Thursday, January 30, 2014

Jan 27, 2014: Canyon Lake Area


Hola Hola!!! Buenos dias!

      I really don't know what to write because I literally have NO TIME!! so any one that emailed me I will write back to their email!! because I don't have time! sorry!!!!

FIRST THINGS FIRST. NATTYYYYYYY  HAAaPPpYYy BBbIIiRRrTTHday... that got old ahha happy birthday!! I love you so so so much I wish I could be there to hug you! but that's ok next birthday will just be all that better! haha Be expecting a letter. I am sorry I haven't sent it yet, I just didn't know where you were going to be on your birthday ahha. I hope your day is perfect! :) Hey you are pregnant and it's your birthday! Two super cool things haha

This week was really awesome. We have just been visiting SOOOO many members. It just always seems to work out that way. I think it is because the Lord knows if I don't know anyone when I get left here and don't know anyone my stress level would sky rocket!!! So I have been getting close with the members and just feeling the spirit so strong while sharing with them the principles of the gospel!!

I love this church!! It is so true :) It is so amazing and the Lord answers prayers!!!

I love LIFE!!!

love
Hermana koch

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

January 21, 2014: Canyon Lake Area: What a Wonderful World


Hola hola!!!

     This week was soooo wonderful! And I don't really have even that much to report! The mission is just so great and I will have so many stories to tell you when I get home from my journal haha because I just dont have time to write down every thought and feeling.... 

BUT FIRST THINGS FIRST! We made our move! haha "we did it we did it we did it hurray! ya we did it!" 

I feel such a connection to Dora these days... she speaks spanish and she is exploring and trying to save the world in her own little way ahha. Anyway :) So yes we moved..... into an Elder apartment.... its gross. hahha Bless their hearts they are so awesome and they told us they kept it clean and asked us afterwards if it was clean enough and what they could do better! and we told them it was perfectly fine :) Which it was! Just a little different than how we would have it so we did A LOT OF CLEANING and rearranging and decluttering and all that fun stuff. I felt like my lungs were full of dust and the bathroom is not quite there yet but it is on its way!! It really is a beautiful apartment though! 
ok now enough of that this isnt even important haha but yeah sooo... this week! :) 

Well... I don't know where to start ahha life here is so amazing. I have had some beautiful days and great spiritual experiences! We visited a lot of families and it is so great to be in homes and feel the spirit as we all talk about the Gospel of our Savior Jesus Christ!
      One of the families that I absolutely love la familia Ojeda. We have been visiting them a lot and they are wonderful! A friend of their's lives with them his name is Luis and he is so amazing! Hermana Mcleary and Hermana Rowe taught him and he got baptized in December! He is trying to go to the temple in the next two weeks before Hermana Rowe goes home. He has such an incredible testimony. He seems as though he has been a member forever! It is really incredible! Their family is so fun I love them! and I love their spanish! They are from Puerto Rico!
       Another family that I love! The Toro's we went to their house on Sunday and we ate the yummiest food and pina coladas! and they have the funniest love story hahah I love it! They are so so so so so awesome as well!!
      Another family that I LOVE!!!! The Escobar's! They are the best!!! O my goodness. They are so amazing. They are so strong in the church. They are such wonderful examples. Hermano came with us to a lesson during the week and it was amazing! Then on Sunday they asked if we could go to the museum on Monday with them! IT WAS THE BEST PDAY EVER!!!!! It was so fun. I adore their family!! They have the cutest little girls! Their two oldest kind of have the same complection as Kam and Cass and it was so sweet to be with them because I miss the Burch family! haha I love them they are so awesome. 
I loved the museum and I love hermana! She is such a hoot. She is so sweet and so hilarious and super laid back. We were laughing the whole time! It was so cool! We saw HUGE DINOSOURS! THEIR REAL FOSSILS!! and we saw old mummies and incredible things!!! That relate to the bible!!! and the Book of Mormon and we saw PETRIFIED WOOD!! It is sooooo beautiful!! ahhhhhh!!! anyway. It was a great day to say the least! ahha

     I just love all of the families here and I don't have enough time to write about anymore! But the people in this ward are so awesome and welcoming!  Sunday a family we have been visiting that I love so much came to church! It was so great! I love them and we are going to share the Plan of  Salvation with hermana when we go over next I think :) I want the people in this area of Canyon Lakes to have the truth that I have! The truth that God is waiting to give all of us! It is such a beautiful thing that we can continually learn truth throughout our whole lives! 

I love this gospel! I know that prayer is SO REAL. God answers when it is right. 
I love this church so much.
I love my savior so much I will never be able to count all my blessings. 
I love my campanion! 
I love spanish! 
I love the sky! 
I love My God and I love My World that he has created!
 
Love you all so so very much!
Hermana Koch!
 
This is the only picture that would let me download this week. Bummer. 

Monday, January 13, 2014

Jan 13, 2014: Canyon Lake Area: WEEK TWO IN DISNEYLAND:)




So the miracle this week that I decided I wanted to share was about just being a kind and genuinely happy person.
So many things happened this week but it was just really cool to see how the Lord works and plans every little thing :) So on a day during this week we drove up outside a members house because we were going to contact her neighbors, however, the member started reversing out of her driveway! She one way or another convinced us to drive down the street with her to buy a couple of things, we normally wouldn't do that unless there was a missionary purpose behind it! So we told her that we were going to come with her, but we were going to contact people and try to share the gospel. So we went with her and she was really fast and we got to the line to pay, and behind her was a woman that was dressed in scrubs. Hermana Rowe was just super sweet and started making conversation with her about her job and that was it! We were walking out and we bumped into a woman and started talking to her and she is from Equador and we ended up getting the address and name of her grandson who was with her! So it was cool to be able to do that with a member there to experience that side of missionary work!

Well a few days go by and we weren't thinking about it and we went to lunch with a member. That day we weren't speaking english AT ALL, which we are working on doing all the time, but because we were doing that, the member we were with had to translate for us which she really loved and was laughing the whole time. Towards the end of the lunch, we see a woman out of the corner of our eye point at us and go heyyyyy I know you!! And we were kind of like what?? Who is this and then it clicked!!! It was the girl that we talked to about her job! She was so nice and kind! She came over and started talking to us about how she was just talking about us to the men at her work, which her work just happened to be like two buildings away!! and telling them about how she met two girls whiter than her, and then walked past us later and heard us speaking rapid fire Spanish! She was so impressed and we talked to her for a little while and the hermana we were with translated the whole thing and was smiling and they were both laughing and we told her our purpose as missionaries and we exchanged information and she is totally interested and excited! Super cool experience! All because we talked to her and were nice to her! And now we have a new friend that God put into our path twice! And we weren't even going to be there at that time originally but the hermana changed the plans! So it ended up being a really amazing learning experience that we all had together :) What miracles the Lord gives us when we are just trying to be Christ-like to everyone we encounter!!

Our area is doing great!!! I love it here and the ward is amazing! They are so incredible and missionary oriented!! I love being in a ward that gives us referrals before we can even ask sometimes! They are so helpful and supportive :)

I am doing so wonderful :) I am so happy and progressing so much everyday and when I don't, I know why! The Lord is blessing me so much and I can say with more conviction than ever before that I know that Our Savior lives. He is at our side through everything!
Ok so this is the email that I sent to the President this week and decided to copy and paste it because this is what I wanted to share with everyone and I thought it wasn't too personal! haha but ya!

SOOOO THIS WEEK WAS GREAT!!! As always :) We see so many miracles a day and I feel so incredibly blessed! So there is kind of a funny story that goes along with that little miracle though ahha..... SO Hermana M who took us to lunch had to translate us and we all were laughing so hard she definitely had the giggles! It was so great! So the reason behind us not being able to speak ANY ENGLISH AT ALL!! was because we made a deal with the elders in our ward..... Elder Langenbelik and Elder Sinaca. The deal was that whoever spoke spanish first before zone meeting had to cook food for the other companionship... So clearly we did NOT WANT TO LOOSE... anyway, we told hermana M why we weren't speaking english and we decided that she is going to call the elders and only speak english ahhaa (I promise this was her idea!) and we are laughing and like ooooo noooooo soooo we get in the car and she calls them! Elder L answers the phone and she starts talking in english about how she is looking for some missionaries and someone gave her their number and all this stuff and she is barely holding it together and giggling so hard! and then all the sudden we yell, YOU LOOOOOOOSE!!!!!!!!!! and it was SILENT. dead. silent. hhahahha we were sensing confusion and hermana M keeps going and then in the middle of what she was saying says to them, you loose, you spoke english..... and then all the sudden we hear OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH and all of this yelling hahahha and they were soooo mad hahahha they were like that was a low blow. cheap. cheap hermanas you guys are cheaters hahha and we were all laughing and hermana M at this point had been laughing so hard she had tears dripping out of her eyes and so we at first felt bad but came to a good conclusion that this was a good experience for the hermana hahah and the elders were laughing and said it was a good one but then told us that they were going to get back at us but did the same thing and we didn't fall for it hahaha anyway… what's happening I think now is sometime we have to make papusas and they have to make orchata and ya. That was our experience that also got the other elders in our district involved haha and it was just a mess. Anyway it was a really fun week with a lot of cool miracles! We are teaching a few people right now who I absolutely love! but I dont want to say much right now because I don't have much news just some stuff that I probably shouldnt share :)

I love you alllll SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH AND i MISS YOU SOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH!!!
The church is true. I know that Christ lives and watches over us. This work is amazing. If you have any desire to serve. DO IT. YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT!!
Love,
hermana Koch

Houston Texas Mission Christmas photos
big enough for 2 pictures
Lizzie is on the far left with a cream sweater and green dress




Monday, January 6, 2014

Jan 6, 2014: Canyon Lake Area: 6 STEPS ON THE ROAD TO ETERNAL PROGRESSION

New companion, new area, new address. Happy New Years and new beginnings!

Meet Hermana Rowe!

Hi Hi Hi
     Ok soooo everyone in their emails asked me all about my new area and my new companion so I will start with all that jazz!!! Just get ready though for a whole lot of happy obsession because I LOVE HERMANA ROWE!!! Seriously love her so much!! She is from West Jordan Utah and she is the best. She is 25 and was a kindergarten teacher (clearly perfect for me ;)) THIS IS HER LAST TRANSFER! So apparently in mission lingo I am "killing her" or I am her "murderer". I am still not used to that and I really don't like it so I don't think I will succumb to the peer pressure, but ya!!! sooooo I'm a little bit nervous for that because, 1. that means I am left to take over the area for only 6 weeks here and 2. I will have to part with her!!! and that will stink!! 

But this week has been really amazing. I honestly hit my point of focus the second I got into the car with Hermana Rowe. It was so crazy... which lead to one of the most spiritual weeks of my life, which lead to me really actually feeling eternal progression happening! The area here is amazing. It is beautiful and the neighborhoods sometimes look like Utah so you kind of have to get used to it... I am definitely not in Gulfbank anymore... I have not seen one dog. Except at an investigators house haha and the houses here are really nice and really big and most of the people in the ward speak a little bit of English if not fluently so that's different as well! Everyone told me that my area is like DISNEYLAND!! haha and I kept saying.. ok but I lived by Disneyland so I really know what that is like so I highly doubt it.... but then I got here.... THAT WAS THE FIRST THING I SAID! haha this place is like Disneyland! ahha but it's really amazing to be here actually because Hermana Mcleary, Hermana before me was allergic to like gluten and chicken and turkey and all this different stuff so everyone was used to it! so I just had to make a little bit of a modification and they are all good with feeding me so it is such a blessing!! 

I already love the people here they are really really amazing. We taught an investigator the other night and his friend ended up coming out at the end and we told him a brief summary of our message and gave him a Book of Mormon and he and Cesar ended up telling Hermana Rowe and I that we are fluent and that we could pass like we were from Monterey and that we talk as fast as them! So Hermana Rowe and I have been speaking it together and my Spanish has really increased!!! But she is fluent, I am not. I am definitely not ahaha the next day my Spanish was back to where it was... I just think we really had the spirit super strong so it was good at that point.. then again it's really the past tense that really messes me up and I didn't do any of that so that's probably why they thought that haha. 

The Lord is blessing me left and right! I feel like Malachi 3:10.  I'm getting blessings left and right, I don't have enough room to receive them! All I can do is cry which I do! Hermana Rowe and I just always have these deep conversations about doctrine and scriptures and investigators and mission life, we just keep talking about how we can feel the Lord guiding our discussions! We have spoken so much about self mastery since we have been together and that is a goal we both have. I am so grateful for her, I know that she has had a HUGE impact on my eternal progression. Every day we learn new things together, I can feel myself turning into the person the Lord wants me to be, I get antsy to leave the house! I love this work and I love being here. I have been setting goals and keeping them! All my New Years goals are still met haha (that's amazing... old Lizzie... no way this far into January ;)) ahhaha.

I don't have too much to report on investigators and such and about the days because it's been a lot of getting used to and kind of overwhelming but it is amazing... and I feel like I got here and hit the ground running!!! I love this work so much and I feel like I've hit a height here that when I don't feel I'm there I know where I need to be and I am going to push harder to be there. I feel like everytime we fall a little bit or go down on the escalator of progression it is a hundred times harder to get back to where we were because we know what it's like and how important it is. And so in order to stretch us and to help our progression it is harder to get there. 

My testimony has grown so much since I've gotten here! So much talk of self mastery and progression everywhere we go! Every in-depth  conversation we have always relates to someone we talk to! I love it! We had some really awesome experiences this week and I met some really amazing people! Hermano Guillan is one of them and he is from Peru! and I love him! So I need some pictures so I can show them to him!! The members here are so mission oriented! It's awesome :) I met a woman who I love who is pretty sure knows aunt Kristine from her mission! So that would be pretty incredible!!! 

I LOVE YOU ALL, THERE IS SO MUCH TO TALK ABOUT AND SO MUCH PROGRESSION AND SO MUCH GREATNESS! I love this church. I LOVE my God. 
I know He is mindful of me and mindful of you.

Love,
Hermana Koch

I am in the Canyon Lakes Ward :) that is my area and my ward name!

Hello new friend!


Goodbye old friend Hermana Knappen


 Goodbye Yandrea


 Favorite lady in the world + Haley's friend Hermana Hoj from Holiday Utah!


Yummy food and chocolate oranges.  Daddy's favorite!