My First Week in DC!

Hey everyone!

     I AM IN DC!! Well, actually I am in Oakton, VA!

     I love it here! It is so beautiful! The ward is absolutely incredible. A ward is like a parish. You are assigned a ward based on where you live. We get so much support here as missionaries. Brother Noel our ward mission leader, is a saint. He is an incredible person. We teach so much. My companion and I already have two baptism appointments. Yay! We have been teaching a lot of less-actives too. I love them. They are hilarious and I just want to hang out with them all day. I also teach an ESL program with my companion for people who want to learn English. It's free. I taught two girls from Somalia who never had schooling. It broke my heart because they are SO smart and intelligent but they had to help their brother; so, they never had time for school.

     My companion is Sister Savage. She is from Logan, Utah and has been out for only six months. This is her first time training a missionary (I still have to be trained for 12 weeks, ugh) and my first time being trained soooooo sometimes we have no idea what we are doing. But, that's, okay. 

     I am so glad to be here. It is NOT easy. Actually, this is by far the hardest thing I have ever done. But my favorite quote right now is, "I never said it would be easy, I only said it would be worth it"....so true.

    Obama Update: No sightings, as of yet. But Senator Orrin Hatch and two former Chief of Staff members are in my ward. I am having dinner at the Senator's house in September....so we shall see.

xoxo Sister Kelly

Additional note from Marya and Meredith:

We received a text from Brother Roane Noel.  He is the ward mission leader and wanted to connect with us about Sister Kelly's progress on her first day as a missionary.  Here are his words.

Hello, Brother and Sister Kelly. My name is Brother Roane Noel. I am the ward mission leader in the Oakton Ward (in the Oakton, Virginia Stake). Sister Kelly has been assigned to our ward. We are excited to have her. She and her companion, Sister Savage, seem to be getting along very well. Again, we are grateful to have Sister Kelly. I actually just took them to visit a less-active sister (Sister Rainette Lopez) who just moved into our ward. We helped her unpack her kitchen. She has historically not wanted anything to do with the church, but just recently started accepting some help. Sister Kelly stepped up at a key moment. As Rainette was getting emotional telling us about all her recent challenges, Sister Kelly gave her a hug and said, "Sometimes when we need help, God sends angels. We're here to help you, Rainette!"  Rainette burst into tears and thanked them for being her angels. Rainette agreed to have her church records moved to our ward, and she agreed to meet with the Bishop. Not a bad start for Sister Kelly!