Tuesday, August 5, 2014

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




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