Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!

Christmas was wonderful!!!!! The best one I've had yet. I truly came to understand and know the true meaning of Christmas, which is our Savior Jesus Christ. I love Him and I am sooo eternally grateful for what He has done for me and what He continues to do for me each day!!!

I am also grateful to be on my mission, helping others to come to know Him better as well. I am staying in this area for another transfer, and I am very excited about it. I don't know who my new companion will be, but I will find out tomorrow when I meet her!!! But I can already tell you that I know she'll be amazing because all of God's children are amazing :)

The people here truly made this Christmas special as well. All the members are so kind to us and they have done so much for us!! GJ7th will always hold a big place in my heart. My companion, Sister Keavali, is getting transferred tomorrow - she's been here for 9 months!!! How crazy is that?? That's literally half her mission in one ward, and I don't think she would change it for a thing. She and I have already planned out when we are going to be coming back here and visiting haha. We gotta come back when the G family goes through the temple, of course!! :D :D We are pretty excited.
On Tuesday night my Zone went caroling!!! It was great. We saw different companionship's investigators and drove around and sang and it was a blast. And I met a goat!!! He was super sweet. I've decided now that I want a pet goat.

Me and my goat friend!

We had dinner with the G family on Christmas Eve, and I got to Skype my family from there!!! It seemed like just a few weeks ago that I was Skyping them on Mother's Day and thinking that Christmas was an eternity away. How strange. Have I mentioned lately how much I love the G family???? Because I just love em a lot.

Christmas Skype!

On Christmas Day we got to go to one of my favorite houses - the H home!!! They feed us every Friday night. I ADORE Sister H. She is sooooo sweet to us and I don't know what I would do without her!!! I got to Skype the Mitchells from there and that was great too. It was weird not being home for Christmas, but at the same time it feels like Colorado has become my home and I can't imagine not spending the Holidays here!!!!!!

Sister Keavali tried to Skype on Christmas day buuuut it didn't work!!! Dang Fiji....so we had to try again on the 26th. It worked, and I got to meet her family and they were all speaking in Fijian and I had no idea what they were saying but it was GREAT. And we got to sing to them in Fijian which was a blast!!! And then at church yesterday, Sister Keavali and the Elders and I sang "If the Savior Stood Beside Me" and Sister Keavali and I sang a verse in Fijian. I'm basically fluent, tbh.

Thank you all for the support you've given me for the past 8 months, and for the continued support you will give me for these next 10 months!!! I can't believe I've almost hit my halfway mark, it just is unreal. Time is so short and we really can't afford to waste a second!!! This year I challenge all of you to take some time to assess how you can make the most of this short time you have on this earth. It really is so quick, but it determines how you will spend the rest of eternity. No pressure!!! Haha :D But really just decide if the things you are doing are bad, or good, or the BEST things you could be doing. Always choose the best!!!

Sister Missionary Fun

I hope you all had an amazing Christmas and that you continue to remember the Savior each day in your life. I love you all!!!!

Sister Koenig

Sorry I haven't written in so long!!!!! and MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THIS WAS AN AMAZING WEEK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Brother G got baptized. IT ACTUALLY HAPPENED. It was incredible!!! There were like 100 people there and the room was packed, plus there were probably thousands of angels present as well because the Spirit was SO STRONG. Sister Keavali and I got to bear our testimonies right before he got baptized and it was just an incredible experience. Brother G's father-in-law baptized him and got him all the way under the first try! Woot woot! And Brother G smacked his head against the wall of the font on the way down....lol. I think that was God giving him one last smack for being so stubborn all these years haha. He has been going to church for 14 years for goodness sake!!! Half the members said "Wait, he's not a member??" when we told them that he was getting baptized :P

So excited!

One of my favorite parts of the baptism though is just how much everyone talked about the temple, and how that is the ultimate goal. I just hope and pray that the G family will feel the Spirit working in their lives this next year to help them make it to the temple as a family, where they can be sealed together for time and all eternity. I am totally going to be here for that, no matter what it takes!!! And I know it will be even more amazing than his baptism.

Next Step: The Temple!

On Friday, we wanted to call Brother G and just let him know how excited and happy we were for the next day. So we decided to write a song for him. Here it is (This is to the tune of "O Christmas Tree"):

Oh Brother G, Oh Brother G, Tomorrow is your baptism!

Oh Brother G, Oh Brother G, We're so excited for your baptism!!!

It is tomorrow at 2, we will be there and so will you!

Oh Brother G, Oh Brother G, Heavenly Father's proud of you!!!!!

Haha isn't that great? We left him a voicemail. Goooood times.

Seriously the best day!

Also this week we have been able to teach about the Savior and His birth and life sooo much!!! Every time we teach members we teach about the Christmas story or watch "He is the Gift" or do a live nativity with them. And every time we talk to people on the street, we talk about the true meaning of Christmas and watch "He is the Gift" with them. It has been an incredible experience for me to truly remember and treasure the true purpose of not only this season, but of life, which is love, hope, peace, joy....all the things that the Savior made possible for us. I love Him so much and I am so eternally grateful for what He has done for us!!! This is the best Christmas I have ever had because I just feel so connected to the Savior and to all those around me. The people here are truly my family and my home away from home. I love all these people, and I love them even more when I get to share the gospel with them.

One thing that I said at the baptism during my testimony was that the true gift of Christmas is the Savior. And what better gift to give back to the Savior than yourself? That is exactly what Brother G did on Saturday - he made sacred covenants with his Heavenly Father that he would follow the Savior, keep His commandments, and always remember Him. Many of you have made those same covenants - so what are you doing this year to more fully follow the Savior and embrace the Gift??

Last night was the Stake Christmas Concert!!! It was phenomenal. A bunch of different people volunteered to perform with their different musical talents. They had a harp, and a trumpet and a violin and singers...it was cool. In between every musical number, the congregation sang hymns together. They had the missionaries all go up and sing The First Noel, which was fun. Also yesterday was the Christmas program for Sacrament meeting, and we didn't have a choir but we had a narrator and then the whole congregation sang together. So there was LOTS of Christmas singing yesterday. I loved it :)

Merry Christmas!!!

This week is Christmas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Can you believe it??? I can't. I feel like I was just celebrating Easter in the MTC!!!! When I first started my mission, it seemed like Christmas was an eternity away and now it's here haha. How did that even happen.

Transfers are also coming up on the 30th!!! Sister Keavali and I have been together for almost 4 months!!! That's crazy. She is for sure being transferred and I should be staying. BUT, we are moving!!! Although I don't know where. Hopefully we find out quickly....that's not stressful at all lol.

I hope you all have the most incredible Christmas EVER!!!!!!!! Thank you for all the support and love you give me, I truly appreciate every one of you!!!!

Love,
Sister Koenig

It's Almost Christmas!!!

Things are good here. On Thursday we had to bring our car into the dealership because it had a bunch of issues and was ridiculous. It was there from 7:30am to 6pm!! We had to walk all day. It was pretty awful haha. I got blisters on my blisters. I understand now why God sent me state-side....I'm a big whiny baby.

We got to do some fun service this week on Saturday - we wrapped presents for the R family, and decorated the Relief Society president’s house for Christmas!! I LOVE CHRISTMAS SO MUCH. Everyone needs to watch Share The Gift and the First Presidency Christmas Devotional!

 Merry Christmas!

Last Monday after p-day was over, we went to a recent convert's house. She is getting married this week on Saturday. Anyway, we saw her on Monday and her future mother-in-law is deaf! And a member. She just moved into this ward. I was able to sign with her a bit - just conversational sign - and she was so excited. Man my sign language is awful though. I haven't signed since I was 17!!! Oy vey. It was fun though. And then she got all excited because since I sign, that would mean she could go to Relief Society. She didn't have an interpreter so she never went, but she was like "Oh you can interpret for me!" and I was like "haha no I can't!!!" buuuuuut she made me anyway..... She's this funny 76-year-old lady and she wouldn't take no for an answer.....So I had to interpret during Relief Society. I have never interpreted before and I think I did an awful job but I learned a lot from her!!! Anyway, I will be learning a lot for the next few weeks while I'm still in this area because I'm going to basically get a one-on-one tutoring session from her each Sunday!!

Today we went to Cafe Rio for lunch. There were these men in white shirts and slacks signing to this other guy. I was glancing at them and one guy with a white shirt looked at me and said "Can I help you guys with something?" (in a mostly nice way) and I said "Oh sorry, I was just zoning out." and then he was like "Wait, can you sign?" and I said "Yeah, kinda" so we started signing and talking and I found out he was a Jehovah’s Witness! Anyway, I talked to him for the next hour about their Bible and the differences between that and King James and it was kind of ridiculous. But interesting. He was the nicest Jehovah’s Witness I have ever met, and he even knew I was Mormon and a missionary and he was still super nice to me! Of course he invited me to learn more about JWs, and gave me his card, but I immediately did the same to him haha. Good times.

We have so much fun!

On Saturday night we were driving around trying names on the part-member family list. There was one name that we didn't recognize, so we decided to try them. We got to the house and realized that it was the house of an older inactive lady that we've seen before. We decided that we might as well try her anyway since we were there. She's single though and the name that was on the PMF list didn't live at that house. So we knock, and ring the door bell - twice. She didn't answer, but she usually is slow getting to the door, and I thought I heard a faint "come in" so I decided to open the door tentatively. We said "Sister D? It's the Sister Missionaries, are you home?" and she said "Yes, I'm over here!" We went in and she was sprawled out on the floor in her kitchen!!! She had fallen just before we got there!! I was TERRIFIED. She is like 86 and not healthy and oh man I was freaking out thinking that she had broken something. We helped her out and got her into bed and she swears that she is alright. She was able to stand up and walk though, and we had some members check on her the next day and she was fine, so I think she's ok... but it was scary. And definitely the Lord working in mysterious ways to get us there! The name that was on the PMF list is apparently her daughter's name, but her daughter hasn't lived there in years. Weird weird weird.

We had a photo shoot with some of the other sisters in our area :)

I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH AND I HOPE YOU HAVE THE BEST WEEK EVER!!!!!!!!!

Love,
Sister Koenig