You'll Have to Forgive Me and Finally Up to Date

 "You'll Have to Forgive Me"

Okay so this is for the week of Monday the 26th.  I've been so far behind because I've been going literally insane lol.  My mission has been changed and won't be back to normal!  This gmail is going to be a little different than normal though.  So on September 17th I hurt my knee playing basketball.  We still don't know exactly what is wrong with it and we don't know what the future holds for me and my service.  I have an MRI scheduled for Wednesday so I'm excited to just finally see what the next steps are.  I feel like a kid on Christmas Eve!  Lol.  I wanted to talk about trials and how overcoming them changes us and leads us into a new life.  Trials come at us in all shapes and sizes, but they ALWAYS come, and just when you feel like you've conquered one, you get hit by another.  This is the wonderful pattern called life.  I love the idea that success is when preparation meets opportunity.  When we have prepared for what comes our way, we are more likely to conquer opportunity (I like to think of trials as opportunities) as I've been pondering why my leg just HAD to get hurt, I still don't know what the Lord's plan is for me, but I do know that I have prepared for this, and I know that whatever happens is because the Lord knows what is best for me.  I promise each of you that if you start now to prepare for your upcoming "opportunities" you will have a new perspective where you will find new ways to overcome and conquer the trials in your lives. (INVOLVE GOD!!)  Trust in Him, His timing and His reasons.  It will always work out better that way.

On a good note, Denaisha got baptized on the 25th!  I'm so pumped for her and I had the wonderful opportunity to be the one to give her the gift of the Holy Ghost and confirm her a member!  It was a very spiritual and sacred experience.  I love the change I've seen in her life and I'm excited to see the lives she'll change!  Until next time, Love Yinz!!

-NSJK

(Week of Oct. 3, 2022)  "Finally Up to Date"

What a wild run... It's been literally so crazy the last little bit but this week was extra special. I really loved General Conference and I hope each of you had the opportunity to tune in!  Just a quick update... I got an MRI and I tore my ACL and Lateral and Medial Meniscus.  I've been trying to get strength and stability so I can start walking again soon.  I've had a lot of prayer and conversations and I've come to the decision that I need to continue serving right now.  It's really hard, and would probably be easier to just go home and get a surgery, but I'm going to try and keep serving until I can't anymore or until I finish!

Beef of the Week!: This week my beef is with the guys that called us during the Saturday Evening session.  I mean we had good conversations with them and it was really cool, but they couldn't have called at another time!?  I was enjoying conference

Babe of the Week!: Lowkey Ronald A. Rasband was so fire this weekend.  His talk held a special place in my heart this weekend as I've been trying lately to use the Book of Mormon in every contact I have with people.  His talk was very good for me to hear and made me super excited to keep working! 

Spiritual Thought!: I don't even know where to start.. But I do know that a big takeaway I got from Conference was Personal Revelation.  I know that the power of Personal Revelation is real and your life can and will be changed forever if you can learn how to receive and understand personal revelation.  Some things I've done that have really helped me understand how to recognize it is reading chapter 4 in Preach my Gospel and reading 2 Nephi 32.

Homies in Oakland!: We've suspended teaching a lot of friends lately, but we've been working hard trying to find new friends to teach and we've actually been meeting a LOT of cool people!  Peter, Andy, Mehar, and so many others!  The work truly is moving forward, but the members need to be involved!  (I'll talk more about this next week) 

Have a great week!  I love you all!

-NSJK