Kaylee's motto:

AMAZING EXPERIENCE

(mom note: the experience Kaylee is talking about below can be found by just scrolling down in this blog to yesterday's post - i did some cutting a pasting from Sis Turks blog and then added some information and comments - or you can go to the mission blog link over on the right side above Kaylee's picture, then go to the jan 4 post (second one down) and jan 9 post. This has been a great experience for us all!)

From Kaylee

I hope that by now you have all had a chance to see and read Hermana Turks blog!!! WHAT AN AMAZING EXPERIENCE!!!!!

An elder approached me at the leadership training this past week and asked me if I knew a family from Boston named the Saenz. I laughed suspiciously and wondered why. So I said yes and he said Ricardo Saenz is my uncle. I continued to laugh at the connection for quite some time. I was like ‘that’s crazy’. He told me that he talked to his family on Christmas and they told him to look out for an Hermana Sandstrom. Then he said that he only knows the gospel because his uncle Ricardo returned to Columbia to share the gospel with his family. I was then in complete shock. How cool is that! He said your mom is Tammy right? Yes, my cousin’s name is Tammy (after your mom). :) So great!

Elder Barinas in the middle next to me

I was blown away when Elder Barinas told me this story. Wow what an amazing influence you have had on people mom!! If the Saenz had not accepted the gospel from you and listened to you who knows what could have happened. Elder Barinas knows the gospel because of his uncle and is now sharing it with many people here in Peru. So cool. It’s like living an Ensign story.

The whole experience has given me such energy. I have been kind of bummed because we haven’t had a lot of success. But I have learned that I don’t need to convert our whole area; just one person. Look what one person can do. I have learned this lesson through out my whole life. Look at my mom’s example. Look at my dad’s example. Look at Lindsay’s life, she impacted so many!!! And look at my grandparents!! Thanks family!!

This week has been crazy. We have a lot of investigators right now. Its great, but each have their different problems and challenges so it’s tricky managing them all and trying to help each individual one.

We had a miracle this week. We had 8 investigators attend church. What a miracle. (mom note: that was the focus of part of our family's fast yesterday - Kaylee's investigators getting to church. Isn't the gospel awesome.) It was stake conference and so our meeting was at 10, which made a huge difference!! I hope we can get them back again next week and help them have the desire to be baptized. I have really learned that desire is everything.

We received a referral this week from a member and other missionaries- Her name is Paula and she is awesome. She has already been praying and has been reading the Book of Mormon and has lots of questions for us. She knows a lot of members here in Trujillo and wants the happiness and light that they have. Its so cool. Her husband is a very strong catholic, so pray for him. But she is definitely one of the people the lord has prepared for us. She is awesome. She has such a strong desire to learn.

So we almost had a baptism. Juana had her interview this past Saturday and she passed. All she had to do was attend church one more time. and guess what.... she left town Sunday morning.!!!! AHHH:

I’m still on cloud nine with the whole Saenz coincidence, it has really been powerful and such a cool testimony of missionary work.

Much love this week.

H. Sandstrom