Day After Christmas...

Christmas was so many different feelings, things, and emotions. It was not along the lines of the usual Harker family traditions but it was also amazing and I loved it. I loooooved talking to my family and seeing them at last! I cried the whole time. I got that from mom. I love you mom!

I love how I was able to think about Christmas a different way. Growing closer to the Savior and learning more about Him made Christmas so much more meaningful. 

So many good things happened. My foot is healing! I now have more movement in my foot.  We made a gang members day by singing him happy birthday! He introduced us to his family. He promised he will go to our church. We will visit him soon. 

WE PUT EVELIN AND JR ON DATE. January 7th. Just need to talk to their dad now.  

We made gingerbread cookies.

I don't know why it is so hard for me to remember things that happen to me.

My sister Mia should be proud of me because I started doing my make up again.

I held the cutest and sweetest cat the other day. Didn't cry this time. She takes showers!

We have gone out caroling the past couple nights. We were having a lot of difficulties two days ago so we said a prayer to ask Heavenly Father to guide us. We went to this one trailer house. knocked, started singing, and the guy opened the door and closed it before you could say Sarsaparilla. We kept singing our two songs and left. We felt discouraged but my comp reminded me that we don't know what they were feeling behind the door as we stood there and continued to sing. She's a genius she is.

My next p day will be next Tuesday again for the holidays.

I started studying more about how I can understand myself so I can better deal with my weaknesses and strengths this morning. I dove into my patriarchal blessing and I have already found out so much about myself and where I came from.

I don't know if this is weird but I started thinking about my future angel babies. Like how they are watching me. I love them already.

I love my family so much. And yes I am also talking about my extended family. They have done so much for me and I love and appreciate everything they have all done for me and my companions. They love you too. I am so blessed to be a part of my family. I love you all so much. 

I have learned that family is so important. It is the main unit. The heart. And the reason why it is so important for us is because we all learn from one another and help and support each other. We can grow closer together by growing closer to the Savior together.

I love praying and talking to my Heavenly Father. Me encanto a hablar en espanol y ingles. No se como hablar los dos idiomas. Pero yo se que vive mi senor. Yo se que este evangelio es verdad y me encanta orar y hablar con mi padre celestial. Tengo un gran testimonio de oracion y paciencia. Estoy trabajando con paciencia. Es muy deficil. Pero esta bien porque tengo la ayuda de mi padres terenales y mi padre celestial.

Les amo y quiero mucho mucho.

Don't judge my Spanish.

Con todo el amor de mi corazon, 

Hermana Kiara Harker

Feliz ano nuevo! :) 

Peace and blessings, peace and blessings. 

Got new jammies from my grandma.

Saw a dead lizard in a cup full of water.

Saw some awesome Christmas lights.

One Week Till Christmas!!!

This is it. I cannot believe it is here. Christmas is almost here. Talking to my family is almost here and I am so excited!

Well momma you should be proud because I am leading the area right now with my companion. Every other day we switch off between speaking pure Spanish and pure English. Yanno I need help with Spanish and she needs help with English. It's super hard but we are both learning.

We moved into an elders apartment while they moved into ours. Lemme just say... ew. Ew like Jimmy Fallon's short. Ew. It was disgusting. Hair everywhere. Just super dirty and messy. And then they left a bunch of crap so it looked like they were still living there. But after a couple days of hard work cleaning and unpacking, it is starting to smell and look like how a home should. 

I was moving that cart full of church chairs this morning and one of them jumped off and fell on my foot. No cuss words. No tears. I'm a true woman. Dignified. But it is super swollen but we have no ibuprofen so that is the first thing to buy on the list for today. Pray for me.

Pictures will be next week. I apologize.

We haven't been able to do a lot of teaching this week with transfers and holiday things, but we are going to have a FHE with our less active named Luz and her nonmember kids aka our investigators tonight. Hopefully set them on date for baptism. Whoop whoop!

One day we do pure English to help Hermana Balcazar out and then the next we have puro Espanol to help me out with Spanish. It adds stress but it will pay off. Eventually. Hopefully.

All in all I love my mission. I love posole and corn tortillas. I wish we could walk more often but I don't think that would be good right now with having a foot that looks like an almond. and I'm a Mormon.

I love the Lord. I love my family and I love chocolate too much. Next month I turn 20. Food for thought. I hope everyone has a great week and a very Merry Christmas and Feliz Navidad! Les quiero mucho!

Con todo el amor en me corathon, Hermana Kiara Harker
:)<3

--

Hermana Kiara Harker

California Carlsbad Mission

451 West Bobier Drive

Vista, CA 92083-1906

(for letters and packages;))

I apologize for the space I have had for my weekly emails. I have been going through some things and I was not able to write. This week has been awesome though. I am very happy about it. 

We had a Zone Training Meeting. Just training the zone. And we were trained on how to better our prayers. It was so freaking amazing. I felt like my prayers were already good and personal but this training made it even better. What we did is talked about the importance of prayer and everything. Then we went to the training. We applied it and practiced. They told us to have a personal prayer and to ask Heavenly Father what HE thinks about ourselves. It was so humbling and beautiful. But then we had to introduce ourselves to our companions as Heavenly Father would introduce us. Seeing yourself through Heavenly Father's eyes. It was insane and it makes me so excited to pray every day. I love prayer. I encourage all do try it out.

We found a less active named Luz. She has four kids. Two of them are baptism aged...;) hehehe!  We have been teaching them for two weeks now and they are so solid. Firme. Luz has been a less active for 14 years but she has gone to church the past two weeks. She cried last week because she was thinking about how she felt before she left the church. It was such a beautiful experience. 

I FINISHED MY TRAINING!!!  I am no longer a greenie. Kinda. I am no longer a trainee. To graduate from training we went to the Mormon Battalion in San Diego. Which was so awesome. I loved it but I have been so used to driving. I rode for the first time in 4 months as a passenger and I got car sick. I wanted to die. But as soon as I got outside I was fine. I'm such a pansy. 

A potential investigator we have is a border line atheist. Its super hard because he has a Christian background but not he says that he can't say there is a God and he can't say there isn't. He likes facts and debating. Its frustrating. We spent quite a long time trying to teach him and give him facts and talking about faith but he was so frustrating and started talking about history. And so I have been studying the Bible a lot and studying for him so I can smack him in the face with true doctrine. He will feel the spirit I know it. This is really testing me and helping me grow my testimony. He is trying to break me down but he is only making me stronger. We will see who wins. God always does. Muahahaha!

I have been so cultured. Gracias to my two fluent Latina companions. I learned two children songs in Spanish. They go like this (clears throat):

Song numero uno:

un elefante se columpiaba

sobre la tele de un arana

como veia que resistia

fueron a llamar un otro elefante

Song numero dos:

arroz con leche me quiero casar

con un senorito de san nicolaus

que sepa tejer, que sepa bordar

que sepa abriri la puerta para ir a jugar

con este si, con este no

con este senorito me caso yo

I love you all so much. I know all of you have impacted my life so much and I appreciate you and your example to me so much. Now enjoy some pictures.

Me and Peruvian hot cocoa.

This is Elder Wockenfuss and he is leaving tomorrow omg!! We call him Grandpa Wockenfuss. 

Just a freaking sunset here in Oceanside. Driving on Seagaze. 

I made ham and eggs for breakfast from left over Thanksgiving ham from bishop. 

Me and hot cocoa.

Our zone!

Hermana Balcazar and I riding home from the Mormon Batallion.

Letter to Mom

I got my package from Sister Crump!! (A sister that is in her ward that I met over Thanksgiving break. She delivered a package to Kiara from us.) I loved it so much. Thank you mommy. They said that I look like you! And I have dads same personality! We are going to have dinner with them tonight and have family home evening! We have 8 missionaries in our ward right now...its crazy and is hard for members to feed us sometimes. 

The companions and I love the soap you sent a while ago. We got our apartment inspected this past week and we got a 10/10 and they said they want our apartment to be a sample for a picture or something. I don't blame them... our apartment looks and smells so good all the time! Everyone says it is homey. 

We had a baptism for a little girl in our ward this week! It was so cute! It made me think about Bubby. I have been thinking that I want to write him a letter and then you read it to him and everyone at his baptism as a surprise! And I know you will cry through the whole thing! I love you mom. I'm just planning ahead! Don't tell him! 

I forgot my camera so I will have to send you pictures next week I am so sorry! Or I will just send them later when I get the chance. 

I love you so much mom. You're the best ever. I love you!

Love, your missionary, Hermana Kiara Harker