Sister Kellee Walker's Tuscon, Arizona Mission - September 30, 2014

On To New Adventures

Oh my goodness, what a crazy turn of events!

I don't have a lot of time, unfortunately but let me fill you in on the changes!  So yes, after 6 months in Countryside Ward, they finally kicked me out.  And you'll never guess where I am (: 

BACK IN RINCON!! (: (: (: 

I don't know if you realize it, but this will most likely be my last area which means 9 months in Rincon (: Hahahaha YAY!! I am so excited (: I'm not in Saguaro Park ward again but I am over two wards, Cienega and Desert Willow wards!  

My companions name is Sister Huffman and she is from California! She has been out for 12 weeks and so i'm doing her follow up training and have been stepped out of being a STL. I am so grateful for the LOOOONG time i was able to serve as a sister training leader but i'm excited to be back to normal missionary life (: 

Sister Barnes is still a STL in Countryside ward and then after this transfer, she goes home! And then after that, I COME HOME!! Holy crap, right? 

Well my time is up, i'm sorry its so short but when I get the address of my new place, i'll let you know! 

AND THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE PACKAGE. We loved it so much! 

Just a heads up, Brother Ashby from Countryside ward should be stopping by sometime this week to drop off my other plants and a box of my things. Don't open the box until i get home okay? Also, when i start sending things home, how do you want me to go about doing that? I need to start thinking about that stuff. Scary!! 

Well, i love you. 
Talk to you next week !!

Love always, 
Sister Kellee Walker

Our District in our mexi ponchos

Kellee's Sistahs

Be proud, I held a snake!

Sister Huffman my new companion

By Buddy Elder Cooper

Sister Kellee Walker's Tuscon, Arizona Mission - September 22, 2014

"...For they love the truth and are not shaken."  2 Nephi 9:40

Hola familia! 

You would be so proud of my Spanish (: 
I still am terrible at it but it is so fun to learn!

I got an email from from Sister Dredge and I will just copy the message she sent me! It's a pretty cool miracle! 

Good Morning Beautiful Sister! 

I had a cool little miracle that I wanted to share with you. My friend Alexis, just returned home from her mission in Nicaragua. After her farewell I was at her house and met her neighbor Bobbi. I told him that I recently just got home from my mission from Tucson, Arizona and he said "hey, I know someone that is living there. Her last name is Walker" At this point I was freaking out because Hey, I know some walkers too! Turns out it was you that he knows. He said that he works with your dad! Cool huh! His family is non-members but my friend Alexis is trying to work with them. Small world! 

I have seen Elder Deere a couple of times at school... makes me think of you for some reason! ha ha He has such long hair now. Its crazy! I hope things are going well for you! Anything I can do for you sister? I love you! 

Isn't that crazy?! Small world for sure!

So anyways, on to the happenings of this week (:

Monday:
PDAY! Huzzah. I look forward to pdays so much. Sister Barnes and I have been soooo exhausted so we decided to just take it easy and nap nap nap (: it was so great. Sister Barnes is so fantastic.

Tuesday: We saw Suzette, She struggling with accepting the gospel and we have been teaching her since before I got here so i'm guessing around 9 months and she is still in square one, so we are really praying about God's will for her and thinking about dropping her.. which is soooo hard!! I've only had to drop a few of my investigators.. it just hurts my heart. 

We also got to attended a fun relief society activity about visiting teaching. I realized as they were talking, that visiting teaching is just like MISSIONARY WORK! The Lord really is looking out for all of his beloved children. Not one of us are forgotten.

Wednesday: We went on exchanges with Sister Reeves and Sister Ballard. I went to Ballards area up in Marana in Red Rock Ward and we had a blast!! I got to drive a truck again and that was lovely!! We stayed up way to late just talking.. which tends to happen on every exchange we go on.. i always get vented to! Which is great! I get to use my listening skills and give advice! Being a Sister Training Leader is a lot of responsibility and a lot of work but I am learning so much and I am learning a lot about myself and Heavenly Fathers love for me!!

Thursday: TEMPLE TRIP!! Every 4 months we get the opportunity to go to the Gila Valley Temple and this week was our week!! (: I cannot tell you wonderful it was! Our whole zone met at the North Stake Center at 9:00am and I drove the Jeep and all the elders piled into 2 mini vans and we headed up to Gila Valley!! We arrived safely (only a few races) around 11:00 and decided to eat lunch together at Kinoa's, a Hawaiian restaurant that is fantastic. We are totally going there. And then we all took pictures and spent some time on the temple grounds. Then we went in the temple around 2:00 and I enjoyed every moment. It's amazing to me that even though we only go every 4 months, I remember everything like the back of my hand. The temple is a wonderful place, especially the Gila Valley Temple. It's so little and adorable and perfect for me. I can't wait to go more often.  Then we headed home around 5:00 after stopping at a mexican resteraunt and got some Horchata (: YUMMM And then we all stopped at this gas station and bought little mexian sweaters as a zone and then for reals headed home. It was a great little trip! Probably my favorite one yet! I also realized that this temple trip was my last one as a missionary..  :(

Friday: Another lesson with Suzette.  We had an okay lesson and we even brought a member, sister Sorenson,  (: I love this ward and it will be so hard to leave when that time come. Transfers are in a week and i'm nervous to see what happens.

Saturday: We went on exchanges again and I went to Sister Moons area in Avra Valley! We went desert tromping for like 3 hours because they are trying to save miles and it was soooo cooool because we prayed for rain and there wasn't a could in the sky and then we came out of a lesson and it was overcast and it started to sprinkle for us on the way home. We also literally talked with everyone and got 7 potentials, which was awesome! And Taco Bell for dinner, which was nice. I am finally getting used to spicy foods. hahahah

Sunday: Oh blessed Sundays. We had Ward Council at 8:00, Missionary Correlation at 10:00, lunch then Church! It was the primary program so there were a lot of non members there and it was fun to hunt them all down and talk to them (:

I love being a missionary.
I love my companion.
I love all that i'm learning.
I love the people we're teaching.. even suzette
I love my Heavenly Father
& I love my Savior.

Have a great week!!
I LOVE YOU!

Love always,
Sister Kellee Walker

District Temple Trip

Sister Kellee Walker's Tuscon, Arizona Mission - September 15, 2014

Another Week of Desert Tromping

Hey there family!!
This week was nuts. 
Bare with me while I try to explain it to you. 

Monday: I realized on Monday that i only had 100 days left of my mission and I had a little melt down inside my mind. hahaa Time is going so fast and I feel like there is still so much to do and so many people to talk to! But then i realized that the Lord will still bless me with opportunities to share the gospel at home! He's done it once with the Fietkaus, why wouldn't He do it again? (: 
Alma 36:24-26
"Yea, and from that time even until now, 
I have labored without ceasing, that I might bring souls unto repentance, 
that I might bring them to taste of the exceeding joy of which I did taste; 
that they might also be born of God, and be filled with the Holy Ghost.
Yea, and now behold, O my son, 
the Lord doth give me exceedingly great joy in the fruit of my labors."

Tuesday: Everyone canceled, no one answered, no one was interested and it was flippin hot. 
I repented, but I was not in a good mood by the end of the day. 
Sister Barnes is so good to me. I owe her big time for all the things she's taught me. 

Wednesday: We had car inspections that morning and good news, we passed! Our poor jeep has like 47000ish miles on it. And missionaries in the past haven't been too kind to him, but we take good care of the little guy (: 
Then we had zone meeting for our zone in North and Sister Barnes and I trained on Desire and then on how the Gospel Blesses Families! This makes training number 7 and 8. I hope i am getting somewhat better!! 
And then we were asked to go to West Zone and give a training on The Gospel Blesses Families because they don't have any STLs over there..And 5 of our 6 companion-ships that we are over are in West Zone. So it worked out great because we got to see our sisters!! Sister Passey was there so it was great to have her participation!! She is amazing, I love her and admire her so much. 

Thursday: Literally everyone cancelled and I had a bigger melt down that wasn't inside my mind. hahaha I cried for the first time in MONTHS and let me tell yah, it felt so good to just cry. Things have been hard for me lately and I've been doing really good with staying positive and trusting my Heavenly Father but I had just hit my breaking point and sweet sister barnes just let me cry.  After dinner, God blessed us with an amazing miracle. We met this lady named Patty a few weeks ago and we were finally able to meet with her and share the Book of Mormon with her!! It was funny because her kids were going CRAZY and so i wrangled them all together and talked with them about Jesus while Sister Barnes taught Patty about the BOM. It was perfect. 
Heavenly Father knows me so well (:  

Friday: I went on exchanges with Sister Frazier and we had a blast together. She is so much like me!!
She has been out on her mission for about 4 months and it has been so cool to see her grow and progress even in just 4 months! Sister Frazier is also from Oregon (: So it reminded me of Brendan. hahha A lot of things remind me of him. I hope he is doing well with this new adventure! AND it was my 15 month mark so we celebrated by eating oreo's and milk! Huzzah (: and then sister barnes forgot to give back their phone so at like 10:30 we drove to their apartment only to realize that they had driven to our apartment.. so we sat and waited at their apartment for about a half hour to give back their phone. hahaha another late night.
Being a STL, you get no sleep. But it's totally okay, I love who I am becoming.

Saturday And Sunday: ZACH AND JACKSON'S BAPTISM!! It went flawlessly and there were soooo many people there! I don't know how much I've told you about Zach but he is a 9 year old and the only member in his family besides his less active mom. And he has been coming to church without his family for a few months and there has been some great families in the ward who have become friends with him and support him! Jackson being his best friend (: Jackson is 8 and got permission to be baptized with Zach instead of getting baptized during the stake baptisms at the beginning of the month. So it was a really cool experience for both of them!! And it was great because Zach's whole family came to his baptism and confirmation! They were so sweet to us and took us out to Carabas (: YUMMMM Sunday was wonderful as usual (: I have learned so much about my Savior just by taking the sacrament each week (: I love this gospel so much.


"...For I pray continually for them by day,
and mine eyes water my pillow by night,
because of them; and i cry unto God in faith,
and I know that He will hear my cry."
2 Nephi 33:3

I hope you all have a great week.
Tell me all about you're adventures!!

I LOVE YOU!!

Love always,
Sister Kellee Walker

Jackson and Zach's Baptism

Sister Kellee Walker's Tuscon, Arizona Mission - September 8, 2014

The Week of Meetings

Hey there family (: 

This week has been so spiritually draining. In a way, I kind of understand why all the prophets in the Book of Mormon passed out after they had all those spiritual experiences! Even like Joseph Smith, after he saw God and Jesus, he just lay on the ground for hours before he gained his strength back! We had 3 loooooooong, amazing, spirit filled meetings this week!!
The first one was on Wednesday: District Meeting and we all woke up super early and decided to go hiking through the desert and that's exactly what we did! We packed our little backpacks with some water and snacks and started hiking. We hiked, and hiked and hiked til we found some shade and decided to have combined District Meeting with our Zone right there in the desert. I don't think you can actually understand how spirit filled it was, but just imagine a bunch of missionaries sitting under a tree with dirt, rocks, the sun, cacti and bugs. Doesn't sound very spiritual but let me tell yah, it sure was!! We all were given the opportunity to stand in front of our fellow missionaries and bare testimony to them of the importance of this beloved gospel. I am so grateful for the missionaries I serve with. All around the world there are 87,000 missionaries who are doing exactly what I am doing and it touches my soul to know that Heavenly Father is walking with each of us to hasten His work. 

Then on Thursday, President Passey wanted to meet with all 12 of the Sister Training Leaders and discuss the needs of our sisters and what we can to do be great leaders. It was so great to put my input into such a great group of missionaries and to know that what we are discussing will ultimately help the beautiful sisters in this mission. We found out that there are 78 sisters in our mission and by the time I go home in December, 50% of them will have gone home. So between Sister Barnes transfer in November and my transfer in December, 50 % of the sisters in our mission will be gone! Talk about the wave of missionaries right?! Hahaha it's crazy!!

So I must have forgotten to tell you about my extension. I talked with President after praying and I decided for my own personal health and needs, that I should just go home in December. And President gave me his cute little smile and said, "That works out just perfect because I am only able to allow you to stay an extra 30 days but the next transfer isn't until February so I would need to get approval from the first presidency. So that works out great." 

Okay anyways. So then on Friday we had ANOTHER mlc and it lasted almost all day.. we talked all about the needs of the mission and what we can do to "Bring The Mission To a Higher Level". Like I said before, I am so grateful for the missionaries that I get to serve around. They are all such great examples and leaders and I am learning so so so so much!!

We also went on exchanges with Sister Yarborough and Sister Brown. I have been Sister Yarboroughs STL since she came to the mission, 7 months ago! How crazy is that? I love her very much, and i hope you know, I've made a billion new friends so you better get excited to meet them ALL when they get home.

As for my sweet Brendan, holy cow he looks dang good. hahaha you all look great!!
I can't believe how grown up Keaton is.. it freaks me out.
Please give his mama a great big hug for me.
Can I just tell you..? I AM SO EXCITED TO SEE HIM AGAIN
We have had quite a roller coaster of events happen over 3 years and 3 months..
But I am so grateful for him. and for all his support.
He has been there every step of the way & I cannot repay him for all he has helped me with.
I am just extremely grateful for our letters. They create a great story back and forth over the years.
I'm excited to sit down with him and remember all the time apart.

Be safe this week!!
The weather here has been nuts!
Some pretty scary monsoons & the weather has gotten FREEZING!
I am going to die when I come home.. to SNOW.

I love you all.
Have a great week!
Don't be too busy.

Love always, Sister Kellee Walker

Ps: Don't forget to read your scriptures!

Exchanges

Wow - momma Becky has her own street (sort of )

Sister Kellee Walker's Tuscon, Arizona Mission - September 2, 2014

Happy LABOR Day (D&C 18:15,16)

Hey there my lovely family (:   Oh how grateful I am for all you do and for who you are!!
I feel your love and prayers each and every day!! So thank you for that. 

Okay so on to the good stuff!

This week was incredible!!
There were so many cool experiences that I had and I am so so so grateful for the love i feel from my Savior.

We had the special opportunity to be visited by a member of the second quorum of the seventy, Elder and Sister Malm! And as leaders in the mission, we were asked to drive all the way out to Benson and have a missionary leadership council (MLC) with Elder Malm!! I cannot explain to you how great of an experience that was for me.
He was able to pin point each of our concerns as leaders and ultimately help us feel of our Saviors love for us as individuals. The spirit was soooo strong. I can't wait to go over my notes with you so maybe you can feel the same way I did!!

The next day we had zone conference with Elder Malm and again, we learned sooooo much!
But what was most touching to me was that after the conference, Elder Malm picked a few missionaries to interview and he picked ME!!  So I got the opportunity to sit in a room with an apostle of the Lord and ask him any question I had. He asked me a few questions in return and the one question that stood out to me the most was this, "What is your standing with God? Are you worthy?"  How great it felt to be able to look him in the eyes and say, "Yes, I know the Lord has forgiven me of my mistakes and I am worthy to serve him." Elder Malm is a great man & is lead so much by the spirit of the Lord.  I hope to one day be just like that!! We also talked a lot about the difference between the spirit within us and the natural man. He had a really cool analogy about the armor God has given us. I'll have to share that with you when I get home!

This week we also went on exchanges (just like every week) and we I left my area and went with Sister O'Hara in her area! And after a crazy turn of events, I found out that my recent convert, Brenda Bell, moved into their ward!! So we were able to take some time to go see her and she ended up feeding us dinner and we were able to catch up!!

Gosh, it was amazing (: We also had a sweet lesson with the girl named Tumeh. She is from Tiwan. It was soooo wonderful to feel so much christ-like love for someone that I didn't really know. But we connected really well and I truly hope I will get the opportunity to see her again!!

And we were able to see a less active man, Terry who we've been trying to see for a LOOONG time.
We had an awesome lesson and he said he would come to church.. but wasn't there. BUT good thing is, we get to keep trying!

On Sunday, since it was the 5th Sunday, during the third hour they had combined RS and Priesthood and they asked us to give a training on fasting because they are doing a ward fast next sunday for an opportunity to invite someone to learn more!! How exciting is that?! This ward is great (: It just helps me to have more gratitude for Bishop Veenker and for all he does. I love that man so much! I hope he knows!

And yesterday we got to go to pepper sauce caves again (: And we took like a 2 hour nap and caught up on a lot of our lost sleep. Being a STL, you lose a lot of sleep. But I couldn't be more happy!!

I hope you all had a great Labor Day!
I love you all.
And am so grateful to call you my FAMILY!!

Love,
Sister Kellee Walker

Sister Malm