Dios Vive

September 21, 2015

Hola familia y amigos!

Gabriel is someone we've been teaching since I got here. This man has so much faith and truly loves God. When I first came into the area he had only been taught a few times and had also attended church a couple times. At first we met with him once a week but we realized that the date he committed to be baptized was coming up fast. When we met with him Tuesday of this week we asked him if he remembered his baptismal date and he said, "Isn't it this Saturday?" We asked him if he still wanted to be baptized on that day and he said yes. Gabriel met with us everyday this week so we could share with him everything we had to teach. The gospel just made sense to him and each lesson he would share his testimony with us about the things we taught. It wasn't hard to tell that Gabriel has such a sincere desire to follow the Savior. His baptism on Saturday was awesome! After the ordinance Gabriel shared his testimony with everyone and the spirit was so strong. At first he talked about how it was pretty much a miracle that the missionaries were able to contact him in the first place because he had recently changed his phone number but somehow we had the right one even though he remembers giving the missionaries his old number. He said, "It was no coincidence, it was just God working." 

We also participated in a tri-ward youth activity on Wednesday. It was a carnival in the gym and there were a few booths for the missionaries and everything else was games. At the end of the carnival there was a devotional about how we use our agency. It was pretty cool and really well done. 

I don't have much more to mention from the week. Most of it was working with Gabriel and preparing everything for Saturday. Hermana Mendieta and I are working really hard here and we have a couple new investigators that we're excited about! Our teaching pool has gradually been increasing since I got here and it's been such a huge blessing. Heavenly Father continues to amaze me each day. At the end of our companionship inventory for the week some words came out of my mouth that touched me and I'm pretty positive it wasn't me but from the Spirit. We were talking about having faith and I said, "Nothing in missionary work can be ruined. Plans may change but that means new opportunities are presented. Heavenly Father is in the details." I know that this is the work of the Lord. I have absolutely no doubt about that and I am so thankful for that knowledge. There are people who are prepared for the gospel at this time and Heavenly Father will present the path for his servants so that we can bring the gospel to them. I believe that we can look at this quote from a day to day perspective too. I know He is in the details of our lives. I love this gospel. I know it's true. I know we have a Savior and Father in Heaven who love us ever so deeply and have prepared a way that we may return to live with them again. I love you all and hope everyone has a great week! 

Mantener la sonrisa,

Hermana Knowles

Dios vive

1.	Dios vive ̮y sé que es mi Padre Celestial,
	y el Espíritu me dice que ̮esto es verdad; me dice que ̮es verdad.
2.	Al mundo me mandó a ̮obedecer por fe,
	y el Espíritu me testifica que podré; me dice que podré.

Gabriel's Baptism

Minnie Mouse birthday party!

Hermana Guardado doesn't kid around when it comes to playing Jenga.

La Iglesia de Jesucristo

September 14, 2015

Hola familia y amigos!

So the ward had a Noche Latina on Saturday night and it turned out great! We even had two of our investigators come and they loved it too! They're a husband and wife, Lucrecia and Daniel, and they're hilarious. The whole night Lucrecia was chatting it up with all the missionaries and her and her husband were kind of obsessed with taking pictures with all of us too. Later there was a talent portion of the evening and my companion went up and performed a traditional Mexican dance and she did great! I was definitely not planning on doing anything but just a few minutes beforehand one of the members came up to me and asked if I would participate. She was like, "One of the Hermanas brought a guitar will you go up and sing?" Como no Hermana! Good thing I had all those hymns burned into my memory from last transfer. So the Noche Latina was definitely a success.

On Sunday a little boy the elders have been teaching got baptized! I always love the spirit I can feel at baptismal services. After the baptism and confirmation was over one of the elders told me that he had a really cool experience as he was standing in the circle when the boy was receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost. He said, "It was so cool because I felt the spirit so strong. I first felt it in my heart and it might sound weird but later I felt it super strong through my arm as it rested on his head." I guess you could say the church is true or something. We're hoping to have another baptismal service in a couple weeks so I'll keep you all updated about that. 

We had two very sweet miracles on Sunday! #2newinvestigators. Kind of a long story. Not sure maybe I guess we'll find out. So last week Hermana Mendieta and I spent a good amount of time street contacting and met a nice old Mexican man named Daniel! Well we had a return appointment with him the next day so we went and of course he was nowhere to be found. So we do what any good missionary would do and knock around the building we found him. Well from that we met Miriam! Shes a younger lady who just lives with her daughter and she's very sweet. We set up a return appointment with her which was yesterday! So we stop by for our appointment and old Mexican Daniel in his sombrero is just hanging out by his garage again so we asked if he would still be there after we finished our appointment with Miriam and he said yes. Then we had our first lesson with Miriam and it was awesome! She's super willing to learn and see what we're all about. After her we go outside and Daniel is waiting for us with a couple plastic chairs so we could sit and teach him! He was just asking all the PRIME questions. Why are there so many churches? How can I know which one is true? Well, we will gladly tell you sweet Mexican Daniel! He loved it! Also I just want to express my gratitude for the opportunity to teach Mexicans the gospel because I can relate the apostasy to eating only half of your taco and then when Joseph Smith comes around you can finish the other half and IT MADE PERFECT SENSE TO HIM. Again I feel it would be appropriate to mention here that the church is true my friends! 

Well I hope everyone has a great week! I sure love what I do and I'll say it a third time, I know this gospel is true! I know we have a loving Heavenly Father and Savior who care ever so deeply about every little thing in our lives. I love them and I love each of you. Until next Monday!

Keep Smiling,

Hermana Knowles

La Iglesia de Jesucristo

1.	Yo soy de La Iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de los Últimos Días.
	Yo sé quien soy; sé el plan de Dios. Lo seguiré con fe.
	Creo en Jesucristo el Salvador. Su nombre honraré.
	Lo bueno haré, iré tras Su luz, Su verdad proclamaré.

Viví en los Cielos

September 7, 2015

Hola familia y amigos!

Well it was quite the first week serving here in Gurnee! There is definitely a ton of work to do here and Hermana Mendieta and I are off to a great start! So a little more info about my new companion since I didn't really know her too well to say much last week: Her name is Hermana Mendieta and she is from Puebla, Mexico! She was born and raised there and came to the United States a little over a year and a half ago to go to college and learn English. She went to Utah State so that's pretty cool! 

So this area is basically poppin. We have some awesome investigators, two of which are on date for baptism and we're hoping for three by the end of this week! This past week we've been doing a lot of teaching, organizing things in the area, finding, and I've been able to meet quite a few members too. The members here are great! They're pretty concerned about making sure we are getting fed so don't you fret momma we're in good hands. Although I'm sure if that wasn't the case my tortilla consumption to this point could sustain me for quite some time if needed haha. 

We were at the church on Thursday night doing our weekly planning and some of the youth were there too for mutual. It was cool to get to meet a few of the young women in the ward. They got together to practice what they will be performing for La Noche Latina that the ward will be having on Sarurday. While we were planning we heard one of them playing guitar and singing so we went to watch for a few minutes and they're so talented! My companion will also be doing a traditional Mexican dance for the activity so that'll be sweet.

Let's see what else. One of the days this week we had a lot of open time so Hermana Mendieta and I did some good ol street contacting around one of the busier roads in the area. We talked to a lot of really nice people and got two confirmed return appointments from that. So that's pretty neat! I'll keep you all updated if that gets more exciting. Also! Yesterday after an appointment with a member we were heading to the car and saw a sweet older couple sitting outside their house so we went to talk to them and they invited us to sit with them to talk more. We had a pretty great conversation with them that lead into the restoration of the gospel. At the end they seemed interested in the Book of Mormon and since we were right by the car I ran over to get one but we just gave away the last one we had the day before. Luckily the relief society president lives across the street so we knocked on her door and she had an extra copy we could use. It worked out great! THEN, later that night we went to go pick up a cd and a skirt from some members and when we got out of the car I saw their neighbor in the window and waved at them and she waved back with a big smile on her face. Then as we were walking passed her house she came out to say hi and she ended up mistaking me for someone else. She was like, "You look just like my friend! That was the only reason I came outside." Long story short we were able to talk a little about the gospel and were planning on meeting with her later this week!

Oh yeah! I guess transfer meeting was a good time! President threw in a tender curveball and asked Hermana Warnock and I to go up and sing, "Where Can I Turn for Peace?" He let us each pick one person to come up and help us so we invited Elder Sami and Sister Fangupo and it turned out great :) Overall it was a great meeting and there were a lot of new missionaries so that was fun to see! It was hard when it was time to finally head our separate ways because I'm kind of obsessed with Chicago 2nd and I absolutely love Hermana Anderson to pieces, but I know that this is the work of the Lord and He sends His missionaries to specific places for specific reasons all to bless the lives of our brothers and sisters and bring them the joy of the gospel. I can't think of a greater gift to give, or motivation to serve than that knowledge. I know this gospel is true. I know we have a loving Father in Heaven and Savior who would go to any means to let us know they're aware and that there is a divine plan that we can each follow to return to live with them again. 

Speaking of this divine plan I just wanted to share something I got out of my personal study the other day. I was reading Mosiah chapter 18 where Alma is preaching the gospel to the people by the waters of Mormon. I love the famous verses that talk about what it truly means to be a disciple of Christ when it says "mourning with those that mourn and comforting those that stand in need of comfort," and of course as he goes on to talk about the invitation of baptism. I would have to say though that the verse that follows is my favorite. After Alma finishes his message it says in verse 11, "And now when the people had heard these words, they clapped their hands for joy, and exclaimed: This is the desire of our hearts." Can you think of another time when a group of people were so excited about the gospel? I imagine we all reacted in a similar way when Heavenly Father presented the Plan of Happiness to us in the pre-mortal life before we came to earth. Clapping our hands and rejoicing at the opportunity to come to earth to receive a body and participate in those earthly experiences that would help us become more like our Great Exemplar. Something I considered after reading this is that I suppose it would just make sense to rejoice in a similar way when we make decisions and take steps here on earth to fulfill that great plan such as baptism as the righteous people at the waters of Mormon demonstrated. 

This reminds me of a quote by President Packer found in Preach My Gospel, "A teacher of gospel truths is not planting something foreign or even new into an adult or a child. Rather, the missionary or teacher is making contact with the Spirit of Christ already there." I love this Gospel. It's so perfect! I would invite everyone to think of the joy they experienced the day of their baptism or any other personal experience you've had related to the Gospel, then think of someone you know that has yet to experience such joy that you can share your testimony with. 

I love you all and I hope everyone has a great week! 

Keep smiling,

Hermana Knowles

Viví en los cielos

1.	Yo en los cielos viví y amé, cierto es,
	a las personas que ̮ahora conozco, traté
	y nuestro Padre un plan presentó con bondad
	para salvarnos con Él en la eternidad.
2.	Dios requería que ̮un hijo capaz de amar
	diera su vida y ̮a todos quisiera salvar.
	“Quiero la gloria” ̮insistió Lucifer con maldad;
	dijo Jesús: “Padre, hágase tu voluntad”.
3.	Dios eligió a Jesús y ̮el Mesías nació;
	para salvarnos sufrió, luego resucitó.
	La puerta ̮abrió para darnos oportunidad
	de vivir otra vez en Su mansión celestial.

Comp can you back me up? Introducing team Knowles & Mendieta

This is Hyrum an adorable two year old that already knows his abcs! #presh

Allí Donde Hay Amor

August 31, 2015

Hola familia y amigos! 

This past week in Cicero was quite exciting! Hermana Anderson and I kept pretty busy with our investigator Briana, finally finishing heart attacking all the members in our area, reorganizing things, a bbq at a nursing home where one of our members lives, and more!

Saturday was just full of anticipation waiting to see what would happen this transfer. We ended up getting a call and I'm finally leaving the land of Cicero and on to bigger and better things. I'm way excited but I'm not going to lie, that call definitely tore my heart out a little. I love this area I love this ward and I most certainly love my companion! Sunday we basically just went around visiting members so I could say bye and take pictures and of course Hermana Anderson and I sang to each of them as well! 

Today has been pretty busy too saying bye to more people, packing, and cleaning the apartment. Well I've heard nothing but great things about my new area! ***drumroll*** I will be serving on the north side in Gurnee, Illinois! I cannot remember my new companions name at the moment but I met her at sisters conference and she's awesome! I'm pretty sure she just started her mission a couple transfers ago and her family is from Mexico so Spanish is her first language. I'm really excited to serve with her and for all the things that are in store in my new area. 

This gospel is true! I know it with all my heart. I love being a missionary and I love this work. I know that it is not mine but the Lord's work and He is in the very details. I love you all so much and hope everyone has a great week! Sorry this email is pretty short I'll try to send a more detailed one next week. 

Keep smiling, 

Hermana Knowles

102

Allí donde hay amor

Las primeras dos estrofas se cantan separadas y después juntas con el tercer final.
1.	(Niñas) Veo ̮a mi madre ̮hincarse cada día en mi ̮hogar;
	escucho sus palabras cuando se ̮inclina a ̮orar.
	Sus ruegos al Padre calman mi temor
	y yo doy gracias pues allí hay amor.
2.	(Niños) A toda hora ̮hay en mi ̮hogar
	de Dios bendiciones sin cesar;
	papá y mamá me guían al bien,
	me ̮enseñan siempre ̮a obedecer,
	y ̮es tan claro cuanto ̮aprendo yo
	pues lo ̮hacen con amor.
3.	(Tercer final) A menudo siento ̮al Salvador,
	allí donde ̮hay amor.

El Espíritu de Dios

August 24, 2015

Hola familia y amigos! 

On Friday we had a conference for all the sisters in the mission! It was great! Before I forget this was a video they showed us and I just love it so I want to invite all of you to watch it :). 

https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2015-01-010-strive?lang=eng

We talked a lot about the young women values: Faith, divine nature, individual worth, knowledge, choice and accountability, good works, integrity, and virtue. One of my favorite things that was shared was a story in the first class we went to. One of the sisters shared an experience about when she was struggling on her mission and how she pleaded with our Heavenly Father in prayer and just asked Him to help her be a better missionary, a better servant, a better representative of His Son, Jesus Christ. She said as she was there kneeling and pondering the words of comfort that came to her mind were, "you are my daughter first." Sometimes we may feel like we have a lot on our plate or that we have to live up to a standard that is out of our reach. Perhaps we just have to take a minute to pause and remember our divine nature that each of us are sons and daughters of a loving FATHER in Heaven and that we can turn to Him for anything and receive comfort that only He can provide. I loved that message and I invite each of you to think about what that statement means to you personally, that you are His son or daughter FIRST. :)

We had a pretty awesome lesson yesterday after church with a part member family! It was a mom (returning member), husband (investigator), daughter (investigator), and grandma (returning member). How cool is that? After sacrament meeting we taught them the restoration with hermano and hermana Villegas which went really well! Please pray for them that they can keep progressing! This is the Tellez Family. They have definitely stolen a piece of my heart.

Sorry this email isn't too detailed but I hope everyone is doing great! I love this work! It is the work of the Lord and I know He is in every detail. This gospel is true. I know that our Father in Heaven loves us so much that He has provided direction for us through a modern day prophet just as He did in times of old. I know the church was restored through the prophet Joseph Smith and through the power of the restored priesthood he was able to translate the Book of Mormon so we could have something that we could physically hold in our hands and study to know the truth of these things for ourselves. I invite anyone who hasn't already to sincerely read and pray about the Book of Mormon. It has changed my life forever and brought me more joy than anything else. 

"3 Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts.

4 And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.

5 And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things."

Moroni 10:3-5 El Libro de Mormón 

I love you all and hope everyone has a great week! 

Keep smiling,

Hermana Knowles

El Espíritu de Dios

1.	Tal como un fuego se ve ya ardiendo
	el Santo Espíritu del gran Creador.
	Visiones y dones antiguos ya vuelven,
	y ángeles vienen cantando loor.
	Cantemos, gritemos, con huestes del cielo:
	¡Hosanna, hosanna a Dios y Jesús!
	A ellos sea dado loor en lo alto,
	de hoy para siempre, ¡amén y amén!
2.	Aumenta ̮el Señor nuestro entendimiento;
	tal cual al principio nos da Su poder.
	El conocimiento de Dios se extiende;
	el velo del mundo se ve descorrer.
	Cantemos, gritemos, con huestes del cielo:
	¡Hosanna, hosanna a Dios y Jesús!
	A ellos sea dado loor en lo alto,
	de hoy para siempre, ¡amén y amén!
3.	Haremos con fe asambleas solemnes;
	el reino de Dios vamos a extender;
	y las bendiciones y glorias del cielo
	como ̮una herencia podremos tener.
	Cantemos, gritemos, con huestes del cielo:
	¡Hosanna, hosanna a Dios y Jesús!
	A ellos sea dado loor en lo alto,
	de hoy para siempre, ¡amén y amén!
4.	¡Qué día dichoso en que los leones
	con mansos corderos se acostarán!
	En paz Efraín gozará bendiciones,
	y Cristo, en gloria, del cielo vendrá.
	Cantemos, gritemos, con huestes del cielo:
	¡Hosanna, hosanna a Dios y Jesús!
	A ellos sea dado loor en lo alto,
	de hoy para siempre, ¡amén y amén!

¿Pensaste Orar?

Hola familia y amigos!

So Lucy is someone that I've been working with off and on since I got to this area. She's super great and has a lot of faith. Recently she's been going through a few hard things so we invited her to receive a priesthood blessing and she accepted! The Elders along with Hermano Lopez came with us a few days later and she received a blessing. Well Lucy usually works on Sunday's but she really has a sincere desire to attend church. Since she couldn't go to church she told her sister to check it out! And SHE CAME. She stayed for all 3 hours and seemed to really like it! We talked with her afterwards and she said she was interested in learning more so we set up an appointment with her for Wednesday! I'm so excited about that! 

We had dinner with the Ocampo family this week too. They're so funny it's great! I just wanted to mention how hilarious I think their dog is. First of all he's this tiny, fat, black and white chihuahua. And this is my favorite part, his name is Mr. Bean! Not too sure why I felt like sharing that pero de todos modos, you're welcome.

We had an activity at the church where we basically put on a play about the tree of life. It was alright! The picture I sent is of my companion putting lights on it it turned out really cool! And yes the elders may or may not have cut down a tree by the railroad tracks for this activity. 

We're working with an AWESOME part member family right now! The mom is the only member and her 8 year old daughter is on date for baptism and we're hoping to start teaching her with her dad soon! This family is such a miracle! We also found the moms sister and are now meeting with her too to help her come back to church. I love them so much! 

There's a lot more I could talk about but I don't have a ton of time today. I hope everyone is doing good! I love this gospel and I know without a doubt that it is true! 

Keep smiling,

Hermana Knowles

81

¿Pensaste orar?

1.	¿Con fervor orar pensaste
	al amanecer?
	¿Suplicaste por la gracia
	y amparo este día
	en tu oración?
	¡Qué reposo al cansado
	es la ̮humilde oración!
	Trae consuelo al herido,
	paz al corazón.
2.	¿Con fervor orar pensaste
	al enfurecer?
	¿No pediste, mi hermano,
	que, al verte ofendido,
	dieras el perdón?
	¡Qué reposo al cansado
	es la ̮humilde oración!
	Trae consuelo al herido,
	paz al corazón.
3.	¿Con fervor orar pensaste
	al entristecer?
	Cuando lleno de pesares,
	¿a tu Dios le suplicaste
	al amanecer?
	¡Qué reposo al cansado
	es la ̮humilde oración!
	Trae consuelo al herido,
	paz al corazón.

Espero Ser Llamado a Una Misión

Hola familia y amigos!

This week is really quite the blur but it was great! 

We had a pretty fun experience this weekend because we had the opportunity to have a mini missionary with us from Thursday to Sunday! We didn't know that was going to happen until the night before but we're definitely glad we got to be a part of that. Hermana Froelich is so great! She didn't really speak much Spanish but she was able to look past that and dive right into the work with us. At the closing fireside she was able to share her testimony in Spanish and it was so powerful! She was a huge example to Hermana Anderson and I for sure. She's from Indiana so we got to drive out there to bring her back and it was cool to be back in Valparaiso for a couple hours and see a few people I served around when I was in Chicago Heights.

Recently we've been working with a less active/part member family and they are all so cool! It's a huge blessing to be able to visit and teach them. This is la familia Sanchez and they all came to church on Sunday too! Que milagro! We have another appointment with them tonight and were so excited! 

The same day we got our mini missionary was zone conference. At zone conference they introduced this new thing that was installed into our cars called the Tiwi. It pretty much just makes sure we don't drive like maniacs and reports to the office who does. Hermana Anderson wants me to mention that she is not a fan :) but! We're saving lives it's a beautiful thing! 

Exchanges were this week too! 'Twas a beautiful day in Midway with the wonderful Hermana Warnock. We had some sweet experiences together. I think one of my favorites was within the first couple hours. We helped a lady carry groceries to her house and had a pretty great conversation with her on the way. When we got there she invited us in and we got to meet and share a message with her family! It was so awesome! Of course we were also able to sing a lot together throughout the day. One of our last contacts was this sweet man that was watering his garden. He ended up giving us some of his vegetables before we left too! Good times. 

Remember that zone conference I wrote about where we went outside and we were all blindfolded and had to walk toward the music? Well Hermana Anderson and I thought it would be cool to do that same activity with a less active family in the ward for their family home evening. It was a huge success! It was so special to see them act on their faith and blindly walk towards us as we sang "families can be together forever." The mom was the first to make it to us and as soon as she took off her blindfold she gave Hermana Anderson the biggest hug and just cried in her arms because of the spirit she felt. It was so powerful and I'm really thankful for that experience. 

Hermana Anderson and I are most certainly looking forward to this week. We're exercising our faith and have set some high goals that I'm extremely excited about! We're so excited for the miracles Heavenly Father has in store for our area. I love this work! I know this gospel is true and it just makes me so happy to help others come to this knowledge as well. I know that God lives and loves us and I have no doubt in my mind about that. I love being a missionary and I never want this experience to end! I love you all and hope you have a great week! 

Mantener la sonrisa,

Hermana Knowles 

91

Espero ser llamado a una misión

1.	A la misión cuando sea grande,
	espero que me ̮han de llamar.
	Procuraré hallarme listo
	y como misionero ̮actuar y predicar.
2.	Espero compartir con otros
	el Evangelio de verdad.
	Yo quiero ser buen misionero,
	de mi Señor ser siervo en mi juventud.