Sorry to brag...

BUT I AM SO EXCITED! At work they give away two awards at the end of the year. One to a leadership member and then one to a regular employee. Each employee nominates one person (other than themselves) and then they give it away at the end of semester banquet. So long story short... I got it! I was so surprised that I almost didn't stand up. Anyways... I hope this isn't prideful but I am so excited, probably because I am so surprised. So here is what they gave us to read before we gave our votes!

The Blair Thompson Award is named after a former BYU Telefund employee who was tragically killed in an automobile accident. Blair worked 2 ½ years here and was an amazing example of enthusiasm, work ethic, and positive attitude. She was a joy to work with. Your nomination for this award should be a caller who embodies the qualities of a great Telefund employee and co-worker.


today i feel a little more than.....

just Kaitlyn

101 Kaitlyn-isms

So here are 101 things you probably didn't know (or want to know) about me! I did this a while back on a roomie blog I had and so I edited it a little and now here you can have a small glimpse into the real me...

Kaitlyn 101 begins now! :D

1. I make noises (like grunts and moans) when I am frustrated, sick and or tired. Or just random doo do doooos and la la to show my happiness.
   
2. I used to be obsessed with Lisa Frank stuff when I was younger and still feel a strange gravitational pull when I see it at walmart.
3. People think my favorite color is pink since my camera and lap top are that color but if you step into my room you will see what it really is… YELLOW!! They just don’t make things in a good yellow.
4. I bought my laptop and video ipod the day I got my wisdom teeth out. WAY TO GO DRUGS!!
5. I used to be a cheerleader when I was in 3^rd grade and I have hated them ever since.
6. Since I don’t have a middle name I used to pretend it was Samantha when I was little.
7. I would live in my PJs if it was socially correct and it totally should be!!1
8. People like to steal my DVDs…. Grr
9. Manatees are the best animals ever! So fat and floaty.
10. I love talking in different voices and will often get caught doing it when im alone.
11. I love my family sooooo much. My brothers are the greatest ever!
12. I have an obsession with cute socks
13. I served a mission in NYC! I never left the city and spent most of my time in Harlem and the Bronx.
14. My aunt was Ms. Nevada and my Grandma was in the Miss America Pageant. Wonder where those lovely genes disappeared to??
15. Swedish Fish are my favorite candy and gobstoppers are a close second.
16. When I was younger my imaginary friend was a walrus. I sadly cant remember his name at this time…
17. I was born a month premature and have some funky funky ribs because of it.
18. I can make a three leaf clover with my tongue
19. I work every Thursday with special needs kids. Just playing and having FUN!
20. I love to cook and love cookbooks. Whenever I go in a book store I go straight for the cook books.
21. I write daily in my “happy things book” to remind me of the good things in life!
22. I have a very keen sense of smell. So if your rankity or stankity… keep away!
23. I have a list of things I want to do before I die which include things from going on a humanitarian aid trip to skinny dipping!
24. I may or may not be obsessed with Victoria’s Secret.
25. I have lived in the same house my whole entire life (minus college and mission).
26. I love deeply and will do anything for the people I love.
27. I want to be the greatest mother in the world. I have so many great ideas (both written and in my head) that I want to do with my future family.
28. The Beatles rock my world.
29. Jack Johnson also rocks my world.
30. I REALLY REALLY love music and especially getting new music. I have spent 500+ dollars on itunes. I love that place.
31. I would always rather spend my money on someone I love than on myself. 100% of the time.
32. I hate doing dishes but love vacuuming.
33. I had my first kiss when I was 18.5. Surprised??? Haha I hope not.
34. I had a small collision with me and in a car and a kid in my ward on a bike when I was 16. Fortunately it was his fault cuz I was going like 5 mph in a parking lot when he flew around the corner and smacked into the side of my car. I still bawled my eyes out and vowed to never drive again.
35. I shot my little brother in the eye with a rocket… during his birthday party. I didn’t do it on purpose and also bawled my eyes out and vowed to never shoot rockets again. He still brings it up often btw.
36. When I was little I used to think those big pink bubble gum cigars that said “it’s a girl” on it were the coolest things ever. I would save money for them.
37. I have a hard time crying in front of people but when I am alone… o man I can cry a river!
38. I love old people. A lot.
39. I try to keep all the ticket stubs from movies and significant outings and write whom I went with on the back. I have a lot now and often look at them and reminisce.
40. My dad was in a band since he was 11 up until he became bishop. He used to play at all the BYU dances when they still had live bands. That’s pimp. :D
41. I must sleep with a fan. For the noise and the coldness.
42. I could dance all day every day. Especially if I had my favorite dance partners. OOO BABY!
43. Harry Potter completes me.
44. I usually get Streap (?) throat or some other major throat sickness once a year. Thank you post nasal drip!
45. I really love a good hug. It’s so much more personal than a kiss.
46. I have never dyed my hair. Tried to get low lights once but my hair lady refused cuz she said people die to have my color. (no pun intended)
47. I love yellow lilies and have only received them from one boy.
48. I went on my first date with my dad. And he gave me a purity ring.
49. I got my purity ring stuck in a lane line while rolling them up at work and it ended up slicing my finger almost half way through. Coolest feeling ever. Not! Worst part was I had to get my ring cut off cuz my finger was swelling so much.
50. I got a promotion every year for five years working for the City of North Las Vegas Aquatics. My boss liked me.
51. My boss’ boss bought me pearl earrings when I got my ears pierced when I was 18 and flew me to Denver this last summer to visit her daughter for her 21^st birthday. Her daughter happens to be one of my best friends btw.
52. I truly learned how to type fast when I got addicted to instant messaging. It happens to the best of us.
53. I get stressed easily and can tell when I am and then I get frustrated with myself. Then my brain explodes. Haha … sorry if this has ever effected you. It also caused my TMJ and ulcers during my mission … and they still hurt me now.
54. I was notorious for a lot of random things in high school. One of which was my ritual of sliding down the hall in my moccasins. :D
55. I love pictures A LOT. Please come into my bedroom if you don’t believe me.
56. If I had a contest with anyone to see who had thinner or finer hair… I would always win. But its soft
57. People often like to touch me. I am very soft. :D
58. I am seriously scared of crocodiles and alligators.
59. I am a very light sleeper. My alarm only has to go off once and I am awake. I have never pushed a snooze button in my life.
60. My grandma was amazing and went on a mission to Japan. I was her first granddaughter to go on a mission!! Love you Gma!
61. I participated in scouting for food every year up until I went to college. I was a strange child and really really loved it. My brothers thought I was crazy.
62. I love the smell of gasoline.
63. I really hate taking tests and often have bad test anxiety. Even when I know the material.
64. I know Elf and Finding Nemo pretty much by heart.
65. I am known for frequently bursting out into song. It just makes every activity brighter.
66. I am a deep people watcher. I love wondering what people’s lives involve. This is why I cannot study in the library because everyone’s lives are so much more interesting than my HW.
67. I love rain sooo much. Ok I love Vegas rain. Its so warm and smells so delicious!
68. I have the biggest phobia of zits and people popping them. BARF! Even if it’s on my own face.
69. I love stars. Real ones and just the shape. I saw my first shooting star when Dona, Sara, Mel and I were on our way to Bear Lake.
70. In elementary school my friends and I would play this game to see who could sit on the very hot black top longest before you couldn’t handle the burning anymore. We were the smart kids too… haha
71. I don’t like ice cream. Or jamba juice really either. Sorry everyone. I don’t really like chocolate either. I can only eat a little bit of sweets.
72. I aspire to have my own lingerie store when I’m older. One that is appropriate for Mormon couples to attend to without feeling dirty.
73. I hate talking to people on the phone who don’t know how to have a two sided conversation. Ug
74. My future home must have: a large bathtub (can at least fit two) and a porch swing. If my family couldn’t ever find me I was always sitting on our front porch, wishing I had a swing.
75. I have never been a super star athlete but I love going to games and cheering for people and am more knowledgeable about sports than most would think. Thanks to my 3 brothers.
76. I have been a bridesmaid 5 times so far. And have many to go. Always a bridesmaid never a bride. It’s all good though. I just love my friends! :D
77. I get very emotional when songs come on that match my emotion. This can be dangerous, especially if I’m sad.
78. I have never broken a bone or had stitches (other than when I got my wisdom teeth out). I did have to get a toothpick surgically removed from my foot. No stitches were needed.
79. I have always wanted weird Halloween costumes. For example I have been a huge goldfish and Ms.Yucca Mountain (I had an extra arm).
80. I love watching dance crews and can barely hold myself back from getting up and joining them. I have the sweetest Jabbawocckies T-shirt!
81. I have some of the sweetest kicks ever! Air Force Ones, Jordans and etc. I love me some ghetto shoes.
82. I have to work really hard at school to do decent. Unlike some of my siblings who just do it and rock at it naturally …. Lame
83. I have the coolest and cutest nephew ever… Janson! :D
84. I love kids and have been known to have a certain way with them. Or so I hear.
85. I used to volunteer at the hospital to work with the sick kids there all the time. One time I got to dress up like a valentines day fairy and delivered treats! So fun.
86. I am studying to be a child life specialist where I get to do stuff like the above. BEST JOB EVER!
87. I have a lot of friends all over the world that I talk to pretty regularly and I have never been out of the united states. Some examples are; Colombia, Germany, Chile and Mexico.
88. It is my life goal to NEVER play a game of DDR.
89. I don’t wear makeup … other than mascara and a tiny bit of cover up here and there.
90. I have seen the Beatles Love Cirque de Sole Show twice. I donno how to spell it but you get the idea. It’s so great.
91. I have had a job continuously since I was 16. Only with small gaps where I was looking for one while moving to Idaho and Provo and during and right after the mission.
92. I love when people sit on my feet to keep them warm and will often burrow them down under the person next to me without even noticing.
93. I love people even when they don’t love me back.
94. I know my Savior loves me! And I am his favorite (so are you!)
95. I love new and different people. I love loving all people.
96. I learned how to burp when I was 17 from my best friend Krista. People had been desperately trying my whole life to teach me how to get it out. NOW IM A PRO! :D
97. When im stressed or sad I forget to eat.
98. I am a foodie like none other. I love finding new places to eat and trying new foods. OOO food how I love thee
99. I laugh like a goat.. and seriously don’t mean to.
100. I miss wearing jellies
101. I LOVE YOU ALL!
     

The end... and thats just KAITLYN

being fake vent

So I have been thinking a lot lately about being

real vs. being fake.

The reason this has been on my mind is I have found myself wondering why boys like girls who are fake... with lots of make up ... bleached hair... who dress nasty... fake tans... you know all that stuff!! (please dont take offense if you do some or all of these things... i love you still :D)

This might sound a little bit pathetic but I LOVE BEING MYSELF!! I am happy with who I am. I dont need to change things about me to be happy with what I have to work with. The only problem is I get kinda frustrated when others dont love "me" as much as I do. HAHA... wow I sound conceited.. but I dont mean it in a proud way. I in no degree feel like I am above anyone, and I definitely know I have many flaws that I need to work on, but its easy to get a little frustrated when the boys I have an eye on walk right past my little invisible self to the girl who is full of glitter and make up grime! HAHA!
bahhhhhhhhhhhh
Ok .. i should stop im just kinda venting... I JUST DONT GET IT!! O well.. I will just stick to being me because that's the only thing I know how to be.. .and then I can know that people who do like me, like me for who I am... no matter what time it is or where i am going or what people think i will be ... PURELY 100% NO DOUBT ABOUT IT.... just KAITLYN!

*sigh*

Note to a loved one...

So I was writing a letter to a friend of mine who is really struggling and as I was writing it something came to my mind... so I just pulled out a paragraph because I think this is something I need to be reminded of often.

"I know that things will work out. I have no doubt in that. I am trying so hard to apply that \ hope into my own life and i know that its hard to do. Sometimes I feel as though I have done it all wrong and that there is no possible way that things will turn out right or that I will be really happy. But then I remember that I have made promises to Someone who will never NEVER break his end of the deal. And the best thing is ... He will not punish us for doing our best. Even if it may be a small display of attempts compared to others who seem to have this great ability to succeed. O how lucky we are to know that He knows our hearts, He knows our desires, He knows who we are, what we need and what we will become!!"

yep... just reminding myself

just Kaitlyn

A pause ... for some fresh air!

A pause ... for some fresh air!

So school has began once again in what we know as happy valley, UT. I feel as though I have been eaten alive already here at school. Me writing today in my blog is a pause from my hours of homework. I donno what I did to myself taking 6 difficult classes at once but man o man... i have been reading straight for at least 3 hours and have much more to go!

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

School has never been my favorite thing but I have been working really hard and praying a lot about it to have a greater desire to learn. I know that its important and so I figured if I gotta do it why not love it? But after carrying home my loads of textbooks after getting off work at 930 pm and having to wake up the next day at 6:45 am... and all this reading and work going on, I have realized this will be much more difficult than anticipated. Go figures!

Which reminds me of how when you pray for some talent, or attribute God just sends you difficulties to help you learn. There is never an easy button for learning anything.

WOULDN'T THAT JUST BE FANTASTIC IF THERE WAS THOUGH???

*DING! YOU ARE NOW SMARTER*

Wonderful.. now back to reality.
So I have decided to use this time to remind myself of things that make me happy. There are a lot of them because I am easily satisfied in the little things but for the next few lines humor me... in taking a moment for some fresh air!

BREATHE IN:
movies that make me want to be better and make me feel all tingly inside
pictures of my nephew
when my mom plays with my hair
writing a note to tell someone what i love about them
smiling (smilings my favorite.. haha)
getting a Spanish word stuck in my head and saying it over and over again cuz it sounds cool
hot cheetos
hot cheetos with chocolate milk
my sweet roomies (past and present)
hoodies
pajamas
the accomplishment that comes with finishing your homework
thinking of or talking to my investigators and recent converts
cooking a delicious meal for someone who appreciates it
hugging and being hugged
forgiving people
singing and dancing all over the house as i get ready for the day
when people randomly say something nice to me
my family
anything with manatees
and many many more things

BREATHE OUT!

Take some time to think of the things that make you happy... and breathe them in a little more :D

back to hw for me!
-just Kaitlyn

tick tick tick tick.. .BOOOM

So I feel like my life is just about to start...
Like a ticking time bomb that I cant wait to watch explode!!! (dont think that happens too often with bombs)

So these last few weeks for me have been a real struggle, im not gonna lie. I knew moving to Provo was right... I prayed about it got the prompting to go and so HERE I IS... the problem is once I got here things seemed to continue to go in the wrong direction...

I will save you the whole sob story but in a few words it was :

LONELY, SICK, VERY SICK BRAKE UPS, NO JOB, NO CAR...

So in my mind I was like... REALLY??? Did I do something wrong?
WHAT THE PIXIE STICKS AM I DOING HERE????

But luckily I have faith and confidence in God. I realized that even if things are going wacky wrong... If I follow Him its going to be A OK! So I kept on MOVING FORWARD... and now here I sit (this little bomb) waiting to blow because...

1)Just had a super GREAT interview where they kept saying "we are VERY impressed" (even if i dont get it at least i know im "impressive".

2)I am not alone because my sister in law is here and my momma is on her way (JOY).

3)Saturday is moving day so I get to move in with my roomies and be in the middle of the social crazyness so it doesnt matter that I have a car anymore!

4) Due to my sickness I am almost back to my pre-mission size. (Although I dont think i will ever get back to that because it was semi-unhealthy). Well.. truthfully this whole point is semi-unhealthy... owells.

5) I can actually breathe out of my nose 80% of the day now... Air is sooo welcome in my nose!

6) I get to go to education week and take classes like: "How to Continue the Perfecting Process without Becoming Discouraged" and "Learning from the lives of Modern-Day Apostles". So I can spiritually revamp myself! WOOOOT!

7) I love that I don't need a boy to be happy! (well for now... i mean in the future... well anyways)

8) Did I mention my mom is coming???? I LOVE HER and Miss her with me!

9) I start school soon and cant wait to have a regular schedule again!

10) I JUST LOVE BEING ALIVE!!!!


OK... now that you see how I am like bomb (and the bomb haha)... I have just learned that sometimes you just have to decide to be happy ... even if everything around you is trying to tell you not to be. Also... dont doubt the promptings you receive. If it was right when you had it ... it will be right when the times get tough. This reminds me of one of my favorite talks by Elder Holland (LDS.org - Liahona Article - “Cast Not Away Therefore Your Confidence” ). Check it out. It helps me to remember the things God has taught me.

Anyways love yall!

-Just Kaitlyn

This is now just Kaitlyn's blog!

HELLLO ALL!
So I have decided that since I am no longer "Sister Wadsworth" (out loud at least ... i will always be in my head)..
this blog will be turning into the "just Kaitlyn blog" post mission, discussing about my life, my challenges, my awesomeness, my not so awesomeness and so on.

Just cuz who knows when this little fishy will find a man (its a very big sea ok?? ?GULP!) so who wants to wait for a family blog when you can have yer very own!!??
dunn dunnn na naaaa
I will keep my former title because I have come to realize that the process of truly becoming an instrument in God's hands is a life long battle and learning experience.

SOOOO LET THE GAMES BEGIN.. This may very well become your favorite blog.. due to my randomness... awkwardness and just pure happy go lucky ways!

LOVE ALL!
-just Kaitlyn

Home Again

So this is Kaitlyn.

I just wanted to post on here a little bit about my missionary experience since a lot of people have asked me about it. I don't think words can quite express how grateful I am for the opportunity I was given to serve in the New York, New York North mission. The best mission for me!

So for those of you who don't know I served as a sister missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for the past year and a half. I was called to serve English speaking in the New York New York North mission. This mission covered the burrows of Manhattan, the Bronx, upstate NY up to Poughkeepsie and a small corner of Connecticut. My mission has a wide variety of languages and so there were missionaries there who spoke English, Spanish, Portuguese, ASL, and Chinese. Not to mention the fact that we had loads of foreign missionaries who got to preach in their native tongues also (French, creole, twi, Japanese, Russian and so on). Within our mission we had the poorest zip code in the nation AND the richest. So needless to say NY is very diverse and boy did we have to always be on our toes. I was lucky enough to serve my entire mission in the city. I spent 15 months in Manhattan and 3 months in the Bronx. Yay for NYC transit! I met people from all over the world and loved it!

So enough silly background. Like I was saying before it would be a great task to describe to you each experience and blessing that I had during my service (maybe i can rent out my journal for people who are really itchin for details... pretty sure that person doesn't exist). So instead I will just hit a few key points that I feel are worth mentioning.

First of all and prob one of the greatest things that I gained more and learned more on my mission is that Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer. He is the way. Not just like... o it might be a nice idea to follow Him... No He is the ONLY way to true happiness, peace and fulfillment in this life. Only through Him and by Him is it possible for us to reach our full potential. He can heal and cleanse us. He makes me whole. He really is my everything.

Another thing that I was challenged about is my belief in the Restoration of the fullness of the Gospel. Now what that means is I believe that because God loves us and wants us to return to live with Him, He has brought back every detail that we need in this life (in a clear, simple way) so that we can have knowledge of the path that will take us to Him. How He has done this is what was often hard for others to believe. But its God, He can do it all and the truth is, its not anything new. God called prophets and gave them authority to act in His name long long long ago all the way back to Adam, Moses, Noah and so on. So part of my belief is that after a time of darkness God has called a prophet again on the earth to communicate to us the information that God needs us to know. HOW GREAT IS THAT????? O it just makes me so happy! Joseph Smith was the first of our more modern prophets (You can read his whole story on www.mormon.org). While serving my mission I had the opportunity to share this good news with the people in New York. It just makes sense to me that our Heavenly Father wouldn't want us to be in the dark, so He calls prophets to be like a light house to help us understand more. Through testifying and learning my testimony of these things has been strengthened.

Ok so I have realized that I am not even scratching the surface. So I have decided to just insert here some of what I typed up for my mission president about my mission experience: TA DAA

Becoming An Instrument In His Hands

“And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee… saith unto them, Follow me and I will make you fishers of men. And they straightway left their nets, and followed Him” (Matt 4:18-20). I have always admired the apostle’s willingness to quickly drop everything and do as the Lord commanded them. These nets represented their lives. It was their job, their source of income and life but they knew, through their faith in the Savior, that they had been called to a greater duty. They quickly abandoned those things that they thought were of most worth to pursue that which they could not yet see. What they did know was that what the Savior had to offer was much more than what they could receive with their own nets. As I was thinking about serving a mission the spirit confirmed to me that my Heavenly Father needed me to go. I realized that this was my call. It wasn’t the best timing or the easiest route I could take at that time of my life but because God had asked me to I decided I needed to straightway leave my personal “nets” and follow Him. I left on my mission more swiftly than I had intended, wondering how I would do something I didn’t quite feel prepared to do, but I like the apostles of old knew that even though my “nets” may have been what I thought was good enough, God had a greater duty and a greater plan for me. I cannot express how grateful I am to my Heavenly Father for allowing me to have this opportunity to serve as His missionary but I will do my best to as I describe some of the ways I have been blessed by my service.

At the start of my mission I knew I had a lot of things I needed to work on but as I have continued my service I found that list of shortcomings continued to grow. I often struggled with my inability to be perfect and finding a balance between pushing myself and being satisfied with my efforts. Luckily one of the greatest lessons I have learned while on my mission is that with the power of the Atonement we can overcome all shortcomings. We are not set in stone. With Christ we have the power to change. Every quality and characteristic that Christ has can be developed and this is the purpose of this life. We can rely on the Atonement in all aspects of life. We can draw upon its healing power to help us for all things imperfect within us. Heavenly Father did not set us up to fail. He will qualify us and support us. I am grateful for every opportunity to change through the Atonement’s power.

My greatest desire as a missionary has been to be a trusted tool in God’s hands. I have wanted so badly for Him to know that He can count on me. I wanted be an instrument that would always be ready when called upon and that the job would get done right. This desire has helped me to realize the importance of obedience. As we live by the laws that our Heavenly Father has given us He is bound. He cannot withhold blessings if we have qualified for them. As a missionary there are many rules to live by, which to some might become burdensome or tiring. My missionary service has taught me that the commandments are gifts that provided us with access to the blessings that our Heavenly Father so anxiously wants to give us. One of the blessings that come from obedience is greater faith. In the bible dictionary it states “strong faith is developed by obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ”. I know that God loves us because as I have followed His commandments I have been happier, my life has been more successful and the spirit has been with me more fully. I have learned that if you want God to trust you with big and exciting things, He has to know that you will handle it correctly and by living by His laws. That is a simple prerequisite. I learned that if you want to know God and our Savior’s love more deeply in your life, it will come as we live by Their teachings. I am grateful for every opportunity to do as He asks.

My love for the Savior has grown tremendously while serving here. Numberless times, day after day, people would say harsh things to me or ridicule my beliefs. At first it was really difficult for me to have others tell me that I was wrong and attack the things that I love most. Then through study and prayer I realized that had been given the opportunity to stand by my Savior. I was able to have a small taste of the pain and anguish He went through during His mortal ministry. These experiences have blessed my life because they have developed my love for Jesus Christ. I love Him more because I know what He did was hard because it was hard for me. It’s not easy to be the only one standing up for what is right. This has changed my outlook on the opposition we face, and I have been blessed for a chance to stand by Him who has stood by me in all my times of need and it. Although my experience was much less intense than His, I am grateful for every opportunity to have felt a bit of what He felt and to know what it takes to stand by Him.

My perspective on the gospel has changed during the duration of my mission. I have developed a greater understanding of how exciting this work is. I remember the moment when I realized that this is no simple thing we are proclaiming. I had this fire burn within me and this great desire to yell from the top of every building to let people know the exciting news that the truth has been restored. We believe we have a modern prophet, that God has revealed new scripture, that we have the keys to Salvation. These are exciting things and I am excited to share it. I knew that it was important before but it brought on a whole new meaning when I saw the joy that it brought to a wandering soul and the clarity it provided to someone who was lost. Being born into the church these exciting truths became normal therefore it was so enriching to grasp how glorious this gospel really is. I am grateful for every opportunity to share this exciting news.

Something I have learned to be thankful for is that I was able to serve in the United States. Due to the strength of the wards here it made it more possible to see the importance of member missionary work. I have learned the excitement and focus a ward needs to be ready for converts to come flowing in and to stay active. It has made me really excited to continue to serve throughout my life. If we want missionary efforts to successfully move forward it needs to start with our members. I am determined to make missionary work part of my everyday life. I am grateful for every opportunity I have had to learn how to continue my missionary efforts throughout my life.

One thing that has brought a lot of peace to me during my mission is knowing that God is in control. He did not send me here by accident. My mission was planned and prepared perfectly for me. It was planned in a way that it would give me the greatest opportunities to become more like my Savior. Every challenge, every success, every companion and conversion were perfectly picked by a God who knows who I am and what I will become. He has perfectly planned our paths. Each missionary is sent to where they need to be and where God needs them to be, so there is no use in comparing. I know that God needed me here and more that I needed to be here. I can go on forever about the things I have learned but the greatest thing I have learned is that if we take upon the “nets” that our Savior calls us to bear we will become significantly more than if we had held tightly to our limited personal nets. I know that I am full of imperfections and inadequacies but with Him I am made perfect through the Atonement. An Atonement that I know is boundless and without end, so I may constantly draw upon it. I am and forever will be grateful for the call my Savior has made to me and for this time He has given me to be refined and polished under His watchful care. I am grateful for all of these opportunities.

Well I hope this satisfies yall. I truly loved my mission and can't wait to see what experiences and opportunities God has waiting for me now. If you have any questions or want more details feel free to email me or comment here!

LOVE SISTER WADSWORTH

Home in one week!

One week! She will be home a week from today. We are so excited! Can you tell?

Kaitlyn will be home June 10th and will speak June 13th at CC&T at 11:00 AM.

Hey family!
Still feeling sick.. waiting for the doctor to call back today with the test results. Its been super frustrating for me because I want so badly to work hard every second I have. UGG.. we have interview with the president tomorrow so I will talk to him about what I should do. Its ok though I will survive. I was talking with the sisters I live with and we were saying that we think my body has just really been run down and is ready to stop haha. Or that Heavenly Father needs me to stay behind a little so that my companions can learn to take over the area when I leave. Either way I wont be surprised if the doctor says "there's nothing wrong with you". Blah... Heavenly Father thinks He is so funny forcing me to settle down a bit. We were supposed to go to the zoo but I don't really feel up to it and so instead we will go do some little errands I have to do. One of the things I will do today is buy some sandals because guess what??? Sis Smith got it approved so that we don't have to wear nylons in the summers and that we can wear sandals... AHHHHH can you believe it?? I am excited but also disappointed it was a summer too late for me. haha. There are supposed to be big changes church wide re guarding sister missionary dress standards. Which is amazing! Im not going to lie the differences are things we already do in our mission because its the fashion capital of the nation. haha jk that sounded really stuck up. But really. We are asked to not look frumpy. haha.

Anyways. Things have been good this week. Yesterday we met with a less active and her non member son and got him excited to come to church and meet with us. It's great to have members involved. It's really the only way actually. He's a fun kid and says really great prayers since his mom is a member he already knows all the lingo! haha.

We had an interesting experience earlier this week. My sweet new comp contacted a lady who was very eager to share her beliefs and share scriptures with her to back her up. My comp gave her our number and told us that she said she would be interested. So the next day she called and said she wanted to meet with us that day. I felt a little weird about it because she said her address was in one place but wanted to meet with us some where else. But I wasn't the one talking to her and I didn't want to discourage my companion. But she spoke mostly Spanish so we decided to bring the Hermanas with us to make the transition easier. Soo the five of us are waiting outside the door to what we think is this woman's apartment building. When an asian guy opens the door and bids us inward. We followed still thinking we were going to find the lady in her apartment. Then the Asian guy took us on a tour of his church. We were all so confused but the lady we wanted to teach was there along with 3 of her other friends from the church. Then they led us into the dining area and then the Asian guy shut the door behind us and asked us to sit down. He then proceeded to tell us that he was the pastor here and that the woman we talked to told him that my companion talked to her and seemed like she doubted her faith in Christ and that he was going to have a bible study with us. UGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG..... We were polite and listened but he started to say some things we didn't agree with and so I stopped him and bore my testimony of Christ and talked about how we need him every day and that He did die for us but we still have to do our part to qualify for His grace. What would be the purpose of this life if we could not learn and repent? Anyways he didn't listen so one of the Spanish sisters politely said thanks for your testimony but we have another appointment to go to (which we did). I left there a little frustrated and so I was praying to know how I could learn from this experience. I realized how grateful I am for the Book of Mormon and modern revelation to clarify some of the things that are so confusing in the Bible. I am so grateful that we don't have to rely on one testimony of Christ and that we can still have access to pure untainted truth. *sigh* it was quite an experience.

So I am loving working at the old folks rehab place. They are getting used to us and looking forward to our visits. This week I took a piece of sugar free cake to one of my ladies for her birthday... she refused it and said it would make her fat... then about 5 seconds later they offered her cake with the coffee they pass out when we come (ironic huh?) and evidently she forgot about getting fat because she ate it up right away. I just had to laugh ... and then I ate the cake myself and enjoyed it. Another guy Israel who was in a concentration camp as a kid came up to me and said he needed my help, and then shuffled to his room. So we followed him and he said look my bed is really high... something is wrong. The nurse in the back mouthed to us to not fix it. Turns out he has a habit of messing up his bed so they have to put it up during the day so he doesn't mess with it. We assured him it would be better then he showed us a picture of a dog (not even his dog just him and a dog) he was so proud of it. Hes so sweet. hahah man I love these people and will be sad to say goodbye.


Well I don't know what else to share... sorry its not that exciting. I love you all to the moon and back!
see ya soon?
-taters

Mom says, "We're getting closer!"

Kaitlyn will speak on June 13th 11:00 AM Civic Center & Tonopah

Hello there family!

I'm sad to hear about Bro Hollingsworth. Man he was an amazing man though. I am glad he is finally free of his mortal body so he can rock the spirit world with his powerful testimony. He's going to do some great work.


Other than being under the weather we have had a really great week. We have the most amazing new investigators. We went from zero at church to three this week. Heavenly Father is so great. I know that he is aware of our trails and is just getting us ready for the great things to come. So we are teaching this 17 year old girl and her mom. They are soooo great! They are so prepared and willing to listen. They even made us dinner and drove us home after our appointment. She also filled our bags with goodies. They are Puerto Rican and so it feels like we are in the Spanish program. hhaha.

We also started teaching this 31 year old guy who I contacted on the street. He looks all tough and rough and he was smoking but I just felt like talking to him. Turns out he is really great and has a great family too. You just can't judge a book by its cover! And we need to remember that we are all God's children.

Yesterday we taught this part member family. The father has been taught by a lot of missionaries but we connected sooo well yesterday. He now wants to be baptized but has some things to overcome. But its cool sometimes to just know that you were sent there for someone and that you were in the right place at the right time. That's what the spirit does to you! It's the greatest thing ever!


Thursday we had mission conference with Elder Robbins of the Seventy. He was sooooooooooo smart and really an amazing speaker. The spirit was so strong and I learned a lot of things that I know will stick with me for a long time. I realized the importance of not shifting our values. Especially when it comes to the media because Satan has so much control over it. Elder Hellburg and I sang a rendition of "Be sill my Soul" that we put together. I am not going to lie... it was so great. He is a music wizard and so great at the piano and so I give him all the credit.

Anyways. My time is running low but as you can tell we had a great week. Today for pday I have decided I want to go see a recent convert who is older and spend time with her for her birthday. I couldn't think of anything better to do with one of my last pdays here! We will go to the zoo next week. haha.

Well I love you all to the moon and back!
-Taters

Fun to talk

I'm just going to put this in for the next few weeks until Katy gets home. Kaitlyn will be speaking on June 13th at 11:00 AM at our building, Civic Center & Tonopah.

Now here's her letter...


So it was fun to talk to you guys on Sunday. But super stressed me out. I couldn't sleep at all the next night and when I got up to go out of the room I found that one of the other sisters we live with was also having a hard time sleeping but because she was homesick, so I was glad I was too stressed to sleep because I got to comfort her and make her feel a little bit better til she fell asleep... then I stayed up for a lot longer. I was stressed because its going to be so weird to be back but it felt normal so it was a battle with me all night to not think about home. BUTTTTTTTTTTTTTT its all good.

So things this week have been better. I have been praying to have a better perspective on things so that I could be more effective and positive. My two sweet companions are soooooooooooooooooooooooo quiet. I am coming up with funny ways to get them to talk more. We found a great new place to do service each week that helps them talk and makes me EXTREMELY HAPPY!.... We now go every Saturday morning to a old folks home recovery place where we talk to the cute old people one on one for two hours. Its really great because sometimes they let us teach something (we don't count it though because they don't remember it ... but it is nice because we can practice the same thing next week and they won't know!). The facility is so nice though and is such a highlight to my week. It's interesting to try and explain though to my naturally shy and quiet companions how important it is to open our mouths as missionaries. Because that is what we are called to do. It has made me really grateful for my naturally talkative personality (Other people may not agree but... hey it has a good use here at least.)

Mom I am so excited about what you are doing with the conference talks. I started doing something similar two conferences ago. As I read each talk I had a piece of paper titled "what I can do to more fully follow the prophet" where I wrote down the things I felt the need to implement more into my life. I love it and look at it often, but also realize how much I really have to learn. Sometimes I think its easy to say ... o I am so holy I do so great at not doing bad things, I keep the word of wisdom and so on as we do our little check list, but it is so much more than that. I realize that I have so far to go to become like Christ. But it's a good thing we've got plenty of time to become like that. Our mother's day meeting in church on Sunday talked a lot about how women tend to always feel overwhelmed because they feel like they can't do enough. We have to figure out some way to be content with always trying to be better and not overwhelmed. I donno if that made sense at all but yea.

Anyways. I am so excited to keep sprinting here. I am singing on Thursday at a conference with Elder Robins of the seventy and I am so excited for that. Then I am singing in the ward in a few weeks. I just need to smash in all my opportunities to share and build my talents that I can. AHHHHHH... see this is what stresses me out... I don't want to miss one chance to become more like Christ. I know they will continue after the mission but it wont be as intense as it is here.


well love you all soooooooooooo much. to the moon and back!
-sister wadsworth

Let the countdown begin!!!

I know Katy doesn't want us to send her any countdowns or anything, but that doesn't mean I can't start one on the blog since she never sees it!

She is coming home in a month. She arrives June 10th and for those of you interested she will be speaking June 13th at 11AM at our Civic Center and Tonopah building.

On to this week's letter....
Hey there!!

well... this week was CRAZY. Not in a good way either. I feel so bad for sis przybyla I dont even know why things are going the way they are. We are having a really hard time finding new people to teach. I am getting really anxious too because I really dont want to end my mission on a low like this. But miracles dont come till after the trial of your faith right? So I just gotta have faith still. I know that there are prepared people and that Heavenly Father is aware of our struggles and the things we are working on. Its hard to not get very stressed and frustrated with all my weaknesses because I dont know what else to blame our problems on. haha. YIKES. I am a mess.

Anyways our week was pretty uneventful. I don't really even know what to tell you about. Our new area is really great. The Bronx is actually super nice in some parts its great!

So one thing I learned during my studies this week came as I read John 14:6 where Christ speaks about how He is the way. And I have really been thinking about that statement. He really is the only way. No other way leads to happiness, peace, success or to our Heavenly Father. He really is THE WAY. I am so grateful for His example and that we can look to Him in all situations to know how we can find success and joy. I just love Him :D

So here are some things that happened this week that help you to get a feel for the crazyness of the Bronx:

- There is this guy called 'the earth angel" who rides on the subway. He has a mullet and he has a folder that he hold up to his face all the time to cover it from people looking into his eyes. Then he will ask if there are any angels on the train and he will look around his folder then go back behind as he looks at everyone on the train. It's always very entertaining. He's famous to the missionaries.

- We were walking by this guy who was unloading the candy he was dropping off at a store and this guy came up to him with a bowl and yelled "candy man candy man.... can I get some candy?? come on candy man... you have a whole truck full". it was fun to watch.

- A couple of days ago we were knocking on a door when a lady behind the door asked who is it? we told her it was the missionaries and then she opened the door really faced and yelled "hey!" while lifting up her shirt and flashing us her naked body underneath. HAHA. gross.

-Last night on our way home we saw a buff woman in work out clothing pulling a buff guy behind her on a scooter. She had a workout belt around her waste with a bungee in between her and the scooter. haha. What a great workout idea.

Those are just a few from this week. yay for the bronx. We had to call the bishop and talk to him about what happened with our investigator and he was like "dont you worry sisters this stuff happens all the time and this is by far not the worst." Our bishop is really amazing he is in his late 20s I think and just so great. hes gonna go far. lol.

Well sorry this letter was boring. Life has been kinda that way this week, but I know things will pick up. I know because God promises and He always keeps His promises.

love you all to the moon and back!
-taters

Bronx

Sooo I am so glad that you told me about Krista's call because I haven't gotten any mail this week! I guess she has forgotten about me. lol. but that couldn't be any more perfect. We will totally understand each other. I do know elder okenson. haha... yea. He was in my first district. His first name is Nephi and hes from Nephi. hahah. Love it.

OK ON TO THE REAL EXCITEMENT!!! So transfers were today and I'm going out with a bang for my last cycle. I am TRAINING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YAYAYAYAYAYA! I am so excited. But president felt like Sis Adjei needs more training time with me so I get to double train!!! YAY! AND they have asked us to take over a much much larger portion of the Bronx. So now I am double training AND white washing. There's no room for being trunky here. not that I would be! I am seriously so stoked for all of this because I love a challenge. Our old area was really small and not very fruitful and so its going to be so great to have more space to find and teach! I seriously could not be happier right now. So my daughter (my greenie) is so cute. She is from Alpine, Utah. (my first utah companion). Her name is sister Przybyla (her name is polish). Its sounds like (priz ba la). I think... err I am still learning. But on transfer night I almost wet myself with excitement when President asked me to train. He's really the best man. He said "i need my best missionary to do something..." haha. Its going to make this cycle sooooooooooooooooooooooooo great. And we got pretty much a whole new district because everyone got pulled out of here. ALLLL I am so excited! O yea and another amazing thing... Sis Child (the one i lived with in Harlem whom I love and is my heart) got moved into our apartment. ahhh so much love!

So on to the rest of this week. The elders gave me a blessing because my body has gone all retarded and I have been feeling much better. I will need all the strength I can get to manage this cycle. So just keep praying for me.

On monday at our district meeting I wrote a silly poem about our district. And I never knew that I was so good at it. hahah jk. But everyone loved it so much we made t-shirts and wrote it on the back of all of them. So I have decided to add that to my list of talents: writing funny rhyming poems.

O .. hey a special note for Dave M. I saw your apartment building finally. I got so excited! But I need you to tell me more about your family and if I should try to go see them. They aren't on the ward list so ... i don't really know how to find them. :D

well the work keeps moving forward. I love love love being a missionary. There are tough times and rough people but there is nothing like the power you feel when you realize you are part of this great work. I love my Savior. I will do anything for Him. I am so grateful for the opportunities I get to learn and grow and face challenges. :D

I love you all to the moon and back~ !

sister wadsworth

Speachless

I am pretty much speechless right now. I haven't received Krista's letter yet about her call! We didn't get mail last week due to some complications. I cant stop crying (in a good way). I don't know where she's going but that will be fun to see when I get her letter. I am so grateful that Heavenly Father hears our prayers. ONE WEEK!!! I'm so happy. I already worked out a plan to talk to president about calling her on mother's day if she left before I got home! But now I don't have to worry about that! O ... its just so happy. Krista... I will save all my cute missionary clothes for you!! (YOU WILL BE SO HAPPY I DID ;D )

This week was pretty great. It's been hard though because I think since my pace has slowed down a little bit due to the area, my body thinks its time to catch up with all the sicknesses I may have missed. haha. Its not too bad I am just getting ULTRA TIRED! But as you know it won't stop me.

So this week I have learned that listening to the spirit is the only way to go. I will now display two examples of why.
#1) So a lady sister adjei talked to on the street invited us to come visit her church after we had invited her to ours and she accepted the invitation. So as to not by hypocrites we agreed. So I prayed about it and felt really good about going. I didn't know why but I assumed it was to get this lady to our church. So we go and it was awkward (I was the only white person but whats new) and the worst part was that the lady who invited us wasn't even there. (the story is worse but I put that on the tape I am sending home). But we went and followed the prompting and left wondering why in the world we were supposed to be there. Then... fast forward a couple of days to yesterday. We were walking and this lady walks by and I realize it was a lady I saw sitting in the back of the church we visited. I was a little surprised and I turned to sis adjei who noticed too and then I let her pass by because I was so like... ughhh ... anyways I said a prayer and apologized for not talking to her and asked Heavenly Father to give me another chance and promised I would talk to her if she was put in our path again. So we go about our day then I started to feel really sick and so we headed home for our dinner break and we took a back street we don't usually take and then guess who comes round the corner?? yep the same lady. SO we got to talk to her and she explained that she wasn't sure if she wanted to go to that church anymore and that she was going through some really tough things. We gave her the info to the church and who knows what will happen next!! I just love being an instrument in God's hands. His work is so miraculous!

#2 We were teaching this week and our investigator was telling us some pretty crazy stories about her life and at fist I was like .... whoa... that sounds crazy but then the spirit came so strongly to tell me that she really needed a priesthood blessing. So I left the lesson really quick and called the elders. They came and gave her a beautiful blessing. It was soooooooooooo powerful and just what she and I needed. It really had a big impact on her. I am so grateful for the spirit and for the priesthood. What powerful and necessary tools they are in God's work.

So transfers are next week. I cant believe its already here. We will see if there are any changes. I'm not sure there will be but WHO KNOWS? Today we are going to the temple! YAY! I cant wait till I can go whenever I want and however many times I want to. HAHA. Then I am taking the sisters on a walking bakery tour to all the bakeries in walking distance from the temple. haha. I'm addicted!


Well I sure do love you all to the moon and back! keep me in your prayers and write me even though time is ticking... everyone is forgetting me I think. hahah jk.

LOVE SISTER WADSWORTH

Family!!!

Helloooooooooooooooo!!! Can I just tell you that GOD IS GOOD! He ALWAYS fulfills his promises! We have found the most amazing prepared people this week! We had multi-zone conference on Monday and we talked a lot about the things I have been praying about in regards to the concerns we are having in our area. We talked a lot about the importance of letting the spirit take control. Its so easy for me to just blab out the answer to these people that we are working with when they have concerns but even if I "know" the answer sometimes that's not what they really need to hear to be converted but God knows and the spirit can tell them. What a gift that is to use as we teach. ITS POWERFUL! So we got a new investigator. She was a media referral from Mormon.org where she requested a free book of Mormon. She is so great. She is so prepared. She accepted a baptismal date already and just ready to jump right in.

So ... what else is exciting? ummm... today we are going to a Yankees game again. We are pretty excited. We are going to go and get some legit hats to wear at the game. One of our recent converts here got me a cute jersey to wear! So nice of her.

So on Saturday we had a ward party. I felt bad for the lady who worked so hard to put it together. It felt a lot like my breakfast. Not much support. One thing I have realized is how it is so important to support the activities and events that the church puts on because someone somewhere put a lot of time and effort into these things hoping that someone would participate. So GO TO YOUR ACTIVITIES! HAHA. We are working to building the relationships and things we need to get people more excited about missionary work. We have a lot of less active work to do but that's fun too!

I can't believe how quickly this cycle has gone but it's been a lot of work. It was soo good to see president at zone conference because I feel like I haven't seen him in forever! I got so used to being in Manhattan where our zone always has interviews first and now we have them last and then zone conference got delayed. haha. It was crazy though because we have our multi zone conferences in Ossening and I haven't been to that church since the very first day of my mission. I have always been in the city (still am). I am so a city missionary. And a city girl in general.

ok... I haven't sent one of these for a while because I think I lost my ability to get embarrassed butttttttttttttttttttt I had a kaitlyn moment this week... So we live close by the elders now and so sometimes we have to drop stuff off to each other at our apartments. So a couple of nights ago someone knocked at our door while we were planning at night and so sister passantino got up to get it and it was some of our elders asking to borrow a church dvd we had. (So, side note, when we get home at night the first thing we do is take of our nylons but then we get to work and plan.) So I jumped up to join her at the door and help them then, turned around to go back and when I sat back down sis adjei was like... look.. and pointed to my skirt... A part of the back of my skirt was tucked weird in to my undergarments... haha. it wasn't that bad but enough to make me blush. haha. The elders didn't say anything to embarrass me but WOOO hoo ... I am so cool.

Also mom... I know you are worried about me getting distracted,(Side note from Mom- I am not worried about her being distracted.) and I am too but I just want to let you know I am staying focused. I know why I am here and that's to serve and work hard so I wont miss a moment. Why would I be here if I was going to do anything else??? that's just silly. And I am not just saying that to make you feel better. Yesterday a sister we live with took me aside and told me that she just loved me and told me some things she appreciated about me and one of the things is that she said I am not trunky at all. not one bit. It made me feel good. I don't think its bad to know you are going home and be aware of the time the problems arise when it effects your work... and I wont let that happen. My comp doesn't deserve that, the ward, the people we are teaching and Heavenly Father needs effective instruments not dull unproductive tools! :D There ... I hope that satisfies you! haha But please don't send any countdowns or something. haha. The most trunky thing I am doing is shopping... :D yaya!

Ok well... MY TIME IS UP! I love you all so much (to the moon and back). I am glad all is well I love being a missionary! SMILE LOTS ! I know the church is true!

-SIS WADSWORTH

heyhey everyone!

Today we are at a new library that is right next to the train so I am having a hard time focusing and because its like the last hour of a busy pday. I am learning that things with a time clock stress me out very easily. My poor companions probably think I am crazy when we are waiting for a bus or something when we are late and curfew is just a few minutes away... haha. I often find myself pacing and praying under my breath that the bus comes fast. haha.

Well I loved conference this week. It is always so nice its probably one of the only breaks we get as missionaries. It does make it a little hard on our numbers though because Saturday is usually our biggest working day but that's ok. I just wish we had some investigators that could have come. We finally have some investigators now though so that's a joy. We had a miracle after a day of people canceling or ditching on us. We met a wonderful girl who just wants to find a church that is right. Sis Adjei and I literally (and you know i would actually do this) walked all the way home singing "there can me miracles!... when you're obedient!!" at the top of our lungs! Even though there were many people around. It was so great! We get to see her again on Saturday and she wants to come with us to the ward party too! YAY! Hopefully this party goes better than my breakfast.... *sigh*

So we got up early to cook about 9 pounds of bacon and a ton of eggs and man... that bacon was evil. It kept spitting hot oil on my and boy did I smell strongly. We got all the food prepared and it was soooooooo delicious.... for the 4 people who came... !!!! We were expecting about 40 (or so they told us to expect). BLAST! Good thing the Spanish ward was there ... they were happy to eat our food. We had a lot of full missionaries as we watched the Saturday sessions of conference. O well... I learned a lot about how to feed a whole bunch of people even if they didn't show up! Our sweet ward mission leader said it was a good start to a future trend. We didn't get to publicize it very well and so that was the problem... But I really enjoyed conference. It did make me a little nervous about being a mother someday in this crazy world. But it made me soooooooooooo sososososso grateful that I have had the chance to serve a mission. I know that it will be one of the greatest foundations to my testimony and in my parenting within the gospel. I don't think there could have been any greater training for me. I really love the prophet. I could just listen to him and the apostles alll day long. I love being a member of God's church. :D

So last week I got to go to the temple with the member from our first area. OOOOOOOOOOO IT WAS SOOO WONDERFUL! He is such a valiant spirit. I know he will serve the church well. It was so neat to sit in the celestial room and watch him with his fiance. I went up and gave her a big hug before I left and said thanks and she said... 'no thank you!" What a wonderful thing to be part of. That is what this work is all about. Bringing God's children home to Him. All of us as families. I love doing the work here...

So things are still pretty crazy here. I feel like I am constantly battling with a lot of adversity. That just lets me know that there are great things in store here. I just have to prove myself so that Heavenly Father can bless us here with all the things He is so anxious to give. So is life. Its also getting super hot and humid again. The seasons here are sooo intense. Bring on the sweat.

Well I sure love you all... Time is flying by here in the bronx. I love it but its CRAZY! Pray for us! LOVE YOU ALL TO THE MOON AND BACK!

-SISTER TATERS

Hey Hey Family

Hey hey family,

Sorry this letter will be quick. Thanks for your encouraging words. It really means a lot. We had the most interesting week. With all the moving It was really hard to stay focused on the right things when the things of the world kept getting in the way. We had a couple of really tough days. I actually love those days because I can look back on them and think... man I'm glad today is better. HAHA. We had a little fiasco where I seriously was on my wit's end. All I could do was pray for patience and a desire to keep on going even when every ounce of me just wanted to sit down and cry. But... I didn't. And I am still alive and life goes on haha.

Our new apartment is really nice. Except our room is small. But it makes coming home so nice when you have a nice clean place to come home to. Its kinda strange though because we live about three doors down from the elders. (We have 8 missionaries in one ward... crazy huh? big change from being the only two for two wards). Anyways its fun because we get up early every morning and play ultimate Frisbee during our exercise time. And last night some drama went down and someones feelings got hurt (mine) and so this morning ... the elders made our whole apartment breakfast to make us feel better. hahaha. It was really nice. but .... its still weird they are so close. ahaha. enough about that though. o AND good news... i have not been bitten since the move so I am pretty sure we got rid of them!!! YEA YEAYEAAA

So today is probably one of the best days of my whole mission because in a couple hours I am meeting someone baptized early in my mission that we were able to teach for dinner with his fiance and his other "most favorite people" and then the 6 of us will go over to the temple so he can receive his endowment! I feel so blessed to be able to be part of this. He is such a rock star and I just love the example he is in the fact that he took the gospel and just soaked it all in and hes so happy! O how the gospel is so true!!!!! WHAT A BEAUTIFUL DAY!!!!!!!!

So I am sooo excited for conference this weekend. I love this time of year and telling people that the prophet of God is going to be speaking to us. Its just such a delight!!! So in order to get people to come we asked the bishop if we could have a breakfast before the first Saturday session I so smartly said... i will cook if it means we can have it... So guess who's in charge of the ward breakfast this Saturday? haha. I'm not too worried about it. We are doing simple breakfast burritos and all we have to cook is the eggs and bacon. I just hope people come so that It all works out for a purpose. Pray for me please! I just wish I had 6 other sister missionaries to help me rather than 6 elders... haha. Actually... they made us eggs and bacon this morning and it was great... haha.

So we live with two wonderful Spanish sisters. I am pretty much kindred spirits with them. I donno what my mission would have been like with out these sisters. haha.

We actually made cookies and took them around to our less actives (We have a ton!) to invite them to the breakfast. So I did my share of deliveries this week.

Well gotta get going. Enjoy conference.I will be watching it with you. I love the prophet and I know he is called of God. What a blessing it is to have so much clarity through revelation in our day where it is soooo needed. I encourage all of you to pray and ask God if Thomas S Monson is a prophet today and I know you will feel same joy I felt when I did the same! I love you all to the moon and back....

sister wadsworth
and peace

HELLLLLLLLLLLOOOOO

HELLLLLLLLLLLOOOOO FAMILY!

Wow... I seriously don't even know where to begin. The Bronx is very VERY different from Manhattan. Our zone is very different also. I only have 2 cycles here and I am not going to waste one minute of it! Sis Adjei and I are getting a long soooo well. I love her so much. She told me this week "I think I like being a missionary now" then the next day she said "I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY!". haha. It just goes to show that you are happy when you are doing what you are supposed to be doing... even if its hard.
We have spent a lot of time trying to find people to teach since right now we don't have anyone. A lot of contacting and a lot of tracting. It's hard because we haven't found anyone yet but I know that God is just preparing us for something truly amazing and as we don't loose hope and keep working hard, the miracles will come. I like to give themes or titles to our cycles and we called this one "Bring on the Miracles!!". haha. We have planted a lot of seeds and are excited soooooo excited to see what happens.

Sadly we had a little bit of an unavoidable distraction this week. On Sunday we got a call from our district leader who told us that we are going to be moving ... the next day. After a little talking we figured out how to settle things so that we can move tomorrow but O MY GOODNESS ITS SOO ANNOYING! First off... packing is annoying buttttttttttttttt to add to it Monday and part of yesterday we had to spend all day doing all our laundry ... anything that had fabric on it because... i found out after I moved in.... WE HAVE BED BUGS!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!! It is seriously so terrible but hey ... whats one more new thing :D If only they had moved one week earlier!!! Yay for the wonderful mission experiences that you can't get anywhere else! But our new apartment is really nice and new and clean! AND GUESS WHAT???? WE GET NEW BEDS!!!! ... i just teared up... lol! Its so wonderful. So that fun continues today and tomorrow. Nothing like packing then unpacking ... then packing again and then unpacking again :D

So... the Bronx is actually super slow. haha. I thought it would be busy like Manhattan but its pretty chill here. I think it will be a good bridge back to the slow life on the west coast. haha. We got eggs thrown at us the second day here. But that happened in Manhattan too. :D The people here are much nicer and way more willing to talk but there are less of them out and about to talk to. There are houses here and lots of doors to knock so that's a new experience too. There are lots of cheap places to shop and so I have to load up on some crazy sweet kicks to bring back home! :D Kyle, kevin... any color requests?? what shoe size are you? do you think janson wants some ghetto shoes too? haha. Today is sister Adjei's birthday so we are getting some really big pizza then going to do some shopping. In Ghana everyone gets a name depending on what day of the week they were born on and my name Akos and so sis adjei calls me Akoko and her day name is Yaa and so I call her Yaa Yaa. hahah just a little glimpse into our lives.hmmm..

Glad the BYU apartment thing is worked out. Guess it wont be a challenge to walk to and from school anymore with my new walking legs. haha. Tell her thanks next time you talk to her. That is such a relief!


Love you to the moon and back!
Sister Wadsworth

Hello from the Bronx!

HELLOOOOOOOOOOOOOO FROM THE........ DRUM ROLL PLEASE!!! THEEEEEEEEE BOOGIE DOWN BRONX!!!!!! hahaha YESS I finally made it!!!!!! haha. I just arrived here moments ago. Its going to be very different from Manhattan but at least I am still in the city. I think I might go down in history as the only missionary in our mission to never leave the city. I am so ok with that. President knows how I seriously have to work hard or I will not be satisfied in my efforts so I am glad he let me stay here! haha. It has been a roller coaster last few weeks. It was sooo hard to say goodbye to everyone. I have become sooo close to some of our investigators that it was painful to say goodbye. But I know I will keep in contact with everyone, even if it means I have to get a facebook account when I get back (eeeeeeeks). I think I gained about 10 pounds just in these last two weeks. Everyone wanted to feed us before I left AND there are so many great things to eat in Manhattan that I just had to have them one more time.

So about my new area. My new companion is sister Adjei. She is from Ghana and I LOVE HER SOOOO MUCH! This is her second cycles out and so I am follow up training her like I did with sister gee. The bronx is so wonderful. So much more chill than Manhattan. I love it! We have a kmart and a target ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.... I'm sure i will just pass out in the front doors when I walk into something familiar like that. I am so excited to be here. One of our investigators from Manhattan is getting baptized on Sunday. I am pretty close but I have decided I wont be going to the baptism even if I got permission because I want to use every second I have to focus on my new area. I am so excited for him and support him and would be there if I wasn't taking away from my new calling. I am so grateful that God allowed me to work with such a wonderful person. And our other investigators there. AHHH... I AM SO BLESSED! I know things will be rough at the start here too, but it will come along!

Sorry this letter is so jumbled... i don't even know how to focus my thoughts. So mom mentioned about the crazy weather.... crazy is an understatement it was insane. There was a crazy rain and wind storm last week.... let me try to explain what it was like... 50 mph winds so you could barely use an umbrella but it was raining so hard that it felt like a fire hose was spraying us. My big puffy VERY PUFFY coat got completely soaked through and I was soaked underneath. My hair was dripping wet I could squeeze water out of every inch of my clothes and hair. The wind pushed me sooo hard. O man... I almost got hit by a car because the wind pushed me into the street. (but my angels protected me). Of course I didn't wear my rain boots that day and because we couldn't go home to get them my other boots were soooo soaked that I sloshed around all day. I ended up having to throw them away because they were all crusty and salty like after they dried. I should have taken some pictures but I was too scared to ruin my camera. Anyways I hope you got a small taste of that lovely day... but just fyi I still got all our required lessons and contacts for that day! BOOO YAW!!

O i wanted to tell Kevin that an investigator is the setter at Columbia. Shes a freshman and because the senior setter got hurt and can't play she has been starting all year and will continue till her senior year... just like you!! except... college and a girl :D SOOO cool though!
ooo I forgot to say something very important about transfers... So the best part about all of this is that Sis Lythgoe is the one taking my place in Manhattan. I had complete confidence in the Lord and in sis gee but knowing that the sister I am most like and love more than anything is going to be taking over my area is such a tender mercy. I cannot even express how much that means to me. I didn't think it was possible because she is Spanish speaking and she lives with us but she and sister gee are going to rock that area I worked so hard in for 10.5 months! I couldn't have asked for anything better! :D
ok... now i am really rambling.

for the blog:
Mariana... I got your letter and about died with happiness... i will write back as soon as I can! I LOVE YOU!!!

ok well my time is up... i am so excited for something new. I love love love being a missionary. I am so grateful for this gospel that I not only can know that God is real but that He loves us soo much that He has provided the fullness of the gospel for each of us and that the Book of Mormon is proof of that reality... if you don't have one or haven't tested that out for yourself recently... do it now. mormon.org - get a free copy!

love you all to the moon and back!
-Kaitlyn (Kreme)

Sorry this may be a little rushed. As you can tell I am writing a bit later than usual. Because of the layout of our day we were unable to go this morning and now we are here without much time to go. Today was so sweet. Our investigator took us out to a restaurant called Landmarc (Sooo ritzy) as a goodbye thingy. O my goodness.... heaven. She knows how to get to my heart. She got us this dessert platter... the creme brulee... o my lanta it was soo great! They also brought us cotton candy on a fun platter... how silly and great is that?

So we had a baptism on Saturday and it went really well. Last night her and her family had us over for a goodbye dinner. It was so nice. She made soo much food and then gave me about 30 dollars worth of Victoria's secret lotion and smelly good stuff. Its so nice to feel loved. I was trying not to tell too many people that I was leaving the area except the ones president told me to (investigators). But then on Sunday I stood up and bore my testimony and then sat down and then at the end of the meeting the bishop stood up (in the singles ward) and said how grateful he was that we got to hear my testimony before I leave and how much he appreciates it. Which was really nice for him to say BUTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT.... everyone was like WHAT? WHAT? YOU'RE LEAVING?? When do you go home? most people thought he meant I was going home... o dear. O well. I will look like a fool if for some reason I don't move. haha.. o dear that would be terrible... watch now it will happen. bahhh... Anyways. It was fun to see Melody too. She reminds me so much of some of the people in the ward that it didn't feel weird at all. And I just love my mellie bellie!

So yesterday we had a sister's luncheon and sister smith bless her lovely little heart made us a piece of heaven.... taco salad... with cafe rio pork! I about died. When she said that I seriously threw my hands in the air and said "PRAISE GOD!" and almost passed out. haha. It was so delicious!! I miss that and in-n-out more than anything (food wise)! HAHA. We got to do a Q&A with president and sister smith and so they gave us dating advice. It was really good. Man... DATING... blah!

Another investigator is doing so well. He will be getting baptized, sadly the Saturday after I leave. But that's ok. I am just glad hes getting baptized. He is pretty excited and is possibly the coolest person in the world. I love teaching the gospel to those who are ready to listen and to really take it to heart. Well I sure love all of you. sorry this was so jumbled and strange. I am off!

love you to the moon and back
-kaitlyn

Fam Fam!

Thanks for the update on Kenton. We were in the middle of a lesson on Saturday with an investigator and one of our members came with us and his phone kept ringing and ringing and finally he was like... im sorry I gotta answer this. He served his mission in Chile and his dad called to tell him the news. It sounds like it could have been a lot worse then it was though. Good thing. I am glad Kenton and the people there were not hit with Tsunamis and such also.

So we had a baptism on Saturday!!! It was soooo wonderful. Members were all there to support him and give talks and stuff. It was truly a delight to see so much support. I know he will go on to do great things. He bore his testimony after his baptism and in his sweet little polish accent and struggled words said how grateful he was for the gospel and just kept saying how happy he was and how he wished everyone could feel how he felt. His smile was sooo wide and happy. I sure love teaching people who are so wonderful and excited to learn. It makes all the rejection worth it because we know there are people out there who are ready we just gotta find them. :D

Another investigator has decided to get baptized on April 17th! I am so happy for her. She still has to talk to her family more about it but she is determined and knows that its right. She is so wonderful. I am so grateful to my Heavenly Father for allowing me to teach such great people. We have the greatest investigators right now. I appreciate the fact that Heavenly Father has allowed me to taste the sweetness of the fruit I have been working so hard to cultivate her in Manhattan for so long! I really do love this city but it wear you out. My poor companion is still trying to get used to it and is a little nervous about taking things over. But I know Heavenly Father put her here for a reason. Shes going to do a wonderful job!

SO.... exciting news... our caught mice number is up to 5 now with many still runnin around in our walls! o ... such a delight. It really is terrible and pretty sad because they are so cute but they are so annoying and one made it to my bedroom.... that so crossed the line... first the roaches now the mice! What would a mission be with out the joys of these little pests? The sad thing is we are all too scared to actually kill them after we catch them so we just send them down the garbage shoot hoping they enjoy the landfill of garbage at the bottom. haha.

So moving forward ... its been snowing like CRAZY! I totally jinxed myself last week with the boot thing ... o man. O well I am surviving.. I did just buy some boots buuut they are for after the mission... they were on sale and I really wanted some sooo.. yea. FORGIVE ME! I just wanted something nice to take home. It has been a really slushy snow though and its sooo terrible. If I didn't have my rain boots I would be soaked everyday. Luckily the snow stopped though and today its just drizzling.

umm... sorry this is so jumbled I'm just saying things as I think of them. So as a mission we are reading the Book of Mormon together right now. O man... can i just tell you how much I love the Book of Mormon? It is the greatest thing ever. I learn sooo much from it every time I read it. The learning never ends. What a beautiful thing that God loves us enough to give us things to study and to learn from so that we can become more like him. A wonderful book that we can trust and abide by and that will bring us closer to God. I LOOOOOOOOVE IT! So we just started to read from the beginning and i love Nephi. I want to be like him and be so obedient even when its hard and doesn't go right the first few times! LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT!


ok well love you to the moon and back
Kaitlyn