"Ich habe Sie lieb" - From Solothurn - September 8, 2014

Sorry if this email was scrambled in 7 different emails.  I love you all.

Yes Mommy I'm going to Luzern! And I'm going to work with another American again, Amanda Oswald.

She's  from Sandy, Utah. her father is Swiss. She started studying at BYU Hawaii and she also went to BYU Jerusalem. She was in my zone for two transfers. I know her fairly well.

The Luzern sisters actually had to call us yesterday because of something Sister Falke needed from a member here in Solothurn. So I talked to them for a minute and Sister Falke said she and Sister Oswald prayed that I would come to Luzern. I thought she was just saying that to be nice, but she explained that she and Sister Oswald had really thought about who would be a good fit for the work in Luzern and they decided I would be so they prayed that I would come. That made me feel really good and more at peace and more excited to go there.

This is the third time I have replaced Sister Falke. She is now going home. I have had all of her areas, but she did not go to Wien 1! I also already have my new address:

Kirche Jesu Christi

Sister Lewis

Bernstrasse 27

CH-6003 Luzern

Schweiz

And I want to tell you about this transfer. I knew I was going. That was clear to me. Poor Sister Bognar is worried about taking over such a large area after only 6 weeks. But this is the second time she has done that. But this time she won't even have the elders to turn to for help if she gets lost or something. Elder Kelly is quite pleased with his transfer. He's going to Ebnat, whitewashing (that's when an area gets two new missionaries at the same time), training another golden, and he will be district leader. He is also excited that the apartment in Ebnat is one of the biggest in the mission and he will get a car!  And Elder Cottam who is staying here is also getting a golden!! He's so nervous.

I'm excited to hear all about missionary week (I'm so proud of you!) and Dad. But Mom when can we come back to Switzerland? I tell everyone that I will be back to visit them and they sometimes say something like "yeah that's what they all say." And I say "no I really will! My parents PROMISED me we would come back together."

   

Some very fast other information! This week we were in charge of young womens and we did a sort of race where we used first Nephi and the young women had to get to the tree of life, build a boat, and such things. It was good. 

Also did I tell you we went back to that chapel in the woods with Ivanka and Sara to have a lesson. 

Also I love being a missionary. And this week we taught a family who is super orthodox and they have a prayer room with lots of pictures of Jesus and Mary. 


Remember earlier in my mission President Miles changed the guidelines about when we were to use "du" and "Sie" with other missionaries etc.  Then last week President Kohler changed the guideline so that  we had to say "Sie" to everyone over 18, including our companions. But he changed it again today so that we can say du to missionaries of our same gender. But last night as we were in bed (this is the quote of the week) Sister Bognar said, "Ich habe Sie lieb!" I said, "I'm pretty sure nobody EVER says that." And then I just said it in English, "Love you too!" Because if you're telling someone that you love them you are probably not using sie sprache with them! 

Also this week we finally got to see Michelle again. She does not want to come to church, but she does want to see us. We explained our purpose as missionaries, which is primarily to bring people closer to Christ, and she and Sister Bognar are friends now, so I'm hoping teaching her will go well.

We also did lots of service this week helping someone paint and someone else clean out their pool.

This is truly miraculous. It's about the two men that I wrote about who got baptized right after Sister McEwen got to St. Gallen....they were the two baptisms from Sister Blohm who I told you were missing. I know God loves everyone and is so aware of all of us. Read this from Sister Blohm to know why!!!

FROM an email from Sister Blohm

The micales of prayer keep happening, this is a letter from the missionary couple Schwabe, telling that both Hope and Darlington how got baptized are doing great.

The Lord is really great, he makes miracles.

********

Dear Sister Blohm,

We hope you are enjoying Austria, and perhaps even seeing a little of Sister McEwen. We have some good news for your.

The Elder and Bishop received a phone call from Darlington. He is back in Nigeria, and has found the church near him. We didn’t get to speak to him, and they didn’t speak long, but it was good to know that he is safe and well and that he will attend church in Nigeria.

Also, Sister Bakka and Sister Maattaa saw Hope at the St. Gallen Bahnhof last week. He came to Church and it was so good to see him. He was unfortunately in the house of a friend when the police came and he was arrested with them, and went to jail for six months. But he is out now, and hopefully we will get to see him more every week. So that is so great that we hear from them, and that it did mean a lot to them to have found the gospel, which will hopefully help them in their lives in the future.

*********
Also I love being a missionary.  I'm going to miss my Solothurn friends. 

"Strongest person I know" - August 4, 2014 - From Solothurn

Dear Family, 

So guess what. I'm writing you a letter today!  So don't worry, more info is coming. But for now! Transfer day was nuts. I got up at 5:45 and went to bed at 11:30. That means I put Sister Blohm on her train and then I was in a drit with the Schwamendingen Sisters (in Zurich) until Sister Bognar's train came in. Sister Bognar was in Zollikofen for four transfers. Then in Germany. Now she will probably have four transfers here and then go home. The question is what will happen to me?

Sister Kate and her new companion Sister Bognar

Quote of the week:

Elder Kelly: "This is boring! There was more of a party when Argentina beat Switzerland!"

Ha ha it was true. The Argentinians were pretty happy. We were all stoked for the first of August in Switzerland and nothing that cool even happened. There was no street party in Solothurn that we could find. The partiers probably went to the bigger cities. Luckily a member family invited us to celebrate with them and one of their nonmember friends. But they had an awesome fireworks show in Biel the night before and Ivanka showed me pictures and videos and telling me that it was better than one in America. Ha ha not quite. But good.

I had a day where I was really nervous about getting Sister Bognar.

Sister Blohm: "Are you still really nervous?"

Me: "Yes."

Sister Blohm: "You don't need to worry. You are the strongest person I know."

I was really surprised at that. The strongest person she knows is surely a gross exaggeration. So I said, "No I'm not."

Sister Blohm: "You really are. My other companions cried when someone on the street said something mean instead of laughing and cry and buy chocolate and talk about stupid boys when they don't get mail."

Ha ha that made me feel good. I guess did have a few good reasons for calling me strong. Also, I don't really laugh. Sometimes people are just funny and then I have to laugh a little about something mean they said after they are gone.

Guess what - yesterday was great. For lots of reasons. Fast Sundays are always the greatest anyway. Fadil came to church and also to the baptism of an 8-year-old in our ward. He now has a new tauf datum for later. We also had a lesson with him after the baptism with a member present. It's hard to know exactly how much he understands, but he has great faith. Before the Kindertaufe all the missionaries were invited to an adorable member family's for Sunday dinner. Sister Bognar and I beat the elders in fussball and they were so ashamed.

Remember Michelle? The 14-year-old? She is in Lausanne with an LDS family for a few weeks working on her French! I am just hoping that she is having a good experience and that she will feel the Spirit in this home. Her mom got a list of the bishops in French-speaking wards and contacted them all to see if Michelle could come stay with any of them and be a kind of nanny for a few weeks. Smart of her, right? I hope it makes a difference because she hasn't been showing so much interest. Some of the people influencing her aren't really helping.

I'm sorry that this isn't very long. We also have started teaching this Muslim family who are our neighbors. They are from Kazakhstan. Also we now have contact with a less active finally who I feel like we will really be able to help. Did I tell you already? We are going to help her with her English. I love her.

Mommy I'm so proud of you and impressed with your scripture reading (and the rest of you but you don't tell me so much about it). I love hearing your insights about missionary work. It's always good to read the scriptures with a certain theme in mind and we will learn so much. Elder Bednar said that.

Well I'm grateful for your continued support. Enjoy Lake Powell! I love Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ. And I love you Family!

"We will sleep in a tent" - July 28, 2014 - From Solothurn

Hiiiii! Transfers! Today is the first day of my 10th transfer in the field as a full-time missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints a.k.a. der Kirche Jesu Christi der Heiligen der Letzten Tage. I'm getting a new companion on Thursday. Sister Blohm is going to Wels, Austria.  Sister Judd (Katie’s trainer) also served there. Sister Blohm is going to work with Sister Brinck who I was in the MTC with.

I'm getting Sister Bognar. She was trained in Zollikofen (Switzerland) and there for three transfers but has been serving in Germany since then. She is from Hungary and she is one transfer younger than me, but I’ve never met her.   I know at the beginning of her mission she couldn't really speak German or English so let's hope she just speaks really good German now! That would be great for us to talk mostly German together! So on Thursday I will go all the way to Munich with Sister Blohm and all the way back with my new companion. At least I think so.

F. came to church again yesterday!! But he came late and missed Sacrament meeting because he missed his train. 

I will tell you a story that happens every once in a while. Losing potentials is a missionary tragedy. It can happen in many different ways, but it is not good when someone shows interest in learning about the gospel and the missionary never contacts them. Well this time the story was like this. I was talking to someone on the train. First I told her I liked her earrings. Then I asked her if she was from Solothurn. And then she talked and talked. You can tell pretty fast if someone is willing to have a conversation or not. And then I have to get out of the train soon because Sister Blohm and I were planning on going by an innactive in this town. So I have to wrap things up. I tell her I have to get out here. She said something like, "Hopefully we will see each other again." So I said something like, "Well if you would like to see each other again I am actually serving as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and I love to talk to people about faith in God. Would you like to meet another time to discuss about God and Jesus Christ?" Something along those lines. I really can't remember. And she said yes and she started telling me about how her daughter has never been baptized and this is something that they have been thinking about. Here's the problem: we are now at this town and the train has stopped. And the lady is saying, don't you have to get out here? And Sister Blohm is standing at the door. We're supposed to sort of have this code where if someone is talking to someone and they don't get up to leave the other companion should just sit back down and pretend we're going somewhere else. Ha ha. But this did not work. Sister Blohm stood at the door and kept opening it and then it would close and she would open it again and she was just trying to stall the train. But here's the thing: we don't even have an actual appointment right now. It would be no problem to stay on the train. But Sister Blohm is not getting the hint. But this lady already knows I need to get out here, but I cannot leave without her number. So I tell her it's no problem I will just stay until the next stop. I'm trying to play it cool because that might be kind of weird, you know? But then I end up just getting her number really fast and leaving anyway because Sister Blohm is not leaving the door even though I haven't moved. But I was way stressed we are holding up this train and I should have just done the awkward thing and went and told my companion, "Look, we can't get off the train right now." And then gone back and made sure I had all of her information. But I didn't. And I was frustrated with Sister Blohm for just not getting the hint. The code thing did not work. And then I get off the train and you know what I realize? The number I have for her has one digit too few. And yeah that was not the best moment. A missionary tragedy. But she does have a card with my number on it. But yeah these things happen and afterward Sister Blohm and I prayed so many times that we would feel peaceful and okay about what happened.

Kate says there are lots of cornfields where they serve, so it was time for a photo!

Sister Blohm and Sister Kate with Ivanka 

This week we did a lot of service helping with a wedding party that took place in the church. And today we helped a less active clean her house and she made us lunch and then we went to an appointment with a new investigator and gave her a Book of Mormon in Hindi. We will have to shop for food tomorrow.

Guiseppe, remember him? He is pure gold. He wants to help everyone and is visiting less actives and he is just an absolute gem.

The elders have an investigator named Osas who we actually found and gave to them to teach. He is planning on being baptized and he is making such good progress. He asked such good questions yesterday.

Sister Blohm made Elder Kelly and Elder Cottam promise to be good to me after she is gone. We all have no idea what to expect from Sister Bognar, but Elder Kelly isn't so excited about her. So the quote of the week:

"Sister Blohm, we will sleep in a tent on the grass outside the sister's apartment if we have to."

Sister Blohm is so sweet. She wants to make sure I'm taken care of.

Looks like these Elders are "armed" too! 

Mom, you have asked what it is like to try and learn High German in a country where you just don’t hear it that much!  It’s hard! This week we had some members from Northern Deutschland come to our ward. Talking to them was refreshing. The Swiss try their best with hochdeutsch (High German) but it was just nice to hear someone speaking clear and understandable German. I was loving their accent. The language issue just really does make things tricky. In church, people are supposed to speak High German in lessons and talks. So they do speak high German a lot but they also speak Swiss German a lot. And the only way to ever speak Swiss German is to live here for 25 years.  I think for prayers it's sort of an unwritten rule that Swiss German is allowed. But mostly they still pray in High German. Or Highish German. They still don't sound like Germans.  And it's funny for example sometimes someone will be bearing their testimony and then they will be trying to say something and then they will realize they can't say it in High German and they will say it in Swiss German and then return to High German.  When I hear Swiss German I can get the gist. It depends how Swissy the Swiss German is and which dialect (yes, there are also many variations on this VERY STRONG dialect….it’s actually more a different language than a dialect) but yeah I can understand some!

Well life is good. I loove you all and I have to go. I got your package and I was so happy!!

This picture scares me.  I'm gong to have ask about these

damaged feet.  I've seen the shoe tan lines before, but this looks scary. 

"I am sooooooo nervous" - April 1, 2014 - Last letter from Schaffhausen

Family!! Okay so I am being transferred to Solothurn which is in Switzerland between Berne and Biel.  I can't even spell it or say it. I'm going to be working with Sister Blohm from Denmark. I went on austausch with Sister Blohm in St. Gallen. She has only been in Solothurn for one transfer. I am soooooooooo nervous.

Actually it's weird because I just try not to think about it. I'm in denial. But sooner or later I have to start packing. I really don't know how much information you're going to get today because we don't have much time to email. I have to go to a district p-day today in Zurich which isn’t my first choice. I rather hang out in my area and have a goodbye day and go to Stein am Rhein but also there are other things I really should be doing like cleaning and packing.

Sister Siems and I have been upgraded in our compliments to the most unified companionship in the mission. It will be so hard to leave for lots of reasons.

My birthday was the best and Schaffhausen has been so good to me and the musical fireside went well. I felt a little bit too much like the star of the show because I was onstage so much. I had to go to the bathroom the whole time and never could because I was worried I would miss a cue. People REALLY LOVED it. (Kate's on the far right with her hands in the air.  What's that about?)

So this week. First,my birthday. Everyone was so great. Alba and Katia surprised me that night when we went to visit Alba for a normal lesson and Katia was there to surprise me and we ate cake again and we were able to share the spiritual thought we had planned. Alba  asked so many gospel questions and we had such a good talk.

I just want to thank everyone for being so good to me. I got  more birthday mail!

Johnson Family

Crawfords

David and Matthias Hulme

Seth

Barton Family

Hermana Ashley Bunker!! 

Also we went to the temple.

Also we had transfer calls.

Also we had an awesome fireside.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAVE!! Getting older is weird, right?

 I'm sorry this is all I can writet today! Gotta go!  Love you all.

"Hooray for my German" - January 6, 2014 - Schaffhausen, Switzerland

A short email this week....with all the transfer excitement and emailing back and forth with certain people, I'm afraid we didn't get much out of this girl!

Family! Sister McEwen is headed to St. Gallen and I'm getting a companion who is like Sister McEwen in that she hasn't left her area yet. She is the same age as us on the Mission (been out 6 months), so she was in her first area for 6 months. She’s from Germany so hooray for my German! I'm hoping to learn so much from her. We're Sister Training Leaders but I don't exactly know how that all works yet.

Where do I even start? Hooray for members and referrals! We got two this week from members in our ward. That's big for us. We're having a "spiritual thought" with one tonight. When it's a referral from a member, you really don't want to blow it.

Switzerland doesn't really do the whole ”drei König observance” but Germany does. (Epiphany is a holiday in Southern Germany which is mostly Catholic). So today we went to Germany to go grocery shopping and the whole place was deserted. Yeah oops.

Did I tell you we have an investigator, or maybe more a “friend”,  who follows TB Joshua and thinks she can "deliver" people? I have yet to figure out what I think about all that but I really like her and like talking with her. It will be hard to get her to church and I would love to know what she thought. She's pretty involved in her African church but she likes talking to us and calls us "her sisters."

I heard from Jenni and Benjamin today and they are engaged! (Jenni is the young woman that Katie and her companion baptized in Vienna. Benjamin is her boyfriend who is now fully active in the church). I love them. I want them to be so happy together and be sealed in the temple and have a forever family. Jenni asked me to be there for their wedding, so we are going to have to come back sooner rather than later after my mission! 

Schaffhausen loved the gingerbread house and I need more pictures of it!

Did I mention that Emilee Follett wrote me and also Georgina in Switzerland? THANK YOU! Also I got a letter from Ciarah Cook! And my sister and my mommy and my Daddy I think. Tell David to email me back.

So on Saturday we had a stake temple day with the Relief Society. That was really great. That means I got to go to the temple twice this transfer because our ward went twice and really wanted us there!

Also, did I tell you that we share clips with our members from the work of salvation broadcast? (This was a broadcast that originated from the Marriott Center at BYU in June of 2013 with many new mission presidents and members of the community in attendance.  Katie was in the Provo MTC at the time and was part of the missionary choir that sung at the meeting. Franklin and I attended so we could "stalk" her!) It helps them get pumped about missionary work. Love you Family.