100 Things I Have Learned From My Mission

From Jaime Kloepfer

Teaching in Florida, USA

Well everyone, I did it! Eighteen months of serving the Lord in Florida! I can't believe it's all coming to a close! It doesn't feel real at all! I have loved every minute of it! I can't wait to tell about it! I wanted to share some of the things that I have learned over the course of my mission...

100 Things I Have Learned From My Mission

1. How to endure  riding bike every other day for only eight months in the hot humidity and hurricane season.
2. I have learned how to live on my own and be away from family.
3. Experiencing ah-hah moments in the Book of Mormon!! They are my favorite:)
4. Learning how to like coleslaw and potato salad!
5.Learning to rely on my Heavenly Father and Savior through prayer.
6. Self-mastery, putting off the natural man.
7. Having a love for the book of Alma.
8. Loving others of living with differences.
9. How to be a member missionary when I go home.
10. Seeking the spirit in the work.
11. Becoming a master planner, always having a back up plan! You can't expect miracles without a back up plan.
12. Being exactly obedient!  Following the White Handbook: exact obedience brings miracles!
13. How to sit and plan for 3 to 5 hours during a weekly planning session!
14. How to listen with love.
15. Praying for and serving others bring a change of heart.
16. Take a question into your morning studies,  it will be answered through the spirit of revelation.
17. Praying constantly always having a prayer in your heart.
18. How to rely on Jesus Christ, trust and believe in Him.
19. Expecting miracles through faith and obedience, ( Mormon 9).
20. Miracles are not always the big signs that rarely happen, they happen every day!
21. Recognizing the atonement can heal and change us.
22. Forgetting myself and going to work.
23. Investigators praying for the first time is greater than any dinner appointment.
24. I have learned I can get ready in 15 minutes!:D
25. I do not like collard greens or green olives.
26. Wear bug spray, it's a must!
27. Everyone has dogs in the south… Everyone!
28. Beware of cockroaches they are everywhere!!  (Even in your bed and on your toothbrush yikes!)
29. You can always meet someone that knows where Burley is.
30. Smiling break down barriers and opens new opportunities!
31. Learning to drive in a big city wahoo!!
32. How to lovingly correct other missionaries.
33. How to give trainings in leadership conferences.
34. Loving peach mango cream slushies from Sonic.
35. Family history brings great joy and miracles! It's a great contact approach.
36. Once fearing repentance to loving repenting!
37.Joseph Smith is a prophet of God, this I know is true.
38. The Book of Mormon is the light!!!!!!:) it can help you through any dark day! Anyone can know this book is true (Moroni 10:3-5)
39. The Sacrament has become a lot more meaningful to me.
40. I enjoy working with less-actives members of the Church.
41. Sister Parmer  taught me the importance of exact obedience and how to be punctual.
42. She taught me the importance of effective morning studies.
43. Waldron taught me not to judge people by how they look.
44. Sister Cook taught me how to be bold in teaching people about Joseph Smith and the book of Mormon, no fear!
45. She helped me enjoy weekly planning :-)
46. Sister Cook taught me how to be real and genuine with people.
47: Sister Murray taught me how hollidaies should be celebrated on a missionary, she also makes your birthdays the best!
48. I learned how important it is to communicate.
49. Sister Blotter taught me diligence!
50. I learned how to be proactive and always stay busy because of her example!
51. She taught me to how to organize and to be a better teacher in the Gospel.
52. Sister McCook helped me discover who I was as a disciple of Jesus Christ.
53. I learned how to have fun sharing the gospel with her.
54. She taught me how to be specific in prayers and how important it is to double testify
55. Sister Beaver helped me laugh during the hard times
56. She helped me by being a true sister me
57. Sister Rigby has taught me how to be patient and that I can live with someone who is completely opposite from me.
58. I learned that we must safe safeguard ourselves when using technology, always pray first.
59. I have learned to have Christlike love for people I don't know!
60. I can teach someone the restoration in 90 seconds!
61. I have learned that acknowledging the Savior is the most important part of the repentance process.
62. If you're living righteously go with your first thought, it's from the spirit.
63. Laman and Lamoni  taught me that murmuring numbs your spiritual sensitivity.
64. I can do tough things!! And I love tough things!!
65: Gratitude helps us be in tune with spiritual promptings
66: Music helps bring a piece of mind
67: I learned how to keep track of miles on a car and stay within the monthly mileage limit
68: You will find yourself the happiest when you have people to teach.
69: Some of your most elect people are found at Walmart! It's a matter of opening your mouth and talking to them.
70: Almond milk is actually good.
71: I don't have to wear a lot of makeup to feel beautiful.
72: Southern food is very fattening everything is fried!
73: Recognizing how the Spirit speaks to you is like learning a new language.
74: "Y'all"does become a part of your everyday vocabulary! Haha
75:  I love teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ!
76: I can fit up to 12 copies of the book of Mormon in my carrying bag! Fun fact!
77: I love awkward things! :-)
78: People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care.
79: Aaron in the book of Mormon is one of my favorite missionaries. Read about him in alma 22
80: Golden hours =MIRACLES!!!!!!
81: Baptism  is not an end but a beginning.
82: Social media is a great way to share the gospel!! #sharethegoodness
83: God is no respecter of persons, He loves His children equally
84: Many people in the south have no teeth.
85: Florida is more than just palm trees and flamingos... there is definitely country and dirt roads!
86: You haven't lived in the south until you had grits and fried okra.
87: Always chain and lock your bike up or it will get stolen, I've learned from experience.
88: I love sharing the first vision that Joseph Smith had it brings joy to my heart ,and I know it's true!
89: We cannot develop Christlike attributes without  the help of our Savior Jesus Christ
90: The Atonement of Jesus Christ makes salvation possible.
91: People in the south LOVE talking about Jesus Christ!
92: You learn to love yourself even when you are sweating and your hair is frizzy during the summertime (which is pretty much all year long!)
93: During hurricane season(June-October) you can always expect it to rain between 2 and 5 in the afternoon… Always!
94: I learned to love people of all different faiths.
95: There's no need to fear sharing the gospel when you know that it is true.
96: I learn and retain so much more when I study in the mornings, it prepares you for the rest of your day.
97: The power of the priesthood is real. It has been restored back on the earth and is found within the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
98: Heavenly Father has been aware of me these last 18 months. You can not fail when you have the Lord on your side.
99: You make friends on your mission that will last for eternity.
100: I LOVE BEING a missionary!!!

I love my mission and I love being a missionary! I have such a love and testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I know it is true! The way we can know of spiritual truths is through prayer. I invite anyone
reading this email to pray and ask God to know if The Book of Mormon is true. As you ask with a sincere heart and with real intent, the Spirit will tell you. My knowledge of the truthfulness of the Book of
Mormon  has lead me to have a change of heart and has changed my life forever. If you desire to experience exceeding joy as talked about in Mosiah 4:12 then pour out your heart and ask God if these things are true. I know that anything good comes from God. I know the Book of Mormon is good, therefore I know it is from a God.  I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ amen.

HOORAH FOR ISRAEL!!!!!!!:)
Love Sister Kloepfer

Ready to Go at a Moment's Notice

From Karsten Hinckley

Teaching in Thailand 

This week was a great week of learning, applying, teaching and serving! Elder Polu and I had a great week of serving and teaching. There is a small family in our ward here who just isn’t doing the best. It is a mom and two sons. We were at Book of Mormon class this week when we got a call. It was the mom telling me that her son went to the hospital. I asked, "Sister what do you want me to do? If you want me to come I will come." She said, “Ill call you back if I need anything.”  I told her not to feel bad if she needed up to come.

So we went on with our class and I get a call about 10 minutes later: "Elder I need you to come now!" I looked at Elder Polu and said, “We have to go now.” We got on our bikes and road to the hospital which was about 14 minutes away in about 5 minutes.

The woman’s  other son ran to the front counter to get us and we ran to the mom and other son. She asked us to give her son a Priesthood blessing. We gave the little boy a blessing. Did the best we could to comfort the mom and we left.

The next morning we get a call from the sister in our ward again. "Elder I need you to come to the hospital and give my other son a blessing." We got on our bikes and road to the hospital again. We bought food for the family before we went in. We gave the other son a blessing. To our surprise the boy who we gave the blessing to the night before was up walking around. The other son was given a blessing and we went on our way. That was all we could do. These two boys were very sick and I know that the Lord, through us using our priesthood, was able to heal the both of them. I was ready to go at a moment’s notice.

We need to be ready to move, make a decision on a moment’s notice. Sometimes we don’t have time to waste. Things need to get done and what are you going to do? I know that the Lord puts us in situations that will help us grow. All I know is that I am doing the best that I can do.

True Conversion

From Cambree King

Teaching in Honduras

Saturday brings Amelia's baptism, which has been a long awaited event. They fed us baleadas yesterday and there is such a sweet spirit in their home. We bought them the hymns on CD because they want to learn all the tunes, and they had them playing nonstop all day Sunday.

When we showed up to enter their house, we had to enter through the pulperia door. A man came up behind us wanting to buy just a little bit of cat food. Amelia said that they don’t open on Sundays and he kept begging. Finally she explained to him that it was the Sabbath day and even just one little sale would break it and she obeys the commandments. It was one of those moments where the Spirit testifies as well and we could see the true conversion she has.

This Saturday was Amelias baptism and well, it was absolutely incredible. Her grandpa comes and visits them every weekend; he lives in a little pueblo about two hours out of Tegucigalpa. He has never walked into a church in his life... they all joke with him that the day he enters a church, it would go up in flames and burn to the ground. Well, the church is still standing without even a scorch mark. He came to her baptism and it was incredible.

As she bore her testimony afterwards, she testified of the truthfulness of the gospel and how grateful she was that the Lord had given her the chance to know the gospel. She feels as though a mission is what the Lord wants for her life, so she is starting the preparation from now. As she bore her testimony of eternal families, it brought her grandpa to tears. He felt the spirit and now he just needs to come to recognize it. It was a really good experience.

I LOVE Being a Missionary!

From Jaime Kloepfer

Teaching in Florida  

Missions are truly the best! I can't even describe the joy that comes when you share the gospel with Gods children! My companion and I have been able to experience wonderful miracles here in the tiny town of Palatka! Most people call it a redneck town! 

When arriving here to Palatka we identified some part member families and began working with them. For the past few weeks we have had the privilege of teaching two little girls the gospel of Jesus Christ. Each lesson we taught them was increasing their faith! The most beautiful part of it all is to see the family of these two little girls grow closer to the Savior and have an increased desire to keep Gods commandments. They are working to have family home evening each week and the children remember each night to read the Book of Mormon! Miracles do happen and people do change. It is all because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ that this is made possible:). I love this gospel and I love my Savior Jesus Christ. I LOVE being a missionary!