Thanks, Momma and Keira! I'll be looking for the packages. I got a few birthday cards this week from people in the ward. I wish I could have you thank them for me, but I forgot to write them down this morning.
Nate's package absolutely made my week! He wanted to send me flowers, but you know that wouldn't work through the mail, so he had his nieces make me some paper flowers, then he bought an art book and taught himself to draw flowers and sent me the sketches. It was so sweet! He also sent a gold necklace with a few little stones in a heart.
I'm so excited for Franklin to have missionaries again! Do you know who's going to be called as the ward mission leader? That's kind of a newer thing - I'm not sure if they'd made that calling yet the last time Franklin had missionaries.
Hey, now. How come you never took me horseback riding when I was little? I swear, that girl has all the fun... Sorry you got a stubborn horse. I hope your knee and your hip heal up quick. I hope it hasn't put you off from the activity. Provided I'm not too scared of the horse, I might have to try that out when I get home... in 8 months... Good grief, it's going fast! I didn't think so at the beginning. It seemed like I'd be here forever. But it has gone pretty fast in hind-sight... I'm guessing that's a feeling I'll be having for the rest of my life, right?
I have a request for you and Rich - kind of a continual homework assignment. My companions families sometimes send them inspirational stories or talks that they like. Sometimes they've been really helpful in our lessons, but even if they're not they're fun to read. Could you start looking around for good stories or talks that you've liked (from church, family, emails, the church website, whatever) and send them to me every now and then? And send some pictures too! ;-)
I'm glad I got to chat with you a little today, Momma. I love you - A LOT!
Have a wonderful week - don't forget to see the flowers and the sunshine (between the rain and hailstorms). ;-)
Love,
Syster Hillary Kiser
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Re: Mom
Dear Momma,
I'm sorry to hear about the deaths in the family. It seems like the good or the bad always come in sets. I feel like in future times, these couple of years we're in now are going to be times that we look back on as 'the refining fire'. It's definitely not easy - the kiln is the last place anyone wants to be - but beautiful, strong works of art can't be made without going through it. I'm confident that someday we will be able to look back on these hard times and feel gratitude for the deliverance of the Lord that we'll have seen, as well as the ways that we've changed and grown from them.
The coming of spring is a back-and-forth process here - it's just warm enough to melt off most of the ice, and then we get another cold snap and just a little more snow. The highlight of our week was that two days ago, Syster Dabb and I were out knocking on doors, and when we looked down we saw a fresh little patch of yellow and purple flowers already in bloom! I think those flowers rank below Tobias and Pontus's baptisms on the list of best things I've seen on my mission!
We've also picked up three new investigators this week: Jason from Singapore, Juan from China, and Erika from Sundsvall! It's kind of fun how international this mission is. Sweden's just a huge melting pot for the entire world. It's cool seeing so many different cultures living and working together. It makes me wonder why so many times people who come from the same place and the same background can't get along at all?
This next week should be pretty fun - we're having a 2-day conference in Stockholm just for the sisternaries, which starts tomorrow. Syster Dabb and I have been charged with running part of it and have been preparing the theme and messages. That starts tomorrow.
Thanks for filling me in on this Richard Smith guy. That clears things up a lot. I don't feel bad for being confused about it; I only know one old Canadian named Richard, and that's Uncle Richard. He talked a lot about the Stegeby family - which is the same family that had us over for Thanksgiving and Christmas. So yes, I do know a number of the same people he does.
And thanks for not scaring Nate off. I appreciate that. The image of you singing out my praises to him made me laugh so hard! The only way I can imagine it ending is him singing it all right back to you. You don't have to tell him I'm frugal; he knows that well already. The only real argument I can remember us having was over me never wanting to go places on dates that cost him money. But anyway, if he OR YOU insist on sending something for my birthday, just make sure it's something small. I've got so much luggage already. I can't haul much. You know I've got no muscle at all. ;-)
I feel like I've written a novel here. I hope you have a wonderful week, and I really hope everyone's recovered from the sickness by now. Pass on my love to everybody. And remember that I love you the most.
Love,
Syster Hillary Kiser
I'm sorry to hear about the deaths in the family. It seems like the good or the bad always come in sets. I feel like in future times, these couple of years we're in now are going to be times that we look back on as 'the refining fire'. It's definitely not easy - the kiln is the last place anyone wants to be - but beautiful, strong works of art can't be made without going through it. I'm confident that someday we will be able to look back on these hard times and feel gratitude for the deliverance of the Lord that we'll have seen, as well as the ways that we've changed and grown from them.
The coming of spring is a back-and-forth process here - it's just warm enough to melt off most of the ice, and then we get another cold snap and just a little more snow. The highlight of our week was that two days ago, Syster Dabb and I were out knocking on doors, and when we looked down we saw a fresh little patch of yellow and purple flowers already in bloom! I think those flowers rank below Tobias and Pontus's baptisms on the list of best things I've seen on my mission!
We've also picked up three new investigators this week: Jason from Singapore, Juan from China, and Erika from Sundsvall! It's kind of fun how international this mission is. Sweden's just a huge melting pot for the entire world. It's cool seeing so many different cultures living and working together. It makes me wonder why so many times people who come from the same place and the same background can't get along at all?
This next week should be pretty fun - we're having a 2-day conference in Stockholm just for the sisternaries, which starts tomorrow. Syster Dabb and I have been charged with running part of it and have been preparing the theme and messages. That starts tomorrow.
Thanks for filling me in on this Richard Smith guy. That clears things up a lot. I don't feel bad for being confused about it; I only know one old Canadian named Richard, and that's Uncle Richard. He talked a lot about the Stegeby family - which is the same family that had us over for Thanksgiving and Christmas. So yes, I do know a number of the same people he does.
And thanks for not scaring Nate off. I appreciate that. The image of you singing out my praises to him made me laugh so hard! The only way I can imagine it ending is him singing it all right back to you. You don't have to tell him I'm frugal; he knows that well already. The only real argument I can remember us having was over me never wanting to go places on dates that cost him money. But anyway, if he OR YOU insist on sending something for my birthday, just make sure it's something small. I've got so much luggage already. I can't haul much. You know I've got no muscle at all. ;-)
I feel like I've written a novel here. I hope you have a wonderful week, and I really hope everyone's recovered from the sickness by now. Pass on my love to everybody. And remember that I love you the most.
Love,
Syster Hillary Kiser
Hi, Momma.
Very, very tired. The elders in our zone wanted to get together in Stockholm for some sports today, but Sister Dabb and I thought it over last night, and decided it just wasn't worth it. We'd much rather stay home and take it easy (as much as that's possible) just for once. So that's the plan for the 5 hours of p-day we've got left: do as little as possible. ;-) (One thing I will be doing, though, is finishing Casey's design. It'll be in the mail every soon.)
I am very happy, all the same. Pontus and Bahman are both doing great, and becoming good friends. Pontus is going to help us get Bahman off the cigarettes this week. Bahman's really funny. He's got me set up on this ridiculously high pedestal in his mind. (He doesn't believe me at all when I tell him I was a moody, rebellious teenager. Go ahead and laugh.) Sister Dabb says he just connects best with me. We're both imaginative, emotional, dreamer types, I guess. But anyway, at least once (usually many times) per lesson, he gets this startled look on his face over something I've just said. He keeps asking me if I can read his mind and if I know him better than he does because of the things i say. Apparently he really needs to hear them. I'm just glad that I seem to be getting something right by accident every now and then, but he's convinced that I can see straight into his soul.
Spring's definitely coming now. It's above zero today! (zero Celsius - so it's in the 30's in farenheit) So happy about this. I never want to see winter again. ;-)
Tell Keira I love her the most, and I'm glad she's feeling better. Also, if she leaves her dolls in my room, then they're going to become MY dolls. ;-P And ask Chynna if she got my email last week. I'm not sure if her old email address I used is still good or not.
No, I haven't seen anything to do with teh tax forms. There are no more messages about it in my BYU account that I can find, so it should've been mailed. I'm not sure what else I can do about it. It's good that the insurance claim went through. Paying tithing definitely works! This whole gospel just works. When we honor the commandments and do what we've been asked, everything really does work out, though it rarely works out the way we imagined it happening.
And speaking of things that are working out, Nate sent me a letter last week saying that he's finally made up his mind to give up looking for someone else and just wait for me. Sister Dabb can tell you I'm just twitterpated beyond all reason. I almost don't believe it, though. It's just too good to be true. I'm waiting until his next letter comes before I really let myself believe it (in case the next letter's going to say something like, "Dear Hillary, I fell over and hit my head on a rock the other week and wrote a bunch of nonsense that I can't even remember now, so please disregard that last letter..."). ...I can't even think straight about it. I'm just too crazy about this boy for my own good.
Well, Momma, I need to let Sister Dabb have her turn to write her momma too. So I hope you have a great week, and can't wait to hear from you again. I love you so much!
Work hard, play hard, and pray hard, as always.
Love,
Syster Hillary Kiser
Very, very tired. The elders in our zone wanted to get together in Stockholm for some sports today, but Sister Dabb and I thought it over last night, and decided it just wasn't worth it. We'd much rather stay home and take it easy (as much as that's possible) just for once. So that's the plan for the 5 hours of p-day we've got left: do as little as possible. ;-) (One thing I will be doing, though, is finishing Casey's design. It'll be in the mail every soon.)
I am very happy, all the same. Pontus and Bahman are both doing great, and becoming good friends. Pontus is going to help us get Bahman off the cigarettes this week. Bahman's really funny. He's got me set up on this ridiculously high pedestal in his mind. (He doesn't believe me at all when I tell him I was a moody, rebellious teenager. Go ahead and laugh.) Sister Dabb says he just connects best with me. We're both imaginative, emotional, dreamer types, I guess. But anyway, at least once (usually many times) per lesson, he gets this startled look on his face over something I've just said. He keeps asking me if I can read his mind and if I know him better than he does because of the things i say. Apparently he really needs to hear them. I'm just glad that I seem to be getting something right by accident every now and then, but he's convinced that I can see straight into his soul.
Spring's definitely coming now. It's above zero today! (zero Celsius - so it's in the 30's in farenheit) So happy about this. I never want to see winter again. ;-)
Tell Keira I love her the most, and I'm glad she's feeling better. Also, if she leaves her dolls in my room, then they're going to become MY dolls. ;-P And ask Chynna if she got my email last week. I'm not sure if her old email address I used is still good or not.
No, I haven't seen anything to do with teh tax forms. There are no more messages about it in my BYU account that I can find, so it should've been mailed. I'm not sure what else I can do about it. It's good that the insurance claim went through. Paying tithing definitely works! This whole gospel just works. When we honor the commandments and do what we've been asked, everything really does work out, though it rarely works out the way we imagined it happening.
And speaking of things that are working out, Nate sent me a letter last week saying that he's finally made up his mind to give up looking for someone else and just wait for me. Sister Dabb can tell you I'm just twitterpated beyond all reason. I almost don't believe it, though. It's just too good to be true. I'm waiting until his next letter comes before I really let myself believe it (in case the next letter's going to say something like, "Dear Hillary, I fell over and hit my head on a rock the other week and wrote a bunch of nonsense that I can't even remember now, so please disregard that last letter..."). ...I can't even think straight about it. I'm just too crazy about this boy for my own good.
Well, Momma, I need to let Sister Dabb have her turn to write her momma too. So I hope you have a great week, and can't wait to hear from you again. I love you so much!
Work hard, play hard, and pray hard, as always.
Love,
Syster Hillary Kiser
Re: TV Star
Hi, Momma!
Filming for the TV thing was fun. The special's basically a 'day-in-the-life-of...' kind of thing that'll be aired in September. This camera crew followed a member of the Seventy around for three days, recording everything he did. Addressing the Zone Leaders at the mission home was one of those things on his agenda. We (the sisters) got pulled in so the whole thing wouldn't look like a huge stag party. ;-) They did a few interview questions with us and the elders. I doubt they'll include anything Sister Dabb or I had to say, which wasn't much anyway. Mainly they just wanted Sister Dabb and I to sit there and look pretty and let the elders do the talking, since they've been here a lot longer and can speak much better Swedish. Works for me. ;-)
Since the purpose of the meeting was Zone Leader training and we were there all day in need of something to do, President Anderson put Sister Dabb and I to work coming up with a theme and program for a special sisters' training conference that's coming up in a few weeks. We're super excited about it. The conference is going to be all about helping the sisters build confidence in themselves and teaching them how to be confident about receiving help from the Lord (this has been our companionship's personal theme ever since we've been together).
No, the Muslim family in Sundsvall hasn't made any progress. I don't think they're taking lessons anymore. But the elders that are there now told me the eternal investigator couple (Stellan and Eva) is talking about getting baptized soon!
And on that note: Pontus's baptism was absolutely wonderful in every way! There were lots of people present (from the ward, investigators, and other missionaries), the talks and the musical numbers were beautiful (I'd been keeping the fact that I can sing a secret, but now the cat's out of the bag, and I've got the ward choir director chasing after me... whoops), and most of all Pontus was so happy! (And we didn't boil him to death like we did Tobias! Yes, I do think I told Nate about Tobias.) It was completely perfect. The confirmation got a little weird... But it went, and it's all done; he's a legit member now, and he LOVES it! So what made the confirmation so weird? A 90-year-old, 5'2" bottle of crazy sauce named Karl-Erik Eriksson. (Turns out the Franklin Ward doesn't have a monopoly on crazies afterall.) For the most part the members of the ward figure, he's 90 years old and he's earned the right to be insane, so they just let him do what he wants. He stood up after the baptism Saturday, banged on his glass, and started one of his speeches (this happens every time the ward has a get-together of any kind). He told us that Pontus had given him the courage to sing in public again for the first time since the 1930's, and then he proceeded to sing some old jazz tune and dance around a little bit. Yesterday in sacrament meeting, the bishop called Pontus up for his confirmation, then called up the other men. Tee bishop intended to confirm Ponuts himself, but then Karl-Erik stood up and announced to everyone that he should give the blessing because he wants to be Pontus's home teacher. The bishop told him 'no', and the Elders Quorum President got up and tried to explain to Karl-Erik that he is, in fact, NOT Pontus's home teacher. So Pontus just sat up there and stared back at the rest of the ward while all these men stood around him having this huge argument in the middle of sacrament meeting. In the end, Karl-Erik got to give the confirmation, then Pontus came back to his seat next to me and we laughed ourselves silly. (Pontus was cool about the whole thing. The rest of the ward was livid, but he thought it was funny.)
Bahman also loved the baptism, and is giving us all kinds of hints now on things we need to help him with so he can prepare to join the church too. On that note, we're going to be working on coffee and smoking addiction recovery soon. Does Rich have anything to say that might be helpful in getting over the coffee addiction? I think we'll tackle that one first. (We also found out that Karl-Erik introduced himself to Bahman Saturday and told him that he should be the one to baptize and confirm him... We're getting this guy a leash when we do our shopping this afternoon.)
Wish Dad-Dad a happy birthday for me, please.
And if you do send a package, the only real request I have would be pictures.
I hope you and the rest of the family have a wonderful week. I'm always praying for you. I love you the most. ;-)
Love,
Syster Hillary Kiser
Filming for the TV thing was fun. The special's basically a 'day-in-the-life-of...' kind of thing that'll be aired in September. This camera crew followed a member of the Seventy around for three days, recording everything he did. Addressing the Zone Leaders at the mission home was one of those things on his agenda. We (the sisters) got pulled in so the whole thing wouldn't look like a huge stag party. ;-) They did a few interview questions with us and the elders. I doubt they'll include anything Sister Dabb or I had to say, which wasn't much anyway. Mainly they just wanted Sister Dabb and I to sit there and look pretty and let the elders do the talking, since they've been here a lot longer and can speak much better Swedish. Works for me. ;-)
Since the purpose of the meeting was Zone Leader training and we were there all day in need of something to do, President Anderson put Sister Dabb and I to work coming up with a theme and program for a special sisters' training conference that's coming up in a few weeks. We're super excited about it. The conference is going to be all about helping the sisters build confidence in themselves and teaching them how to be confident about receiving help from the Lord (this has been our companionship's personal theme ever since we've been together).
No, the Muslim family in Sundsvall hasn't made any progress. I don't think they're taking lessons anymore. But the elders that are there now told me the eternal investigator couple (Stellan and Eva) is talking about getting baptized soon!
And on that note: Pontus's baptism was absolutely wonderful in every way! There were lots of people present (from the ward, investigators, and other missionaries), the talks and the musical numbers were beautiful (I'd been keeping the fact that I can sing a secret, but now the cat's out of the bag, and I've got the ward choir director chasing after me... whoops), and most of all Pontus was so happy! (And we didn't boil him to death like we did Tobias! Yes, I do think I told Nate about Tobias.) It was completely perfect. The confirmation got a little weird... But it went, and it's all done; he's a legit member now, and he LOVES it! So what made the confirmation so weird? A 90-year-old, 5'2" bottle of crazy sauce named Karl-Erik Eriksson. (Turns out the Franklin Ward doesn't have a monopoly on crazies afterall.) For the most part the members of the ward figure, he's 90 years old and he's earned the right to be insane, so they just let him do what he wants. He stood up after the baptism Saturday, banged on his glass, and started one of his speeches (this happens every time the ward has a get-together of any kind). He told us that Pontus had given him the courage to sing in public again for the first time since the 1930's, and then he proceeded to sing some old jazz tune and dance around a little bit. Yesterday in sacrament meeting, the bishop called Pontus up for his confirmation, then called up the other men. Tee bishop intended to confirm Ponuts himself, but then Karl-Erik stood up and announced to everyone that he should give the blessing because he wants to be Pontus's home teacher. The bishop told him 'no', and the Elders Quorum President got up and tried to explain to Karl-Erik that he is, in fact, NOT Pontus's home teacher. So Pontus just sat up there and stared back at the rest of the ward while all these men stood around him having this huge argument in the middle of sacrament meeting. In the end, Karl-Erik got to give the confirmation, then Pontus came back to his seat next to me and we laughed ourselves silly. (Pontus was cool about the whole thing. The rest of the ward was livid, but he thought it was funny.)
Bahman also loved the baptism, and is giving us all kinds of hints now on things we need to help him with so he can prepare to join the church too. On that note, we're going to be working on coffee and smoking addiction recovery soon. Does Rich have anything to say that might be helpful in getting over the coffee addiction? I think we'll tackle that one first. (We also found out that Karl-Erik introduced himself to Bahman Saturday and told him that he should be the one to baptize and confirm him... We're getting this guy a leash when we do our shopping this afternoon.)
Wish Dad-Dad a happy birthday for me, please.
And if you do send a package, the only real request I have would be pictures.
I hope you and the rest of the family have a wonderful week. I'm always praying for you. I love you the most. ;-)
Love,
Syster Hillary Kiser
Hi, Momma!
First of all, your prayers for my success here are really being heard and answered. Things are going so well!
We're preparing for Pontus's baptism this Saturday, and we'll have 3 other investigators (who will probably be baptized very soon) attending.
Things are super-well with our Iranian friend Bahman. He asked us to teach him about the Word of Wisdom and Law of Chastity last night. As awkward as that might sound (a 60-year-old Middle-Eastern man more or less asking two 20-odd year-old American girls to give him 'The Talk'), it was actually really great. He just wants so badly to be good, and wants to know all the commandments at once so he can keep them all. His faith is growing so fast. I'm positive he's going to be baptized soon (he's trying to be sneaky and talk about baptism hypothetically, but he's definitely thinking about it a lot).
I don't know whether or not I've mentioned Matthew and Asa yet. They're a young married couple we met about 2-3 weeks ago. Matthew's from Missouri, and Asa's Swedish. They just decided to start believing in Christianity about a year ago, and now they're looking for the right church for them. Matthew heard a little about our church, and liked what he'd heard. So he prayed and asked about it one night, we approached him on the street the very next day! Of course, we haven't known them very long, but they're becoming fast friends with the other young adults in the ward, they're reading the Book of Mormon, and praying about it and the church. They really want to know if this is right for them, and they're doing everything they're supposed to, which gives me every confidence that they are going to get their answer.
These two weeks are turning out to be filled with some really interesting, fun things. Last week, Sister Dabb and I got to usher in the new Greenies and do a little training with them. We took them out contacting on the street, and it was so funny. They were all so jet-lagged and so scared (just like I'm sure we were 5 months ago). It was kind of strange being on the other end of it. It gave me a nice confidence boost, since it highlighted just how far I've come with the language and speaking skills since I arrived. And tomorrow we're going back down to Stockholm to be interviewed (along with a handful of others the mission president's picked out) for a TV special on the LDS church. That means we're going to be on Swedish national TV. AAAH!
Pass on my congrats to Rich for his awards and the raises at work. That's really awesome! Let him know I think he's great. He really does so much good, hard work for this family. I have a lot of love and respect for him. And I'm very proud of Keira's coloring award too. Maybe she'll turn out to be an artist like me. :-) Show them both a little extra love on my behalf.
I do pray for all of you. I hope you're well, and that you're finding happiness in little things each day. I love you so much, and I know Heavenly Father does too.
Love,
Syster Hillary Kiser
First of all, your prayers for my success here are really being heard and answered. Things are going so well!
We're preparing for Pontus's baptism this Saturday, and we'll have 3 other investigators (who will probably be baptized very soon) attending.
Things are super-well with our Iranian friend Bahman. He asked us to teach him about the Word of Wisdom and Law of Chastity last night. As awkward as that might sound (a 60-year-old Middle-Eastern man more or less asking two 20-odd year-old American girls to give him 'The Talk'), it was actually really great. He just wants so badly to be good, and wants to know all the commandments at once so he can keep them all. His faith is growing so fast. I'm positive he's going to be baptized soon (he's trying to be sneaky and talk about baptism hypothetically, but he's definitely thinking about it a lot).
I don't know whether or not I've mentioned Matthew and Asa yet. They're a young married couple we met about 2-3 weeks ago. Matthew's from Missouri, and Asa's Swedish. They just decided to start believing in Christianity about a year ago, and now they're looking for the right church for them. Matthew heard a little about our church, and liked what he'd heard. So he prayed and asked about it one night, we approached him on the street the very next day! Of course, we haven't known them very long, but they're becoming fast friends with the other young adults in the ward, they're reading the Book of Mormon, and praying about it and the church. They really want to know if this is right for them, and they're doing everything they're supposed to, which gives me every confidence that they are going to get their answer.
These two weeks are turning out to be filled with some really interesting, fun things. Last week, Sister Dabb and I got to usher in the new Greenies and do a little training with them. We took them out contacting on the street, and it was so funny. They were all so jet-lagged and so scared (just like I'm sure we were 5 months ago). It was kind of strange being on the other end of it. It gave me a nice confidence boost, since it highlighted just how far I've come with the language and speaking skills since I arrived. And tomorrow we're going back down to Stockholm to be interviewed (along with a handful of others the mission president's picked out) for a TV special on the LDS church. That means we're going to be on Swedish national TV. AAAH!
Pass on my congrats to Rich for his awards and the raises at work. That's really awesome! Let him know I think he's great. He really does so much good, hard work for this family. I have a lot of love and respect for him. And I'm very proud of Keira's coloring award too. Maybe she'll turn out to be an artist like me. :-) Show them both a little extra love on my behalf.
I do pray for all of you. I hope you're well, and that you're finding happiness in little things each day. I love you so much, and I know Heavenly Father does too.
Love,
Syster Hillary Kiser
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