Ice Ice Baby

Week ending February 7th

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MOM AND BRIAN!!

Monday was fun.  It snowed in the mountains surrounding the valley.  At ZL/STL meeting we reviewed the transfers by reading my losses.  The whole transfer the zone leaders made a list of losses, mistakes, and weird things I said or did.  They mess with me WAY too much!  But the good thing is it was the last day so they got it all out.
Tuesday was transfers.
It turns out my new companion lived in the same hall as me at BYU in the summer.  Only a few doors down!  She was in Ty's FHE group.  I knew she looked familiar but because of mission brain I could not place her.  Probably because she spent most of her time in the dorms studying ( like I should have been) while I spent my time with Gabby at the guys dorms.  What a small world.  She is awesome and super smart.  Everything she says and testifies comes straight from the Preach My Gospel manual.  It is like when someone talks by quoting lines from a movie except it is super spiritual.

We had zero appointments set up this week...The area book dis not sync until Thursday.  And when it finally did sync it had not been updated for a month.  Double transfers are rough!  But because of it we had a lot of time to find new investigators.  Normally finding investigators in a YSA ward is hard because it is a limited demographic but God blessed us as we diligently worked to find those He had prepared to receive the gospel.
Our first night we just prayed to know where to go and we turned into a gate apartment complex.  Right as we were praying it started to open and the first door we knocked on the guy was interested in learning about the gospel.
The whole week was filled with meetings like that.

Today we were so busy that we barely had time to play sports.  Next week we are going to try to see the Hover Dam.

The ward is super awesome and missionary minded.  This is the ward that sister Sandoval started her mission.  We had dinner with a member, Grace, and she served her mission in OKC.  How cool!  I have officially spent more time serving in YSA wards than family wards.  Zach's high school is across the street from the ward building...He said he has some non member friends that he is going to try to get the contact information for so hopefully I will be able to stay in the area for a while an teach them the gospel.

It is neat knowing that I am here in the Vegas area for a reason and how small the world really is.

Love,
Kaila

Overjoyed

Week Ending Feb 1st

So here is my weekly summary:
The weather was nice.  We played volleyball and basketball on our day and hiked up a mountain.  So exciting and cold.  Found out Elder Chamber's dad went to the same high school as you which is kinda weird.
Tuesday Elder Corbridge fro the 70 came and spoke to us.  It was great seeing sister Kaufusi (she is serving in North now).  She told me 5 people from Bullhead that we found and taught were baptized. Wednesday we went to the temple with Sister Vaaie and Erickson.  It was a perfect day to go.  There were not many people there since it was early and had just reopened the day before.  I love going to the temple.  It gave me peace of mind and was just the thing I needed!  Plus it was a gorgeous day!
Thursday we finally thought Sabrina.  Earlier this transfer Bishop Olsen asked me to speak in sacrament meeting and it was super spiritual.  Immediately after the meeting, a brother, Brother Cordova, who I had never met before, came up to me and gave me the information for a friend he wanted my companion and I to teach.  This does not happen very often.  Unfortunately she was living in Henderson at the time but just moved into our area.  She had already started to read the Bokk of Mormon and had questions like, "do you worship Joseph Smith?, what are you called Mormons, etc".  We started the lesson by getting to know her better and she is from the south side of Guthrie, OK!!!  Isn't that incredible!  We taught the lesson and the spirit was so powerful.  Then we asked her to be baptized on the 12th of March and she accepted the commitment and started tearing up.  You could tell the gospel was something she has wanted very badly.  In a tender moment Brother Cordova looked at me and said "remember the poem"?  He was referring to the poem I shared in my talk 5 weeks earlier.  It told a story of how two spirits knew each other and were best friends before this life but how one was born with the gospel in their life and one without.  The one without begged the person with the gospel to find her and share the blessings of the gospel.  The spirit was immense.  We promised Sabrina that we would find her and bring here the gosple.  How wonderful it is to be part of this great work.
Transfer news:   I am going to Henderson!  I am getting a double transfer into a YSA ward there and will still be a STL. I am super nervous because this are is harder that what I am in now .  My new conniption is Sister Bedont.  She is from Washington and come out a transfer after me and was sister Wilde's trainer.  I am on my 7th companion.  I must be a trouble maker!  I over the Eldorado, Lake Mead and Black Mountain stakes so if anyone knows somebody there, let me know!
I am sad to be leaving this area.

Love you!
Sister Gier

OK, It's Alright with Me

Jan 18th-24th

Things are going well here in Vegas.  This past week and this upcoming week are going to be and have been busy with broadcasts, MLC missing tour, exchanges and transfers.  Fun stuff!
It sounds like Natalie did great with her talk at the Stake conference.  Man, she is the coolest!  SO proud of her.  She is going to be a great missionary.
Sister Fingerle sent me an American flag tag like the sisters missionaries on temple square that was cool because she probably had to kill someone to get it.  She gets released in a week but I am going to do my best to keep in touch with her.
The Pday report:  I am getting pretty good at basketball, the elders actually want me on their team!
Wednesday morning we watched a broadcast form the mission department in SLC.  This year's vision is to teach Repentance and Baptize converts.  Everything the leaders talked about came from Teach my Gospel.  It is amazing how simple the doctrine of Christ is but how it has such far reaching effects on our eternal progression.  Repentance is such a key component.  I always learn something new as I study this fundamental but complicated gift.
Sunday we went on a mini exchange with the other sisters in our zone.  It was really nice.  The mission president is proud of the work that it going on in our area.  I found ut that 3more people I taught in Bullhead got baptized!  I wish I could have been there.  Elder Corbridge fro the area 70 came and spoke to us.  Kinda calling us to repentance  and humility which I needed because God had blessed me so much I need to become more humble.  Our investigators are doing well.  We walked Alma to church today.  Steve our recent convert called to tell us he read the entire General conference issue of the Ensign in a day!  Holy Cow..  He is awesome.  We keep finding people to teach and the Lord is blessing us greatly.
We just finished hiking Sunrise mountain.  It is super steep and my legs are on fire.  As we were hiking down Elder Chambers and I found out that is family went to Pueblo East High! crazy to know that his dad and uncles lived in the same town as you, mom. Crazy small world. We were freaking out.

The church is true!  I love you,
Sister Gier

Sister Gier in her Birthday Denver Bronco gear!

Don't Stop Believing

Jan10-17th

This week was AWESOME!

Thanks for the birthday surprise.  Chelsea Upshaw asked the zone leaders where we lived and then brought a lot of members from the YSA ward and surprised us when we came home!  It was awesome and very thoughtful.   Thanks mom!  I love you!

We also went on exchanges with the hermansas and my spanish is getting worse...not that it was that great to begin with but still...

Saturday night we received a call from the president telling us one of the sisters in our zone went missing but it was a miscommunication and it turns out everyone is alive and well.  But we were all a bit worried for a while.

Steve was baptized this weekend.  It was incredible.  The night before the baptism he had to Book of Mormon bash his family because they were giving him a hard time that he had been brain washed and was joining a cult and he did not understand what he was doing..   He went and picked up his Book of Mormon and said, "READ THE COVER".   It says it is another testament of Jesus Christ and that its whole purpose it to testify of Christ.   The he flipped to a page and read it and it talked about baptism and the holy ghost, he told his parents that is what he wanted in his life and if you don't believe in this then you are not Christians!  Pretty bold but awesome.   After the baptism we walked around the temple and he knew all temples needed a corner stone.  Who knows stuff like that?!

I don't have much time but thanks for everything!  Love you!

Sister Gier

The New Year

Dec 26-Jan 4th

Hmm...where to begin.  At day sports the missionaries started paying volleyball without me even begging to play.  I am starting to get better at basketball.
Tuesday we had exchanges and that is always fun.
Thursday we had dinner with our part member family who's kids are investigating the church.  WE love them!  They are so amazing and should be getting baptized soon!  We had to be inside by 6pm so we did weekly planning and made our usual calls and headed to be by 10:30!  This was the first year in I don't know how long that I did not stay up until midnight on New Years eve.  Not a very exciting for Vegas.  Haha
Friday, I was in the Spanish area and had to give my first prayer in Spanish, so that was fun!
Saturday was awesome because we met with Shayla and Shaundricka.  They always have some crazy questions but diligently search.  Sheryl read 1 Nephi 1 and had some specific questions on two of the verses.  How awesome!  Then in the middle of the lesson, Shaundricka said, "how Howard?! "  Puzzled by this inquiry she continued and said, "you know like Howard be his name"!  Hahahah, I was dying!!!
We almost lost our car and had to bike for a week, but all is good now.
Sister Wilde and I won the Iron Rod!!   We crushed the elders by 10 points!

Jan 5-11th

My week was less busy than usual but I still felt like I was scrambling around.  Getting the iron rod means that we had the most points in the zone based upon the number of people we find, teach, bring to church and set a baptismal date.  Not easy because our zone is really competitive and this area is prepared to be harvested.
We played basketball instead of volleyball this week so that was weird but no complaints since Elder Sawyer and I were killing it on the court!  Shooting 3's left and right!
Tuesday we went out on exchanges.  I was in an area with a sister who has been out for 3 transfers.  It was great and we saw plenty of miracles.  And it rained...no POURED on us.  We were walking around soaked to the bones.  We had forgotten our umbrellas so by the time we got back to the car we looked liked drowned cats.  I literally had to wring water out of my shoes.
The rest of the week went well.  There was a lot of snow on Mt. Charleston.  A family in the ward found out my birthday is this week so they gave me a cute gift.   We served at the Salvation Army which is always a joy and adventure.
In case you are wondering what the most common excuse is why people can't meet is is because they are getting their hair done.  And it takes at least 5 hours to get your hair done in Vegas!
Our investigator Elizabeth was finally coming to church this week.  She has a hearing handicap and needs a service dog.
Our investigator, Steve, is getting baptized this weekend!  His is awesome.  Reminds me a bit of grandpa.  He lives in a trailer and talks a lot.  Like so much that while we were in a lesson this wok I just remember thinking how in the world did we get through all the lessons with all his talking?!
There is no way we could have gotten Steve to the point he is now without the Book of Mormon and the power of the Holy Ghost.  Steve always read the assignments we gave him and knows most of the stories from the Book of Mormon.  The Book of Mormon is key to having faith in Christ.  It is so important to Heavenly Father's plan.
It was Sunday night and sister Wilde and I were just short of our goals for the week.  It is important for the SLT to meet there goals since we are the leaders and supposed to set the example for the other missionaries.  We knocked on the door of our last appointment and it fell through.  Disappointed, we went to the car and prayed, asking Heavenly Father "where do we/I need to be"?  A thought came to my mind, "you are exactly were I need you to be."  I thought about this more and how Heavenly Father lead me to go on a mission in Las Vega.  It was His Plan for me.  He brought me here at this time and all I had to do was be willing to listen.  Then I thought about where I would be if I had not listened.  All this was streaming through my mind when suddenly an apartment came to mind.  We followed that prompting and found a new investigator.  Talk about a miracle and the importance of listening to the promptings we receive!
Love you,
Sister Gier

Take Me To Church

Christmas Day- December 27

So as I explained in my previous email sister Wilde and I stayed up

watching the testaments and then woke up at 4am to meet the zone

leaders at the stake center to deliver all the packages and stockings.

It was so much fun! And really funny. Some elders got so scared as we

were banging on their door! Haha for one companionship, they left

their door unlocked (which is a huge surprise cause they always lock

it) and the zone leaders snuck in an put presents under the tree. A

little while later they got a call from them saying "elders, we

thought someone broke into our apartment and it was terrifying... One

more thing, how did you get into our apartment?!" Haha

We had district breakfast at Denny's and it was a lot of fun

celebrating together. We have the best missionaries!

For the Zone leaders Christmas present sister Wilde and I took a

picture together with our frosty blowup and gave it to the elders in a

picture frame. We wrapped it up in Walmart bags with rocks surrounding

it and put it in a tupperware container. It is currently sitting on their

mantle. Haha and the best part is today at ZL STL meeting they thanked

us for the gift again and then told us when they opened it they

thought the rocks were candy and elder chambers licked it. He probably

has some sort of disease cause those rocks came from outside and were

nasty! Poor elders.

Afterwards we went to a stake center and prepared to call home. The

zone leaders came with us since they have the keys and we were all

super anxious. Sister Wilde and I didn't know what to expect. Which

its just a call home you would think it would be no big deal but it is

a loaded call. Which by the way I really love you all and enjoyed

talking with you. Keep me updated on things to come. It was hard

saying goodbye and hanging up but if it makes you feel any better I

was talking to Elder Chambers afterwards and the same thing happened

when he tried to hang up too. I'm glad I didn't get too home sick.

Although for the rest of the day I did want to cry, not because I was

sad but because the spirit has been so strong lately.

We played sports and the elders were nice and let me play basketball

with them even though I am awful. We also played volleyball and I

taught a sister from Tahiti how to flip whip cream in her mouth.

We had a traditional Christmas style dinner. Stopped by some members

homes that wanted us to come by and we were able to find a new

investigator. To end the night we went on exchanges with the sisters.

I was exhausted. Waking up early was not the best idea.

Exchanges were awesome. I was with sister Vaaie from Tahiti in my

area. We were able to see plenty of miracles even though it was

awfully cold. For example, when sister Wilde was in this area on

exchanges she met a lady, Alma, who said she had seen missionaries

before but never had the opportunity to talk to them. One of those

miracle moments where God has prepared her an she is truly searching

for the truth. Either way, we taught her the restoration and she now

has a baptismal date that we may have to move forward cause she is so

amazing!

At the end of the night sister Vaaie asked why we listen to music

without words and then challenged me to make a up a song to the tune

of a song that I had only heard a few times before. it was hilarious.

Sunday was probably the best day of my life. I was asked previously

this week to give a talk in sacrament meeting about chapter 9 in

preach my gospel which is all about finding people to teach. My

favorite. Because this week was so busy I put off writing it until

that morning, so I thought for sure it was going I be a wreck.

We left PEC early cause we walked our new investigator, Alma, to

church. Thank goodness it wasn't as cold as Saturday. And it was such

a joy walking with her to church and teaching her about the ordinance

of sacrament.

There was a crowd of people in sacrament meeting because a sister had

just returned home from her mission. The state president was there and

two of the high council men joined the meeting too. Thankfully my talk

went well. Actually it went extremely well. Heavenly Father blessed me

with the spirit as I spoke. I questioned why the bishop invited me to

speak and not someone else, but there must have been a reason. The

spirit was unreal in that meeting. There were quiet a few teary eyes

and a change of heart in the members so much so that afterwards we

were able to receive two referrals from members, of people they wanted

us to teach and contact. It was a miracle. They were able to feel and

develop trust in us. My talk didn't seem any different than most but

it the spirit was more abundant than ever before.

Afterwards we taught in elders quorum. Which was different. Sister

Wilde and I taught about how to plan for a lesson and how to teach. We

taught the restoration and again the spirit was incredible strong,

which resulted in the high council man raising his hand and saying

that there is no reason why we should not be able to trust these

sisters with any of our dearest friends. It was so touching for him to

say that. We are creating Zion Wards over here!! It's incredible to

see the change the ward has made in such a short amount of time. God

is hastening the work.

The church is true. I love you!

Do I Wanna Know?

Dec 1-7th

I got your package today and I loved it! By the way if you haven't noticed on my debit card I have been purchasing some things like a watch, necklace, tights etc because I know it is cheaper for me to buy them than have you buy them and ship them here. So merry Christmas to me! 

Sister Leete and I want to make a ginger bread (gramcracker) temple so if you could send me the recipe for the royal icing that would be much appreciated. 

I'm glad Grandma will be happier in this new place. Send me her address and I will try and remember to send her a Christmas card. 

Sad to think Dad is off the High Council it would have been cool if he was there just one more year so he could be at the interview when I come home. But oh well. I'm sure he will love primary haha

Did you say the zone has 120 missionaries?! That’s insane! We only have 26 missionaries in our zone! 

Let me see if I can remember anything from this week... On Tuesday and Thursday we went on exchanges which is always fun but a lot of pressure because I have to set a perfect example, correct any disobedience, and teach them skills. Wow. I think my hair is turning gray. Tuesday night right after exchanges right as Sister Leete and I were about to sit down and plan for the next day we had to race off and save some sisters by bringing hot chocolate and talking about our feelings. We didn't get home until 10:30 which is when we are supposed to go to bed... I am being force to develop a heart. It is weird. But I guess this helps me become the person God wants me to be. 

On Wednesday we have MLC which is Missionary Leadership Council. Its where all of the Zone Leaders and STLs come together once a month to receive training from President Snow, the APs and the MSTLs. Its way cool. Its like a super special conference and everyone knows everyone because everyone has been going to these meetings forever or have served around each other. It was a little  weird not knowing what was going on. But the old AP, who is now one of the Zone Leaders that I'm working with, is very determined for me to become the best missionary possible... he kept telling me in the meeting "sister Gier you've got to make a name for yourself." So the pressure is on!

umm this letter is stopping here because I’ve got to go but hopefully i will send the rest later. 

love you!!

sister Gier