Karly Sighting in Utica, New York

Dear Bev:

It was so amazing seeing your daughter on Saturday. There were several hundred workers sent to our town to help with the relief effort. I was a team leader and they were going to assign the sister missionaries to me but then assigned them to another person. We worked the morning and then after lunch I informed the organizers of another need at the museum. I said I would take my team there but actually they assigned it to the team with the sisters. So we were working across the street. When we finished we went over to help at the Museum. I was talking to the sisters and asking where they were from and I was like no way, when your daughter said Rancho Cucamonga. Then she asked if I knew Craig and Beverly Nelson. I said, "Sure, they run the bookstore." She was so surprised. We talked about a lot of things and about my son who just got back from Spain. It was really fun. Catha and I were going to take them out to dinner today so Catha went to the Temple and we were going to get together for dinner. When I called them to get a time they said they were leaving early so we would have to do lunch. I asked a friend who works in their area to come with us. So it all worked out. Turns out that Catha gave them a referral. Catha works front desk at the Courtyard Marriott in their area. They visited the young lady and gave her a Book of Mormon. We had a nice visit at lunch. She does know Catha’s sister, Summer, and remembers Jack Morgan. I told her she would have to meet Megan when she returns to Salt Lake. She said she probably would not be able to, but I said she graduated from the Y with a Landscape Management degree and just started working on the Temple Square grounds crew yesterday. She was like, "Sure, I am sure. It will be easy to find her since they are mostly guys." It was so fun to talk to her. When I was the ward mission leader I loved having sister missionaries. I miss not having them now. Tell your daughter I appreciate her service. They can touch hearts that the Elders just cannot reach. I would have told her but my friend talks a lot and kind of takes over conversations. Enjoy the pictures.

Last day in the Utica, New York Mission

We Love Karly Sightings!

This New York photo, taken in mid-September, 2011, shows Karly and her companion with PJ Smith, a former Alta Loma resident many years ago ... before Karly was born ... that long ago! Involved in a Mormon Helping Hands project both members and missionaries were assisting after the significant flooding caused by Hurricane Irene. While conversing PJ and Sister Nelson discovered their common Alta Loma roots. PJ knew us, Karly's parents, from that long ago. PJ's wife is Catha Morgan Smith, sister of Summer Schwendimann. Such a small world in the church!

September 27, 2011

Hi Family!

So quick e-mail since we have a lot to do today. We got the call Saturday that our area is closing. With the death of one Sister and two more going home for medical reasons, there are not enough Sisters to keep our area open. Plus we are the only ward in the mission with two sets of missionaries. But this week was amazing and, wow, it went by so fast! It started with a trip to the Palmyra Temple and seeing all the church history sites around the area. It was fun to be taken on a tour from visitor center Sisters as well. I could take a step back and say, "Hmm, yeah I do that.... bad idea gotta change that. " or "I love how they did that!" Yeah so I am all pumped and ready to go back to Temple Square, seeing a visitor center got me all jittery to get back.

We also got to spend an hour ALONE in the sacred grove. It was amazing. It was just me, the Lord and 1 billion mosquitoes. The First Vision couldn't have been made up, because only God and Jesus Christ could have made all those mosquitoes go away for Joseph Smith to stay in that grove. But on a more spiritual note the feeling inside that grove was definitely close to being inside the Temple. To think that this grove was where the restoration all got started and that by small things great things are brought to pass. As missionaries and members of the Church everything we do is a small and simple thing that has great and lasting impressions on us and the lives of others. Let's not allow a moment to pass us by without remembering why we are here and what this life is all about. It’s not about the money or the material objects but our families and our Heavenly Father. Life may be hard sometimes but the Lord understands more than we do. Joseph Smith never had it easy but we look up to him, not just because he restored the Church but because he conquered his trials and came out on top. That is a promise that we all have from our Heavenly Father, rely on Him, do what is right, and we will be blessed in some way or another.

But we did service in Owego on Saturday! We helped a man demolish his walls (so awesome) and take out all of his trash. We got to even wear the Mormon Helping Hands t-shirts!! Dream #75843 accomplished. Later we got to clean the Tioga County Museum's collection pieces that were under 5 feet of water. It was so sad but a neat experience to clean eye glasses and ribbons from the 1800s. We had to throw away a lot as well, but we also picked up a new investigator who is seriously GOLDEN! He was a guy that we met on the bus (when everyone got in a religious debate a few weeks ago) and he asked for a baptismal date! Too bad we both won’t be here for it. That is ok. We found him and set him up with the Elders. He will do well.

Ok, enough writing. We have an entire apartment to clean and drive two hours to the mission home before 9 p.m. tonight. Call ya tomorrow!

Library where we EMAIL home!

September 19, 2011

Hello!

So this week was a whirlwind of faith and trust. We started the week on a high with a district meeting where our mission president gave training on "answering hard questions". I totally felt prepared because that is my mission at Temple Square, so I gave my two cents every once in a while and felt it was a great refresher for going back to Temple Square next week. After being on that spiritual high we got a phone call from some members in the ward that their dog had died and due to their health problems they couldn't dig a grave for it. So we busted out their shovels, sang songs from Holes, quoted Hamlet, and just had a fun time trying to dig a two foot grave for this dog. I am not sure they appreciated our happy nature at the moment but hey, the dog is a lot happier so they should be too.

Come Thursday during our weekly planning we decided that we had been hanging onto our investigators too long so we ended up dropping four of them. I was so sad because we have worked so hard in this area and I wanted to leave it better than when I got here (which having just two investigators would be better than when I got here but still, it's a [Christ-like] pride thing) But I have experienced it many times. When you drop people the Lord gives you more people. The day we dropped all of them, people started coming up to us and asking to meet with us. We would start talking to people and they were interested in learning what we were all about. One of our potentials even called us and asked for a ride to church!! Can life get better? I will drop someone everyday if this is what happens! As we put our trust in Him, He will follow through. Wow, we are more of a hindrance to the work than the people who don't have the gospel. Good thing Heavenly Father is patient with us.

With all of the flooding we were given permission to do service around the area on Saturday. Next Saturday we can go to Owego and help. We heard that the church even came with all of their Mormon Helping Hands t-shirts just like after Hurricane Katrina. We helped a lady clean out her basement and in the process we found a Book of Mormon! We asked her about it and her brother is a member. She said she would be more than happy to have us stop back and teach her more. So Sunday we stopped by and as we were teaching, her boyfriend sat in, then another friend stopped by and sat in on the lesson too! We walked out with 3 new investigators! So needless to say I felt much better about leaving this area strong. We already have completely planned the entire week (literally) so it is going to go by fast. Tomorrow I am going to the Palmyra Temple and visit the Sacred Grove as well. I am so excited, I didn't realize how much I missed seeing a temple every day. I am so grateful for my experiences here but I am so excited to go back to Temple Square and get back to bearing my testimony every 5 minutes- can't beat that! Until next week!

Church History in My Area...

*** Church history in my area:

Martin Harris baptized 100 people in the Susquehanna River when returning from his mission to the east in 1832;

The area was originally named Chenango Point;

M. Grant (an apostle) was born here;

Josiah Stonewall was born in a city nearby (sorry, who is that?)

September 12, 2011

Hello, Hello!

Well, if any of you have watched the news you will know that Upstate New York, and more specifically my area of Binghamton and Endicott, are under water. Preaching the gospel to every creature including the fishes is a little hard but hey the scriptures do say to preach the gospel to every creature. Just kidding, BUT we did have massive flooding here. The Susquehanna River swelled to a depth of 40 feet (14' is flood stage) and many homes were destroyed. Thankfully we were ok - no power outage or leakage. But we were protected by the nearby high school which is right next to the river; the water came up to the 5th highest row in the stadium and all you could see were two poles, which are the goal posts and a roof of the equipment shed. It was awesome. We almost had to evacuate but the fire department never stopped by. All of the schools were cancelled until further notice, though today they are back in session. Church was composed of three units: us, the Owego Ward and the Susquehanna Branch. Many of those cities are still under water too.

Wednesday when it was raining we were trying to get out to Binghamton to see a member but as we were sitting at the bus junction and we listened to the radio screaming, "We can't get through this road. It is closed!" or "The freeway just flooded!" We looked at each other and had a strong feeling to get off the bus and go back home. We ran into the Elders in our area and they gave us a look of "Slackers, it is just rain" when we told them we were heading back. Later we found out that the bridges were flooded and if we had gone we wouldn't have been able to return home till Saturday. We felt like the Lord was looking out for us.

So we were more or less stuck in Endicott for the entire week with no way to get out. But we made the most of it and found a few more people to teach. All of this is a great conversation starter. It is amazing how disasters bring people together, but at the same time what is most important to people comes out. We saw many people at the grocery stores buying essentials but many more buying cases of beer to help take the edge off. There are lots of service projects ahead of us but we are fine and safe. Plus I have awesome pictures to help visualize what happened. But when it comes to investigators... yeah we didn't get much done this week for obvious reasons, but that's okay. They all know that we are concerned for them. Stay dry in the rest of the country!

** Pictures: The high school, K-mart and the clean up. Did you call the mission at all? Or see it on the news?

September 6, 2011

Hi Family!

Sorry for the late e-mail but all the libraries were closed yesterday due to Labor Day. Holidays are terrible ideas during missions by the way. They totally interfere with our p-days, besides the point, anyway back on topic. This week was full of ups and downs (but that is typical for missionaries). I can't remember if I mentioned that we picked up our old former investigator, Norma, who moved.. then moved back. But we did! We taught her and her mother-in-law was there as well, so we taught her too. Then Norma asked for a baptismal date so we set it for Sept 24, then we turned and asked her mother-in-law if that date worked for her as well, and it did! We were so excited. But at the end of the week the two had a MAJOR fight and Norma decided to leave and move back home. We have lost contact with her mother-in-law as well. Once again the reality of an opposing force is evident. Even though things didn't work out the way we wanted it, I feel we did our part in following the spirit and at least inviting them to come closer to Christ.

We are teaching a few kids right now; I really enjoy it. I could never be an elementary school teacher but we have lots of fun making creative lessons. One girl we are teaching, Emily, is awesome. She is 10 and loves reading so we gave her a Book of Mormon to add to her study. We watched the Restoration DVD with her and later asked if she thought there could be a prophet today. She said, "I am 75% sure that it could happen." Love kids. So honest.

Saturday we got everything all ready for Johnny's baptism. We went to the church and cleaned the font, got a little carried away with taking pictures but hey it got done! And Sunday came and everything went perfectly. The talks and everything were perfect. When he got baptized they said the prayer and they were about to put him in the water and he freaked out. He wasn't sure where to put his hands or to plug his nose. The thought came, "Oh...maybe we should have demonstrated how to be baptized" kinda crucial. Oh well, he went all the way down and got the Holy Ghost during church. The spirit was so strong and we were proud of him. Last night as a celebration we made the whole family gluten free macaroni and cheese. The kids thought they had died and gone to heaven.

I feel so honored to be able to see a baptism while I am in New York. It was a good reminder of why we do this and how it can truly bless others. It was funny to realize that I wasn't feeling what I expected to feel at a baptism. I guess I expected to feel: Yeah! Put a one in our numbers and check it off the list. But I felt peace and the realization that this is only the beginning and we have to be there every step of the way. The journey doesn't end at baptism; it just begins. Now is the test to prove to our Heavenly Father that we really are willing to do what it takes to follow Him. We are so lucky to have this in our lives and I hope that I never forget the people and the miracles that we saw.

September 5, 2011.. note from President Bulloch

Dear Elders and Sisters,

We all know there are times in our life when we need an increased endowment of the Spirit to help us faithfully and successfully endure some of the more serious difficulties and challenges we face. This week has been such a time. In these circumstances I have found the promise given to the Prophet Joseph Smith true for each of us personally. The Lord has promised that if we are “faithful” He will be “with [us] in every time of trouble” (DC 3:7). It is not a promise that our difficulties will go away, but rather a promise that His presence with us will sustain us through our challenges. As you know, this past week we have experienced a great tragedy. One of our missionaries, Sister Bentley, was killed in a serious automobile accident, and her companion, Sister Love sustained serious enough injuries to requires her to return home for healing for an estimated 6 to 8 weeks. It has been a difficult time, yet the promise has been fulfilled again—the Lord has been with us in this time of trouble. There will be an appropriate time for me to share with you some of the evidence of our Heavenly Father’s love and influence in regard to this experience in the days to come. For now I invite us to unite in faith and prayer in behalf of Sister Bentley’s family, and Sister Love and her family. There will be difficult days ahead. I hope a paragraph from a letter I wrote to Sister Bentley’s parents is appropriate to share. It said, “It is with great sadness that we mourn her loss, yet our grief is ‘swallowed up in Christ,’ knowing the ‘sting of death’ is only temporary (Mosiah 16:8). Life is eternal—and so are relationships. That is a message of hope that Sister Bentley has been sharing with the people of New York with great conviction. It is a message that was deep in her heart, and one that I know she would want you to know and feel from her personally… It is my conviction and witness that your daughter has reason to rejoice, having graduated early, and with honors, from this mortal probation.” I know Sister Bentley is fine. Those that are left behind will need our love and support. (Cards and letters may be sent to the following addresses: Brother and Sister Bentley, 8726 E 28^th Street, Tucson, AZ 85710. Sister Love, 733 Brisbane Street, Hemet, CA 92545.)

As a show of support to Sister Bentley and our mission, President Roger Killpack, the President of the Arizona Tucson Mission (and father of our own Elder Killpack), has informed me “as a show of respect, support and brotherhood, we will have our missionaries in the greater Tucson area, about 80-90 of them, in attendance to the funeral. We plan on sitting together in the back to show honor and pay tribute. It is our hope that we can represent the missionaries of your mission by doing so.” The funeral will be held at 10:00 a.m. (1:00 p.m. New York time) on Tuesday, September 6^th. As appropriate, we invite each of you to take a moment in prayer and reflection.

Sometimes it is hard to understand why things happen the way they do. What a blessing it is to have the knowledge of the gospel of Jesus Christ! “It is a singularly marvelous blessing to have faith in the Savior and a testimony of His teachings. So few in the world have that brilliant light to guide them. The fulness of the restored gospel gives perspective, purpose, and understanding. It allows us to face what otherwise appear to be unjust, unfair, unreasonable challenges in life” (Elder Scott, CR, Oct 1995).

May the Lord bless each of you with the peace and comfort of the Spirit.

We congratulate the following on their baptism this week: Johnny Hillman in Binghamton, taught by Sisters Nelson and Duncan; and Jarod Mowrer in Carthage, taught by Elders Nielson, Stanton and Daniels-Brown.

President Bulloch

Utica New York in Pictures

August 26, 2011

Earthquakes and Hurricanes of DOOM.

Yes, I am alive. It was a horrific experience to sit through a 5.9 earthquake and live to tell the tale. Yes, many people were running to the store, buying gallons of water, looking for emergency preparedness items, and now thinking that maybe they should treat their families better or have more God in their life. PEOPLE! IT IS A 5.9 EARTHQUAKE....chill. Hahaha. Actually we were on the bus when the earthquake occurred so we didn't feel it but members called us and asked, "Are you ok?!?" Confused as to their concern, I asked, "Yes and how are you?" The way people here described the earthquake it was a 9.5 on the scale. Then to add to the state of New York's terror they had a hurricane for the first time in 20 years. Totally cool for me since I have never been in a hurricane. But keep in mind I am three hours east of New York City where there are lots of trees and fields. We just had a lot of rain and Santa Ana-type winds. Really fun and brought back many nostalgic memories. The Bishop even considered canceling church if nobody showed up but we actually had a great turnout and even had 2 investigators come.

Miracle this week! We were walking and bumped into our former investigator, Norma, who had moved to Pennsylvania. She said that she just moved back since she didn't like it and has been trying to get a hold of us, but lost our number since she got a new phone. So we taught her again and she said that since the earthquake her boyfriend... fiance.... baby's father (so many titles out here) said that he wants to marry her and go to church. So we will see where this all goes. Also, Johnny, our 11-year-old investigator came to church so he will be getting baptized this weekend! We are proud of the progress that he has made. He actually prays in front of us, reads his scriptures, and knows the answers to all of our questions. We came up with a lot of games for the family. His 8-year-old sister is getting baptized too. We are down to daily contact, making sure that everything goes smoothly with his interview, and that the program gets taken care of. Oh and we need to clean the font... it is gross.

That is pretty much life for us right now. We are also working with some less actives who will no longer be less active soon! We are helping get a family to the temple. They are an awesome family. We think they went inactive without realizing it; then realized when we kept trying to get a hold of them that they had missed church for 4 months. They have been faithfully coming every week since.

I have been studying the life and mission of our Savior lately and it has caused me to reflect a lot on the role He has on our lives. To see people change and improve is such a testimony to me that He lives. For if He were still dead, He wouldn't not be able to influence people in such a way. The influence of the Holy Ghost can lead those honestly seeking back on the path of blessings and purpose, back to where we are supposed to be. Now just get on it! Anyway love you all, until next week!

August 22, 2011

Steak and Lobtsa Anyone?

I wish we ate that. Anyway I was just trying to think of new and creative lines to open my letter. But Hi! Life is good, once again reporting from good old Endicott, New York. Home of "Spiedies" (meat marinated in vinegar and garlic on skewers that you put on bread) and the "Square Deal" where the founders of the city owned a shoe company and bought everything then built houses and turned around and sold them to their workers. Free health care, dental care, and carousel rides for everyone. So, we have 6 carousels here and if you ride all 6 you get a button that says, "I rode the carousel circuit!" Yes… that is on my to do list. Anyway that is the history behind this area, pretty cool and you can even google it to find more information on that.

This week began a new transfer but nothing feels different since we didn't change, which is great because we can keep working with our people. We have 1 investigator getting baptized in September and we have been working a lot with him. He is getting ready for baptism and hopefully we can keep getting his Mom to church so he can be baptized. It is funny how Satan works very hard to ensure that these things don't happen via sicknesses, family crisis, or car problems. So annoying.

We also have a less active that has been coming faithfully for almost 2 months now! So in a few more weeks she will be counted as reactivated! Jeannie is awesome, we love her a lot and have seen a HUGE change in her since we started meeting with her. She comments how she can feel it too.

Story time: So we had a lesson planned with our Spanish-speaking investigator who lives on top of the hills of death. We decided to bring a Spanish speaking member to help us teach/ drive us there. Of course as things would have it, she calls 15 minutes before the appointment and says that she is stuck at the DMV. Great. That means she will be there for hours so no chance of moving the appointment. That and Sister Duncan almost fainted from the heat at a members home 10 minutes earlier so there was no way we could walk up all those hills. I was determined to get to this lesson so I called another Spanish speaking member and she was only 3 minutes away! She picked us up and we were off. Yeah for the tender mercies of the Lord! When you ask in faith it shall be given unto you. Nothing is more important that this work we are doing and if we put forth the effort that we want something the Lord will bless us according to our faith in Him. Obviously I am working on Faith this week. And Lots of miracles are coming from it, lots of potentials are trickling in. Hopefully we can teach them all. I have faith! :)

Gave a talk at a baptism yesterday. That was a first for me, kinda awkward hopefully nobody noticed. Anyway gotta run, until next week!

August 16, 2011

Hi Family!

So transfer calls came on Saturday night, which is horrible by the way because you agonize all day over it. But Sister Duncan and I are staying together in Endicott! Yay! We are finally getting this area going and I really love serving the people here. We had an exciting week full of rain storms and walking. Funny how a few weeks ago it was hot and humid and now it wont stop raining, I thought Utah had weird weather. But we walked a TON this week- we got pedometers to track and I am pleased to announce that we have reached Pioneer status with 58 miles this week. Poor sister Duncan is getting shin splints. But when you cover 4 "villages" (yes they are villages here and not towns) we have a lot of miles to cover.

Awesome story: So we were on the bus coming home from a day in Johnson City and some guys looked at us and asked us a question about Adam and Eve. So we started talking (loudly mind you so everyone could hear, they can't leave so why not?!) and soon the ENTIRE bus was talking about God and religion. Awesome. Some arguments broke out but we got 3 potential investigators from it, hopefully they turn into something. It was great, I felt like I was at Temple Square again. Oh and we went tracting and got some people that said we could come back! And that was in the rich part of town too.

As for our investigators we have a baptismal date set for Johnny. He is 11 and in a part member family- he is our hardest investigator, zero attention span. And we soft committed another investigator Lauren for baptism as well, she is going to pray about it but it is "something that she is definitely considering". Yay! The work is moving forward. When I got here we had 2 investigators and they were not progressing. We are feeling like we are doing something in this area.

Mostly we have had a lot of success with less actives. I never realized how important that work is, when I got here I was slightly murmuring that it was the members job and not to waste our time with it. But we have seen many miracles come from doors that members couldn't get in. It is because we look good... that must be it ;) Anyway there is my update from rainy upstate New York! Miss you all!

August 8, 2011

Hello Family!

So this week we tried some new finding techniques. One of which (my personal favorite) we drew the plan of salvation in chalk on the sidewalk!! It was amazing... and then the downpour came. Seriously it rains like non other here and everyone says, "What a gentle rain" Gentle?! You try walking in it, it is out to get us. It is cool because it is like in the movies when you can see a wall of water coming towards you... so we try to outrun it. Fail. Anyway so plan of salvation in chalk will have to be recreated sometime.

Funny story for the week: So we were walking around before we had to be in our apartment by 9 when this kid about our age walks up with a beer in his hand. "Hey are you Mormons!?" My thought was "this is going to be interesting". But he said that he had no idea what we were about... yes he was slightly drunk. But we offered to teach him more and he got really excited so we planned to meet him at the library the next day. We went home laughing because we didn't really think that he would even remember our conversation. The next day at 1:30 on the dot, he walks in the library! He apologized for being drunk but said that he remembered our conversation. He has seen us walk around town for a month and it took a few (try 6) beers to give him the courage to speak to us. God works in mysterious ways? Satan? Whatever so he is awesome with a lot of questions. He has zero concept of religion and reading the scriptures is extremely painful BUT we get through it and explain what it means.

We have had a lot of success this transfer with less actives. We are working with 5 families in particular and 3 are on their way to re-activity! Sister Duncan really has a gift for them, glad she is here.

Our ward had a "Corn Roast" this past Saturday and it was great, lots of people came! None of them were our investigators but that is ok life goes on. Next week is transfers so we will see what happens to us. This area hasn't had consistency with sisters for a very long time so I could see not much changing. Anyway you will all find out next week, bye!

August 1, 2011

Hey!

First we had a zone conference which was slightly different than how we did them at temple square. First we had to drive an hour to get there and second there was zero role playing. Nice change, I am a fan (but don't tell them at the square). It was very spiritually uplifting especially since the week before we dropped many people and were unsuccessful at finding any potentials. Our main investigator, Norma, is moving to PA (nobody says Pennsylvania out here, they just say PA) because her apartment has high traces of lead and her kids all have poisonous levels of lead. I would move too. Anyway but once we dropped her we found people! That is why I love dropping people- I care, don't get me wrong, but the Lord blesses you.

We went to a scheduled lesson with a potential investigator, he wasn't there but his mother in law was. She was actually sitting with her son who is a member! We asked if we could teach her and she agreed. We have taught her two lessons so far. We asked why she was interested and she said that she hopes to understand her son but also see if this is something she likes. We have also taught her son in law as well. Then we were walking in another part of our area called Johnson City and ran into a lady with 5 kids. She said we could come back too! We taught her the restoration and when we asked if she had ever wondered why there are so many churches she said, "I don't know! That is why I go to two!" Well, hopefully we can get it down to one :) We also found a man sitting on his porch who was almost baptized. According to him he was dressed in white and everything and then his preacher came and took him away. Not sure how accurate that story was but he said that he was thinking about the church and wanted to go back, because his life was so peaceful there.

That is something that I have really come to appreciate from this church: it changes people. There is a recent convert in the ward of a week (we also have elders in the ward) and he glows. You can spot him in a crowd of people; he is happy and seems so at ease about everything. His friends notice too. That is why we focus on the atonement so much, because this is what it can do for people... so open your doors and don't slam them in our face. But hey we actually got someone to let us in! Amazing! Anyway now that we finally have the ball rolling we can keep it going. Oh I gave a talk in church yesterday AND we taught the 3rd hour on missionary work. I spoke on the plan of salvation which is the same topic I was given for my farewell talk, I laughed. Anyway gotta run bye!

July 25, 2011 Utica, New York

Hi Family!

First off, Happy Birthday to everyone in July! There are too many of you and I have limited time. Well, this week was HOT HOT HOT. Holy cannoli (yes there is a little Italy here) I was melting! It was up in the 90s + humidity. So nobody was outside; one of the members here refused to go outside and the thought of walking the 20 feet to her car was too hard for her to think about. The entire time everyone complains I just think about how it is 120 in Arizona everyday. You guys are troopers. But it is cooling down thank goodness so maybe some good families will be sitting outside on their porches so we can talk to them.

This week was full of helping people - since it was so hot and we are in a walking area we needed to find things to do inside. So we did lots of service. One such act of charity was helping a family go to the hospital - the mom has agoraphobia so she can't leave her house since she is afraid of people. But she said that if we were there she could do it. Interesting experience since her daughter has muscular dystrophy, she has agoraphobia, and we missionaries can't look at anything (TV, magazines, etc) so we were an interesting group all together.

We also came in contact with a less active member who is awesome. We walked in her house (one thing that is so funny - less actives have no problem letting the missionaries in their house and welcoming us back all the time, but most wont go to church) and she said, "I like my coffee - that is a stupid rule - and I don't like callings where I have to teach children. I am a teacher! I don't want to spend another day with kids!" But after a really good conversation she said she needs to go back to church and that she would come. At church yesterday I looked out the door and saw her coming up. Then members of the ward recognized her and ran up to her giving her hugs. She almost had an assembly line of hugs and greetings, a very heart warming moment to see the love of the ward members reaching out to her. WAY better than coffee hour at the Methodist Church (which, btw is the only reason why she goes to that church). She even stayed for Sunday School, when she said that she was going home. Can't wait to meet with her again this week.

But as for investigators: Norma might be moving back to her mom's house and she feels too overwhelmed with her four kids to bring them to church. Not much we can do to help her. We have lots of appointments with our potential investigators too so hopefully with this heat wave going away we can meet with more people. We are teaching a family tonight - they all smoke so we are starting with the Church's program on quitting smoking. It is amazing! If I am a weight loss counselor when I get back I am totally stealing it and changing it to fit weight loss. Anyway I am really excited, hopefully we can teach them too! Oh and the missionaries in the ward (there are 4 of us) are teaching in the 3rd hour of church next week. Focused on the Savior and missionary work, hopefully it helps! Keep your fingers crossed... and pray as well.... Yeah, that is a good idea.

Gotta run but that is my week! Hope everyone had good one too. BYE!

P.S. Jimmer Fredette lives in my mission. Sister Duncan, my companion, served in his ward. Be jealous; I am not.

July 18, 2011

Hi Everyone!

So this week went by fast! I guess that is typical. I really need to get over it. But the work is moving right along here in Endicott! We are finding people slowly but surely and hopefully our efforts will help us to find golden people. We have an investigator who is progressing wonderfully! She reads and tries to soak everything up. Only problem is getting to church - nobody here has cars, kinda frustrating when it takes 2 hours to walk to church - no, we haven't tried it yet but I was hoping to convince Sister Duncan that sacrificing our ride and walking so that our investigators could have a ride to church would help... she didn't go for it haha. So the only thing stopping her from getting baptized is church... but at the same time if she isn't willing to go to church so she shouldn't be baptized

We work with a lot of less actives who are all really good! They are very willing to let us in and talk about the church, but also getting to church is a little hard since they don't have cars. Different world over here - the bus system is the common mode of transportation. We are working with a girl who really wants to come back to church and have it for her family. She is starting to try to bring the spirit into her home more and her husband is opening up to having us stop by. It has been a slow process but the spirit works wonders, he even went to mormon.org to chat with missionaries!

Crazy story for the week: So we got a referral and naturally we called to set up an appointment. I couldn't understand her but we arranged for Friday around 1:30. We go to this SUPER ghetto apartment complex and knock on the door. We enter a 1 room apartment with a mattress on the floor, which we sit on. She goes off on another church organization and saying how they wont help her get what she needs. Sister Duncan says, "You know that we are not that church right?" She says, "Yeah, I know" So I respond with "So.... what are you expecting from our visit?" Basically she wanted a free handout from the church. When I said the church would help if she was willing to work. She responded with but I can't get a job - if I do, Social Security will fine me for having a job AND receiving their checks...... ???????? Uh... first off not my question, second that is the point- doing something with your life. Wow. We wont be going back to teach her.

But we are finding lots of people to teach and we are teaching more. I feel right at home when we are teaching and testifying. If people would open up we could help them have happier and more fulfilling lives through our Savior. People are sitting on their porches waiting for life to change but it wont until they do something about it. Answers are at their fingertips but sometimes they don't want to accept it. That's okay, we will find those that do and until then we just find, find, find! Off for more adventures this week! Until then!

July 11, 2011: New York Utica Mission

Hey Family!

So I am in New York! More specifically a city called Binghamton. It is in the southern part of the state for those of you who said, "Where's a map?!?" I left Temple Square for the airport around 5 a.m. and my plane took off for Chicago around 7 a.m. I was terrified to be all by myself in the real world but all pumped to share the gospel with people. So the girl I sat next to on my first plane ride - returned missionary from the Palmyra Visitor Center. So we just talked about missions the entire 2 1/2 hours. Got off the plane and attempted to call Mom and Dad collect (sorry if it cost you a $100 but I am worth it? Right?!?) Then my next plane left, again all excited to share the gospel... totally fell asleep. Oh well, nobody was sitting next to me anyway. But I arrived and was greeted by my new mission president and my new companion, Sister Duncan, from Centerville, Utah. We had a few hours to kill in Syracuse so we went street contacting for a bit before my first ever dinner appointment. We found a potential but we can't teach her since we live two hours south of Syracuse.

First dinner appointment - awesome! I ate so much food because it wasn't tortillas and peanut butter, which isn't bad by the way. I gave a spiritual thought then headed south to Endicott/Binghamton.

We work in a walking area so it feels huge. We split half the city with Elders but we never see them. It is very different to only be with and see my companion everyday and not 170 other Sister Missionaries. This mission has less than 100 missionaries and only 14 Sisters! As for our area it was opened 2 transfers ago after being closed for a few years, and despite the work that the previous missionaries have put in we hardly have any investigators. But that will change as we talk with everyone! Hard part is that we walked for 4 hours and talked to two people - slight change of pace from Temple Square.

The skills that I learned as a missionary on Temple Square are the same that we use out here. Everything: knocking on doors = RC, street contacting = contacting people on the Square, teaching lessons = phone lessons. It is all the same, just applied in a different way.

Working with the ward is neat, too.
1) They feed us.
2) They offer to drive us places and teach with us.
3) They try out missionary work themselves which helps. Because where we are at, the only way we will find people to teach is through members because street contacting and tracting is 95% ineffective. So if I haven't stressed it enough my whole mission - GO SHARE THE GOSPEL. It would make our lives easier. Thanks.

Anyway life is good! We are working with a young mother named Norma who really wants to go back to a church and have a relationship with God again. We found a man named Alex who doesn't like his church but is interested in checking ours out. And we are working with a part-member family. The 11-year-old son isn't baptized so we are working to get him ready. We will see what adventures pop up this week!

Karly's New Mission President in Utica, New York

Kevin McRae Bulloch, 57, and NaNon Whittaker Bulloch, three children, New York Utica Mission; Cedar 17th Ward, Cedar City Utah West Stake. Brother Bulloch is a ward Young Men president and a former counselor in a stake presidency, bishop and counselor, high councilor, stake Young Men president and missionary in the Montana-Wyoming Mission. Institute instructor, Church Educational System. Born in Cedar City, Utah, to McRae Nielsen and Lillian Hansen Bulloch. Sister Bulloch is a counselor in the ward Relief Society presidency and a former ward Young Women president and counselor, ward Primary president, ward music chairman and member of the stake Primary board. Born in Panguitch, Utah, to Donald Carlyle Whittaker and Vila LaRen Ackerman.

July 4, 2011... New York Utica Mission!

Hi Everyone!

So BIG news: I am going OUTBOUND! I am actually really mad/excited to go. It is so busy on the Square that I don't want to go, but at the same time I know I need to go. Regardless, I am called to the Utica, New York Mission. I leave on Wednesday! Many of the Sisters that I came out with are going outbound as well, so I don't feel that alone. Sister Perez will be with a Sister from Mexico so she will have a companion that actually speaks Spanish and not one who tries to act like she does. We had our mission meeting at 7 a.m. this morning and because it is the 4th of July we are taking our p-day late. Half the mission is at a park; playing games and eating food while the rest are on the Square. We switch halfway through the day. Should be exciting! Yay food! I have to pack though and help Sister Perez move to a different apartment complex so no p-day for us. I heard that my p-day will be next Monday though; another sister just returned from the Utica Mission so she said that she would fill me in on all the particulars.

Well, this week was great! We had a few days where we needed to get Sister Perez's passport all taken care of and that took about 2 days. We got lost in West Valley so I know that area VERY well. If we ever decide to take a family trip out there I can direct us around. It was all the fault of Google maps I want you all to know. I don't think the internet gets the grid system so it flipped the south and west streets.... so frustrating. The next day I skipped on the directions and found the Uruguay Consulate myself. Took about 2 hours less. But it is all taken care of and now Sister Perez can stay in the USA. I am such a good companion.

Some last miracles from Temple Square: We were flagged down at the Tabernacle by one of the senior couples to help this couple understand that there would be an organ recital in the Tabernacle. Come to find out they are from Uruguay! And they want to be baptized... you know common desire here on Temple Square... so we graciously accommodated by helping them meet with missionaries. Later in the week we were asked to show three people around from Tulsa, Oklahoma. They were firing questions right and left and it was so frustrating because they were not good questions. It was more like "What do you feel about blacks and the priesthood?" "How does the Prophet get chosen?" "Why can't you be the Prophet?" "How many members are in Salt Lake City?" "Why do you take the sacrament every week?" One right after the other. Aka no spirit was there. Every time we would try to drop them by inviting for missionaries so we could leave they would ask another question or ask where the bathroom/drinking fountain was. I couldn't wait to leave these people somewhere but when we finally were able to say that they had such wonderful questions and asked if they would like to discuss them with missionaries back home, they accepted. The only one that was quiet was the one that has read the entire Doctrine & Covenants, Pearl of Great Price, and parts of the Book of Mormon. I hope they will be able to listen to what they missionaries have to say.

Well, happy 4th of July! Hope the pancake breakfast was as yummy as always (minus the fake orange juice and sausage). Funny story: This morning we had a Sister who could sing the National Anthem really well and she happened to be from Great Britain. President then got up and said how wonderful this holiday was that we are celebrating our independence from Great Britain.... slightly awkward and everyone laughed. Anyway watch the fireworks for me. I will call you from the airport on Wednesday! I am so scared! I will be out in the real world - no bodyguards, security cameras or emergency alarms. Insane people usually find me... this could be an interesting three months.

"If I can make it there, I'll make it anywhere... New York, New York!"