Monday, July 15

I AM COMING HOME ON THE 25th of JULY!

The week has been good.  It's been warm and I even got a tan.

I'm glad the itinerary came through.  They booked it weeks ago and when I called the office they said that since the group that is leaving around this time is so big, they were only getting about 3 itineraries a week, even though the flights were actually booked already.  They said they would send it out as soon as it came in.

Anyway, yes, I'll be home late on the 25th.  So, I don't know what Hailey and the kids want to do about that, but whenever I see them I'll be happy.

I don't know when I'll meet with President Axford, but when we can, that would be nice.  I'd kind of like to be released officially soon after getting home.

We had a good experience this week at church.  A family in the ward brought a family they have been telling about the church.  We met them and they agreed to start meeting with us.  Apparently they are already planning to get married (they aren't yet) because they hear that's a requirement for baptism.  So that looks really promising.  So we'll meet with them next Tuesday.

The pageant is coming up really quickly and the temple grounds are transforming into a performance space.  We have 20+ non-members from this area attending that we have gotten tickets for.  So, it will be a good missionary opportunity.

I can't wait to see the kids!  I look forward to it!

We don't email on transfer weeks, so this is the last time i'm on email.  So I'll see you on Thursday the 25th!

Love to all!

Kara

Monday, July 8, 2013

Kara realized she had not taken an official picture at the MTC.

Look!  No coat!!

 

    

Preston England Temple Grounds

She is enjoying being able to see the temple every day in this area!

 

The sun is shining! It's supposed to stay shining for 2 weeks! It's supposed to get up to a high of 33 degrees Celsius! I still have no idea what that is in Fahrenheit... but sounds nice!

We had a good week. The Chorley area is known for its member work because it's really hard to find people to teach here. So we've been seeing a lot of members. We have a tea appointment every night this week... It's crazy. We had tea with the temple president this last week. That was kind of weird, but really neat!

You asked about the 4th of July... it's the 3rd consecutive 4th of July that I've spent in the UK. I've heard several degrading comments about America this week, but that's okay! A family in the ward had us over for a BBQ with American food. So we had hot dogs, hamburgers, and cake! So that was fun!

We did some service for a member this week helping to make cakes for a big auction that they had in the ward to help raise funds for EFY. It was loads of fun helping!

Not a whole lot interesting to tell from this week! It's been a really good week! Still loving the opportunity I have to see the temple every day!

Monday, July 1, 2013

Sister Orr and her dear friend Sister Smith

 

Phew... Flood of emotions right now. I just read an email from Paige. She's engaged!! I'm so happy I'll be there for the wedding! But wow... my best friend is engaged!

It's been a good week. It's flown by. We had a temple zone conference on Tuesday. That was good. We also gave our departing testimonies there. So that was also a moment of "Wait... it's not that time yet."

The members here feed us a lot. We have a tea appointment every night. We've had everything from salad to pizza to sausage casseroles. At least they mix things up here so we aren't having a Sunday roast every night.

Sister Telefoni and I have found a lot of time to talk this week. It's been really good. I've been able to get to know her better and we laugh and joke about everything. We are finding time to enjoy our last transfer and spending it together.

We watched the missionary broadcast last night. It was really good. Sounds like my mission isn't ending with me going home. They put so much emphasis on members and having members help and do things and find people to teach. President Monson looks like he's losing weight. Probably stress and sadness lately. President Packer--I don't know how much longer he is going to be with us. But it was good to listen to the general authorities speak and see a ward from Hauula! I knew some of them! Sister Telefoni and I were pretty excited to see that as well!

Well, nothing too much more exciting to tell. We are spending time at a member's home today helping her make and decorate cakes for an auction that they're doing at the church to raise money for the youth to go to EFY.

I love you lots. I received an email from Aunt Judy that had a picture of Kade, he is a cutey. Kind of looks a bit growly in the picture, but cute!

With love,

Kara

 

Monday, June 24, 2013

..... so.... funny story..... I moved areas again..... I'm now in Chorley.

I have been moved so many times on my mission.... I am now on to companion #13! Yes, you heard me, companion #13. How many transfers do sisters have in the field? 13... People are going to start thinking I'm a major problem missionary.

Anyway, how this came to be... Wednesday morning I got a phone call at 7 AM. President said, "Sister Orr, I'm moving you to Chorley." I was like...okay. Sister Telefoni was training a new missionary and that new missionary decided she wanted to go home. So Sister Telefoni didn't have a companion. So they sent me up here. Sister Finke got put in a different area. President said that I'm supposed to bless some lives up here. So phone call was at 7 AM Wednesday, the assistants came to pick us up with all our luggage at 3. So I've been in Chorley since last Wednesday. I'm happy to be here though... just weird that it happened to me again. I just told President at a meeting the other day that I must be the transient missionary who just moves here, there and everywhere.

The temple is in our area. That is super nice. Our ward here is huge. Average sacrament attendance is around 175. It has a lot of families in it. I laughed yesterday as I walked down the corridor and prams were lining the way.

We've been told to do a lot of member work here. The Pageant is going to be held on the temple grounds here, so we're supposed to help in any way we can. Little do they know that Sister Telefoni and I will both be gone for the pageant. Oh, I don't know if you know, Sister Telefoni and I came out together. You may have already known that.

So yes, that's what we're up to.

We had a zone training and interviews with President last Thursday. That was good. President says that when I get home I need to call them regularly. Skype would probably be best since it's free. He said he was trying very hard not to turn the interview into an exit interview. 4 weeks left and then I'll have my exit interview.

I can't believe it's almost July. We were talking to a new member the other day and she was telling me she got baptised a few months ago. In my mind I was thinking, "oh, probably December or sometime around Christmas." I asked her when she got baptised and she said March. It doesn't seem like March was a few months ago. It's been 6 months since Christmas..... weird...

Another weird thing about this ward. The Bishop is the MTC coordinator and several ward members are MTC teachers. I'm like, "I know all of you."

Also, I think it is funny that I was always saying I didn't want to serve on temple square... Now, I'm in the British equivalent. :)