Tu No Comes, Por Que?

Translation: you don't eat, why?

i was asked this question this week at dinner at a members house. her name is Hermana Mejilla she is a sweet older lady and her son is a hoarder. dinner was a chicken leg, rice, beans, and tortillas of course. it was really good. but my stomach was hurting and i had started my period so i had bad cramps and i didn't want to continue eating. i also had just gotten a bug out of my guava juice. so my appetite was long gone. but thankfully after she said this to me her son came out of his room and started rambling on about whoknowswhat. i was so distracted and embarrassed by what she said i started trying to finish what was in my bowl. i felt so sick. i tried to eat as much as i could. i hope she doesn't hate me. but after that we were about to get in the car to leave, but then we saw Robert's mom outside (he is the potential gang member that does tattoos and is never home) and so we talked to her. turns out she has family members that are members of the church and her and us have similar beliefs and so we were able to connect really well. she was super nice. which is a change because right before i said hello and asked how this woman passing was, and she completely ignored me. so the Lord blesses us. He gives us the hardships but then when we endure it well, He blesses us. Church is true!

i have made it a goal to try to speak only Spanish when we leave the home (which is around 1ish) until we then return home (9). its super difficult because we get distracted and start speaking in English again. constant battle. I'm catching up with understanding what people are saying but still struggling with speaking. so many prayers. still trying. its crazy that I've already been here in Cali for a month. its going by so fast. i only have six more weeks with my companion and then she will most likely get transferred to another area. 

we got dropped again. we were teaching this joven (young teenager around Bella's age[15]) even though she had her own religion already. we had put her on date for baptism just as a goal but she dropped us and didn't want us to come by anymore. that was really difficult. she said there was another woman coming by to teach her (Jehovah witnessed again) but we are still going to teach her mom English. that might be awkward. oh well. missionaries are awkward. whatchagonnado. 

we were able to go to the San Diego temple this past Friday! it was freaking awesome! so beautiful! and there was an elder that needed some family names done and so me and hna Mendez and some other sisters helped him out and it was such a sweet experience. Gospel blesses lives and families. 

i love you guys so much and i am so grateful for all you in my life. 

always thinking and praying for the people back at home! love you!

you're welcome.

love, Kiara:)<3

i was not drinking beer. our investigator Jorge was and he set it down to clean up a table and chairs for us to sit on so we could teach him more about the Gospel!

Kiara in Oceanside, CA

Me being me in the morning

Stuffing my face with a wicked good sandwich

Leaving a house where we knew people were inside but didn't answer the door-missionary life

Our trunk in trunk or treat for a ward fall festival party

And us at lunch one day:)

We picked up lots of new investigators. we are supposed to have four new investigators a week and we picked up 6. whoop whoop. we also had zone conference this week and it was super cool. something very much needed. we have also been pretty busy. our schedule has been pretty packed and busy. got another person on date for baptism and she's a Jehovah's witness so we will see how that goes. church is awesome. I'm starting to understand even more Spanish. so that's good. last night we finally got into contact with Robert, the possible gang member. he was drinking a beer when we got there. he showed us where he does tattoos and gave us his card. he's pretty cool. he's the one that has the Chargers logo tattooed above his temple on his head. he seems very interested so we will also see what happens with that.

I have gotten hooked on tamales. from a van. the Palacios are a wonderful loving family that are freaking awesome. they feed us every Friday night. and we help do service with cleaning their house, putting away groceries, and cleaning their huge pots and pans they cook tamales and elotes in. but its pretty fun. I've gotten good at saying "tamales, elotes, champurrado" I love sweet corn tamales, they are usually eaten as a desert. and then Rojas. they have jalapenos and cheese, they are kinda spicy but freaking delicious. good thing we have to run every morning or else I would be unhappy with my body.

Something cool that happened this week is I've been studying Christ like attributes in Preach My Gospel. this week was patience. because I need more because I have been super stressed and anxious all week. it has definitely helped. but I still need more. I'm breaking out like crazy. my face hurts. have to have deep breaths and try to be calm. God is testing me. He is trying my patience. Have to be strong. pray for me.

My Spanish is coming, one step at a time (Jordin Sparks). pray for me.

Yesterday consisted of strange smells and bugs. we sat with Sofia, the woman that is large and makes her clothes out of sheets. she has lots of health problems. her house smells like urine. so we were there for an hour and a half and we smelled funky afterwards. at dinner she was frying chicken and so we smelled like cooking oil. gross. and then we smelled like sweat and beer from Roberts house. there were also so many ants in Sofia's house. she has food all over on the ground so there are hundreds of ants crawling all over the place, and us. fun. and then there were cockroaches scurrying all over at dinner as well. because her son is a hoarder. is was a interesting day to say the least. but I love the people. they make life so much interesting and adventurous. good stuff.

2 Nephi 4

Alma 32

good stuff.

In relief society yesterday there was a woman and her son is leaving on his mission this week and she was crying the whole time. it was so sweet and it reminded me of you mom because you cry all the time :) I love you mommy:) and I know you love me!  please send me my health insurance:)

 

I love you guys so much and miss you like crazy. I hope you are having fun and being safe. I'll pray for you if you pray for me.

love, Kiara:)<3

-- 

Hermana Kiara Harker

California Carlsbad Mission

451 West Bobier Drive

Vista, CA 92083-1906

(for letters and packages;))

(This photo was sent to Wendy by a mom from North Logan, Utah.  The little boy is her son.  She also has a missionary and sent this cute picture of Kiara and Hermana Mendez.  It made her day!!!)

Kiara's district

This week i could definitely say was the hardest for me so far. I'm just being really hard on myself with the language because I'm still struggling with that. i know this is only my third week here and i shouldn't be fluent by any means. i just have a hard time getting my thoughts and points across in Spanish. but i can understand almost everything everyone is saying, but i just feel awkward sitting there because i never have anything to add to the conversation because speaking Spanish is difficult. but hna Mendez gave me a pep talk because i have received lots of compliments on my Spanish by members in our ward already, but just to tell me not to worry about it. it will take a lot of time for me to feel comfortable talking in Spanish. but we also went on exchanges this week. so i went to the area speaking English with the sister training leader. and that helped me so much with my confidence. because i was finally able to teach a freaking lesson! haha but yea it was really good. its what i really needed. because after we exchanged back we went into a lesson and i was able to teach so much better and it was so much fun. another struggle is just trying to stay happy. because we spend a lot of time studying and being serious, and I'm tired all the time and have little headaches from concentrating so hard on what people are saying in Spanish. i try to find little things during the day to keep me happy. or to remind me to be happy. like things i would say to my family. or punching Talon every time i see an out of state license plate or slug bug or yellow car. its the little things that get you through the day, right?

Something super awesome. we have two new people on date for baptism, November 5 and that is super exciting. so many little moments of inspiration that i don't think much about, but actually lead to huge blessings. for example: last night we were out of luck. all the people we were going to stop by weren't home. our appointments were falling through and all the people we needed to call were already called. after sitting there for a long time, i thought to look at our weekly goals and lessons and people we wanted to focus on. i came across the little family we are teaching: Alvaro, Mayra, and Bethany. they were scheduled earlier this week but had to cancel. they let us know via txt (which means they are actually interested because they let us know they couldn't make it). so i told hna Mendez we should stop by their house to see if they are home. true inspiration. because we drove by and they were! and we were able to teach them the Word of Wisdom and it was so successful. every time we go over there, they always offer us water or coffee and we almost always decline. after our lesson last night with them on the WOW, we invited them to try not to drink coffee and alcohol. they said that it would be hard but they knew they needed to. they say the same thing about baptism. which is amazing. they are truly elect. so they said they would! and they also told us they wanted to go to church with us that day but Alvaro had work. and they try to read the Book of Mormon whenever they have time. they are such an amazing and strong family. we have them on date for baptism this weekend as a goal, but they are living together and they would have to get married first so that will definitely postpone their baptisms. but i still think they are committed to it. and it makes me so happy. i couldn't stop smiling the whole lesson. and i got to teach them too! which is awesome! my grammar sucks but they understand the "international language" its not love, for all you Better Off Dead movie knowers, its THE SPIRIT!!! amen. 

Sorry this email is late, we went to Lego Land today because the YSA elders got tickets for our district. the whole time i was thinking about Max and how much he would love it. i wanted to get everyone souvenirs but they are so gosh darn expensive. its the thought that counts. those are the big things that happened this week. 

Other than my mom sending me my sick package in the mail last p day. i loved it and i love her so much. i also received my letter from Katie today, i love you guys so much. thank you all for your support and love. i miss you!

Love, Kiara:)<3

hello! sorry yesterday (Monday) was a holiday and we have to proselyte  on holidays. so today is our p-day! this week has been so all over the place. the other day we forgot to plan and so we did a lot of driving around not really knowing what to do. but then yesterday we planned and we had great success. just shows how important planning is! 

we had a sister's conference with all the sisters in the entire mission and that was awesome! i learned so much about myself and my self worth and the love God has for me. how we don't need to be perfect, we need to try our best and to be complete. fully developed in the Gospel. not free from error. because that's impossible. Everyone is fighting a battle, and we are all getting credit for trying. Everything makes the difference. with us being sister missionaries,  we put a lot of unneeded stress on ourselves and we have problems with comparing ourselves. that is why they had a special sister's conference! i learned that being happy is a commandment, never actually knew that. and we need to ask  what Heavenly Father wants us to do. especially as missionaries. but that can help you just in regular life. (random thoughts from my notes: ) when we have a vision of what we can become, it motivates us and makes us strive for that vision and work toward it. we have to find joy in the journey. what can i learn from this experience? what can i change? excellence is being willing to fail. that was really cool. don't leave before the miracle. let Him bless us. when you believe in yourself, you believe in miracles. pain has to be heard to move forward. underneath weaknesses is what you want. when you cant find what you want, talk it out. when you find what you want, you have to live it. it teaches you. you teach yourself. when you have something to say, have the other person "hold space". no judgments. no comments. just hold space. just like how Christ does for us. don't try to fix anything. just listen. hold space. but also be conscious of your intention in talking things out. express the pain to get to the want. 

i gained a lot of appreciation for my mom this week. we spent almost everyday helping this less active, move. she had so much crap mom. like nothing compared to what i have. i learned the importance of de-junking and weekly chores. so much scrubbing. but we made it look like it was a brand new house. it was awesome. and we still aren't done i think. oh well. 

one of the many miracles this week: we were trying to figure out who to visit. we have the one family that has a baptismal date that we haven't talked to for a while because of unavailability. their dog also barked and chased us a couple days before an bit hna mendez...anyway we were in front of this part member families house and thought about visiting the other family because we were thinking they were dodging us, so if we went by earlier then maybe we would have a chance to talk to them. so i said a prayer out loud with hna mendez asking what God wanted us to do and who needed us that night. after the prayer we sat there and the names of the other family popped into my head and after hna mendez said the same thing. its amazing how the spirit works. i love it. it helps me so much during the day. 

we contacted a group of cholos ( gang members, mom ) and they gave us the wrong house address. we had some elders come with us so we could hand them over to them because we were scared of them. but they gave us the wrong address. oh well.. 

i spent a lot of time thinking and talking about friends and family this week with hna mendez, made me miss you all. but i know that i love you more than i miss you. i love you guys. i hope you are having a great week, and continue to have a great week. i pray for all of you. and i love you all so much! 

(mom-i left my camera in Mexico but my companion grabbed it and is sending it to me...sorry no pictures again. ill ask hna mendez if she has any i can send)

i love  you!

-Kiara (hna Harker) :)<3 

First Week in Carlsbad!

Holy crap im here. i feel like im having an out of body experience. its crazy. i seriously feel like im walking around and im a camera man and i am watching the tv. it is so surreal. but guess what? im freaking loving it. im loving it here. it is so much better than the MTC. i mean i loved that place and all the people there, but im finally free. it feels like im going to school but like a church school. its wonderful here. the weather, the people, my companion, the freedom, my apartment, im just happy im finally here. and it doesn't feel real.

my companion is hermana Mendez. she is a Latina from Idaho. she is fluent in Spanish and English. so that is a huge blessing. we are like the only Spanish speaking hermanas. she is training me and doing a great job. she is a great missionary. i want to be just like her. word on the street is that i am going to be a trainer after these 12 weeks. and that is super crazy because i feel like i just got here and im not ready to be a trainer. but i mean like i got 12 weeks. 

um im actually understanding the people! i can understand almost everything that they are saying. also i can understand more than i can speak. but we were eating dinner at a member/less actives house one night and i was introducing myself and told them i had studied 3 years of Spanish and was in Mexico for 6 weeks for Spanish, he was surprised and told me that i had pretty good Spanish. that was an amazing compliment. hna Mendez does most of the talking because she understands AND speaks better than i do. we actually do a lot more lessons in English than Spanish. they speak Spanish but they prefer to be taught in English. and i love the people. 

the night i got there we had a lesson with a new investigator family. Alvaro, Mayra, and Bethany. and that night we actually got them on date for BAPTISM. it was my first lesson with them but hna Mendez has visited them before. i just sat there smiling and trying to stay awake and trying to understand what Alvaro was saying. but it was amazing. we just had another lesson with them this past weekend and we taught about the Plan of Salvation and it went so good. i actually spoke too! i testified about prayer and the Holy Ghost was so strong. i wanted to cry. i could feel God's love for this family. they are amazing and understanding. i love the work. 

the next night we went out contacting. which is one of the scariest things ever. we got out of a lesson and just walked around the streets at night in the dark and talked to random people and handed out Mormon.org cards. it was terrifying but i also loved it at the same time. its a weird feeling and combination but its great. 

conference was amazing too. i haven't been too sad...yet...i hope i  don't get too sad. i was missing my family during conference but i also felt the spirit so strong knowing that they were okay and watching conference too. and i also had a feeling my mom would be crying every time they mentioned missionaries and missionary work. i love you mom. 

yesterday was awesome. we went and contacted a woman last night. she had filled out a cuestionario  and we actually taught a mini Restoration lesson right there on the spot. i was able to recite the first vision in Spanish from memory (thank you Hno. Weber and Hna. Alonso for making us memorize those scriptures). and then right before we went home we stopped by another guys house on our way home to set up an appointment and it turns out he is in a GANG. it was seriously so cool. he had face tattoos and a bunch of other tattoos. he spoke in English but we set up an appointment with him and it was killer. he actually had a chargers symbol above his eyebrow near his temple and it reminded me of Talon :)<3 everyone here has chargers swag. 

they say there are so many spiders here and we killed a black widow outside our apartment the first day and i wanted to cry. i haven't seen very many. that is either a blessing or a curse. im sure ill be fine. 

i was worried i was going to be so out of shape from the MTC that i wasn't going to be able to run in the morning, but its actually really easy and im loving it. 

hna Mendez doesn't have her license so i have been having to driving this whole time and that's been really great. its actually a really nice car and the breaks and gas are incredible. im not comparing her to baby grey. i miss you buddy. too bad she has a new owner -_-

send all letters and packages to the following address:)

451 W Bobier Dr
Vista CA 92083-1906
United States

MOM: please send me the family insurance card and if you haven't already, please send me my grey waffle shirt, my elephant skirt, and my black dress:) also how much money do i have on my card?

i love you all so much and im so blessed to have such a wonderful family and friends. i love you guys and i hope you are being safe and having a great time. don't forget to read your scriptures and pray everyday and every night. you will see the blessing tremendously in your lives. keep praying! i love you!

Kiara :) your fellow hermana missionary!<3

Kiara and Hermana Mendez

Helping Hermana Mendez with a bandaid.