not lion. this week was a toughy.

but everythings good now. 

we had a fundraiser and ate some dang good food. 

ate a bright pink tamal.

my comp is so cute and decorated and surprised me on my half way mark!

got a hair trim. doesnt look any different, just my ends are more straight across.

workin hard out here. 

i love the Book of Mormon.

cute experience: 

its been butt hot outside the past few dayz. like before it was cold, overcast, and awesome. but now its hot and sweaty and sticky and awesome. we had biked for a while and stopped at the opening of some apartments to rest in the shade and a lady comes over. i thought she was going to tell us to leave. she asks if we are okay and if we need anything. she invites over to outside her house to sit in the shade. she brings us a blanket some water some popcicles and ice cream sandwiches. she says: "im christian and i know what youre doing so we arent going to talk about religion" but in a nice way. she told us to relax. so we sit on a blanket in the shade and enjoy water and popcicles. she was sent from heaven. blessings on blessings on blessings. 

a year ago on friday i opened my mission call. thats creepy. 

just yanno, rolling with the punches. feeling good. 

here are some pictures of my face:)

i love you guys muchly! have a wonderful week!

love, hermana kiara harker

"Bird attacks...fighting for my life."

A true story.

Brought to you by viewers like you, thank you.

"alrighty" really without fail it happens. every. time. 

skyped my amazing family i love them so much. shoutout to bellarie my sister is now 15 years old today! everyone stay in your houses because she will be starting to practice driving. or come out and watch and tease her for me:)

super funny story im so excited to share this with you. this tale is where i was on the verge between life and death. we were walking down this road. there were only a few houses. the only people outside were the people we just talked to. they werent that interested. but we keep walking about to knock another door hidden by a hedge. when all of a sudden a loud "whoosh" hits the top of my head. just skimming the top of my head. it was a hawk. i watch it keep flying and perch itself on a pole (pictured. looks like a pidgeon). me and hermana whilhelmsen a little spooked keep laughing and ke

ep walking. thats where we made the mistake. nothing was the same after that. a few minutes later something once again comes up behind me and hits and scratches and pulls my hair! back at it again with the hawk! this time it tried to pull me up and take me away to eat me! it came down and tried to snatch my hair on the top of my head. i had it in a "half up half down" and i think the bird thought it was a mouse. "its because of your mouse-y hair" says my dad yesterday. i thought it was because of the conditioner i use that made my hair so appealing. but now i have three gashes in my scalp from my predator. now i know what mice and fish and squirrels feel like to be the prey. ive gained a new respect for them: my people. the other hermanas brought up rabies. could i get rabies from a hawk attack? because they probably have so many diseases on their claws and blood from other victims. i call the nurse and she asks me when the last time i got a tetanus shot. told me to go home and wash my hair and put medicine on it. dont need rabies shot. im in the clear. now i have mission scars and a story to share. im happy it happened haha! 

so happy i lived to tell the tale. 

also reading the Book of Mormon now is so much better than when i was 13. i love the stories! its like a movie as i read! i want to read them all the time. and it makes me sad we only get an hour a day to do so. but i squeeze in time if i get ready fast and before bed. i love them. you should read it sometime;)

but i love you all. peace and blessings. have a wonderful wonderful day! and enjoy my battle wounds. 

--

Hermana Kiara Harker

also i hit 9 months tomorrow. heres my pregnancy picture. 

I DONT KNOW WHY THIS MAKES ME SO NERVOUS!​

I think of so much things to talk about during the week. and then I see the timer of seconds counting down on this library computer! I get stage fright! so much nerves! alsdkfnaoifn

okay so this has been my hardest time on my mission. hardest area. hardest time. things don't work out. things build up. things get tricky. emotional. stressful. slow. impatient. ahhh!! but you know what makes up all the difference? personal study. that one hour before anything happens in the day is seriously the best thing ever. I appreciate the scriptures so much more that I ever have. they make me so happy. they bring me so much peace. they really change you. no wonder why the book of Mormon is the keystone to our religion. it is crucial to everyone's testimony! both the bible and the book of Mormon together contain the fullness of the gospel. but you cant just depend and read the bible. you NEEEEED  the book of Mormon. and if its true, then everything else follows. it is the most constant and most correct book ever. maybe someone says something offensive in the church? the book of Mormon is still true. hasn't changed. something Hermana whilhelmsen says when we are having a hard day or complaining about something: the church is true and the sun is shining! so true. even though its been stormy the past two days, the sun is still shining we just couldn't see it. that's a testimony builder.

back in elementary school we had a book of mormathon where we read the whole book of Mormon in three days. and I used to say that I had read the whole book of Mormon because of that. but now reading it now and the furthest ive ever gotten, I am learning so much! I am taking so much out of it and it has helped me so much with everything. I know that the book of Mormon was written for our time. it applies to everything.

just let that marinate.

this week was a hard week. but something happened that made everything better. and it was so simple. its the simple things in life, yanno? so we had a training follow up meeting. Hermana osburn is almost done being trained! we only have a few more weeks. then we will be off to the Mormon battalion. that's crazy. but we were driving back to san marcos from vista. we were stopped at a red light and there was one of the sign guys and he had his headphones in just dancing. and so we wave to him because mama taught me good. and he waves and starts dancing at us. and so we start dancing back! we danced in the car without talking to him for a good 4 minutes. it was a blast. he was laughing and we were all laughing.

we had a training where we want to leave people on a good note after talking or interacting with them. now he knows that missionaries are awesome, and maybe he will talk to them one day and have that good first impression from us! you never know!

besides all the downs in life, there are always so much more ups. we focus on the downs because they might be more noticeable. but we are always blessed with ups. always look for the good things in life. they could be simple and small, but those are the things that will change your life. I love you guys! sorry this is so long! but I don't really care! hehe! just kidding, but im wishing and praying for you! have a great week!

love, Hermana kiara harker:) much love. 

we did chalking

Hermana osburn got her tiwi so she can drive and I can ride passenger and pick the songs!!!

I got sunburned on the part of my hand I didn't rub in sunscreen very well. you can see my finger prints on my hand...

jenga at noche de hogar. we related it to the restoration

water fight in the parking lot one night. I won.

bananas

waiting to use the bathroom after the water fight

how come everytime I sit in front of the computer to write to everyone, the first thing that pops into my mind is: "alrighty"? answer me that. riddle me that.

we walked to the post office this morning for my comp to send something and it felt like 100 degrees. the stls pick us up and it says its only 73. we are in for a hot one. buckle up buttercup.

work wise: we found one new investigator named Rogelio. I think of Rog back in oside. we made cookies and heart attacked some less actives in our area as well as the bishops. because the bishop does so much for the ward and loves them so much. and his family works so hard too. so we wanted to show them we love them.

MIRACLE!! miracle this week was when we were discussing who to give the cookies to, we thought about this one less active family. they have been less active for 2 years. and they stopped going to church out of the blue. and we have gone to their house every week since ive been here. and every week they say they will come to church. the last meeting we had with them they said that nothing was keeping them from coming to church. that they knew they needed to go. but they just wouldn't! and so we stopped going over. sometimes you have to drop your less actives too. so we didn't go over to their house for like 2 weeks. we were pretty heart broken. when we were picking which houses to go to, we both felt like we should give them some cookies and heart attack their door. we didn't want to because we were butt hurt, but we knew we needed to. the next day, the guys dad passes away. that's not a miracle. its actually pretty sad. BUT! THEY CAME TO CHURCH YESTERDAY!!!! for the first time in 2 years! and they didn't need to be invited. they took the sacrament and the Hermana started reading her Book of Mormon. all I can say is I am as happy as a clam.

are clams happy? why?

this one is! (finger points at me, Hermana kiara harker) *ding! *sparkle on teeth as I smile

I'm just going to be honest. being a missionary is dang hard. just stating the obvious.  because no one said it was easy. theres too many things to do and not enough time in the world. but I love it.

I'm coming up on my 9 months. Hermana adams said that ill have a break down. I guess everyone has one? 9 month mark is soon after mothers day. that might be my break down. its gonna be a doosey.

yesterday was Dia de Nino. translation: day of child. childs day. theres mothers day, fathers day, oh yea and don't forget childs day. I remember my mom would say "everyday is childs day" in response to the question of why there is no childs day. at least I think It was mom. sorry if I threw you under the bus! I love you! we planned an activity. we were expecting like 50 kids. only 14 came. it was still awesome! its only as fun as you make it! its funny with this culture, because you tell everyone it starts at 6 when in reality it starts at 7 and they still get there 15 minutes past 7. man, I love them. they are so funny. Spanish is getting along. practically latina, just limiting myself to fewer tortillas. because man they pack a punch and an extra roll on my stomach. ammi right?

well its been fun. as always, I love you all lots. with all of my heart! have a great week! don't forget to say your prayers!

love, Hermana kaira kiara harker!:)