Solon/Kirtland, April 6, 2011

Hi Mom!

 

Thanks for reminding me about Christmas!

 

Let me know how your missionary work turns out, I'm so glad you invited them to watch general conference! You're such a good missionary! :-)  (I'd be happy to call them and offer a missionary visit and the Book of Mormon, if they liked conference!)

 

That conference experience sounds wonderful. I completely agree with you: we can have peace when we're keeping the commandments, and when we're following the Spirit. Then, the Lord can do the rest. Right now, my favorite talk is Elder Oaks's.

 

About the Steidl's: I'm feeling a little hesitant. Have you been praying about it? I must admit I haven't been. I'll keep praying about it this week. Maybe it would be better if you contacted them??

 

We've had so many adventures this week in Solon, I wish I could tell you about all of them! On Thursday, I got to call Switzerland. There were some Swiss members who came to Kirtland last summer, so I called and asked them for referrals! Would you believe they didn't have any? But chatting in German (not Swiss German, thank goodness) for 10 minutes was a thrill.

 

Also, last night we had a lesson with the Berru family on missionary work. It went better than we had expected--maybe because of Sister Devenport's Spanish skills--but Natalia Berru (age 10) told us she has a friend who wants to take the missionary lessons and get baptized! Her name is Destiny. She spends the night with the Berru's most weekends, so she comes to church with them already. I'm so excited to teach her! As long as her mom says yes, which the Berru's are pretty sure she will.

 

Well, I love you!!!!! I hope you're having a lovely spring, I sure am! 

 

Love,

Katherine

March 29, 2011, Solon/Kirtland

Hi Mom!

Did you hear about Rachelle's mission call??? Chile Antofagasta!!!!! I am so excited! I was hoping she would come here, but Chile is perfect for her. Also, when are Hannah and Rachel having their babies? Are they girls or boys?

 

Sister Houston is being transferred tomorrow, so I'm super excited to see who will be my new companion. Also, our only 2 investigators are moving on Thursday, so we really will be starting from ground zero! It will be great, though.

 

Well, Sunday was the 175th anniversary of the Kirtland Temple dedication, so the Kirtland and Cleveland stakes put together a program to hold in the temple at 7am Sunday morning (the same time and date of the original dedication). Sister Houston and I were really blessed and got tickets to sit in the temple for that! It was incredible. They had the most beautiful choir and orchestra. And the speakers talked about the priesthood keys that were restored in the Kirtland Temple, for the gathering of Israel, the dispensation of the gospel of Abraham, and the sealing of families.

 

I think about Jerusalem all the time here, because events here so often correspond to events there. For example, the messengers who appeared in the Kirtland Temple are the same ones who appeared on the Mount of Transfiguration to give priesthood keys to Peter, James, and John. And the pentocostal experiences the saints had all the time in Kirtland are like the pentecostal experiences in the early New Testament church--in both cases, it was with people who had just barely received the gift of the Holy Ghost, so I think they were extra sensitive to how that felt and had a special desire for spiritual experiences.

 

I hope you guys can come here to pick me up! I would love to give you a special 4 hour tour and tell you all the stories about Kirtland.

 

In other news, we set a baptismal date with Marlayn for April 30th! She's moving Thursday, but we've been in touch with her elders in Charlotte.

 

And, I'm sending you a picture:

 

Annie Smith, a lady in the ward. She has 2 nonmember grandchildren we've been teaching off and on, because they're often at her house. If only their parents would support them coming to church... (Sister Smith says they want to be baptized.)

 

Well, I love you!!!!  I sure hope you're doing well!

 

Love,

Katherine

XXXOOO

 

Kirtland, 11/22/10

Hi Mom!

 

I did get your letter this week, thank you! I like getting your snail mail letters. But, I was glad today to see an email from you again. Thanks for Aunt Debbie's address! I'll have to write her soon.

 

Things have been crazy around here for the last week. It's true, Sister Carter is leaving today. We are together emailing right now, but right after this, she goes back to Cleveland to spend her last night in the mission home. The last week has been a lot of tying up loose ends--packing, goodbye dinners, goodbye pictures, moving. I will have a substitute companion until Wednesday, when I'll get my new one. Transfers are going to be crazy! Every companionship in Kirtland is getting changed, except for two. 

 

Hey, you'll have to let me know about Harry Potter! I  must admit it is a little painful not being able to see it. When we're in the phone room at the visitors' center, we're allowed to go on the internet to find people's phone numbers, so I've been seeing ads for Harry Potter all over the place. It's alright, though.

 

Well, we had an amazing first lesson this week! Did I tell you about the McKenny family last time? They are the ones who have been investigating the Church on their own. Well, they finally let us come over and teach them, and they are the coolest family ever! Intelligent, tight-knit, friendly. They lived on a boat in the Carribean for seven years, just because they wanted to! Well, they were working down there too, but the main reason they went is because they wanted to. They understand all of the doctrine of the restoration, and now the main thing for them is deciding whether it's true or not. So, we talked to them about Alma 32 and encouraged them to judge the gospel by whether or not it "enlarges the soul" and "enlightens the understanding."  They latched onto that principle and said they felt like the seed has been planted, and now they just need to see if it grows into a tomato plant or a weed. So, they're in a good position!

 

Thank you for your advice in your letter this week. It makes me feel a lot better to know that anti didn't stop you from investigating the Church. And, we got a text message from one of our anti-ed investigators this week, so maybe we can be in contact with her again soon!

 

This week at the historic sites, Sister Carter and I got two tours in a row with Lymans! Well, that wasn't their last name, but both of them were Amasa Lyman descendants. Actually, one of those couples used to live in Blanding! Their names were Pam and ____ Young, I just forgot the man's first name. But they lived in Blanding in the 60's, and he taught high school, and she taught dance. And they remembered Grandma and Grandpa, and Aunt Lynette! So fun. Actually, this weekend was full of Blanding connections. One of the young men in the Chardon Branch just got his mission call yesterday to Farmington New Mexico, which Blanding is now a part of. So, I got to tell his mom all about it!

 

Jocelyn's orchestra concert sounds wonderful! Aw, I remember dancing to those pieces too. And Robert Schneider sounds cool! Good luck getting ready for Thanksgiving! I bet it will be wonderful. I will be thinking about you. We have a thanksgiving dinner with all the seniors and sisters at the sites, but then I'm going to an investigator's house for part of the time and a member in the branch for part of the time. It should be nice.

 

I love you! Thanks for updating me! I miss you! I am so glad to be here, though.  I love getting to teach people about the knowledge that has blessed my life, even if some don't want to listen. And some people are ready to change! Happy Thanksgiving, I love you!

 

Love,

Katherine (Sister Lyman)

Kirtland, 11/15/10

Hi Mom and Dad!

 

Dad, thank you so much for the music you sent me! What a wonderful package! I have not gotten to play most of it yet, but I used the Darwin Wolford book to play prelude for zone conference this week, and that was really nice. I'm sure I will use that a lot. Sorry if I sounded impatient about getting music, I was just worrying about not having anything to play at the fireside I'm supposed to play at next Sunday.

 

And Mom, thanks for your letter! I loved reading that! The other sisters here all thought you had beautiful handwriting. (Don't worry, I didn't show them your letter, they just saw it sideways. It's hard to keep letters private around here, because the mail comes to the visitors' center.) Has the heat gotten fixed yet? I'm glad you've been doing some writing and practicing, but I'm sorry you feel like you're falling behind in cello. I heard a cello piece on a CD recently and pictured you playing it the whole time. It's always like that when I hear cello music, but this made me sadder than usual.

 

I'm glad to hear about Aunt Debbie and the echo, though! So, she's not a nun anymore? That's so sad! I loved visiting the convent. Is she still in Athens? Do you know her address? I would like to write her a letter.

 

Also, thanks for answering my questions! Here are answers to yours:

 

1. I did hear about Sister Barney, that's so sad. The ward will not be the same without her.

2. No, nobody ratted on you about the website, but in the email you forwarded me that you had sent to Grandma, you mentioned you were behind. :-) So, that's how I knew. It's okay, I know you're busy.

3. Sister Carter will only be with me for one more week, counting today. She goes back to the mission home next Monday! I have no idea who my next companion will be.

4. Connie and her husband got anti-ed, meaning that someone gave them anti-Mormon material and now they are completely turned against us. This is, sadly, what happens to most of our investigators. I'm thinking a lot about this problem and trying to find ways to avoid it. Do you have any advice?

5. Yes, Chardon is fine, I haven't heard anything about that explosion for awhile now.

6. Dad sent all the music I wanted and more, thank you very much!

 

In other news, things are going great around here, except for our investigators all getting anti-ed. But, we have found some new ones! We had a cool experience yesterday--we stopped by a lady named Donna, whom we found a couple of months ago tracting. She had said we could stop by again, but she didn't set an appointment, and we were beginning to worry we would never see her again. But yesterday, when we went to her house, she was there, and her sister and niece were there visiting, too, and all three of them wanted to learn more about the gospel. The whole situation just felt natural, and I don't even know why they wanted to learn more, but somehow, when we left the house, we left with all of their contact information and had given them the Book of Mormon. One of the ladies had met with missionaries for a few weeks when she lived in Florida, but then she moved and never got around to finding the missionaries again. But she said she would love to start meeting with us. Pretty cool! I love it when people want to learn more before we even say anything to persuade them.

 

On another note, musical opportunities have been falling into my lap recently, which I love. The Community of Christ sponsers a community Thanksgiving musical service in the Kirtland Temple every year, and the Butterfields asked me to play piano for it this year! Also, the four of us living in the Smith Home have discovered that we can sing 4-part harmony, so we're singing for something at the visitors' center tomorrow. And, do you remember the Messiah performance in Chardon I told you about? Well, Sister Debenham, one of the other Chardon sisters, and myself both get to sing in a small ensemble for it! I wouldn't have tried out, but Sister Debenham did, so I did too. I think it will be fun, and the Church in Chardon needs positive publicity, so I'm glad we're involved in something like this. Anyway, I'm grateful that these opportunities have all come up, because being involved with music in the community is such a great way to break down barriers and relate to people and help them see that Mormons are real people!. And these opportunities are all just falling into place.

 

Well, that's a long enough email for now. How is everything going with you? I love you!

 

Love,

Katherine/Sister Lyman

Kirtland, 11/8/10

Hi Mom!

 

Thanks for sending me those poems for Grandma. I love them! Yours is especially good. Let's see, I think it was talking about apple pie, and DaNece, and a few other things. I loved how symbolic it was, though! I really had to think about it.

 

I have a question, though--would you like me to ask DaNece if she could start doing my blog from now on? She's probably settled into BYU life by now. And it probably wouldn't be much extra work for her, since she's on the computer all the time anyway, I'll bet. Just an idea...

 

How is everything going for you? What are you practicing these days? Where is the family going for Thanksgiving? Or who are you having over?

 

Everything is going well here. I started driving this week! Sister Carter's license was revoked because she got too many speeding violations, so they gave me an emergency clearance to drive.  Anyway, the very same day that happened, it started snowing! And now I can tell you that all the horror stories about lake effect snow are true! Saturday night, we were driving home via Chesterland, which is south of Kirtland, to deliver a Book of Mormon. It was so scary because there are almost no street lights in Geauga County, so I could only see a few feet in front of us, as far as the headlights shone. And the roads are all narrow, fast, hilly, and windy, and there are trees everywhere. And then it started snowing hard while we were driving, so the roads were super slick and we were fishtailing all over the place. And then I started panicking, because I suddenly couldn't remember anything about driving in the snow,  and the house we were driving to was at the bottom of a big hill, which ended in a cul-de-sac, and of course the brakes locked while we were going down the hill, etc.... Well, everything turned out alright, and I think I can be level-headed from now on, but it was scary.

 

We found a wonderful investigator this week named Beth. We were at her house delivering a Finding Faith in Christ DVD to her dad, and he really wasn't interested in learning anything, but she was. We taught her about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon, and she told us that we answered several questions she has been struggling with recently. I hope that nobody gives her anti-Mormon material before our next meeting--that is a big problem around here. And then once it happens, they won't listen to anything else we say, even if the information they found is completely false.

 

In general, though, I love being a missionary. I especially love being in Kirtland, because it is a constant reminder of what this church is all about. The things that were established in Kirtland are the most important parts of the restored gospel: the Saints received revelations, they learned how to use the priesthood, they built a temple, they organized missionary efforts, and they started an education system with the school of the prophets. I love this period in church history! I can't wait until I can give you guys a tour. :-)

 

Well, let me know how everything is going down there! Love you!

 

Love,

Katherine (Sister Lyman)

Kirtland, 11/1/10

Hi Mom and Dad!

 

Which Shakespeare play did you read? I just told Sister Carter about that, and she laughed, but I think we are the coolest family ever. Tell Sophie happy birthday! I will try to send her something soon. I'm sorry I didn't send her anything to be there on her birthday, though. I'm not quite used to having one day a week to take care of letters--I don't look far enough in advance. I did have her birthday written in my planner, though, so I was thinking about her yesterday! Jamie got called as the new teachers' quorum president? Yay! That will be wonderful for him! He will do such a good job, too, and this will give him a chance to be so responsible. Tell James that I say that's an important calling, because if there are young men in his class who he doesn't watch out for, then the missionaries end up having to take care of them, and we already have too many people to take care of.

 

What, Norman played on your recital? You mean he accompanied? Or have you been teaching him little cello parts? Good for him!

 

We've had a great week here. I don't know if I've told you about our investigator Lani yet, but we found her tracting, and we've had two lessons with her in the last couple of weeks. She is a golden investigator. She is a nursing student, currently lives with her parents, and was just sitting outside by herself thinking about life when Sister Carter and I came walking down her driveway. Her first lesson went great, and for her second lesson, she came to the historic sites and we showed her the Joseph Smith movie and took her on a tour. She is doing great! She isn't sure the Book of Mormon is true yet, but she's really trying to do everything we ask her to. And she has been reading so much! It is neat to get to work with her.

 

Our investigators Tina and Jody are also doing great. I love it when investigators call us, and both of those two call us sometimes just to let us know how things are going. Tina called yesterday to apologize for not coming to church, and Jody called us yesterday so we could pray for her while she was dealing with some things. She likes us to pray with her on the phone, too. She calls us her "Mormon girls." But then she corrects herself and says her "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints girls." We hadn't seen her for a couple of weeks, but we stopped by on Thursday, and it turned out to be at a time when she really needed us. She is so sweet and says she wants to come to church with us this week and bring all her friends!

 

Chardon is growing on me. Would you believe they changed Halloween to Saturday? That gives you an idea of how Bible Belt it is around here. And the town is small enough that they were able to have a Halloween parade Saturday night and then cider and donuts afterward on the town square. Cute, isn't it? This was a sad week for Chardon, though, because there was an explosion that caught a lot of storage units on fire at the edge of town. That impacted a couple of the people we're working with right now, actually, and it's been a trial for them.

 

Today as Sister Carter and I were walking into the library, we ran into a couple of members of the Community of Christ putting up a Kirtland Temple exhibit at the front of the library. It is nice having the Community of Christ around--we're not completely the same, but I feel some kinship with them just because we both use the Book of Mormon and we share all the same Kirtland history. And they are so friendly. This is an interesting area, because we see so many split-off groups hanging around Kirtland. The Community of Christ, of course--their guides who work at the Kirtland Temple live in Sidney Rigdon's house, just a few houses down from us in the Smith home. And there is a little church called "The Church of Jesus Christ" down the road from the temple, too. It is also called the Restoration Church, a split-off from the Community of Christ. And we got a group through on tour recently called "The Remnant," another split-off from the Community of Christ with basically identical beliefs to our church. I wonder why more of the split-off groups don't just embrace all of it and join our church, but then again, some of them do.

 

Oh, on a slightly less missionary note, could you please send me some piano music? I would really love to have one of our hymn arrangement books, either the Darwin Wolford or Sonos books, as soon as possible. Also, I would love to have something classical, like a Mozart sonata or Chopin (etudes or nocturnes) or Kabalevsky sonatas. I want to be prepared to play if the need should arise. Thanks! :-)

 

Also, what is Aunt Debbie's current situation? And address? I've been thinking about her lately. Partially because there are nuns who sing with us at Messiah practice. I am loving Messiah practice, by the way! And the other people there are awesome. We don't proselyte, since it's inside a Catholic church, but it's so effective to be seen there.

 

Also, where is the Echo? Just wondering.

 

I love you! Happy November! I hope it's not too cold down there. Keep reading Shakespeare plays! You all should read The Tempest, that is my request.

 

I love you!

 

Love,

Katherine

Kirtland, 10/25/10

Hi Mom!!

 

I hope you're still on the computer. It's so fun when we're on here at the same time. I got your email after I had already logged  in, so I know we were here together for at least part of it!

 

Thanks for the update on everyone. Tell Jocelyn congratulations! I'm so glad she got to be in the play. I agree with you on the Shakespeare alterations, I think they usually just draw attention to themselves. Also, tell James good job on his self-portrait and good luck with his lesson! I like your insights on Job--that's really true that he is similar to the Savior. We talked about Job a lot in my comp lit class freshman year. Brother Peer said that the book was written as a hypothetical situation, and that Job wasn't a real person, but that his story was written as sacred literature that explores all the possible reactions to suffering and then the process by which we can respond to it using the Atonement. Either way, it is a great book! I'll have to reread the chapter you mentioned.

 

Haha, I'm sure Sophie had a huge wish list. I wish I could be there!

 

Why is October so busy for weddings? I'm glad you're starting to get out of that, though. And that you got to go the temple, that is wonderful.

 

Okay, Pioneer School: It's one of our service projects--all of the Kirtland sisters take turns doing it. There is a historical society nearby in Painesville (the town Edward Partridge was from) that sets up a mini-Williamsburg experience for elementary schoolers from all around Ohio and Pennsylvania. The students come in for a day and go to different centers--a log cabin where they learn about keeping house in the early frontier days of Ohio, a schoolhouse, and then a big barn where they learn about candlemaking and make their own candles. When we volunteer there, we get to be the candlemaking ladies. And we wear pioneer dresses! I'll send you a picture. I like it, especially because we get a lot of kids from Cleveland, and they are a fun group. Also, I feel like I am living my dream of working at Colonial Willliamsburg!

 

We took a Kirtland temple tour as new missionaries, our second day in Ohio. So yes, I've been there. Also, LDS family services had an adoption conference in the temple a couple of weeks ago, and we got to sing at it! It was amazing. The meeting was in the early morning, so the sun rose while we were in there, and the way the windows are set, the sun casts lovely patterns on the wall while it's rising. And we got to sing several of the hymns they sang at the 1836 dedication! Well, I played, the other sisters sang. Anyway, the temple is probably my favorite spot in Kirtland, even though it is a little strange, you're right.

 

Visitors' center attendance is down from the summer, but there are lots of "leaf people" who come through because this is peak leaf season, so everything is pretty. Sister Carter and I have spent tons of time at the center lately. Actually, we did zero hours of tracting this week because we were at Kirtland so much. But oh well, I honestly prefer being there most of the time. We usually take 1-2 tours a day. And yes, they're different every time. I read our Kirtland manual a lot, and I try to incorporate something new from it into every tour. The manual is huge, but I'm not sure what I'll do when I finish reading it... Well, there's lots of information in there, it allows us to go into detail about any topic that might be of special interest to a visitor.

 

We got three new investigators this week! Quick story about two of them: Last week we found a lady, probably in her 70's, named Connie. As soon as she saw who we were, she said she and her husband had been to Temple Square and they had loved it. And she invited us to come back when her husband was there, so they could both meet with us. Then, she set an appointment with us and sent us on our way and we had hardly had a chance to say anything! Well, we went back this week, and when we came in, there was a big whiteboard in their kitchen with three balloons tied to it that said: "Welcome, Sisters! Thank you so much for coming!"  And there was old movie music playing in the background, and Connie and her husband were all ready with a notebook and a pencil. Apparently, they have had missionaries to their house in the past, and they just enjoyed talking to them. But they'd never heard the first lesson, so we taught that. It was an unusual situation all around. Connie showered us with gifts when we left, too, she was so sweet.

 

We had dinner with our German family this week, too! I love their house, they were playing German folk music when we walked in and they've got cuckoo clocks everywhere. They are so fun.

 

Well, I should go, but I hope you have a great week! I love you!

 

Love,

Katherine