[33] Goodbye and Hello, Hundred Acre Woods, and Now is the Time:)

Hello from the Hundred Acre Woods!

Well actually it's Thousand Oaks, but I like to think it is the same thing :) I loved Pismo Beach, but it is nice to be back down in the southern part of my Mission. Pismo Beach reminded me of my Hawaiian home and Thousand Oaks reminds me of my Pennsylvania home, so I get the best of both worlds. The area we live in is called the Canejo Valley (cone-eh-ho) which means bunny in Spanish. So we live in  rabbit valley, thus supporting my hundred acre wood theory :)

Goodbye and Hello!

We had transfer meeting this last Tuesday. We had a big group return home after serving their mission (about 20 missionaries). Sister Clark was one of them and she bore a really beautiful testimony. (All the missionaries have to when they go home) I know I mentioned it before, but I am going to miss her even though  I am so excited for her to start a new adventure at home. I hope she is enjoying the snow in Utah ;) 

I love my new companion.  She is Sister Boring and as she likes to say no she does not live up to her name:)  I think she is one of the most exciting and happy sisters I have met here. She is so funny and we laugh all the time. Throughout the day we practice our Irish and Scottish accents while we work, so it's a lot of good fun :) 

We are also blessed to live with two other Sisters, Sister Brown and Sister Currie. They are both from the Payson area of Utah. Oh and Sister Boring is also from Utah (Logan area) but guess where she grew up? Honolulu Hawaii!! We've bonded over our love for Hawaii, the Laie LDS temple, and the Polynesian Cultural Center :) 

Thousand Oaks 4th Ward

The Ward here is great. I am so thankful. We meet in the giant Stake Center Building. I went there once for a Zone Conference when I was in Simi Valley. Remember the church on Mormon Way street? It's that one:) I'll have to take more pictures of it for you to show you how huge it is. For one thing it has two chapels and an upstairs and a downstairs. It's very cool. 

The Ward was so welcoming to me for my first Sunday yesterday. They are very sweet and kind. The brother who gave the opening prayer even prayed for Sister Boring and I by name and blessed our families for our service :) I felt loved and right at home. The set up is very similar to Cranberry Ward. Plus there were two Disney Nemo references made during Sunday School and Relief Society which made my day :) 

One was in Sunday School: Talking about Adam and Eve and how if they stayed in the garden nothing would have happened and they would have lived there forever. "I'm not going to let anything happen to him" "You can't not let anything happen to him or else nothing would happen!" 

Relief Society: Talking about gaining a testimony that the church is true. You have to do more than just believe what others say. "How do you know?" "I don't know. I just know, you know?"

*Forgive me if the quotes aren't exact. I blame it on missionary brain :)  I can't remember movies as well as I used to... but still see how much good we can learn from all sorts of sources:)

Every Member a Missionary

We have started going to the members home's and teaching them the missionary lessons. It is important and helpful for them to know and understand the things we teach to our investigators. 

We have received a lot of positive feedback from the members about it. After we teach they have more excitement to share what they know with their friends. We have been explaining how easy it is to share a simple testimony and to invite others to learn more. We've told them that even though we do this everyday, we aren't perfect and we also are scared at times to share the gospel. (although we do our best to hide it!) But as we rely on the Spirit our mouths are filled and the Lord guides us in what we should do. We will all draw closer to each other and to the Lord as we do so. 

I really love the push to work more with the members! I know that as we do this, 'the work will continue to hasten.' 

Now is the Time

I was reading Elder Ballard's talk this morning 'Put Your Trust in the Lord.'  In his talk he quoted President Monson who said "Now is the time for members and missionaries to come together and labor in the Lord's vineyard to bring souls unto Him. He has prepared the means for us to share the gospel in a multitude of ways, and He will assist us in our labors if we will act in faith to fulfill His work". I know that it is inspired that we work more with the members. It is a team effort! 

Elder Ballard also said "When members view the work of salvation as their responsibility alone, it can be intimidating. When they view it as an invitation to follow the Lord in bringing souls unto Him to be taught by the full-time Elders and Sisters, it is inspiring, invigorating, and uplifting!" 

Doesn't that just make you excited?! I invite all of you who are reading this to share you beliefs with someone this week. As you do so, your own testimony will be strengthen. And don't worry about what you say. If you are a more shy person like I am when I am not around familiar people, remember this that Elder Ballard said:

"You don't have to be an outgoing person or an eloquent, persuasive teacher. If you have an abiding love and hope within you, the Lord has promised if you 'lift up your voices unto this people and speak the thoughts that He shall put into your hearts you shall not be confounded before men. And it shall be given you in the very moment what ye shall say'"

I am pretty shy with people I do not know well, so if I can do it, you can do it!:)

Love you all lots!

Sister Karissa :)

Pictures - (02/02/15) Doc B Knows Ice Cream, Sisters in Zion, and Soupbowl Sundae:)

                                                              

One of my last fun days with beautiful Sister Clark!

 Ice Cream makes sad days a little better:)

Just what the Dr. Ordered:)

 Sister Susie was so sweet she painted

these Betty Boop statues to look

like us so she could always have

'her girls' with her! They were so cute.

 Me and my twin:)

Here is our sweet Sister S, we will miss her!

Our wonderful Relief Society President in Pismo Beach

Sister Zimmerman and her lovely granddaughter.

Sister K. (Not me) ;) She is a member of our church 

and we were teaching her sweet husband. He

is not a member of our faith.

 Awesome Brother K said he has been listening

to the missionaries for awhile now and we

helped answer many questions. That was a great feeling.

I hope to keep in touch with them 
now that I have been transferred.

 

No Super Bowl Sunday for us, but we did get

a 'soup bowl and Sundae' at a members house.

They were so generous and kind! 

[32] I'll Miss Pismo Beach, Love is Boundless, and Thousand Oaks Here I Come:)

Hello Family and Friends,

I hope everyone is doing well. I think and pray for you all and it's wonderful to be able to keep in touch by reading letters and notes that are sent my way:) You guys are great.

Going to Miss it Here

It's transfer week again! And I am leaving. I am going to miss Pismo Beach. This is such a great area. The ward is wonderfully kind. I felt blessed to be able to serve here for 4 months and I learned so much. I am grateful for and love the people I was able to teach and serve.  Though as much as I will miss it,  I am excited for the next adventure. Thousand Oaks here I come!

Love Is Boundless

One of the things I've been learning on my mission is how much love we have inside to share with others.  I think it may be a little how a parent feels about loving more than one child. I love my family and friends at home and at school and at BYUH and so I thought, how can I love anyone else on my mission?  And then you meet people on your mission and you have so much love for them! 

I have loved my companions, the ward members, the people taking lessons.  I was warned a little before my mission that I will meet some mean people and even unkind people and I tried to prepare for that. What I wasn’t prepared for is missing the kindred spirit people you meet. You get attached and have love for so many people.  Then you need to move on or get transferred and that is difficult. I am so grateful that our church believes we are a forever people, a forever family and will exist forever so that I might be able to meet and be with these wonderful people that I have met and loved in many areas of my mission.

Sister Clark Gets an A+

It has been such a blessing to have been able to serve with Sister Clark for her last transfer of her mission. She has taught me so much during these last 6 weeks. I can see the light shine in her and I know she is a dedicated disciple of Jesus Christ. She has helped many people over the last year and a half and I know they all love her for it. She is so kind and genuine. I know she will continue to love and care for the people at her home and help others to see their true potential.  

Last Service for (J)

We were able to do our last service for (J) this week before Sister Clark goes home. We helped him weed his garden. As we worked, we talked to him about Stake Temple Day and now he is thinking of going on February 14th with the Ward! What better place to spend a day of  Love and think of your loved ones than at the temple?  (He misses his parents he lost very much.) We feel there are great things in store for (J) and so happy for him as he continues to grow and make more goals.

Helpful Letters from My Cousin

A few weeks ago my awesome cousin Cayla sent me the talk "Windows of Heaven" (Thank you so much Cayla!) As I reread that talk I realized my testimony of tithing has grown on my mission. I have seen how it blesses the lives of those who are willing to obey the commandments of God. 

We taught (S) about tithing this week and even though she hasn't been active in Church for many years (she is doing much better now!) she still has a testimony of tithing. She told us how important it is. Even though she doesn't have much to give she told us she knows she needs to pay it.  And she did yesterday! I admire her.   (S) showed her Heavenly Father how much she loves Him by offering the very thing she needs most at this time and gave it away. It reminded me of the Widow's mite.  I know she will be blessed for her faithfulness, both temporally and spiritually. 

Love you lots!

Sister Skinner - Karatassos

Pictures - (01/26/15) Thoughtful Spot, Service in the Sun, and Smiling With Difficult Goodbyes:)

 

Like Pooh Bear I have my 'thoughtful spot'

and it is by the ocean.

  

Beautiful Sister Clark and I enjoy the Beach 

on Prep-day. Why does food taste better outdoors

and by the ocean?:)

 

Writing letters listening to the waves.

 

 Doing service and yard work for 

a sweet sister (C) who is a 

cute single mom and so nice.

 

Helping with Sister (C)'s yard. Needed

a hat because it was pretty sunny that day.

On Splits with amazing Sister Collings.

I was blessed to get to be with Sister C all

day and learn so much from her beautiful

testimony.

 

The Hermana's made Elder Hull

 his 21st Birthday cake! He is a great Elder and 

he even shared. Haha!

 

Here is (S) again. Love her and going to 

miss her so much!

 

Great Relief Society Activity.

 

The Relief Society did such a fun job of decorations.

A fun and sharing time.

 

Friends forever <3

 

Guess who?:) (Yep mom, you can tell Kenny

 I still like Disney):)

Haha! 

 

Service Project to help a grandmother

put her trampoline together for her grandchildren.

 

One of the Elders showing his opinion

of the trampoline instructions! Hahaha!

 

Success! 

 

Ward Mission Leader's daughter (B). She is

a sweetheart! Do you like how Sister Clark 

and I match?:)

 

Cayla (One of Karissa's cousins) was so sweet and wrote me a letter every day. In the end it spelled out a scripture. It is about tithing so she sent a talk on tithing and her testimony of it. It was so sweet and made my week so

much better! What a blessing my family is.

 

Saying goodbye to many awesome people.

Here is Sister Bunting and her mom, who is

101! Both are lovely fantastic ladies and

her mom is especially good and kind!

 

More Goodbyes. Sister Bake (She played 'Old Befana'

last week. It was such a good time.)

The Burks' kids. Here is sweet (S) again. The

one who got her purple plate ready for

some Greek Food her dad had cooked. Haha.

 

The Burks. They are wonderful.

The husband is a great cook. I

will miss them.

 

Saying goodbye to Sister Strang. She let us 

try out her loom . 

 

The loom was really really cool.

 

Sister Anderson! Such a lovely fun person! <3

 

I am going to miss Sister Clark. She has such

a wonderful kind spirit and you

just know she is genuine when she talks.

I will miss all the fun times we had together too. 

She was great, and she knew that sometimes you just

have to have some chocolate covered potato chips and

keep trying! She taught me so much. I know her

family will be so happy to see her

after being gone eighteen months! <3

[31] Alaska has Missionaries too, Helping in RS, and a Harry Potter Visual:)

Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day!     "Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase." MLK  Hope my friends and family are also having a nice day off from school:)

Busy Monday

We had to drive all the way to beautiful Santa Maria today to email since it is a holiday and the libraries are closed.   We used the church computer there.  So it's been a crazy Monday like always, but lots of fun to see more of CA. Plus we just had lunch at a Greek restaurant which was delicious. Probably one of the best ones I've been to. (You'll have to try it when I come back and visit my mission Papa!:)

Exchanges

We had exchanges again this week! (That's when you switch mission companions for a day.)  I went with Sister Collings.  She is beautiful, wonderful and what a great example to me.   It's amazing how many sister missionaries are out here giving of their time and talents and who love The Lord so much.   That's why they are doing what they are doing.  So our goal was to have meaningful prayers with everyone. It was a great thing to focus on because it really made us think about those we were teaching and their situations.  These type of prayers really helped to bring the Spirit around us.

Finding Others to Teach

Sister Clark and I had a great week for finding new investigators.  We met (E) and (L) on Thursday and will hopefully see them again this week. They both have great potential and you can tell this because they had great questions as we taught about the Restoration.  They are really seeking answers and it's nice when the people you are talking to keep asking questions, because then you get to keep answering:)  We were also thankful for prayer that helps us to have answers.

Off to Alaska 

We also met a man named (T) as we were walking around early Friday night. We stopped to talk to him and had a great conversation and we asked if we could come back sometime. He said he is moving to Alaska this next week so we met with him the next day. We went over the Restoration and he had great insights and questions. We invited him to church and he came yesterday! He even stayed for Sunday school! 

We are blessed that our ward does a great job with the Gospel Principles class. There is such a great environment there and everyone feels comfortable. I look forward to going to that class each Sunday.  The people who talk the most are actually the investigators and visitors, which is so cool! They always have great insights. (T) loved sharing his ideas in class as we discussed the Word of Wisdom. It was great! We will get to meet with him again this week before he moves. Even though we can only teach him briefly, I really feel there are missionaries up there in Alaska right now who are ready to teach him:) 

 Jump for Joy Service Project:) (at least help kids jump:)

We were able to do service for a lady who isn't a member of our faith this week by helping her build a trampoline and net, for her grandchildren. It was lots of fun! And her grandchildren are sweet.  I am so glad we could help her and let her know we care about her and her family:)

Old Befana - Wonderful Italian Traditions

We went to Sister Bake's house for a fun Italian January 6th celebration (Epiphany) and she read us the story Old Befana. It's about this little old lady who followed the Wise Men and now brings gifts to the children after Christmas. There were lots of friendly people there and everyone at the party got a present from Old Befana, even the missionaries! :)

Helping Teach About Prayer in RS

This week for Relief Society, Sister MacClain asked us to help her with her lesson. The topic was prayer. We used the 'Preach My Gospel' activity which has you evaluate your prayers and find ways you can improve them. It is sometimes easy to get into the same routine, so we must rely on the Spirit to know what we should say. 

Also sometimes it helps to ponder the things in our heart before we address Heavenly Father. It was good to teach about prayer, because I have always felt that being able to Pray at any time is a gift. It can help in so many ways. Just as our physical bodies need food at least three times a day so does our spirit.   So we should pray at least three times a day, or even more.   We can snack a little here and there as we need it :) 

One of the friendly sisters in Relief Society also talked about how she had just watched the 7th Harry Potter movie recently. She said she always gets emotional at the part when everyone raises their wands and a protection goes around Hogwarts because she sees it as prayer. I loved that visual! Prayer really is a protection. I have a testimony of prayer. I have seen how it blesses my own personal life. I know Heavenly Father hears and answers us.  May we keep having daily prayers protect, help and uplift us.

I love you all! Have a wonderful week!

Keep praying for Missionaries:)

Sister Karissa S-K:)