I Love To See The Temple

Sister Tanner had a rewarding and spiritual week in Kenosha! "Hello my beautiful family! It's been a great week full of spiritual highs and plenty of opposition. I'M STAYING IN KENOSHA! Yay! At least another 6 weeks here in the promised land of the Mission", she said.

KENOSHA

After email time on Monday, Sister Tanner headed out to the country. It isn't often that they get the chance to go out that way. They spent the day there, visiting part member and less active families. Sister Tanner experienced some angry people, and a few doors were slammed in her face. However, that did not stop her. She ended up meeting someone very special! "The less active mom wasn't home, but we met her non member husband and he said he just started believing in God a year ago, and so he's going to a Christian church. He was super nice and totally open to us coming back", Sister Tanner said. Her hard work in the country paid off, and she was blessed to have met this man! Later that evening, Sister Tanner had a lesson with the young boy who is preparing for baptism. "We taught about the liahona and went over the interview questions again. He's super ready! Brightest 10 year old ever", Sister Tanner said.

Tuesday was a very fun day! After the district meeting, a testimony meeting was held. The spirit was so strong as the Missionaries took turns bearing their testimonies of the gospel! So incredible! Afterwards, the 10 year old boy and his mom met the Sisters at the church. It was time for his baptism interview! He did amazing, of course! Sister Tanner always gets nervous as people are having their baptism interview, and the boy's mom was nervous as well! When he walked out, he said, "See mom, you gotta have faith"! "He's so cute", Sister Tanner said. After a few appointments that evening, Sister Tanner and Sister Reed attended the ward Young Men/Young Women activity. "We invited a few inactive youth to come and the YW leaders asked us to come help them. It was so fun! Flour bombs! Little packs of flour just throwing it at each other. It was great because we got to set up and coordinate some things with bishop while we were there, and got to know the youth some more! They are awesome! We have really righteous and good youth here", Sister Tanner said. Flour Bomb Wars!

"Wednesday was the best day ever", Sister Tanner said. It started off with an amazing personal scripture study in the morning. Everything she studied about how to do with, "Be not weary in well doing." After scripture study, it was time for exchanges! Sister Tanner switched with the Oak Creek, Wisconsin Sisters for the day. She had the opportunity to attend the Chicago, Illinois temple with Sister Larson! The temple was amazing and perfect, and she felt so blessed to be able to attend! "While we were in the chapel waiting for the session, I just flipped open the Book of Mormon and read Alma 37;34, "Be not weary in well doing." I was like, okay Heavenly Father really wants me to learn something about this. The session was amazing! When I got to the Celestial room, I was the only person in there. I loved the couple minutes I had to myself there. I felt the spirit so strongly and received a lot of answers about things I had been worried and praying about. I didn't want to leave! I can't wait to be able to go to the temple a lot more often! I love the temple", Sister Tanner said. What a perfect and spiritually lifting day! That evening, Sister Tanner got back to Kenosha. She went to the church to meet up with the Bishop and the 10 year old boy. They had a little meeting to get to know one another more. How awesome! "The Bishop told us how he showed him the Mission plaques on the wall, and talked to "B" about preparing and looking forward to the day he can serve a full time Mission. It was really cool! "B" was so happy and excited", Sister Tanner said. She just loves him and his family so much!

Chicago Illinois Temple

The Sisters had a full day of appointments on Thursday, which was so great! One of their lessons was with a less active family. The daughter in their family is very against the church. She happened to have a friend over as they were there, and the friend had so many questions! She was very interested, and it went really good! Sister Tanner also had another lesson with the 10 year old boy. It was all about Missionary work! She gave him and his cousin, "future missionary" badges. Of course they loved them! "It was a busy, but GREAT day", Sister Tanner said of Thursday.

Kenosha was very hot and humid on Friday! The Sisters braved the sticky weather, and made it to all their appointments. They also had the opportunity to volunteer at the Shalom Center. Afterwards, they headed to the Lake for this huge community carnival! There were so many people there and Sister Tanner enjoyed the opportunity to talk to many of them! Afterwards, Sister Tanner had a lesson with one of their investigators. The husband has been sick for awhile, so they brought the Elders along with them. "The Elders gave him a blessing and we had a great lesson about the Priesthood and miracles. We met the wife a few months ago while contacting at the Lake. They are both catholic but are Church hoppers. They have so much faith. While we were at their house, I felt how much Heavenly Father loves them and how happy he is they are starting to find the truth,because they are really great people and are going to help the Church a lot", Sister Tanner said. Later that evening, the Sisters had a lesson with one of the women who were baptized a few months ago. "She seriously remembers everything she reads in the Book of Mormon", Sister Tanner said of her. She is so impressed and inspired by her ability to grasp the gospel and scriptures so well! 

"Saturday was the best", Sister Tanner said. It was Sister Reed's 21st birthday! Sister Tanner tried hard to make it a special day for her! She started by baking pancakes for breakfast. Then the transfer text came in! The Sisters are both staying in Kenosha! Yay! What exciting news! Then it was baptism time. It was "B's" baptism day! "His baptism was amazing. A lot of the primary kids and their families came and it was a beautiful experience. My heart was so filled with love and the blessing of getting to know this family and watching him make this covenant. I know they are a family that I needed to come to Wisconsin to meet. Watching people be changed by the gospel makes it all worth it. I know they will be a family I will be close to forever. I love them", Sister Tanner said. She has expressed her love and closeness to this family since the day she met them! What a special day this must have been to everyone involved. Miracles truly do happen, and this is evidence of that. This sweet young boy has been baptized into the gospel. His life will forever be blessed! The Sisters were treated to Chilis for lunch afterwards! It was fun celebrating Sister Reed's birthday, the news of staying in Kenosha, and the baptism! Afterwards, the Sisters worked hard and went to a lot of appointments. They ended their day in the kitchen having a cake fight! What an exciting and amazing day it was!

Sunday was another awesome day! "B" was confirmed and 5 new ward Missionaries were called! Sister Tanner is excited to work with them! "In his blessing it talked about him preparing to receive the Priesthood and serving a full time mission, and being an example and helping his family return to the blessings of the gospel. I was balling! It was a beautiful blessing", Sister Tanner said. After Church, the Sisters attended a celebratory lunch in his honor with all of his extended family. Many of them are nonmembers or less active, so it was great for the Sisters to meet and talk with them. For dinner, Sister Tanner attended the former Bishop's house. He was able to give the Sisters some great ideas and tips for Missionary work! "He's a genius", Sister Tanner said. Their evening ended with teaching a woman and her grandchildren about the scriptures! Sister Tanner taught them all the scripture power song! It was so much fun! What an amazing day! 

Sister Tanner's Testimony:

"I love this work! My testimony is strengthened of the Lord sending us to the people we need to teach and being able to see miracles. I know that Christ lives. I know HE would have suffered for us even if I was the only person to come to earth and make a mistake, he would have done it all. Wisconsin is the place I've come to know my Savior and understand the great love he has for me and for all. I love you all so much! Have a great week."

Love,

Sister Karlie Marie Tanner

A quote Sister Tanner wanted to share with you all.

Wisconsin Mission Tour with Elder Martino!

This week was one of the busiest and fastest of all the weeks so far! So many exciting and amazing moments took place in the last several days. "This week has flown by! It's been probably one of the busiest weeks of my mission but it's been absolutely amazing, and I am still alive", Sister Tanner said.

P-day was spent trying to find outfits for the Mission Tour! Sister Tanner looked through every store at the outlets, and felt sad when she found nothing. She decided to go look at the local Target, and within minutes found the perfect outfit! "Target saves the day", Sister Tanner said. After an amazing dinner with a recent convert, it was time to go visit a potential investigator. However, when the Sisters got to the house it was different people who answered. "We seriously meet someone new there every single time we go by. I'm not really sure who lives there, but everyone we meet is interested, and then never there when we go by again! #missionarylife", Sister Tanner said. Hopefully one of these days, she is able to meet with them for a lesson!

Tuesday was the big day! It was the Mission Tour! "It was a combined 3 Zones Conference with Elder Martino of the 70. It was amazing and probably the best meeting I've been to on my mission. President and Sister Cutler gave trainings first and then Sister Martino and then Elder Martino got up and spoke about how amazing President and Sister Cutler were. He said that out of all the Mission Tours he's been to, President Cutler gave the best training out of all the Mission Presidents he's seen. Then he talked to us a lot about how Missionaries are called to a Mission for 2 reasons. 1) There is someone they need to teach there. or 2) They need to learn from their Mission President and his wife. He said most of the time, it's both reasons. Then he showed us examples of how much faith President has in us and how he doesn't care about us just being good Missionaries and how many baptisms we have but that he cares about our eternal welfare and truly wants the best for our lives, not just for our missions. It was inspiring and he had us raise our hands and tell President and Sister Cutler the things we've learned from them and they were just crying and so happy. Then he also talked a lot about bringing the RIGHT member to lessons and related the story of Alma and Amulek together converting so many people because Amulek was the right member. It was so amazing and he gave us so many ideas of things to do as we work with members. He really pushed working with part member families, prospective Elders, and child of record unbaptized over the age of 9. He said that 20% of new investigators come from working with members but 60% of baptisms come from part members or member referrals. Isn't that crazy? That 20% of new investigators progress a lot more than people we find on our own, because they already have an "Amulek", they already have that member to help them. He also talked about consecration and he said, "If you can't learn consecration as a missionary, I'm not sure you ever will. Being a fully consecrated missionary will affect your whole lives." Then he talked about some missionaries when he was a Mission President, that were mediocre Missionaries and they've had mediocre lives. Ah! I wish I could share all my notes with you guys! It was such a great meeting, and I learned so much from him. He said we were a good group, and that he could tell we were working hard. So that's a good thing", Sister Tanner said. The meeting was amazing and uplifting in so many ways. Sister Tanner enjoyed getting to spend time with her former companion, Sister King! She was also able to see her MTC companion, Sister Reese, and the Mission President's daughter, Megan. 

After their morning appointments on Wednesday, the Sisters traveled 3 hours up North for the Mission Leadership Counsel with Elder Martino. The leadership meeting was right after another part of the Mission Tour for the North Zones, so Sister Tanner was able to see a few Missionary friends of hers! She was able to see Sister Milligan from Sacramento, and her former companion Sister Hancock! It was so exciting for Sister Tanner to be able to see them both! The Leadership training was just as amazing as the Conference was the previous day. "MLC with Elder Martino was awesome! He basically took President's goal of every area having a baptism before General Conference and he spent all of MLC counseling with us on how we were going to achieve this goal. It was great! He pretty much made us all feel really cool, and said that "We are what's making the difference in the Mission. We are trying to prepare you to become great Bishops and Relief Society Presidents". After the meeting, I got to talk to him a little bit before he left. He asked about Kenosha and he said he's been to Kenosha before for work and that there is a lot of great people there", Sister Tanner said. It was an amazing day, and a great experience for Sister Tanner to meet and learn from Elder Martino! After the 3 hour drive home, they stopped in West Allis to switch cars. Sister Tanner was able to visit with a few of her favorite people from that ward! It was a great surprise to see them! West Allis will always hold a special place in Sister Tanner's heart. 

Elder Martino

Since the Mission Tour was over, Thursday was back to normal for Sister Tanner. It was a full day of appointments and lessons! At one of their lessons that day, the daughter in the family participated. This was a big deal, since she usually never does. Sister Tanner was so happy! That night, the Sisters drove to do exchanges. The drive was far, and they were running late. They ended up crashing at one of the other Sister Missionary's apartments. Sister Tanner knew that was better than trying to drive too late!

The next morning, Sister Tanner went to Lake Mills, Wisconsin with Sister Butler for their exchange. "Sister Butler served in Prairie du Chien right after I did, so we had fun talking about people in Prairie. It was an interesting day with her. Half the people they teach don't speak English, so we had like 5 lessons in complete Spanish. I pretty much sat there and tried to stay focused and follow along in the pamphlet but it was a struggle. It was interesting because even thought I can't speak any Spanish, I could understand bits and pieces of what they were saying. It was cool", Sister Tanner said. The spirit was definitely helping Sister Tanner translate the language! What an amazing experience! Afterwards, the Sisters met the nicest Jehovah's Witness family! The family invited them into their home, and they shared a "non-confrontational gospel conversation". Being able to put aside their differences, and share their mutual love for Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ was a powerful moment! That evening, Sister Tanner returned to Kenosha with another Sister Missionary, Sister Vance. It was a double exchange for them this week! 

On Saturday, Sister Tanner tried to get caught up with her work in Kenosha! She was able to do so, and met a wonderful new investigator! "He is super solid! Golden! He has lots of questions but totally accepted the Book of Mormon and wants to know more! We can't wait to start teaching him", Sister Tanner said. She then taught 2 more lessons with investigators before her dinner appointment. After dinner, she drove to Milwaukee to switch back from exchanges. Late that evening, Sister Tanner and Sister Reed were back together in Kenosha. "It was good to finally be back with my companion after what seemed like a week", Sister Tanner said.

Sunday was an amazing day for Sister Tanner! The non member husband of a Sister in their ward, attended Church that week! They have been working with him a lot, and were so excited he attended! It seemed like Sacrament Meeting, and all the talks were just for him. His wife told the Sisters that during church he leaned over to her and said, "We need to start having the Sisters over more." How amazing! "He's getting so close", Sister Tanner said. She cannot wait until the day he fully accepts the gospel into his life! What an amazing Sunday it was, and what an inspiring week Sister Tanner had.

Sister Tanner's Testimony & Weekly Quotes:

"I am so excited to go to the temple this week. It's been 8 months too long! I can't wait until I can go every week! This week has been incredible and crazy at the same time. The Lord continues to show me how much more I am capable of."

"Some good quotes for this week:"

"When we put God first, all other things fall into their proper place or drop out of our lives."

-Ezra Taft Benson

"Perhaps it is true that we are weak. But when God works through us, no one and nothing can stand against us."

"Do you want to be happy? Forget yourself and get lost in this great cause. Lend your efforts to helping people. Stand higher, lift those feeble knees, hold up the arms of those that hang down. Live the gospel of Jesus Christ."

-Gordon B Hinkley

"I love you all so much! Have a great week!"

Love,

Sister Karlie Marie Tanner

Kenosha is on FIRE!

"It's been an amazing week here in Kenosha. We are kinda stressed with the busy week we have ahead of us, but the Lord has blessed us so much! Miracle after miracle this week! It's incredible", Sister Tanner said. Clearly, her week was nothing less than amazing! She is anxious and excited for the coming week!

The Missionaries decided to forgo their usual sporting activities on Monday in exchange for mini golfing! They even brought one of the investigators in their ward along for the fun! "I'm terrible at golf, but it was fun", Sister Tanner said. Later that day, Sister Tanner had a miracle moment! Her and Sister Reed decided to tag along with the Missionaries to go help a family in their ward move. When they got there, it was obvious that practically the ENTIRE ward was there to help! There was no room for them, and they didn't want to be in anyone's way. So instead, they walked across the street to the Bishop's house. The Bishop's wife was watching all the children of those helping with the move. Sister Tanner and Sister Reed helped her with the children. The Bishop's wife told the Sisters that she wanted to talk to them. She told them all about this amazing experience she had giving a friend of hers The Book of Mormon. Right then and there, the doorbell rang. It was that exact friend! "So we got to meet her! It was awesome. This lady is totally prepared for the gospel! I know Heavenly Father needed us to be there to meet her. It was so cool", Sister Tanner said. What a perfect experience!

District Meeting on Tuesday was all about "The Doctrine of Christ". "Our district leader always uses weird analogies and drawings of car engines and I never have a clue what he's talking about, but other than that, it was super good", Sister Tanner said. After the district meeting, it was time for exchanges. Sister Tanner went to Racine, Wisconsin with a greenie, Sister Escobar. "She's awesome. We had a blast together and worked really hard. She was like, wow we never get this much done in one day. So hopefully our exchange motivates them to work a little harder. It was good though. We got to teach their investigators who are getting baptized soon, and they are awesome", Sister Tanner said. 

Wednesday was a fun day in Racine! Sister Tanner was able to meet with a recent convert from Kenosha, that moved to Racine shortly after her baptism. Everyone thought she had fell off the face of the earth! Sister Tanner's ward was happy to hear that she was able to meet with her in Racine. The Sisters there are going to start meeting with her on a regular basis. So wonderful! She ended her time in Racine by volunteering at a thrift store. "I got to hang clothes for awhile. It was fun! It felt like my first job at Bows and Arrows", Sister Tanner said. What a great day in Racine! Once she got back to Kenosha, she was able to go see the 9 year old boy she has been teaching. She wanted to have an "epic fun lesson" with him since it was his birthday! This lesson really was "epic"! "So we planned this whole lesson at the church with basketball and teaching the Sabbath Day Holy and the 10 Commandments. It was so fun. We had a bunch of other members bring their families and so he had a blast! Then we brought ice cream for him to celebrate! His mom said he was waiting all day to just be able to go to the Church for this lesson", Sister Tanner said. What a fun birthday lesson! Sister Tanner is so creative! That night, the Sisters went to Institute. Sister Tanner learned some fascinating information! "I found out that Ishmael in the Book of Mormon is a descendant of Ephraim! What the heck? I never knew that! I knew that Lehi was a descendant of Manasseh, but I learned that both Ephraim and Manasseh were in the Americas. So cool", Sister Tanner said. What a fun Wednesday!

During weekly planning on Thursday, Sister Tanner prayed hard for new investigators to teach. Her prayers were answered immediately! "Then miracles happened! We were able to get ahold of a lot of potentials and set up appointments, it was great", Sister Tanner said. Heavenly Father truly does answer prayers! Also on Thursday, Sister Tanner was able to go over the baptism questions with the 9 year old boy she has been teaching. He knew them all! "Such a smart kid", she said. That night, the Sisters went to the Young Women President's home. They are coming up with ideas on how to teach the Young Women, and introduce "Preach My Gospel" to them. "We are so excited! We told them some ideas we had for the mutual activity that's going to be a Missionary pump up, and then ideas we had for activities for them to invite their friends too and be the Missionaries. The YW Presidency love us and can't wait to work with us more. They also invited us to come to YWs during church once a month to be able to get to know the girls and help them want to serve Missions. I love Young Womens", Sister Tanner said. The Sisters ended their day by teaching one of their investigators. She had two, 16 year old girls over at her home while they were there. Sister Tanner started to talk to them, and they both ended up being very interested in the Church. They want to learn more! "New investigators! Prayers are answered! I don't think it's a coincidence that we found 2 young women right after our meeting with the YW leaders", Sister Tanner said.

On Friday, Sister Tanner volunteered at the Shalom Center. Afterwards she participated in National Custard day! It was only $1! So awesome! Then she had another amazing experience! "We had an awesome church tour with this guy "J". It's crazy! He was a former investigator. I was here on exchanges in like November when we found him and contacted him on the street. I didn't even remember it was him until I saw him! We saw his name in the area book on Thursday and called him and he was super ready to start taking lessons. He's way cool. Our whole lesson he was like, "I feel like there has been something trying to stop me from learning about the LDS church, so I know it must be something worth while learning about." He felt the spirit so strong and he committed to start reading the Book of Mormon", Sister Tanner said. What a miracle! Truly a reassurance of God's perfect timing. That evening, Sister Tanner went to the Church so that the young boy she is teaching and his older brother could play basketball with the Elders. They even brought friends with them too! A family from the ward was there cleaning the building, and had sons the same age as them. They all started playing basketball together. "They had a blast playing basketball together! It was a good day", Sister Tanner said.

Sister Tanner enjoyed a wonderful correlation meeting with a Brother from their ward on Saturday morning. It went really well! That day was also the birthday party of the 9 year old boy! Sister Tanner had so much fun! It was great being able to interact with his nonmember and less active family members. After the party, the Sisters drove around contacting like crazy! They got a lot accomplished, including a lesson with the recently baptized Sister. She was baptized a week ago, and is doing awesome! She is studying the "True To The Faith" booklet and had some great questions for the Sisters. Sister Tanner ended her night by going to an open house Wedding Reception for the son of a family in her ward. It was their dinner appointment for the night, and they had no idea it was a reception! It ended up being a lot of fun, and Sister Tanner met a lot of people!

5 investigators attended Church on Sunday! So incredible! One of the Bishopric came up to the Sisters after church and said, "This is the most missionary work I've ever seen in any ward I've ever been to." "He is so right! Kenosha is on FIRE", Sister Tanner said. After church, Sister Tanner taught some amazing lessons! She taught the recently baptized Sister (pictured above) about Missionary work. She was even given her own Preach My Gospel! She is so excited to be a member missionary! Then Sister Tanner had the opportunity to teach the two, 16 year old girls whom she met earlier in the week. "They were mad they couldn't come to church, because their ride bailed on them last minute. We taught them the Restoration and they loved it! They said they feel really good about it and they said they want to be baptized! Yay! We are so excited for them! These are amazing young women", Sister Tanner said. Lastly, they had a lesson with the Sisters and the 9 year old son. "We taught the Law of Chastity but made it super kid friendly and basically just talked about temples and looking forward to temple marriage, and not dating until we are 16", Sister Tanner said. It went really well! What an amazing day, and a rewarding week! Heavenly Father truly does answer our prayers. When Sister Tanner prayed for a new investigator, little did she know, multiple investigators would come her way. In just a couple days, she now has potential baptisms! If we are diligent and faithful in our prayers, they will be answered.

Sister Tanner's Testimony

"It's been an amazing week. The Lord has prepared so many people here for the gospel. I love that we are so busy helping others come to Christ. I know the Lord is blessing us for our diligence and efforts here. I feel like the Lord has answered a lot of my prayers lately. I am getting better at recognizing his answers as well. Sometimes he answers immediately and sometimes he wants us to wait patiently. I've come to be able to trust that God will always answer and it's up to us to follow his guidance or listen for his promptings. I love you all so much!"

"The ultimate source of empowerment and lasting acceptance is our Heavenly Father and His son, Jesus Christ. They know us. They love us. They do not accept us because of our title or position. They do not look at our status. They look into our hearts. They accept us for who we are and what we are striving to become. Seeking and receiving acceptance from Them will always lift and encourage us."

-Elder Erich Kopischke of the 70

Love always,

Sister Karlie Marie Tanner

100 Days Until We Meet Again

"Happy August my beautiful family! It's been an amazing week here in Kenosha! I seriously don't understand why the Lord blesses us so much", Sister Tanner said. Her week was a memorable one to say the least! It started off on a high note! Volleyball day! On Monday, the Sisters and Elders got together and played volleyball for the first time in forever! It was such a fun time! After an amazing Mexican dinner with a sweet family, Sister Tanner headed to the church building. It was one of her investigator's baptism interview. It went perfect! "She was so excited", Sister Tanner said. What a great way to start off the week!

Sister Tanner attended her District Meeting on Tuesday, and it went really well. Afterwards, she was excited to go contact a headquarter referral! Exciting! However, when she got there, no one was home. She was disappointed, but felt prompted to knock on doors in that same neighborhood. After no luck, she wondered why she was there! She was headed back to her car, when she saw a car in the driveway of the referral home! Sister Tanner walked up and started talking to her, and it was the woman she was referred to! "She moved to Chicago, but came up to her old house one last time to make sure everything was ready for showings. We literally caught her at the perfect time, she said she was only stopping by for a few minutes! She is so cool! She still works in Kenosha so she wants to meet with us soon when she's up here for work! She loved the Book of Mormon we gave her! I guess her Sister is a member but lives far away. So we know the Lord will lead us exactly where we are supposed to be at the exact time we need to be there as long as we are obedient and listen to the still small voice, even if we don't understand why at first", Sister Tanner said. After that amazing experience, she went to teach a lesson to the family of Sisters and their 9 year old son. They taught a really fun lesson all about the gospel to him. "We had this long string and had him walk on the string with his eyes closed, and then we cut the string and tied it back together. We then talked about repentance. He loved it! His mom and her Sister are changing too. They even asked us if they could be re-baptized, so we explained the sacrament and they love it", Sister Tanner said. So many lives are changing and being blessed because of Sister Tanner's service. 

Wednesday was a fun day of exchanges! The night before, Sister King came to Kenosha to serve with Sister Tanner for the day! It was so exciting for these Sisters to serve together again! They are quite the Missionary duo! "What an awesome day teaching with Sister King again. We had a powerful companionship study in the morning. She is a great example to everyone, including me! I love her! We talked all about how West Allis is on fire and has tons of baptisms now because of "S" baptism effecting all the members and missionaries serving there. Love it", Sister Tanner said. The Sisters were able to teach many wonderful lessons throughout their day together. They even had the opportunity to teach the woman being baptized. They taught her about missionary work and about holding a calling in the church. This soon to be convert is already trying to do missionary work! So amazing! Sister Tanner was sad to say goodbye to Sister King that evening, as they exchanged back. It was a wonderful day of serving with her!

After weekly planning on Thursday, Sister Tanner went to the Bishop's home and had a "mini correlation" with his wife. They are actively trying to find ways to get the members more involved in Missionary work. Sister Tanner had some great ideas! "We talked about how we have to get the members more involved in fellowshipping less actives and recent converts because we can't do it all anymore. So we came up with some great ideas! We are going to commit all the active members to find a friend and reach out to 1 person each Sunday", Sister Tanner said. What a wonderful idea! This is something we can all strive to do better at! 

"Friday was an awesome day! It was our happy 15 months", Sister Tanner said. Happy 15 Months to Sister Tanner! After volunteering at the Shalom center, she went out to contact more referrals. She ended up meeting an awesome new investigator! She then taught the woman who would be baptized the following day! "We had a fun lesson with her, and she was cracking up as we were showing her what to do for her baptism and showing her where her hands went and stuff! We talked about her desires and she said she wants to get married and have a family someday! So cute", Sister Tanner said. She loves her so much, and has been looking forward to her baptism! Later that day, Sister Tanner felt a strong prompting to go and visit a family whom they have been struggling to get a hold of for quite some time. They drove all the way there, and the husband ended up being home! "So we made a return appointment! It was a miracle", Sister Tanner said! That evening, Sister Tanner had a lesson with the Sisters. She taught them all about tithing and fasting. They loved it! "They love learning about the gospel", Sister Tanner said. She just loves this family so much!

Saturday was baptism day! "It went so well. She was so happy the whole day and she told us after than she feels so different and she's just so grateful for the gospel in her life now", Sister Tanner said. Missionary work is so incredible. This woman's life and future family will eternally be blessed and changed forever! Later that day, Sister Tanner had a good lesson with one of her newer investigators. She really wants to change her life around, and the Sisters are really trying to help her with that. Sister Tanner then went contacting at the Lake! She met a lot of interesting people there, including a man who is interested in getting back into Church! How wonderful! Saturday was such a special day for Sister Tanner, and definitely one she will never forget. 

"Sunday was one of the best Sundays ever! "S" was confirmed and it was just an amazing fast and testimony meeting. Lots of members bore their testimonies about their baptisms and the power of the holy ghost in their lives. It was awesome. I bore my testimony too, the spirit was making my heart pound, because I needed to", Sister Tanner said. Later that day, Sister Tanner had a wonderful lesson with one of the recent converts and her husband. The husband was super nice and made this really yummy SPICY salsa! Sister Tanner dared him that if she ate a whole spoonful, that he had to attend church the following Sunday. He agreed to the dare, and said he would come if she ate it without crying. "So I ate it! AHHHH it was so hot, but I didn't cry! So he'll be coming to Church on Sunday! Haha! It was great", Sister Tanner said. What a fun dare! So proud that Sister Tanner could eat such spicy salsa without crying! She is so excited for this man to attend Church. She knows he will eventually accept the gospel in his life. She cannot wait for that day! Later that evening, Sister Tanner had another lesson with the Sisters and their families. She taught them all about following the prophet, and about the Word of Wisdom. She even taught their son, the "Follow The Prophet" song! He loved it! "He told me he wants to be a missionary someday! YAY! Hearing that seriously made my life knowing that someday he could be blessing many lives and bringing the gospel to many people because I got the opportunity to teach him about the gospel! I am so grateful for the ****(this family)! I love them", Sister Tanner said. What a miracle! Sister Tanner loves every moment of teaching this family, especially their young son. How amazing it is to think how he can grow up to be a strong missionary, and share the gospel with even more people. Missionary work is a rippling effect. 

Sister Tanner's Testimony:

"Overall, it's been an amazing week. I've been able to recognize lately the small and simple ways in which the Lord blesses us in large measures. Huge blessings that might be easy to overlook. I am so grateful for my calling and the work I get to do every day. I love it! I know that God puts us where we need to be for a reason and that I need to be in Wisconsin. I also have come to learn this week that the more we develop Christ-like attributes, the more the Lord is going to show us our weaknesses that we can work on. I'm grateful that we are forever going to have things to work on to become better. The minute we master one of them, the Lord will show us another area to improve. Ether 12:27. I love you all so much, and hope you have an amazing week! You are in my thoughts and prayers every day! I read this quote this week that I loved!"

"The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why."

-Mark Twain

Love always,

Sister Karlie Marie Tanner