Yo Sé Que Vive Mi Señor

Hey everyone! 

Had another fun week here in Chicago Heights! We have a couple really awesome new investigators who I love so very much! It was so funny we went to go teach someone for the first time and she was so excited when we came. Her name is Lapetrice. She was like, "My sister lives next door let me go knock and have her listen too!" She bangs on the door and we faintly hear, "Who is it?!" Lapetrice says, "It's yo sista come listen to these missionaries! We need to go to their church!" It was so great and this whole through the door conversation between her and her sister was going on as we were awkwardly sitting on the couch next to the open door (there was just a small hallway in between the apartments). Anyway! So we were able to teach both of them about the Restoration of the Gospel. It was a great lesson and she's very excited to meet with us again! 

We went out to lunch with a member and a couple investigators on Thursday! That was so fun. Lesley and her friend Maxine are investigating the church right now and they're so awesome! I sure do love them! They're both absolutely hilarious too. I guess Maxine used to live in the city and she was telling us about when she first moved to a suburb. She just thought she lived around a ton of wild animals. She was saying how the first time she saw a raccoon she was looking through her window and said, "I think I just saw a small bear!" Or one time she saw a dog or something run across the street and she thought it was a cheetah haha! They both came to watch the general women's broadcast at the church too! It was so AWESOME! 

Speaking of the women's broadcast, I LOVED it! I especially loved President Eyring's talk. Everyone should go read or watch it, it was so good! I also loved how everything was centered on the family. I just can't wait for General Conference this weekend! EVERYONE needs to watch it! Please please please do whatever you need to do to be able to watch conference. There's nothing better than being able to receive counsel from our leaders. I'm so pumped! 

We were able to have dinner with a lot of members this week too! Last night I had my first taste of Tongan food with the Falahola family. Sister Fangupo was so excited haha. It was way good! The members here are awesome. We were talking to one about how we only have two CDs in our car to listen to and she let us borrow a CD with some gospel style hymns it's so great! 

Our area is pretty big! We were looking at a list of all the members in our area and some of them are way down in the middle of no where so we took a few hours to go down there and visit them! It was crazy, just a bunch of spread out farms in the southern part of the area. So that was quite the adventure. 

Well this morning we received a very unexpected call from President Woodbury! Not only did he wish me a happy birthday but he also informed us that I will be getting transferred tomorrow night. I'm not exactly sure where my new area is or who my companion is but I will finish training this new companion! Here's the situation: I guess there was an Hermana who got sick and had to go home so her companion was left in a trio. There is also a trio of English Sisters from last transfer. So I'm going to take the place of the sweet Hermana that went home so they're not in a trio anymore and one of the English Sisters in their trio will come and finish training Sister Fangupo. I'm pretty sad I only got two weeks in Chicago Heights with Sister Fangupo! She's so awesome and has SUCH a powerful testimony. I know the Lord needs me to go serve somewhere else and wherever that is I'm excited to see what's in store. I'm so thankful for the time I had with Sister Fangupo and all that we were able to learn from each other. I love the people of Chicago Heights and I'm excited for the work that Sister Fangupo and her new companion have to do. I can't wait to hear all about it! I'll let you all know where I end up next Monday and who my new companion is for sure. 

I know that the work in which I am engaged is the work of the Lord. I know this church is true and I love this Gospel with all my heart. I'll go wherever the Lord needs me and I'm very excited for my new area and to meet the people I will be blessed to serve. I've found so much happiness as I serve others as a full time missionary. Something I will always cherish is the great love I am able to feel for each of Heavenly Father's children, and the opportunity I have to bring the restored gospel into their lives. I love each of you and please please watch General Conference this weekend! I know the leaders of the church are called of God and each of us can receive revelation from something that will be said this weekend. Thanks for all the Birthday wishes so far it's been an awesome day! Stay strong!

Keep smiling,

Hermana Knowles

73

Yo sé que vive mi Señor

1.	Yo sé que vive mi Señor;
	consuelo es poder saber
	que vive aunque muerto fue
	y siempre Su amor tendré.
	Él vive para bendecir,
	y ante Dios por mí pedir.
	Él vive para sustentar
	y a mi alma alentar.
2.	Él vive para sostener
	y con Su mano proteger.
	Él vive para escuchar
	y oídos a mis quejas dar.
	Él vive para alentar
	y mis angustias sosegar.
	Él vive para ayudar
	y a mi alma consolar.
3.	Él vive, mi amigo fiel;
	me ama para siempre Él.
	Él vive ̮y siempre cantaré:
	Él vive, mi Señor y Rey.
	Por Él la vida yo tendré;
	la muerte yo conquistaré.
	Mi gran mansión preparará,
	y viviré con Él allá.
4.	Él vive, ̮y yo lo honraré.
	A Cristo siempre alabaré.
	Gozoso, canto con fervor:
	Yo sé que vive mi Señor.
	Él vive, ̮y yo lo honraré.
	A Cristo siempre ̮alabaré.
	Gozoso, canto con fervor:
	Yo sé que vive mi Señor.

Venid a mí

Hola familia! 

So it's been a crazy past couple weeks for sure! I'm sorry this probably won't be as in depth as I was hoping but I'll try to mention all the highlights from since I last wrote. 

First off! Elder Perry came and spoke to all the missionaries! It was SUCH an amazing meeting. He basically said that knocking door to door is as old as he is and that we need to be more creative in our finding efforts. Use our TALENTS! I'm so excited to see what we can all come up with throughout the mission. 

I honestly don't remember too much about last week and I don't have my journal with me right now, but I do know that I will most certainly miss serving in the Chicago 4th ward! I am already looking forward to visiting them again. I bore my testimony my last Sunday there and a few people told me afterwards that they were impressed with how much better my Spanish is from when I first got there. 

So CHICAGO HEIGHTS everyone! It's sweet! One of the borders of the area is Indiana so that kind of gives you an idea of where I'm at. My new companion is Sister Fangupo! She's legit! She's from Utah but her family is Tongan. Pretty neat huh? We have a lot of work to do in this area and I'm pumped! So far working in English just feels way different but the work is the work!  I love it! We have a few investigators right now and we're hoping for a couple baptisms next month! 

I don't even know what else to say so here's a funny story from yesterday! We had a pretty crazy long day on Saturday so I was just especially tired yesterday. Well Sister Fangupo was driving and she asked me to look something up on the map on my iPad. Well the map opened up to some random place in the middle of the ocean so I was scrolling around trying to find where we were, but please note I was basically half awake. So I'm scrolling and it's taking forever and Sister Fangupo is asking me if I need help. And then she looks over and starts laughing because the first thing she reads on the map is Algeria. That whole time I was just scrolling through Africa half awake. It was great. That was hilarious so that woke me up a little for sure!  

Well I hope everyone is doing great! I love being a missionary! I know this church is true and I know the Book of Mormon is the word of God. I love serving the people of Chicago Heights and I'm really looking forward to this transfer! I love you all so much! 

Keep Smiling, 

Hermana Knowles

 

61

Venid a mí

1.	“Venid a mí”, mandó Jesús.
	Andemos en divina luz;
	sólo así, por Su poder,
	uno con Dios podemos ser.
2.	“Seguidme hoy”, nos llama ya;
	el gran Pastor consuelo da.
	La paz será el galardón
	de los de limpio corazón.
3.	“Llevad mi yugo, y sabed
	que soy humilde, y haced
	lo que os mando y veréis
	la gloria que recibiréis”.
4.	“Dejad venir los niños a mí.”
	Con gran amor mandó así,
	y en Sus brazos los tomó
	y bendiciones Él les dio.

5.	“Así cual niños os haréis,
	si en mi reino ̮entrar queréis
	para mi gloria heredar
	y vida ̮eterna ̮allí gozar”.
6.	Su gran ejemplo nos mostró;
	la senda Él nos indicó:
	“Venid a mí a descansar,
	en paz y gloria a morar”.

you WILL receive a transfer call

Hey family!

Sorry this email is going to be pretty short this day has been pretty
crazy! I'll just tell you what you're all probably dying to know! I'm
getting TRANSFERRED! Tomorrow I will be meeting my new companion. I
will finish training a missionary in the Chicago Heights area! BUT GET
THIS! I'm not sure how long this will last but... I've been switched
to ENGLISH. I'm sure I'll get switched back to Spanish eventually but
this transfer President was short ONE English sister missionary so he
said he picked me to switch because he knows my Spanish is really good
and I won't lose it. Honestly, I'm SO EXCITED! I know the Lord has big
things in store and I can't wait to go serve the people there! I love
you all so much and I'll write a more detailed email next week!

Keep smiling!

Hermana Knowles

A few people I've been blessed to serve!

¡Avanza Su Verdad!

Hola familia y amigos!

Such a great week!

First off, on Tuesday we had a meeting with the ENTIRE mission about technology use as missionaries. Elder Zwick from the Seventy came and also Brother Hemingway who is in charge of online proselyting for the church I'm pretty sure. That was such an amazing meeting! We received a lot of inspired instruction concerning iPads and facebook and all that good stuff and we also talked a lot about how we have been so blessed to be able to use these tools to reach out to more people and share the gospel on a greater scale. At this meeting we were also informed that Elder L. Tom Perry of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will be visiting the Illinois Chicago Mission THIS Saturday! I CANNOT WAIT to hear from an Apostle of the Lord! 

So that was an AWESOME way to start the week, and then the Lord blessed us with several miracles throughout the remainder of the week as well. Generally the week was so good because we were able to find quite a few people (less actives, potential investigators, and a NEW investigator)! Our new investigator is this really sweet lady named Maria! I don't remember if I already shared about how we found her but I'll share it again cause it's a great story! So this was my last P-day with sweet Hermana Gonzalez and we had just spent two hours shoveling snow to be able to get our car out of the parking lot. Now that I think about it we took a route that we don't usually take to get to the store because initially we were planning on going somewhere else but that didn't work out. So on the way we see a car that was trying to leave their driveway but was stuck halfway in the street. We stopped at the next street we could, grabbed our shovels from the trunk, and ran over to the stuck car to help them out. Maria was outside trying to push the car so we joined her and the three of us were able to get the car out of the snow! Afterwards we helped her shovel some more of her driveway and we were able to talk a little about what we do as missionaries. We got her contact information and planned to visit her again! Well Hermana Dowdle and I finally got in contact with her on Friday! We just went to her house to see if she was home and she recognized us right away and let us in! We taught her the Restoration and she seemed to understand everything really well. We invited her to be baptized when she feels ready and she said yes! It was so awesome! Another cool thing is that before we even started teaching her she was saying how she was glad we came because she's been wanting to come to church! She couldn't come yesterday because she was doing something with her kids but hopefully she'll be there next time! 

We had another sweet experience when we were knocking this week. So it was towards the end of the night and of course this sweet family was the last door we knocked. We wanted to try a new approach for when people answered the door so we decided to invite them to watch the short video, Because of Him, after introducing ourselves (Elder Drebing suggested this to me). They agreed and were so attentive to the video. I could feel the Spirit so strong. After the video we testified of Jesus Christ and the importance of our message, then asked if this was something they wanted to learn more about. The woman looked at her children then back at us and said "yes." We're so excited to see them again this week! It was so adorable because they live on the top floor of their building, and the children went to the window to wave to us as we were walking away. 

This week was just full of experiences like that. It was amazing! The Lord is just so good to us. I'm so excited to see what is in store for this week! We're going to work so hard! It is also the last week of the transfer. I Dowdle (doubt) I'll stay here for another but I'll let everyone know what happens next week after we get the text on Saturday. Find out what happens next time on Hermana Knowles: Missionary in Chicago! STAYED TUNED! Haha I think I'm so clever with my cliffhangers. Man ya'll are friends/family with such a dork. 

Anyway! La iglesia es verdadera! Testifico que nuestro Padre Celestial y Jesucristo viven y que nos aman. Soy un testigo de las bendiciones que este evangelio trae. Me encanta mi misión. Me encanta servir a otros. Me encanta el Libro de Mormón. Yo se que es la palabra de Dios, sin duda! Y quiero invitar a todos a leer este libro. Yo se que puede cambiar su vida y si lo haga, prometo que va a tener una relación fortalecido con nuestro Padre Celestial y Su Hijo Jesucristo. Se que aquí en esta misión es donde mi Padre Celestial me necesita y estoy tan feliz para tener esta oportunidad de servir. Todavía estoy aprendiendo muchas cosas y también estoy muy agradecida por estas experiencias que me ayudan a crecer. Gracias por todo que ustedes hacen para mi! Les quiero mucho!

(English Translation: The church is true! I testify that our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ live and love us.  I am a witness of the blessings that this gospel brings.  I love my mission.  I love serving others.  I love the book of Mormon.  I know that it is the word of God, without doubt!  And I want to invite everyone to read this book.  I know that it can change your life and if you do, I promise that you will have a stronger relationship with our Heavenly Father and his son Jesus Christ.  I know that in this mission is where my Heavenly Father needs me and I am so happy to have this opportunity to serve.  I am still learning many things and I am also very grateful for these experiences that help me grow.  Thanks for all that you do for me.  I love you very much.)

Mantener la Sonrisa,

Hermana Knowles 

I LOVE this song! I remember the ward choir sang it at my farewell :)

Himno de batalla de la República

1.	Mis ojos ya perciben la gran gloria del Señor,
	cuando Él esté venciendo la maldad y el error.
	Ya desnuda Su espada cual un rayo de furor;
	avanza Su verdad.
	¡Gloria, gloria, aleluya!
	¡Gloria, gloria, aleluya!
	¡Gloria, gloria, aleluya!
	Avanza Su verdad.
2.	He leído la palabra que enseña la verdad
	que según el hombre siembre, eso mismo segará,
	y Jesús a la serpiente la cabeza herirá,
	y Dios avanzará.
	¡Gloria, gloria, aleluya!
	¡Gloria, gloria, aleluya!
	¡Gloria, gloria, aleluya!
	Avanza Su verdad.
3.	Ha llamado a la carga y no retrocederá.
	A los hombres que lo siguen Jesucristo probará.
	¡Oh, sé presta, pues, mi alma a seguirle donde va!
	Pues Dios avanza ya.
	¡Gloria, gloria, aleluya!
	¡Gloria, gloria, aleluya!
	¡Gloria, gloria, aleluya!
	Avanza Su verdad.
4.	Fue allende de los mares que el Rey Jesús nació,
	y con perfección sublime Él la luz a todos dio.
	Sed valientes, pues, vosotros y luchad cual Él luchó.
	Pues Dios avanza ya.
	¡Gloria, gloria, aleluya!
	¡Gloria, gloria, aleluya!
	¡Gloria, gloria, aleluya!
	Avanza Su verdad.

Me and Poky

Bagels for lunch.

Tengo gozo en mi alma hoy

Hola familia y amigos!

We had exchanges on Tuesday! I love exchanges! I was able to go to Logan Square with Hermana Kohlhase while Hermana Dowdle stayed in our area with Hermana Hammond. I had such a great time with Hermana Kohlhase! We learned a lot from each other and we definitely saw miracles. One of my favorite parts was when we went to visit a less active member who doesn't remember a whole lot about the church and usually isn't very interactive when it comes to missionary messages. So for our lesson we focused on the Restoration of the Gospel and towards the end of the lesson I asked her what it meant to her that all these things are true. She said she wasn't sure and instead asked me the same question. I looked right into her eyes and bore my testimony of the truthfulness of this gospel and the innumerable blessings it has brought into my life. The Spirit was so strong and this woman's eyes were locked on mine the entire time I was speaking and I knew that the Spirit touched her heart too. THEN, we were on our way to visit a member and we were running late BUT we made a goal that morning to talk to EVERYONE so we did that on the way. As we were passing out cards Hermana Kohlhase looked through the window of this apartment lobby that we were by and saw another member from the ward! She motioned us to come in so we went to say hi to her and she wanted to show us her new apartment that she had just moved into that day. It was so funny we were like, "Hermana we don't have time we're running late to an appointment." Then she said, "That's ok let me show you my new apartment!" This lady is so adorable, so of course we checked out her new apartment. Then she was telling us that she was going to sleep in her old apartment that night because they hadn't moved the furniture yet, but her daughter took her phone with her so she had no way of contacting anyone to get a ride back home. So good thing we were talking to EVERYONE because then she was able to use our phone and get someone to come pick her up rather than be stranded in her new apartment! Blessings all over the place! 

We had an awesome district meeting on Wednesday! This past week we really focused on Chapter 4 of Preach My Gospel: How Do I Recognize and Understand the Spirit? So we did the activity where someone is blindfolded and they have to follow someone's voice (aka the SPIRIT) to find an object hidden in the room. So Elder Yeates was blindfolded and he was trying to find this little toy panda that we pinned to the ceiling. So of course the "Spirit" told him he needed to get on a chair so he would be able to reach the panda and eventually he reached his goal. It was awesome relating this activity to how the Spirit guides us in missionary work. Sometimes the Spirit will tell us to do things we're not so comfortable with at first, like getting on a chair while blindfolded or talking to a stranger and inviting them to learn about the gospel, but that is how we will learn and find success. Without the Spirit this work is impossible. 

On Thursday we went to volunteer at a food pantry! So that was pretty cool. We'll probably go back this Thursday too. Saturday I got to play piano at a baptism that the Elders had! It was awesome! I love baptismal services. The Spirit is always so strong and it always touches my heart to see the joy of these people who have taken this step to draw closer to our Savior. 

I absolutely loved yesterday. Fast Sunday! We had an awesome, spirit filled testimony meeting that I really enjoyed. I really liked something Hermano Alvarado said, "No preocupe por ser perfectos, pero preocupe por ser mejores." Don't worry about being perfect, but worry about being better. So simple, so powerful! I love it! Then we had dinner with Elder and Sister Christensen! They're the new senior missionaries serving in the office! Time just FLEW with them! They're so sweet! We probably would have talked all night if we could! 

Anyway, this was my week! I'm so excited for tomorrow because we have a MISSION wide meeting with Elder Zwick from the seventy who will address us! Well I hope everyone is doing well! I want the world to know that I know this church is true! This is the Church of Jesus Christ and it has blessed and continues to bless my life immensely. The Atonement of Jesus Christ is very real. I'm so thankful for this time I have to be an official representative of the Savior and to help others have this joy as well. I love you all so very much and I hope you have a great week! 

Alma 29:9-10

Mantener la sonrisa :)

Hermana Knowles

I don't really keep track of what hymns I've already shared so sorry if I repeat some! Haha I love this song! There is Sunshine in My Soul Today! ...and hey there's sunshine outside today too! Blessings all over the place x2! I love Chicago! 

146

Tengo gozo en mi alma hoy

1.	Tengo gozo en mi alma hoy,
	que brilla mucho más
	que el sol con todo su fulgor,
	pues Cristo es mi luz.
	Tengo gozo en mi alma,
	donde todo es amor y paz
	y Cristo reina con amor;
	tengo gozo y solaz.
2.	Un canto en mi alma hay,
	canción al Rey Jesús,
	que Él escucha con amor,
	brindándome Su luz.
	Tengo gozo en mi alma,
	donde todo es amor y paz
	y Cristo reina con amor;
	tengo gozo y solaz.
3.	Primavera en mi alma hay,
	y cerca Dios está,
	y en mi corazón, la paz
	que siempre Él me da.
	Tengo gozo en mi alma,
	donde todo es amor y paz
	y Cristo reina con amor;
	tengo gozo y solaz.
4.	Alegría en mi alma hay,
	y siempre gran amor
	Por bendiciones que me da,
	a Él daré loor.
	Tengo gozo en mi alma,
	donde todo es amor y paz
	y Cristo reina con amor;
	tengo gozo y solaz.

 

 

Jesús es mi luz

February 23, 2015

Hola! 

This week went rather swell! We have a new investigator. Her name is Martha and she was a former investigator that we saw in our records so we decided to pay her a visit. When we stopped by she was home and let us in! We sat down and shared with her the Restoration and we had a good conversation about the church. She is really cool! We set an appointment to come back on Thursday so we're looking forward to it! 

Of course we went to visit Camerina in the nursing home on Tuesday and it was lovely as usual. It was especially cool because the lady she shares a room with also loves when we come. Every time we sing to Camerina, the other lady adjusts herself so she can see us too! It's so sweet! 

So it got pretty cold on Thursday. It was so cold we got a text from the APs saying that if we didn't have any appointments we should stay inside. Well ...good thing we had appointments! I feel like we got pretty lucky though because by the time we had to leave to our first appointment it wasn't very windy at all and that's what makes it really cold. On Thursday night we were able to have dinner with the TAGGARTS! I absolutely LOVE the Taggarts. They're one of the senior couples that serve in the office and they're just so adorable. It was really fun talking with them and getting to hear the story of how they met and their backgrounds and all that. 

On Friday we had a sisters conference for the mission! All the sisters met at the Hyde Park building (Fun Fact: Obama has played basketball there!) and we talked about discovering and using our talents. It was so cool to discuss how Heavenly Father has blessed us each so individually and specifically and how we can use these spiritual gifts to bless others. 

Well those are the highlights from the week. Sorry this email isn't as long as most! I'm really looking forward to this upcoming week and for the miracles that are in store. I'm looking forward to sharing my testimony with more people, to new experiences, to learning new things, and to another week of living the dream. I know this church is true. It has blessed my life and I'm out here sharing what I know that it may bless the lives of others. I love being a missionary, I love the Lord, and I love my Father in Heaven. I hope everyone has a great week! I invite you all to seek for opportunities this week to share your testimony! And if you have any cool experiences, tell me about it! I love you all and please always remember to...

Keep smiling! 

Hermana Knowles :) 

42

Jesús es mi luz

1.	Jesús es mi luz, y no temeré.
	Él es mi poder; solaz yo tendré.
	Él es quien me salva de mal y dolor,
	y sé que yo siempre tendré Su amor.
	Jesús es mi luz;
	mi gozo es, y canción,
	y siempre jamás me guía,
	sí, a Sión.
2.	Jesús es mi luz, y ̮en oscuridad
	la fe que yo tengo, a Él buscará.
	Donde ̮Él reina siempre hay gloria y amor.
	¿Porqué entonces he de quedar en error?
	Jesús es mi luz;
	mi gozo es, y canción,
	y siempre jamás me guía,
	sí, a Sión.
3.	Jesús es mi luz; Él es mi poder,
	y con Su amor podré yo vencer.
	Mis faltas, con gracia Él puede borrar;
	andando por fe fuerzas he de cobrar.
	Jesús es mi luz;
	mi gozo es, y canción,
	y siempre jamás me guía,
	sí, a Sión.
4.	Jesús es mi luz, amor y solaz,
	y huye el error de ante Su faz.
	Él es mi bendito Amparo y Rey;
	con santos y ángeles le honraré.
	Jesús es mi luz;
	mi gozo es, y canción,
	y siempre jamás me guía,
	sí, a Sión.

Hermana Hammond is so awkward haha she's so great! (Far left)

CCM Hermanas reunited!