down and she went through the Visitors’ Center
while the youth went in to the temple for baptisms and she LOVED it! She said the spirit
there was incredible and she just kept looking at the temple and said she had
this feeling inside that she’s never felt before, but she wanted to go into the
temple more than anything. She picked a date for November 12; she'll be going
to Utah with a member family for Thanksgiving and wants to go to the temple
while they're there! Her family is not too supportive of her baptism, so if
everyone could PLEASE pray for her that would be super appreciated! I’ve never
met someone with as much faith. She's already planning on going on a mission. Mind
you, her being introduced to the church came from her friend inviting her to
the sacrament meeting when he'd be giving a talk. So simple, but look what
came! We really don’t know who is prepared in our lives; it’s our job to share
the good news about Christ with EVERY one!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">We taught B the Plan of Salvation, or God’s plan for us, and she
said that she's been wondering what the purpose of life is, and that we
answered her!! Now is the time to prepare to meet God, now is the time to grow
our faith and serve others and become better people! Plus more. Ha ha, we had a
super long discussion on it and she wants to be baptized so badly. AND we saw E,
the cool old genius, and it turns out he was one of the men who discovered that
the chromosome was made up of DNA strands and not a skeleton... HE’S SO SMART,
and still has the strongest testimony of Christ!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">So the BIGGEST thing to happen this week was a MEMBER OF THE SEVENTY
came and spoke to us. Elder Cook!! We had a 6 hour discussion on repentance and
how to teach is effectively, it was incredible!! We talked about how it’s a way
of life, refining ourselves and becoming better through the atonement, and I
sure wish I had time to elaborate on everything I learned. But I WILL share my
favorite analogy!! Sister Cook was speaking to us and she told us how after a
caterpillar forms a cocoon, it releases an enzyme that turns it to LIQUID! And
then AFTER that it becomes a butterfly. SO, if we ever feel like our life is a<b>
big soupy mess</b>, we can know that God is refining us and we'll come out on top
soon! We also talked about making Christ our senior companion, about how we
need to go to Him in EVERY decision, and once we do that we allow HIM to hasten
His work! He’s in the details, he knows where the elect are and He is ready to
help all of us in every aspect of our life!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Sx55uX3c-Z8/WAVT0h0MC8I/AAAAAAAA-GE/7fzf0GYzZ-427R1oQQYZxIe4hGMMY5bqgCLcB/s1600/xButterfly_Cocoon--Easy_Butterfly_Garden-com.jpg.pagespeed.ic.mJTy3-ERnH.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Sx55uX3c-Z8/WAVT0h0MC8I/AAAAAAAA-GE/7fzf0GYzZ-427R1oQQYZxIe4hGMMY5bqgCLcB/s320/xButterfly_Cocoon--Easy_Butterfly_Garden-com.jpg.pagespeed.ic.mJTy3-ERnH.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"During the pupa stage the caterpillar does not feed or grow bigger. <br />
All that eating they did prior during their larva stage provides energy for this transition. <br />
Metabolic activity forms new organs creating the adult butterfly, <br />
while chemically deteriorating the organs from the caterpillar." </td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">WISH I had more time, but I love you all so much and God continues
to work miracles!!</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sister King, Sister Hays, and the Bishop Sisters!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5txcDDGNiGk/WAVQ0lkCZNI/AAAAAAAA-Fw/UMYm6fjLKrIckp4VkKpLN-a2CZe_lBOhgCLcB/s1600/hayes%2Bking%2Bclegg%2B1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5txcDDGNiGk/WAVQ0lkCZNI/AAAAAAAA-Fw/UMYm6fjLKrIckp4VkKpLN-a2CZe_lBOhgCLcB/s320/hayes%2Bking%2Bclegg%2B1.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sister Hayes and Sister King<br />Don't know about the crowns.....<br />Bakersfield, CA, October 2016</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sister Hayes, Sister King, and her <br />former companion Sister Clegg<br />Bakersfield, CA, October, 2016</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Bro. & Sis, Swan, who work in the <br />Mission Office, and Sister King<br />Bakersfield, CA, October 2016</span></td></tr>
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</span>Chris Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08779010603129229385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834844257321348447.post-84637089988645982822016-10-10T15:53:00.000-04:002016-10-10T18:31:02.331-04:00October 10, 2016<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The
weeks just go by so quickly as the mission goes on.... this one was KILLER!!</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">So I had a stomach bug
starting Thursday afternoon and the only thing that stayed in my system between
then and Sunday evening was 10 saltines, a banana and a bowl of tomato soup. It
was the first time I’ve got something other than a cold my whole mission! We
were fasting Sunday to find people to teach, since we haven’t found anyone new
to teach since I’ve gotten in the area and all our plans and appointments were
falling through. We remembered that a member at church told us to stop by his
neighbor who had taken the discussion before, so we book it over there before
dinner to meet him. He went to Columbia, Stanford, Notre Dame and UNIVERSITY OF
MARYLAND!! He’s 85, loves God and said that he would love to learn more and about
Christ again! We taught him at his doorstep and we were feeling great. Until he
closed the door, then Sister Hayes’s head started pounding and the 3 days of
essentially no food caught up with me and we both almost collapsed! God gave us
the strength that we needed to have one last miracle during the day! Our district
leader also got us milkshakes from Starbuck’s on Monday, on the condition that
we find someone to teach, so we were able to fill our end of the bargain!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">We taught our
investigator K again. She'll be going to Utah with the family that introduced
her to the gospel for Thanksgiving and she’s been having a hard time getting
her grandparents to open up to the church. She’s been hesitant to set a date
but she told us that she wants to get baptized within the month so that she can
go to the temple with over Thanksgiving!! It was the coolest thing ever, she
ALREADY has that goal and she isn’t even a member yet! We've been going over
the commandments but the White’s essentially taught her all the lessons
already, and she is seeing how the gospel is blessing her every day! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Most of the people we
are teaching were sick, so is everyone in town, so this week was a little
slower, BUT we had an old woman we do service for, who survived WWII in
Croatia, Germany and eventually California, come and speak to the Young Women in
mutual and it was awesome! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">We went on exchanges in Oildale (hometown of Merle Haggard) and yet again, I have been companions with both my Sister Training Leaders! The
last 3 transfers that’s been the case, it’s awesome! So I got to go out with Sister
Larsen and it felt just like old times, haha. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">OKAY, so I’m in Alma for
my Book of Mormon reading and I’m reminded of how much I love the book of Mosiah!
My favorite part is when Alma leaves all the wicked men he is working with and
starts teaching the people in the city about Christ and what he’s learned and
felt because of the Savior. They learn about baptism and are so excited for it
that they literally clap their hands for joy! They describe baptism in chapter
18 and it says:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">"8 And it came to
pass that he said unto them: Behold, here are the waters of Mormon (for thus
were they called) and now, as ye are desirous to come into the fold of God, and
to be called his people, and are willing to bear one another’s burdens, that
they may be light;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">9 Yea, and are willing
to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of
comfort, and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and
in all places that ye may be in, even until death, that ye may be redeemed of
God, and be numbered with those of the first resurrection, that ye may have
eternal life—<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">10 Now I say unto you,
if this be the desire of your hearts, what have you against being baptized in
the name of the Lord, as a witness before him that ye have entered into a
covenant with him, that ye will serve him and keep his commandments, that he
may pour out his Spirit more abundantly upon you?"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">I love how it shows that
baptism, and the gospel in general, better enables us to serve those around us,
to help others as Christ would, and to especially come even closer to Him!! I
love this gospel SO MUCH and am so blessed to teach other about it every day! <br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Sorry it’s short, I’m in
a rush, but I love you all so much :D Have a great week!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Bakersfield West Zone Sister Missionaries!<br />Sister Kuang is from Taiwan.<br />October 2016</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MbM95us6-yo/V_vvJDTYINI/AAAAAAAA-Ak/ei6z2aGhRcwxDRPvX0_XH5rGFvIRY0mdQCLcB/s1600/westzone.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="255" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MbM95us6-yo/V_vvJDTYINI/AAAAAAAA-Ak/ei6z2aGhRcwxDRPvX0_XH5rGFvIRY0mdQCLcB/s320/westzone.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">The Bakersfield West Zone Sister Missionaries!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">Sister Kuang is from Taiwan.<br />October 2016</span></td></tr>
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Chris Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08779010603129229385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834844257321348447.post-63624814102874456672016-10-03T17:22:00.003-04:002016-10-03T17:22:54.141-04:00October 3, 2016<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://www.lds.org/general-conference?lang=eng">Holy General Conference,</a></span></b><span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> it makes the rest of the week
look like a BLUR! I can honestly say that there was not a single talk that I
didn’t absolutely LOVE! The biggest thing that stood out to me is how all the
talks were on repentance and joy, how we're here to follow Christ and to change
so that we can be HAPPY!! Which was
extremely evident in the investigators we were able to teach this week!</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">First off, a quick story
about how much God loves us. As missionaries, we can only shop on Mondays and we
ran out of TP on Thursday. So, to remain
obedient, we made a deal that if anyone asked if we need anything, we'd say
toilet paper. SO, sure enough, it happened, and we both hesitantly looked at
each other and then asked the member for some TP and they start freaking out!! The
wife said that an HOUR BEFORE, her husband looked at her and said "The
sisters are coming over tonight.... we should go get some toilet paper."
"Sweetie, why do we need to get toilet paper?" "For the Sisters!"
And this happened BEFORE WE EVEN ASKED!! #blessed<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">We taught a man named D
who the sisters found about a month ago. He’s had a super hard life, he adopted
a little boy who died at 13 and the cat he’s had for 20 years just passed away,
he lives with a roommate but feels extremely lonely all the time and he was
praying for help when the sisters knocked on his door! We read the Book of Mormon
with him and he said how his life isn’t changing, but his attitude is and he
feels so much closer to God. And I love how THAT’S what was emphasized at
conference! The church, the scriptures, the people we meet, these are all tools
to get us to Christ and it is HIM that changes us from the inside out! HE is
the one to lift us and strengthen us, and HE is the one, and the only one, who
can bring us joy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">We've been teaching K still,
and we were able to watch Conference at a member’s home with her! It is such a
cool example of member missionary work, he simply invited her to come to church
and her life is forever changed because of it. She’s progressing and coming
closer to God and she has His spirit even more abundantly in her life. She said
her favorite talk was the one on missionary work; her family is still against
the church, but we know that as she keeps being an amazing example to them,
that their hearts will soften!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">If you remember, this IS
the area with all the car trouble earlier this year! Prayers please!! I do not want that to
happen again... and the car is literally gold, like, THAT is the color!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Friday was the craziest
day ever, at 7 am we taught seminary, and it was the coolest class EVER! It’s crazy
how much better the rising generation is than all of us, ha ha, God's sending His
strongest children down now, since the world's at its craziest! Teaching seminary
was awesome!! We just talked about missions and tested them on what they’ve
learned the last month, the teacher is an angel that we love and we offered to
help. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Right after that we had
a lesson with B, who has a very similar story to D, but her mom was actually
taught and when the missionaries went by to see her they met B! She’s young but
told us how she needs a church to be grounded in so she can raise her future
family with good values. and when we told her about Joseph Smith and the Book
of Mormon and how her relationship with her Savior can improve, she just said
"I am going to read and I’m going to know it’s true." Then we had district
meeting, and we gave a training on revelation through the Book of Mormon that
was MIND BLOWING, all on exactly how it will improve our lives for the better.
THEN, right after, we had another lesson with a guy who only wanted to argue, not to learn, and it was impossible to leave, and we were so
exhausted and ready for bed and it was like 2 in the afternoon, ha ha. What a
time to be alive!!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">We give service every
week for this old Croatian woman who doesn’t want to be a member, but LOVES
missionaries! And we help this less active member who is trying to prove God
exists with science. I love it here! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">And then of course,
CONFERENCE!! Boom. Too good. Just another amazing testimony builder that this
really is God’s church, it’s impossible to listen to the words of God’s
prophets and NOT come closer to Him, just like it’s impossible to read the Bible
with a willingness to learn and not come closer to Him! God is just pouring out
His blessings all the time and I am so grateful to be a part of His work!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Chris Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08779010603129229385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834844257321348447.post-59688193383463132902016-09-26T21:39:00.000-04:002016-09-26T22:01:47.871-04:00September 26, 2016<div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">OKAY, I've been transferred to the Stockdale Ward, Bakersfield Stake, I've already seen some members from the Snow Ward when I served there for 6 weeks last
winter. My new address is:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">1100 Mondavi Ave.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Apt B2 <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Bakersfield, CA 93312</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Four Generations!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">My new companion is Sister Sophie Elizabeth Hayes from Alpine, Utah,
she’s Asian born in Kazakhstan, under Russia, and was adopted when she was 4! I
trained her trainer’s trainer, so she’s my great granddaughter! She </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">is way different from me, she’s majoring in
fashion design in Seattle. I’m excited to work with her!! </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Love the area, love the ward. A</span><span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">lso, I’m in the West Zone again, ha ha, it’s so weird</span>. <span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">This seems like an AMAZING place to end my mission, I’m so pumped!!</span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Okay, this week was INSANE!! The new missionaries’ flight got cancelled and since flights to Bakersfield are so limited they had to push back transfers an extra day! Tender blessings from the Lord though, I got an extra day in College Heights!</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">So with this new system of transfers, I didn’t find out where I was going until transfer meeting when I got my new companion and was shipped off! Turns out I didn’t need to be shipped too far, I’m now in the STOCKDALE WARD! I’m in my old zone, old stake, and I’m with my great granddaughter through my first-born and the MTC companion of my last born here in the mission! I also made a full circle, going from the Bakersfield Stake to the south to the East and back to Bakes. Currently I’m writing this email about 5 minutes from my old area, but I’m not allowed to go back and visit... Sometimes missions are cruel.. But hey, ‘tis life!! I’ve gone from the poorest to the richest part of Bakersfield, so it’s quite a change.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">We had a lesson with K., the friend of a member, who invited her to church to watch him give a talk in sacrament meeting and he gave her a Book of Mormon and the rest is history! She’s already almost halfway through reading it and she has the coolest testimony. She said how her relationship with Heavenly Father has already increased since she started reading and praying! I love how simple it is to grow faith, God likes things plain and to the point! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">This ward has tons of active members, so it was a bit overwhelming trying to get to know all of them, but I’m hanging in there! They’re super awesome and are so willing to help us out. One of the people we got to meet is a 9 year old girl who just got baptized, she’s adorable, and we were visiting with her and her grandparents, she showed me her dance tricks (she’s amazing, I’m still in awe) and we shared a lesson and faith and went on our way! As soon as we got out of the house though, Sister Hayes started almost shouting she was so excited. Apparently the grandpa we were with is atheist and his wife isn’t really into religion and he leaves every single time the missionaries are over. Gradually he's started staying longer and longer, but still never stayed for the lesson or prayer. But not only did he STAY, but he participated and helped explain what a foundation was! <b><a href="https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/hel/5.12" target="_blank">(Helaman 5:12)</a></b> WOW, it’s cool to see God softening the hearts of His children!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Something we've been thinking about a lot this week is the importance of keeping the commandments. Sister Hayes showed me an adorable video called a <b><a href="https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2015-03-009-a-shower-of-heavenly-blessings?lang=eng" target="_blank">"shower of heavenly blessings,"</a></b> I’ll stick it here: </span><a href="https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2015-03-009-a-shower-of-heavenly-blessings?lang=eng" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2015-03-009-a-shower-of-heavenly-blessings?lang=eng</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">But it reminded us of a scripture in <b><a href="https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/mosiah/2.41?lang=eng" target="_blank">Mosiah 2:41</a></b>, which says, "And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Heavenly Father gave us commandments, gave us guidelines to help us be happy! It also helps us to become more converted to God and His gospel, as we ACT on our testimony, it grows stronger, and as we live the way God wants us to, we can have His spirit more fully in our lives!! The Lord has a lot of miracles in store for this coming week, can’t wait to tell you all about it, I love you!!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Commentary on the Book of Mormon," by George Reynolds </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">and <span style="background-color: white;">Janne Mattson Sjödahl. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Sjödahl is Sister King's great-great-grandfather.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Commentary on the Book of Mormon," by George Reynolds </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: medium;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">and <span style="background-color: white;">Janne Mattson Sjödahl. </span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: medium;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Sjödahl is Sister King's great-great-grandfather.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">In Bakersfield, Allie found some Route 11 Potato Chips, </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">manufactured in Mt. Jackson, Virginia. Sister King has visited </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">this factory many times as a teenager, on her way to </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Southern </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Virginia for EFY. </span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">http://www.rt11.com</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">/</span></span></div>
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Chris Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08779010603129229385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834844257321348447.post-17196185367949624282016-09-19T17:26:00.003-04:002016-09-19T17:26:27.486-04:00September 19, 2016<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Okay,
this week was crazy! It started off with a day that was 70 DEGREES?!?! Seriously,
I felt like I was in heaven. And ON that day, we got 3 headquarter referrals,
and a few more as the week went on! That rarely happens here, and we actually
picked several of them up and they want to learn more about the gospel! If
anyone wants a free Bible or Book of Mormon, missionaries are the ones to drop
them off ;)</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">PLUS, we went tracting
and ran into this nice guy. He had met with missionaries a few years ago but
moved abruptly and lost contact with the church. SO, imagine his surprise when
we come up and knock on his door and ask if he’s talked to missionaries before!
He remembered everything about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon and whatnot
from before, and he’s just about the sweetest guy on the planet! He’s a Blackfoot
Indian and gave us feathers! We've taught him a few times already.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">We've been teaching this
one investigator a lot. He’s been trying to quit smoking but keeps hitting a
brick wall. One day we go to see him and he’s just lying on the floor of his
living room in crazy pain, we were talking to him through the screen door and
got the mission doctor on the phone to talk to him. We thought it was
appendicitis or something so we're worried and impatient as we wait for the
result. He gives us our phone back and tells us that it’s apparently a pulled
muscle in his ribs. How did he pull a muscle, you ask? From COUGHING SO MUCH
FROM SMOKING!! We felt so bad, but we chuckled, it was almost too perfect. Needless
to say, he has NOT had as strong of a desire to smoke this week. Blessings in
disguise. We had a few cool lessons with him as well, on repentance and faith
and all those good things. It’s nice to know that we can always be forgiven
when we fall short.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">In our first week in the
area, we met this lady who liked to talk about the resurrection and the
creation. As the last 3 months progressed, we slowly find out that she’s
actually a member of the church, has been to the temple, was super active in
the church, but left for a different church, and said she'd never come back.
That is, until we went over again on Saturday. She started crying and told us
how must she missed the church, missed the Spirit, missed how beautiful the
gospel is. And she, this very emotional super kind-hearted women CAME TO CHURCH
ON SUNDAY!! Wow, I wish I could describe how insane this is. She has come SUCH
a long way! It was a great way to end my time here, because…..<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">… transfer calls came
in.... and I’m getting transferred :( They
have changed the way we find out about transfers; I don’t know where or who I’m
going to be with, I’ll find out Wednesday, since transfers also got moved back
a day since the incoming missionaries‘ flight got cancelled... <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Funny story, I found out
about transfers during Stake Conference, since that’s when the calls came in,
so the Zone Leaders just decided to tell us then instead of calling us all
later, and I started crying, and a member went and YELLED AT THEM! As if they
had anything to do with the fact that I was leaving, ha ha. And all this
happened in front of the Mission President and wife, who looked very concerned
for my well-being. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">I know it’s God’s will
and whatnot, but I will really miss this area :( Anyways, I don’t have much time left, but a
member of the Seventy (can’t pronounce his name..) came for stake conference
and spoke a lot on the narrow path that leads us back to God. I really like how
he said that no matter how crooked the path behind us may be, it’s never too
late to make it straight again. God is always there to help us back on the path
when we need to, we can always change! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">SORRY THIS IS CHOPPY, I LOVE YOU, WISH ME LUCK WHERE EVER I’M GOING!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Chris Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08779010603129229385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834844257321348447.post-16457564894503672482016-09-12T20:43:00.001-04:002016-09-12T20:48:02.627-04:00September 12, 2016<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">So,
this week started off with lil’ King and Clegg full of life and energy and
ready to take on the world. We also made a conscience decision to try and tame
dogs by attempting to calm them while they’re in the fence. The first house we
passed after deciding that had this cute German Shepard and he gave us a
quizzical look. We're thinking that it’s going to be EASY since this dog’s
already calm and 1 second after we thought that he HOPPED THE FENCE and CHASED
US!! It was just like when I got attacked in my first area, the owner was this
old woman who just watched and went "no, stop, don’t, please." Thankfully
this time didn’t involve a flesh wound, but this dog DID grab my skirt and tank
me back and bit a hole in it. I had a strong feeling this morning that I needed
to wear one of my more Amish skirts, and now I know why!!</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">We lad a lesson with one
of our investigators, K., and the stake president, who happens to be in our
ward and his son is our ward mission leader. We taught him the Plan of Salvation
and I have never seen someone in so much awe at it, it was the coolest experience
ever! He’s been going through a lot, he was on the streets for 8 years and
helps the homeless community a lot, but he feels really lost right now. That’s
why I LOVE this gospel, because when people have those questions we can tell
them exactly where they came from, why they’re here and where they’re going
after this life. We also brought our own folding chairs since he didn’t really
have any and we sat in a circle on the sidewalk, it was quite a sight to
see. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">As a side note, I got to
do some service at a mini zoo in town, with California native animals, and it’s
the only place nearby with trees and running water and animals, and I got super
homesick. Whoever is in Maryland, kiss some greenery for me please! <b><a href="http://calmzoo.org/">Calm Zoo,</a></b>
“Founded in 1980 and opened to the public in 1983, CALM displays and interprets
native California animals, plants, fossils, and artifacts to teach a respect
for all living things through education, recreation, conservation, and
research.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">ANYWAYS, we've been
meeting with a former investigator more regularly, S. He’s been going through a
LOT and everything in his life just fell apart. Relationships ending, jobs
being taken away, friends turning on him, it’s just been one thing after
another. He went to a baptism that some other missionaries had so that he could
see what it was like and the last speaker seemed to tailor his talk around him.
He spoke on how God made the path to happiness and peace really simple, He asks
us to read the scriptures and pray daily, go to church weekly to take the
sacrament and be edified, and do our best to follow Him. It struck a chord with
him, because he realized that he’s been slipping and it connected in his mind
that THAT’S why his faith hasn’t been as strong and why he hasn’t been dealing
with things the same. It was an amazing experience and another awesome reminder
to me how the road that leads us to God and joy may be straight and narrow, but
it we fall off, it is so simple that we can always hop right back on!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Anyways, we had our zone
training meeting and it was all on the Book of Mormon. Joseph Smith was able to
translate it by the gift and power of God in 65 working days, so he challenged
the mission to read it in that time! That’s about 8 pages a day and we should
be finished by November 14 if we stay on track. I started and even though I
read it all the time I seem to be EXTRA excited this time around!! We had an
amazing discussion on how it strengthened our faith in Christ and helped us
through hard times. Anyways, I won’t go on forever about how much it’s blessed
my life, buuuuuuut if anyone wants to JOIN us in the challenge PLEASE DO
SO!! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Sorry, I just realized I’m
out of time, but I love you all!!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oeE_ZGLapaE/V9dK4eYqdwI/AAAAAAAA9p4/bJvlrTsWv74E8n0VMKT4ux8vdwGkaqRhwCLcB/s200/peach%2Bcobbler%2Brolls%2B1.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="200" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sister King and Sister Clegg<br />
Peach Cobbler Rolls</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8ERuU63UmLA/V9dK4lqajUI/AAAAAAAA9p8/FipFayDfuQUWHlYO16KNqqxU4f0tX73QgCLcB/s1600/peach%2Bcobbler%2Brolls%2B2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: 12pt; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8ERuU63UmLA/V9dK4lqajUI/AAAAAAAA9p8/FipFayDfuQUWHlYO16KNqqxU4f0tX73QgCLcB/s200/peach%2Bcobbler%2Brolls%2B2.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Peach Cobbler Rolls</span></td></tr>
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<b style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Peach Cobbler Rolls</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Take 1 cup white sugar, ½
cup brown sugar, 2 tsp vanilla, 2 Tbsp cinnamon, 1 stick butter, and juice from
a can of peaches and bring to boil. Put in some peach slices. Take 1-2 peach
slices and roll up in croissant, place in glass pan and pour the rest of liquid
in. Bake 350 for 20-25 minutes. “Soooo good!”
Make sure that all get equal amount of crust and peach and juice.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Chris Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08779010603129229385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834844257321348447.post-47184072387925248182016-09-05T19:47:00.001-04:002016-09-05T19:47:36.215-04:00September 5, 2016<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">I’m not
quite sure what to say about this week because it felt like 2 days... </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">It’s not as hot anymore,
thank goodness, they say you aren’t safe until October though... But mornings
have been cool and breezy and gorgeous! You know, when we're inside studying! Haha.
The smog’s getting better, still pretty
bad, but it strengthens my lungs, right?.......<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-u3O55rwIHw4/V84DMZRGDHI/AAAAAAAA9j4/UBWKfrnhQdgFLSQgmrFiha3SDzxSk2r_QCLcB/s1600/bakes%2Bgrandma%2B1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-u3O55rwIHw4/V84DMZRGDHI/AAAAAAAA9j4/UBWKfrnhQdgFLSQgmrFiha3SDzxSk2r_QCLcB/s200/bakes%2Bgrandma%2B1.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">We were able to teach H.,
this sassy awesome old southern grandma a ton, but sadly she moved to Oklahoma
on Saturday.... but once she's settled down she'll meet with missionaries
there, so hope is not yet lost!! She said she really wants to know if Joseph Smith
was a prophet and so we had some awesome discussions on the restoration and the
blessings that come from sincere prayer. At one point when she was telling us a
story she just stopped and started praying and crying and telling God
everything that was on her mind, and then she swooped back into the
conversation! It was kindda strange at first because I had no idea what was
going on but she just has that kind of relationship with Heavenly Father, she
LOVES talking to Him and telling Him everything, it was pretty inspiring
actually. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">We also had an open bag
of dog treats in our trunk and a stray dog followed us for over half a mile on
a busy street, so we learned a valuable lesson... AND, a DIFFERENT dog, this German
Shepard, got out of its fence and started booking it towards us with a look of
death in its eyes, but we said prayers in our hearts and it just turned and ran
in another direction. God loves us <3<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">We helped this part
member family move from our area to a new ward, but something went terribly
wrong in communication because they thought that we would be able to drive them
and their things to their new place and WE thought we would help them pack up
boxes. So we had to rush to find a member in the NEW ward they're moving to to
help them get their stuff and themselves to the new place. It turned out to be
a blessing in disguise because they were scared to switch wards and
missionaries, but they saw how willing the new members and elders were so it
helped them transition well! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">We're working with some
pretty cool people. We got E., a nice old hippie who is real chill. Its’ so much fun to teach him, and he read
the Book of Mormon a few months ago so he already knows what we talk about when
we get there. And there’s this 23 year old named V., she has a daughter and is going
through a divorce and got hired to be a kindergarten teacher 2 weeks into the
school year and was give 2 weeks to plan the curriculum for the rest of the
year... needless to say, she's a bit stressed, but it was amazing to see her
countenance literally change when we shared a scripture with her, it looked
like she actually had weight lifted off her shoulders. Sometimes I take the
gospel for granted since I can feel the Spirit and gain peace all the time, but
it was cool to see how even just 15 seconds given to study of the Book of Mormon
can make a HUGE difference!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">We got a call from a man
in Washington who found our number on the church website and wanted to learn
more about Christ. He has a Jewish background and says he doesn’t know anything
about Jesus or the bible. Throughout the week we've called him, answered
questions, given him scriptures and articles and helped him recognize the Spirit.
It almost doesn’t seem REAL. Literally, we'll ask if he read and he says
"oh I read all of it, a few times, I just feel peace when I learn about Christ,
you know?" "Yeah, do you want us to send you more?" "Would
you do that please?! Thank you so much!" It’s like that every. Time. We. Talk.
To. Him. He asked us what he can do to be happier, to have his questions
answered, to talk to God, go feel peace, and he does everything we tell him to
and LOVES it! Someone who asks everything this church can answer! It’s the
coolest thing ever, he'll be moving to Bakersfield in a week and the odds of his
coming to our area is slim but it’s been humbling to be able to teach him about
the foundation of Christianity and a happy life. Pray for A.!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mOKjiwTW92g/V84DkxwML1I/AAAAAAAA9j8/2xdB0OZW1OI2LN4y6kOVjuQZM1GWypRyACLcB/s1600/liebelt%2Bvisit%2B2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mOKjiwTW92g/V84DkxwML1I/AAAAAAAA9j8/2xdB0OZW1OI2LN4y6kOVjuQZM1GWypRyACLcB/s200/liebelt%2Bvisit%2B2.JPG" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sister Liebelt, who was<br />Sister King's trainer<br />Bakersfield, CA, September 2016</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Sister Liebelt, my trainer, who finished her mission a few months ago, came to visit this week, and we wore basically the same outfit!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">So my favorite line from
<b><a href="https://www.lds.org/manual/preach-my-gospel-a-guide-to-missionary-service/lesson-2-the-plan-of-salvation?lang=eng">Preach
My Gospel</a></b> has always been "all that is unfair about life can be
made right through the atonement of Jesus Christ." It’s in the section on
the atonement in the chapter about the plan of salvation and how it is through Christ
that we can return to God and find happiness NOW. But it kindda hit home when I
read part of <b><a href="https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2016/04/that-i-might-draw-all-men-unto-me?lang=eng">Elder
Renlund’s talk</a></b> from this last general conference. He said, “I can
emphatically state that because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, ultimately,
in the eternal scheme of things, there will be no unfairness. ‘All that is
unfair about life can be made right’ [Preach My Gospel, 52]. Our present
circumstances may not change, but through God’s compassion, kindness, and love,
we will all receive more than we deserve, more than we can ever earn, and more
than we can ever hope for. We are promised that ‘God shall wipe away all tears
from [our] eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying,
neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away’
[Revelation 21:4].” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Sometimes, either on my
mission or in life, I feel like I've been denied something. An experience, and
object, a relationship with another, guidance or relief from a trial. I've
learned recently that often times, God won’t give us EVERYTHING we need or
EVERYTHING we ask for, after all, we're here to grow and learn and become
better and that can’t happen without opposition! But this line really helps me
to see WHY we have the hard times and WHY we have a savior. He does so much
more for us than we could ever do for Him. Even "giving up" a year
and a half isn’t a sacrifice because I gain more than I give. I've seen Christ
change lives, mostly my own, and I can’t deny him. I am grateful for a loving Savior
that supports me even when I don’t deserve it, who accepts me even when I’ve
denied Him, who gives me a second chance even when I don’t deserve it. The
beauty of the gospel is the fact that it’s never too late, ALL that is unfair,
unhealed, unnoticed, unaccounted for, WILL be made up and perfected in the long
run. I can’t imagine life without my Savior, without this gospel, without my
family and without my mission. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Chris Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08779010603129229385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834844257321348447.post-43249044406248385202016-08-29T15:53:00.001-04:002016-08-30T20:41:41.074-04:00August 29, 2016<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">MIRACLES
MIRACLES MIRACLES! God is so good to us :D</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">First of all, I got to
see Meet the Mormons again on Monday and it was Clegg’s first time watching it
and she LOOOVED IIIIIT and it reminded me of how completely awesome this church
is. It’s on Netflix if anyone wants to watch ;) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">So we had zone
conference this week and it was so cool!! I won’t go into details but it’s safe
to say that heavenly father definitely speaks through others to help us receive
answers to our prayers. I just love being a missionary :D and later that day I
met someone from my FIRST AREA IN BISHOP CA!! She has down syndrome and was in
the ward up there at the start of my mission but moved shortly after down to Bakersfield
for a better living situation and it turns out she moved about a block from
where I’m living now and is in the ward :D Tender mercies, being a Mormon makes
the world so dang small.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">We were just chillin’
and living life when we get a call from someone in Sacramento. She said that
she had given a Book of Mormon with her testimony in it to her friend right
before he moved to Bakersfield and he wanted to learn more about it from the
missionaries! So, of course, we are ALL over that! We taught him the
restoration and plan of salvation this week and he is so excited :D and I love
telling people about Joseph Smith and how he received answers to his prayer
because pretty much every time without fail their eyes just light up. He said
having a prophet and God’s church on the earth again would be "life
changing." But, right after we taught him, he got a fridge off of
craigslist that was full of bugs so we haven’t had a chance to meet with him
again.... but he’s still reading so he’s a trooper!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">We taught this cute old
grandma who grew up on an Indian reservation in OK and she's just about the
coolest person in the WORLD! She’s had a crazy life and I’ll save those stories
for another day, but back in her youth he was trying to quit drugs but her
dealer was awful and was keeping her and some others on lock down so she tried
to BLOW HIM UP and was only in jail for 11 months!! Ha ha she's so funny, she's
repented don’t worry ;) She has super cool faith and is like a crazy note
taker, we were teaching the restoration and she was writing down all the
scriptures we were sharing ha ha. We're also teaching her grandson, who has a
tendency to go AWOL, so his mom is still looking for him... They haven’t seen
him since we taught him..... Awkward.....<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">BUT, the highlight was
EXCHANGES!! So my Sister Training Leaders right now are Sisters Wheeler and Olsen
and I had the privilege of training BOTH of them so ALL MY POSTERITY WAS
TOGETHER FOR THIS EXCHANGE and it was almost too fun. They are both such
incredible missionaries and I always learn so much just being in the same room
with them and I’m so happy that I got to go out with them again before my
mission ends. We met some awesome people, but it was in their area, so I’ll be
getting updates later on how their doing, ha ha.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mooNLVqZMmM/V8SQfRXlvII/AAAAAAAA9eo/jf_tqmAa-u8-RKTlvzLKRK345sVtuqqxgCLcB/s1600/IMG_0687.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mooNLVqZMmM/V8SQfRXlvII/AAAAAAAA9eo/jf_tqmAa-u8-RKTlvzLKRK345sVtuqqxgCLcB/s320/IMG_0687.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Sister King with her three "children," the missionaries that she trained:<br />Sister Clegg, Sister Olsen, and Sister Wheeler.<br />Bakersfield, CA August 2016</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">We taught this great
kid, he was so cool, we went over on Sunday and he said his biggest regret was
not coming to church that day, he didn’t have a ride and didn’t realize he
could ask us to find him one. He’s like dragging his friend along to learn
more, it’s pretty funny. We made him give us his number so we can send his
friend scriptures and get him to church. Friends are the best.... <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">A member of the ward here is a </span>descendant<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> of George Sutherland, who in 1900 ran for Utah’s sole congressional seat and defeated William Henry King, my great grandfather, to serve in the House of Representatives. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eQFxrZZReXE/V8SQflsgqKI/AAAAAAAA9eg/9g3b3OECMPwFwsYv4x5dBhn6CuO3xJS8QCLcB/s1600/IMG_0691.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eQFxrZZReXE/V8SQflsgqKI/AAAAAAAA9eg/9g3b3OECMPwFwsYv4x5dBhn6CuO3xJS8QCLcB/s320/IMG_0691.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Sister King finding a document that mentions her<br />great grandfather, William Henry King<br />Bakersfield, CA, August 2016</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Anyways, life is grand,
this week was so fun, and continued prayers for guidance are appreciated!!! I love
you all and want to quickly share one of my fav scriptures before I sign off.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Its kindda long, but its
Paul talking in <b><a href="https://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/2-cor/12.5-10?lang=eng">2 Corinthians
12</a></b> and he’s talking about his weakness, about how on his own he can’t
do much but with God he can do all things. It reads:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">5 Of such an one will I
glory: yet of myself I will not glory, but in mine infirmities.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">6 For though I would
desire to glory, I shall not be a fool; for I will say the truth: but now I
forbear, lest any man should think of me above that which he seeth me to be, or
that he heareth of me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">7 And lest I should be
exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given
to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should
be exalted above measure.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">8 For this thing I
besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">9 And he said unto me,
My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.
Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of
Christ may rest upon me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">10 Therefore I take
pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in
distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Everyday everything I CAN’T do is just thrown in my face,
but that’s not what God wants us to focus on. In </span><b style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/ether/12?lang=eng">Ether
12</a></b><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> He says He gives men weakness that they may be HUMBLE and RELY on
him. Our best will never be enough, but His best IS, and when we have weakness
and rely on his power instead of our own, His best is what’s used. Weak things
will be made strong in Him because His grace is sufficient for us to get the
power and guidance we need. Although sin separates us from God, the weakness
that comes from mortality can guide us TO Him and help us be better. I know
that THAT’S why with God, ALL things are possible, even eternal salvation. I
love it here, I love life, and I’ll talk to you all soon!!</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vKYvZzTrdEI/V8SQft-ty-I/AAAAAAAA9ek/i1dGZfkT_zExAguunovEi1V-OCl5gjoWwCLcB/s1600/IMG_0701.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vKYvZzTrdEI/V8SQft-ty-I/AAAAAAAA9ek/i1dGZfkT_zExAguunovEi1V-OCl5gjoWwCLcB/s320/IMG_0701.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Preparation Day Activity:<br />Digging for Shark Teeth, in the<br />deserts of Bakersfield, CA</span></td></tr>
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Chris Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08779010603129229385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834844257321348447.post-45886239037714867922016-08-22T19:38:00.001-04:002016-08-22T19:38:15.012-04:00August 22, 2016<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">OKAY, last week was a
bit dull and God thought "Nay, not 2 weeks in a row!" So this week
was insane.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">We were out for 20 minutes
and we decided to go to this sweet old member’s house. We're driving down the
street when all of a sudden we see a guy on a bike get HIT BY A CAR! And this
isn’t like the last time we saw someone get hit by a car (note that it has
happened twice since we've been in the area) where they got up and were fine. This
guy bashed his head into the window, then the ground, and broke ribs, and was
choking on his own blood, it was pretty horrific.... The driver was helping him
and we started talking to her 7 year old daughter trying to distract her and
steer her attention away from all the blood, and she's a lil’ cutie. We get the
number of the driver so she can let us know if she needs anything (it wasn't
either parties fault, the police said, just a freak accident), and she texts us
a few days later. The man is okay and is now home from the hospital and she
said she wants to learn more about the gospel! Soooo yeah. That’s that.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Right after the accident
we were sad, so the friendly neighborhood stray cats came around to cheer us
up. And we also got out of the car later to tract and 7 PUPPIES CAME UP AND
SWARMED US! And we talked to the owner, who has talked to missionaries before,
who would like us to come back (not for the puppies, but for Jesus). So, God loves us essentially.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fDFtQrkWwV4/V7t9kYwtpKI/AAAAAAAA9TQ/HKN7CISFMGcjamrDSIteBbg_iNhnMUppACLcB/s1600/IMG_0678.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fDFtQrkWwV4/V7t9kYwtpKI/AAAAAAAA9TQ/HKN7CISFMGcjamrDSIteBbg_iNhnMUppACLcB/s200/IMG_0678.JPG" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px; text-align: start;">So this puppy kept getting out of someone's back yard and we put him </span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px; text-align: start;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 13.3333px;">back in the fence twice. H</span><span style="font-size: 13.3333px; text-align: center;">e was following us when we were </span></div>
</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px;">knocking doors and posed for the pic.....<br />Sister King, Sister Clegg, Bakersfield, CA, August 2016<br /></span><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gOt4-E2Fvig/V7t9j-F1P7I/AAAAAAAA9TE/rstFmbcR7KgB7oOU-OJRPxI-_NyWB7f5gCLcB/s1600/IMG_0673.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gOt4-E2Fvig/V7t9j-F1P7I/AAAAAAAA9TE/rstFmbcR7KgB7oOU-OJRPxI-_NyWB7f5gCLcB/s320/IMG_0673.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px; text-align: start;">There are some stay cats living in out apartment complex so we <br />made them a little house outside our apt and give them water and <br />occasionally some food. Mama and baby named Gizbo <br />(looks like Gizmo) and Gary (after Spongebob). The mom hisses at us <br />whenever we get close, but the baby is starting to like us more!!<br /></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">We were able to meet a
lot of really cool people and families who want to change their life around
(but who doesn’t, amirite?). This one girl was SOOO nice and told us to come
back and texted us to make sure we were still coming and then RIGHT BEFORE the
lesson she gets into a car crash.... She’s fine but the car got totaled and she
couldn’t meet with us. Like, gosh DANG IT, SATAN, get OUTTA OUR LIVES! So we're
pretty bummed, then we look at our phone and see we got a Headquarter Referral
(Someone goes online and requests missionaries go over). Usually we get it and
it’s for someone else’s area, or the number and address is wrong, but this time
none of that applied!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">We go to see her, a
woman her BF who requested a free Bible, and she ACTUALLY PICKS UP! So we go
over to see her but gosh dang it, the address didn’t exist. We call her up and
she said she lives above a BAR! Haha they hate it there, they’re moving to Arkansas
pretty soon, but we taught them the restoration and they just ate it all up :D<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">We also got to meet with
someone we ran into about a month ago. He's super busy so we've been sending
him "Godly texts" as he would put it, like a scripture or so a week,
and we taught him and his GF as well! It turns out her brother is a Mormon so
she already knows a ton about the church :D <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">AND, we met a guy
SWEEPING GARBAGE!! I didn’t even realize that was a thing, but when one is in
the hood and litter is out the wazoo, you gotta do what you gotta do. He's read
the Book of Mormon before but just out of curiosity, not to actually seek
guidance and truth. We challenged him to read just a few chapters but to do it
with a sincere heart and real intent so he can come to know that this church is
true, and he said that he knows it'll help him. It was kindda cute, we'd say
"when you read the Book of Mormon" and he goes "again!"
with a little smile. He's like 70 and his wife is 98! Bomb and still kicking!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-x_61pcnm-bQ/V7t9j9w_J1I/AAAAAAAA9TI/GOI3YiUBs0kCeN702YFcPqKfT7-Gd5-HQCLcB/s1600/IMG_0634.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-x_61pcnm-bQ/V7t9j9w_J1I/AAAAAAAA9TI/GOI3YiUBs0kCeN702YFcPqKfT7-Gd5-HQCLcB/s200/IMG_0634.JPG" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A "Glorious Church" in a run down building, but its for <br />REALZ!! We walked by on a Sunday and the broken doors <br />were open and people were singing praises to <br />Jesus! Hhhaallelujah!<br /></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">I've been listening to<b> <a href="https://www.lds.org/music/text/other/come-thou-fount-of-every-blessing?lang=eng">"Come
Thou Fount of Every Blessing"</a></b> on repeat this last week. It's
always been one of my favorites, but the last line has been standing out to me
a lot. It says: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">"</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">O to grace how great a debtor daily I'm
constrained to be!</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Let thy goodness like
a fetter, bind my wandering heart to thee</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Prone to wander Lord I
feel it, prone to leave the God I love</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Here's my heart, O
take and seal it, seal it for thy courts above"</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">It’s been hitting home for me because the more I serve the Lord, the more I
realize how badly I need him in my life, how badly he wants to help me and
guide me and how badly I fail every day. But God is always right there picking
me up and helping me to continue to move forward. I can never repay Christ
for his sacrifice, but I CAN do my best to bind myself to them, to let His
grace influence all my decisions and all aspects of my life. He is there to
bring joy, and THIS is true joy. I love this gospel, I love being a missionary,
and I've decided I’m never coming home :D</span></div>
<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Have a great
week. I LOVE YOU!</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br /><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_eT10gPqWHc/V7t9i-RI0tI/AAAAAAAA9S8/vSU7xPlMYiMqQcCX_5M_Zt96pYwVvcgMwCLcB/s1600/IMG_0624.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_eT10gPqWHc/V7t9i-RI0tI/AAAAAAAA9S8/vSU7xPlMYiMqQcCX_5M_Zt96pYwVvcgMwCLcB/s200/IMG_0624.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Met an American League Umpire just as he returned from umping a<br />Yankees series. This is an old signed ball from the Nats.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-93F5gZC2iDY/V7t9iry6_HI/AAAAAAAA9S4/LJsSqfRPdVMv735Iu8aoW6cvhEDB2NFsQCLcB/s1600/IMG_0625.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-93F5gZC2iDY/V7t9iry6_HI/AAAAAAAA9S4/LJsSqfRPdVMv735Iu8aoW6cvhEDB2NFsQCLcB/s200/IMG_0625.JPG" width="200" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">The umpire has a Baseball Hall of Fame ring.</span></span></td><td class="tr-caption"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ej46Dv6Y1oE/V7t9iaCnjwI/AAAAAAAA9S0/JaVSHZrFw2QgZa4dicm8XYpKG1pP6rhDgCLcB/s1600/IMG_0628.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ej46Dv6Y1oE/V7t9iaCnjwI/AAAAAAAA9S0/JaVSHZrFw2QgZa4dicm8XYpKG1pP6rhDgCLcB/s200/IMG_0628.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pickled Cows Tongues,<br />Bakersfield, CA<br />August 2016</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Typical August day in Bakersfield.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gEmNSYfErw8/V7t9k_d9GrI/AAAAAAAA9TU/I4_i_07ZSRoKcYidmNCybw1xA-UloYHnwCLcB/s1600/IMG_2783.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gEmNSYfErw8/V7t9k_d9GrI/AAAAAAAA9TU/I4_i_07ZSRoKcYidmNCybw1xA-UloYHnwCLcB/s200/IMG_2783.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sister King, Sister Clegg, and the cutest boy in the ward.<br />August, 2016, Bakersfield, CA</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--tD4jzeUIHs/V7uBlFc-6AI/AAAAAAAA9Ts/UIGircF9rp8ke2kS8IhukwZvcR1WE37hQCLcB/s1600/IMG_0680.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--tD4jzeUIHs/V7uBlFc-6AI/AAAAAAAA9Ts/UIGircF9rp8ke2kS8IhukwZvcR1WE37hQCLcB/s200/IMG_0680.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Smog / Haze from the San Bernadino Wildfires.<br />Bakersfield, CA, August 2016</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SBD4_82skGo/V7uEEIC_iLI/AAAAAAAA9T4/JvBDnOqSCiATPczDF4snoN2CSRqUvDGKACLcB/s1600/Bryan%2Band%2BWarren1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SBD4_82skGo/V7uEEIC_iLI/AAAAAAAA9T4/JvBDnOqSCiATPczDF4snoN2CSRqUvDGKACLcB/s200/Bryan%2Band%2BWarren1.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sister Kelly Bryan, Allie's former missionary companion,<br />and Pam Warren, a former member of Gaithersburg Ward<br />who last saw Allie when she was a baby</span>.</td></tr>
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Chris Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08779010603129229385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834844257321348447.post-75430074945238972812016-08-15T20:27:00.001-04:002016-08-16T13:31:06.230-04:00August 15, 2016<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background: white;">Okay,
this week wasn’t the MOST eventful, BUT, since this is the Lord's work there
are always miracles!!</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We had this woman come
up to us and ask us to teach her about church. So when we were doing
that, a less active member we were working with came up to join us, and then a
homeless woman we had talked to a week before did as well, so it was like a
little party! Seeds were planted and SOMEDAY she may accept the gospel :D <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We visited a lot of Less
Active members this week, and one of them recently got baptized in the 2nd ward
and she moved in with her sister. We were talking to her when her sister, who we've
been trying to visit for weeks, comes </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">up
and started asking questions, and it turns out their dad was a member! We then
get a call from a less active member who just got out of jail but wanted to go
to church because he wants to change his life again! So we gave him the numbers
of the local church leaders and he ACTUALLY CAME! EVERYONE should come to
church, and he was so happy and loved it so much. If only everyone realized
that GOING TO CHURCH BRINGS BLESSINGS!! Where's my soapbox? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We were able to see S. again,
he is an investigator from a month ago who's trying so hard to quit smoking and
get to church, but life got crazy. We taught him the restoration again and the
spirit was so strong and it was such a cool testimony to me to know that this
gospel isn’t complicated, as we focus on Christ and the truths that bring us
closer to him, we'll have the strength that we need to push through. He said
that he's SEEN a difference in his battle to overcome his addiction since he
stopped studying the scriptures and going to church. I'm so grateful that God
has given us these resources to strengthen our faith and help us be happy. I
know that as we do what God asks, He'll bless us with exactly what we need.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We taught the grandpa of
a family who were all former investigators, he's great! It was one of the few
times we made someone an investigator actually sitting IN their home instead of
talking to them standing up on the doorstep. It was a really cool lesson, and Sister
Clegg and I have been setting goals to improve our teaching skills and
everything we had been working on came out in the lesson. Our ability to teach
clearly and simply has improved; I stopped rambling as much; we both spoke
normally instead of having quiet, and we just felt so good afterwards. It's
awesome to see how God helps us become better missionaries and better people; I
know it wouldn’t be possible without him<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The talks in church were
amazing. One was on Elder Hollands talk <b><a href="https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2013/04/lord-i-believe?lang=eng">"Lord
I Believe,"</a></b> talking about the scripture in <b><a href="https://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/mark/9.23,24?lang=eng#22">Mark
9:23-24</a></b>, when a man takes his son to Christ to be healed. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">23 Jesus said unto him,
If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">24 And straightway the
father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou
mine unbelief.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It made me think of the
scripture in <b><a href="https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/alma/32.27?lang=eng#26">Alma 32:27</a></b>,
talking about if we just have a DESIRE to believe, let that desire work in us
until it becomes a knowledge. God KNOWS that we won’t have perfect faith, that
we'll have doubts and trials, but He promised us that if we just focus on that
desire to come closer to him, He'll make up the difference. He'll give us the
strength we need until we can get through our problems easier. He'll give us
the knowledge we need right when we need it. He gave the dad a miracle, even
though he just had that desire to believe. I've seen in my life and on my
mission that, even when my faith isn’t all the way there, God IS. And He'll
lift us up until we can stand on our own. I know that this church is true, that
Christ came to this earth to make it possible for our eternal happiness, and I
KNOW that the most joy that can come to us in this life comes through him. I
love the chance I have to represent him and help others come closer to Christ,
and I can’t believe I've been out over 13 MONTHS! Life is wild and crazy, I
love it and all of you!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wzhUUqSHyXE/V7JdODnBf2I/AAAAAAAA9Nk/Gry50IIGjrg7Cqh0biySoSH4vlyX2mhWwCLcB/s1600/Estrella%2BThe%2BCat.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wzhUUqSHyXE/V7JdODnBf2I/AAAAAAAA9Nk/Gry50IIGjrg7Cqh0biySoSH4vlyX2mhWwCLcB/s320/Estrella%2BThe%2BCat.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Estrella The Cat, Sister King, and Sister Clegg<br />Bakersfield, CA August 2016</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yMWjoDgb-IQ/V7JdOCciM_I/AAAAAAAA9No/QYVJqWoAxm4oa3TTKM_u5XCKdE74I2liACLcB/s1600/South%2BBakes%2BPrank%2B1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yMWjoDgb-IQ/V7JdOCciM_I/AAAAAAAA9No/QYVJqWoAxm4oa3TTKM_u5XCKdE74I2liACLcB/s320/South%2BBakes%2BPrank%2B1.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 18.4px;">So we had to go back to South Bakes to get some coolant for the car and<br />I got to go to my OLD APARTMENT to drop off some keys I accidentally stole,<br />so this is us THERE! I let myself in and left notes all over the place<br />for the Sisters, apparently it freaked them out. Mission accomplished</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small; text-align: start;">.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="background: white; line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></o:p></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wd5AwlxNxUE/V7NNp7vIc6I/AAAAAAAA9N8/c9eUxw8UoTgsrdIll9zPevRWtvYY2vcsgCLcB/s1600/IMG_0647.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wd5AwlxNxUE/V7NNp7vIc6I/AAAAAAAA9N8/c9eUxw8UoTgsrdIll9zPevRWtvYY2vcsgCLcB/s320/IMG_0647.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Zone, East Bakersfield, CA<br />August 2016</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Chris Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08779010603129229385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834844257321348447.post-26301743927281658072016-08-08T17:36:00.000-04:002016-08-08T17:41:45.259-04:00August 8, 2016<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">This
week flew by, my mind is still in a fog, BUT, transfer calls came in and.....
WE'RE BOTH STAYING!!! I finally get to finish training a trainee :D and my
first 2 trainees are now companions AND my Sister Training leaders! AND one of my old companions is training a new
missionary in my district! So, essentially, my whole mission is just coming
together this transfer, what a time to be alive!!</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">All I have time for is a
quick sum up of the week. FIRST, M., probably the most enthusiastic person on
the PLANET!, we finally got to meet with her again and teach her son and they
both just ate up the restoration. When we shared </span><a href="https://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/8?lang=eng"><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Amos 8</span></b></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> and talked about how God’s full church was lost
for a while and there was an apostasy, she SCREAMED, like she got punched, and
started going "NO, that’s AWFUL, oh NO!! Say it isn’t so!" It felt
like something you’d see in an old Mormon movie, but she was serious. So,
thankfully, the next thing we taught her was about Joseph Smith and how he
restored that church again, and she says "WOW, God is so great he let the
earth repent and restored a prophet, He's so good at forgiving!" I never
even thought of it like that before, she just blew my mind. And made me feel
like a calm and laid back individual.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Later that week we stopped
by again with a 15 year old young woman from the ward. We walked around the
area, met 2 less active members who wanted to go to church again, and talked to
another one of our investigators, before we stopped by. The lesson with them
was great, then we visited another less active family who said they’d come to
church on Sunday. We dropped the young woman off and are thinking "wow,
what a productive evening, God is so good, I’m so glad she got to experience
that!" THEN, on Sunday, she gets up and bears her testimony on how she
went out with the missionaries. We're thinking "yes, she loves missionary
work and the gospel!" and the first thing she says is "I didn’t want
to go, but my mom made me, but I’m glad she did!" HA, I felt kindda bad
about dragging her out but the WORK OF THE LORD MUST GO ON!! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">We also got to teach the
youth all about missions and what they’re like, and all the young women got super pumped
to go on them someday, it was just a youth filled week. It made me kindda
homesick but SUPER GRATEFUL that this church has such a good youth program. It
really helped me when I was growing up, and I know I wouldn’t be where I am
today without it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Anywho, our district
made it an action plan to go talk to people at the park, and whenever I’ve done
that before I’ve had little to no success. But, we did it anyway, since we
committed to it, and I was humbled quite fast. We met a senior named T. who
starting tearing up when we told him about the Book of Mormon and how it'll
help him have the relationship with Jesus Christ that he's been looking for. Just
goes to show that God knows better than I do<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">We had Zone Training
Meeting and it was just lovely. The President asked us to start having a pen
and paper with us when we pray, so we can write down our impressions, forcing
us to have a 2 way communication with God instead of just us talking at Him
then going to bed. And oh man, it CHANGED MY LIFE!! I invite all of you to try
it, I received some of the best revelation of my life by doing that this week. And
what I learned from Heavenly Father is reflected perfectly in a talk from the
ensign this month!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">It’s by Elder Bednar and
it’s called </span><a href="https://www.lds.org/liahona/2016/08/accepting-the-lords-will-and-timing?lang=eng"><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Accepting the
Lord’s Will and Timing,”</span></b></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> talking about how we go through trials to prove to Heavenly Father
that we "won't shrink" when times get hard. In </span><a href="https://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/luke/22.42?lang=eng#41"><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Luke 22:42</span></b></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> it talks about Christ suffering for the sins of
the world, and he says "Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from
me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done." Prayer is not a way to
change GOD's will, but a way to change OUR will to align with Heavenly Father's.
Elder Bednar talked about how various people were going through trials that
they felt they couldn’t handle, and asked God to heal them. The question that
was posed to them, and is posed to all of us, is "do you have the faith to
NOT be healed?" It got me thinking, do I have the faith to not be healed? Do
I have the faith to be okay with God putting me through hard times as a way to
grow and get better? Can I have the faith to believe He CAN remove the bitter
cup from me, but also the faith to accept that sometimes I need to drink from
it so I can learn? Just as Christ always submitted to the will of the Father,
we must also be willing to endure all the heartaches that life has in store for
us. But, unlike Christ, WE don’t have to go through them alone.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">My mission has
definitely turned out differently than I expected. And my life in general has
taken similar unexpected turns and ups and downs. I was reflecting on what Elder
Bednar said and realized that all that I have been through is exactly what God
needed me to experience. He never left me, He's there to support and comfort
me, but as I rely on Him as a way to get THROUGH the hard times instead of a
way to ESCAPE them, we give ourselves a chance to be better<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Chris Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08779010603129229385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834844257321348447.post-20775478329853131852016-08-01T18:33:00.001-04:002016-08-02T11:59:23.293-04:00August 1, 2016<div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">AY, I got NO TIME and this week was SO
WEIRD! </span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">"Let me 'splain. no, let me sum up," is that the quote
from Princess Bride? Mission fog has clouded my memory...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">This week is summed up in one sentence: we found out on Wednesday
that the investigator that was supposed to be baptized on Saturday was already
a member. I won’t go into all the details of how we found out, but it suffices
me to say that it was probably the funniest thing to happen to me my whole
mission, but her sons now want to take the lessons, so we'll be teaching them
this week!! God works in mysterious ways!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">We also went to a <b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basque_cuisine" rel="nofollow">Basque restaurant</a></b>
and had <b><a href="http://hungryriders.com/wool-growers-basque-pickled-tongue" target="_blank">pickled cow tongue</a></b> (in honor of my father and his mission to Southern France). We also
stuffed our face with ice cream and had a ward activity. So those were our food
adventures!!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">We found a young man this week who wants to know the truth and
loves to read the Book of Mormon, when we went to teach him his mom said she
wanted to listen in next time but was busy at that moment. So we were teaching
him about the Restoration and about every 10 minutes she'd bring something in
for us to eat since she doesn’t want people to leave her house hungry. He was
super cool, he said that he's never met anyone like us or the members we
brought and got excited when we explained to him how it’s the restored gospel
that helps us to be happy! He's one of the most sincere people I've ever met,
we're excited to work with him!!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">It was really hot and miserable this week..... 110 and the sun is
so intense I feel like my skin is melting....</span><span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> but for
some reason the heat isn’t bothering me as much as it seems like it would</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">. It was what we call a "seed planting"
week, not a "harvest," but alas, this next week shall be better!! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-liDZIm5W8Tc/V5_NREun8JI/AAAAAAAA9FU/4_lXUKE2eEE4ONngUz-IRql1jk6uLX36gCLcB/s1600/screencapture-www-google-com-maps-place-niles-and-mt-vernon-bakersfield-35-3763585-118-9673935-3a-90y-74-16h-92-92t-data-3m6-1e1-3m4-1sm9SBsZ6Q4L_Z_znmuIcpKA-2e0-7i13312-8i6656-4m2-3m1-1s0x0-0x2b4ed434937cf0a1-6m1-1e1-1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="153" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-liDZIm5W8Tc/V5_NREun8JI/AAAAAAAA9FU/4_lXUKE2eEE4ONngUz-IRql1jk6uLX36gCLcB/s320/screencapture-www-google-com-maps-place-niles-and-mt-vernon-bakersfield-35-3763585-118-9673935-3a-90y-74-16h-92-92t-data-3m6-1e1-3m4-1sm9SBsZ6Q4L_Z_znmuIcpKA-2e0-7i13312-8i6656-4m2-3m1-1s0x0-0x2b4ed434937cf0a1-6m1-1e1-1.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Service Station at Niles and Mt. Vernon</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The gauge
on our car is off, it told us the wrong tires were low on air and we were
filling up some of them too much and it was so stressful. The Zone Leaders had
to drop something off at our place and we said we wouldn’t be home for a bit
because our tires were acting up. They called us and were all "what
station are you at?" "Elders, don’t worry about it we're fine."
"Is it the one by your apartment?" "No its on Niles, but I think
we're fine." "Niles and Mt. Vernon?" "Yeah but we should be
good!" "Okay sisters, we're on our way!" Hahahaha That’s the
second time in the last 2 weeks that the Elders got all proud at being able to
fix out tires. Anyways, I need to learn more about cars from daddy when I get
back.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">I DID really like church on Sunday. The young women had girls camp
this last week and so they talked about their experience there. The theme was
holding on to the iron rod, meaning staying close to God even through dark
times when we're not sure where it's leading us. One of the leaders talked
about how they went on a 2 day hike. The first day was the easier day, but all
the girls were sad and complaining and were having a hard time. The second day
was worse, and she was expecting all the girls to be more upset, but for
some reason they were cheerful and didn’t say a negative thing the whole time. She
realized that it’s because they knew that they were going back to camp, back
"home," while the day before they were just wandering. She related
that to the gospel and how life becomes easier when we focus on how it’s a path
that takes us home. Home to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, home to our
families and those we love the most. If we don't have that goal in mind, then
life is just wandering and we won't find that joy. I've really seen that
perspective change my life, and the story made me miss camping and home!! I’m so
grateful that I got to be raised in this amazing church with amazing people and
most of all, with a knowledge of my amazing Savior.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">GOD SPEED, THIS WEEK WILL ONLY BE 100<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">I LOVE YOU<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Chris Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08779010603129229385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834844257321348447.post-87033483838808456162016-07-25T20:30:00.001-04:002016-07-25T20:30:09.058-04:00<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">So the weather this last week wasn’t that hot, but THIS COMING ONE WILL BE DREADFUL!! I’m a lot better than I thought I’d be!! Still not all the way there though :p but I only have a month left of this desert summer heat, I can’t believe I’ve been here 2 SUMMERS, TIME IS SO FAST ITS NOT FAIR!! (10 day forecast for Bakersfield: 104, 107, 109, 109, 111, 110, 108, 100, 102, 103).</span></div>
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<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">My car troubles NEVER CEASE!! Weeeee got a flat :') on Monday :'') to start off the week :''') BUT, it’s been fixed, and all is well in Zion again. I knew this transfer was going on too smoothly</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GY7EGZiHZ0M/V5atgCqnsCI/AAAAAAAA9Bk/9TjUmSkiyvMQz5iK6rBc0-02nVScGqRSgCLcB/s1600/king%2Bwheeler%2Bclegg%2B4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GY7EGZiHZ0M/V5atgCqnsCI/AAAAAAAA9Bk/9TjUmSkiyvMQz5iK6rBc0-02nVScGqRSgCLcB/s200/king%2Bwheeler%2Bclegg%2B4.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sister King still<br />loves Cats!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">This week was crazy! We finished teaching A. all the commandments, she's still set to be baptized on Saturday, so extra prayers for her! She always bears the most amazing testimony. On Saturday we were talking about baptism and the importance of it and how she can come closer to Christ. She started talking about how this gospel has helped her to be a better person, how she's happier and nicer and more patient and doesn’t want to do the bad things she's done before. And even though reading is hard for her, she still reads the Book of Mormon every day because of the "peace" it gives her. She put into words perfectly how the Holy Ghost helps us in our lives in a way that I haven’t been able to. And we spent a solid 5 minutes talking about how she doesn’t need to swim to be baptized and how she won’t drown ha ha, goooood times.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BUJVmyDbZ_Q/V5atf7VTs8I/AAAAAAAA9Bg/oewZRk1PHbcxYPL1VFkokOD5d8XN9QobwCLcB/s1600/king%2Bwheeler%2Bclegg%2B3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BUJVmyDbZ_Q/V5atf7VTs8I/AAAAAAAA9Bg/oewZRk1PHbcxYPL1VFkokOD5d8XN9QobwCLcB/s200/king%2Bwheeler%2Bclegg%2B3.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sister King still<br />loves cats!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">We met this family who said that they knew Mormons but weren’t really interested in our message. We gave them a pamphlet and just briefly described the message of the restoration, how God always worked through prophets who held His authority, but when Christ and his apostles were rejected, it was lost for a time but has been brought back so that we can have extra guidance and more truths to bring us to Christ. He looks at us and goes "Really? I’ve never heard it put like that before... that makes sense! You CAN come back!" Whoa. It was the coolest testimony builder of simplicity in teaching. God made everything about this gospel SIMPLE FOR A REASON!! When we over-complicate things, dwell on ideas that don’t build our faith but confuse us, don’t do the "primary things" like going to church and reading the scriptures and saying our prayers, we WILL not feel the spirit abundantly in our life. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">I've been thinking of the <b><a href="https://www.lds.org/search?q=numbers+21%3a8-9&lang=eng&domains=scriptures" target="_blank">story in the Old Testament,</a></b> when the people simply had to look at a staff with a snake on it to be healed from their wounds and many STILL COULDN’T DO IT! How often do we do that today? Skipping scripture study or a prayer or sleeping instead of serving and learning. All easy things that don’t seem like they’ll be missed but they make the BIGGEST difference .</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ivd9r0iNKw8/V5atgk2Su8I/AAAAAAAA9Bs/1Wm8qsqNI101808vkmIAQ0LzDJFzv8pGACLcB/s1600/king%2Bwheeler%2Bclegg%2B5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ivd9r0iNKw8/V5atgk2Su8I/AAAAAAAA9Bs/1Wm8qsqNI101808vkmIAQ0LzDJFzv8pGACLcB/s200/king%2Bwheeler%2Bclegg%2B5.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sister King still<br />loves cats!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Recently I’ve been getting a bit frustrated when people aren’t keeping their commitments. Like, how hard is it to dedicate 10 minutes a day to the Lord to read more about him? Or to carve out 30 minutes to learn more about His plan for us? And an hour for sacrament meeting? In <a href="https://www.lds.org/search?domains=scriptures&lang=eng&query=Alma+37%3A44-46" target="_blank"><b>Alma 37:44-46</b></a> it talks about how the words of Christ will point us to the straight path to eternal bliss, and if we follow it we'll be blessed. Simple? Check! Easy? Not so much. It’s like when<b><a href="https://www.lds.org/ensign/2015/11/saturday-morning-session/it-works-wonderfully?lang=eng" target="_blank"> President Uchtdorf said </a></b>if you tell a man there are 300 billion stars in the universe and he’ll believe you, but if you tell him a bench has wet paint on it and he’ll have to touch it to be sure. The easier a task, the harder it is to believe it will benefit us. That’s where faith comes in! Faith to give it a try, to DO the simple things and SEE how it’ll change our lives! How it’ll bring us REAL peace and joy above everything the world has to offer.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AbHNLEdTFpY/V5atgIkftrI/AAAAAAAA9Bo/mCXk5hyctmkb2ISCfeSV3d9ZfgpovcImgCLcB/s1600/king%2Bwheeler%2Bclegg%2B2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AbHNLEdTFpY/V5atgIkftrI/AAAAAAAA9Bo/mCXk5hyctmkb2ISCfeSV3d9ZfgpovcImgCLcB/s200/king%2Bwheeler%2Bclegg%2B2.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sister King back with Sister Wheeler<br /> for her birthday!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Does that make sense? "Do you understand the words that are coming out of my mouth?" HA, life is grand, I love being a missionary. I got to see my daughter, Sister Wheeler, 2 days before her birthday :D she's 22 and we DID sing <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RH8TspXcgv8" target="_blank">Tswizzy</a></b>. Anything else exciting?? My brain’s a wreck right now, I don’t think I’ve thought straight in a few weeks</span></div>
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<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">I’ve only seen Pokemon Go on a phone, but only the weird blue screen when it’s loading or something. </span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 12pt;">L</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Hopefully it will still be popular when I finish my mission.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Like, no one asks us to do service for them around here! We went to a nursing home a few times to visit some people there. We'll be helping a recent convert clean her craft room on Wednesday, but it’s always just jobs like that :p<br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">LOVE YOU!!</span></span></div>
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Chris Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08779010603129229385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834844257321348447.post-5651842293809267352016-07-18T17:39:00.002-04:002016-07-18T17:44:45.272-04:00July 18, 2016<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The worst things about missions is that each week just gets
faster and faster until it feels like every day is full of 24 hours of
experiences. But here goes nothing!!</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 16.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">We were able to spend a lot of time with our investigators which
is NEVER a bad thing!! We met with R., this super cool guy with the cutest lil’
girl, whose brother got baptized in Lancaster. We taught him and his girlfriend
more about Joseph Smith and how he RESTORED the gospel of Jesus Christ, and how
prophets help point us to Christ. It was a really cool lesson because we
actually saw in their eyes how they were beginning to see how the message we
were saying is true and how it can help lead them back to their Savior who will
help us back to our Heavenly Father. And his baby girl was just smiling the
whole time so we shall NOT complain about that :D<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">H. and A. in the same part of the discussions and we ended up
seeing them on the same days, so we'd teach the SAME lesson twice in a row ha ha.
Double Word of Wisdom and tithing and prophets!! They're so cute, they keep
going around telling their friends and family about how they’re "going to
be Mormon on the 30th!" … more like they will be entering in a covenant to
help bring them eternal life on the 30<sup>th</sup>, AMIRITE!? Anyways, they're
bomb. But this is nothing new.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Our district meeting was a hot mess. Our District Leader was at
the temple for the departing temple trip, and so he didn’t assign any talks or
role plays or anything because he thought the elder who was assigned to run it
would do that. So it became a 90 minute discussion on the importance of finding
the elect. I've given many schpeels on that, but the coolest thing I learned
from it is how GOD prepares people to receive His gospel, we just need to work
hard to FIND them. We never need to convince people to listen to us, if they’re
ready they’ll accept Christ with open arms. We have some sick plans for this
coming week, so expect miracles!!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">We visited some members in a nursing home and got flashbacks to my
first area where we went to them every week! Recently I’ve been praying for the
ability to see others through God's eyes, and I felt the power of that when we
were talking with the people there! God doesn't look on our outward appearance,
our worldly accomplishments, or even who we've been. He looks at our hearts and
the person we have the potential of becoming. Talking with these people who don’t
even have the strength to push their own wheelchair, and don’t have the memory
to recount what happened yesterday, and then having the spirit testify that
they are beloved sons and daughters of God was the coolest thing EVER! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">I feel kindda like a preacher with this email; I swear I don’t
sound this fru fru in real life. It was just
awesome because God knows them and loves them just as much as He knows and
loves me, and I love helping other people know what I know and feel what I
feel.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Anyways, I’ll get off my soapbox. Hope this didn’t come out as
weird as it seemed in my head?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">I love you all so much!!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lDqk3uYcdvw/V41L_rNm4vI/AAAAAAAA88E/6buuZ0EQ1bku4zmMbJxo6cl8nNqH19WjgCLcB/s1600/IMG_0582.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lDqk3uYcdvw/V41L_rNm4vI/AAAAAAAA88E/6buuZ0EQ1bku4zmMbJxo6cl8nNqH19WjgCLcB/s320/IMG_0582.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sister King's birthday dirt cake!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cNIvkLOzHvM/V41L_mHY_bI/AAAAAAAA88A/SZOGJO4eP506e12KFyB_-yds1GlBxekZACLcB/s1600/IMG_0586.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cNIvkLOzHvM/V41L_mHY_bI/AAAAAAAA88A/SZOGJO4eP506e12KFyB_-yds1GlBxekZACLcB/s320/IMG_0586.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">Sister Clegg, Sister King, and her birthday dirt cake!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CbjHdlynAIA/V41L_qqwBUI/AAAAAAAA88I/vr9eTLPteUYCzR8Nqg7_J5ypQWXQ1XYcACLcB/s1600/IMG_0593.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CbjHdlynAIA/V41L_qqwBUI/AAAAAAAA88I/vr9eTLPteUYCzR8Nqg7_J5ypQWXQ1XYcACLcB/s320/IMG_0593.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">It was 96 degrees at 10 am, and 119 degrees at 1:05 pm!</span></td></tr>
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Chris Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08779010603129229385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834844257321348447.post-14589791858499977652016-07-11T17:03:00.000-04:002016-07-11T18:31:05.086-04:00July 11, 2016<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">I am doing well!!!! My
birthday was bomb, it was so fun to see the video from home and to see people
from my last area and to have BBQ!! Legit, my fav. They got me this cute bracelet
that says "So special, So loved." They’re the best!! Ha ha, that’s so
funny that you made that video, it kinda looked like I died though with my pic
surrounded by candles. Some of my favorite people from my last area came up to their daughter's house (who is in my new ward) and we PARTIED IT UP! For just dinner of course. Then we went out and hastened the work of salvation. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR
EVERYTHING!! The birthday box got in on Thursday and the other one on Friday. Someone
had broken the key so the box the package was kept in was open, but it was
still there! Tender mercies!! I loved all the gooey things, my comp goes "Wow,
your family loves sticky things, huh," and I got flashbacks to the
millions of things we've thrown at walls to see how long they’d stay. Never
realized we have a thing for them until she pointed it out, ha ha. AND I LOVE
THE NATS BAG!!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-a5F3xR3eJug/V4QY2Z2wi5I/AAAAAAAA84E/XCzLVROFTlQRy7WJlG86_ODlfmbqnRQ5ACLcB/s1600/huzzah%2B1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-a5F3xR3eJug/V4QY2Z2wi5I/AAAAAAAA84E/XCzLVROFTlQRy7WJlG86_ODlfmbqnRQ5ACLcB/s200/huzzah%2B1.JPG" width="200" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Sink Leak!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">On the 4th of July we had a 7 pm curfew but we went to a quick walk outside our apartment for some fresh air. Bakersfield apparently is a fan of large, illegal fireworks and the experience was similar to what I imagine walking outside during a WWII bombing would be like. We also come home from church on Sunday to find out our garbage disposal broke and created a large puddle of black mysterious liquid that smelled like rotten eggs. Still not sure the diagnosis since it was Sunday and no one was working or available to answer our questions. Hopefully dumping it down the tub was the solution because that's all we thought to do. Adventure is out there!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">We were able to teach H. AND A. the first 3 lessons in more detail this week and they ate them all up! H. reads like 20 pages of the Book of Mormon every day and has the best questions when we come by. We meet outside and he pretends that we're teaching him on a beach and says that we're starfish and that the cars are sharks. Whenever we call him he goes "I’m great, watching the sharks and reading about Alma." And A. said that she feels the most amazing peace when she reads, which is crazy because she really can’t read well. Often times she can’t even fully understand what’s going on when she reads, but she says the spirit that she feels is so strong that she KNOWS it’s true. God is so great, I love how this gospel is for literally everyone to enjoy, He is no respecter of persons. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">M. has officially deemed us her "besties" and says that the chapters we gave her were "on point." She also said that she wants to get baptized right before her birthday next month for a "fresh start" and as a "birthday present." She texts us everyday telling us we're her sisters in Christ. She's literally the funniest person alive and gave us 5 loaves of bread to represent the "bread of life." It was really cool though, we were there and her 7 year old jumped up and said he wanted to pray and after he finished she told us that was the first time ever in his life he prayed out loud. Joseph Smith much? The Restoration is too true.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">The strangest thing I’ve eaten this
week? I had butter beer and molds mead, a member recreates foods from Harry Potter.
The molds mead was essentially honey and black licorice, so YOU’D like it. I
tried it. Not a fan.... but the rest was bomb! No cowboys on THIS half of
Bakersfield, just lots of sassy people! More cowboys to the south.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Anyways, this week I got
a ton of splinters in my knuckles from an unfinished door. We go to a member’s
house to get some tweezers and she told me to put ointment on them and to cover
them with a Band-Aid for a day. This will soften my skin so that they can come
out easier. It totally worked and she told me it came from a conference talk
this last April!! So of course I go to read it, and it’s called <b><a href="https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2016/04/the-healing-ointment-of-forgiveness?lang=eng&_r=1" target="_blank">"The Healing Ointment of Forgiveness"</a></b> by Kevin R. Duncan. He relates resentment to the
splinter, and the atonement to the ointment. If we let hatred for someone or
something stay with us, the only thing it hurts is us. But when we let the savior
in and give it to Him, letting HIM heal US, that pain can go away. Just like
the splinters. My favorite scripture from the talk was Jacob 2:8, which says
"And it supposeth me that they have come up hither to hear the pleasing
word of God, yea, the word which healeth the wounded soul.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Happy Independence Day, <br />Sister Clegg and Sister King</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">I know that Christ came
to HEAL us, to help us to get over the bad and to focus on the good. I’ve seen
how his sacrifice has helped me to become better, to become happier, and to let
go of the past. I’m so grateful to have him and his amazing gospel in my life. I
love you all, thanks for all the birthday wishes!! Stay classy ;)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sister King celebrated her 20th birthday this past week.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Many of her friends came by the house here in Maryland to make her birthday cards and to celebrate and record a video for her:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzIF6wANWqr-zBPSHgD3W-8NI-PHWdPGKR0hJlc8aZqhmeBDrIsfrFo5ZxRPmpQD2VHfxSuiOJZVRkHiUvo2w' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And in Bakersfield, here she is getting her birthday cake:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyo0PnqYlx7YKTSC_AEdSpnPfFP-4HoxE8lR1I00Z6hajfcBa4MHJLuFAFG7VdXeiVGU_8cUXCvMM2v1TXntg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gb-8rHrK8ZE/V4DzKzBF5MI/AAAAAAAA814/pCx7NbxZSUU_3q9M5QZeQ5_-bho4q1JOACLcB/s1600/allie%2B20th%2Bbday%2B%252811%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="112" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gb-8rHrK8ZE/V4DzKzBF5MI/AAAAAAAA814/pCx7NbxZSUU_3q9M5QZeQ5_-bho4q1JOACLcB/s200/allie%2B20th%2Bbday%2B%252811%2529.jpg" width="200" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Sister King's Maryland friends<br />wishing her a happy birthday</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Happy Birthday, Sister King</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Sister King's Birthday Cake<br />Bakersfield, CA</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Sister Clegg and Sister King <br />watching the video of her friends <br />back in Maryland</span><br />
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Chris Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08779010603129229385noreply@blogger.com0