Sept 29, 2014: Conroe: LOVE is what changes peoples hearts!

 I forgot to send this but I ran into sister Marin at the church (from H2, the Gulfbank ward) when we picked up sister Provost!! I cried and she didn't recognize me at first because my hair is so different ahhaha.

Hola familia,

Some funny experience quotes:

"I feel pretty close to death"- Hermana Koch after eating 2 Kaloches full of gluten and a cinnamon roll.

"I really want to scalp the Elders right now"- hermana Marlowe when the elders were not showing up to open the church and we reaaaaaaaaaaally had to go to the bathroom.. she's been thinking too much about indians lately and reading The Book of Mormon haha

"I'm feelin the tension"

"I'm not feelin any tension but I'm feeling tension on my rod because I'm catchin so many dang fish!"- elder Wildman.... they went fishing today.

   Hey, how's it going! This week has been good! It's been rough, we have had soooo many meetings and it seems like barely any time to visit people! Everyone is doing super well!!! Friday we had la Fiesta Patria! It's like an independance day party and there was tons of food and dancing!! Our ward is INCREDIBLE!! It is growing and becoming more unified! I NEVER WANT TO LEAVE! I LOVE THEM SO MUCH! They are the kindest, most incredible, humblest people, I just love them. Each one of them holds a special place in my heart! 

The work is full of miracles as always! Paula still wants to get baptized! Hermana McOmber came on an exchange with us and we visited Jenni! We are hopefully back to visiting with her! I love her so much! I didn't realize that I had a hole in my heart until we were in there with her again and I just felt it heal! I love her so much! I love Conroe! I think I might possibly have to move back here someday ahha. 

On Saturday, it was the Womans Conference and we had an activity before and we missionaries, all the Hermanas got to sing the EFY medly in Spanish! I recorded it for you ;) The spirirt was so strong I cried of course. I love you all!!! I got to see my Canyon Lakes people there as well and it made me soooo happy!! I was so happy to see them and hug them! I couldn't believe they remebered me!! They all kept saying they thought I went home already... yikesabee!

Friday at the party was super fun! We had 4 people from our english classes come!! :) I don't know if you all know hahah but we have a free english class in the church!! We go and we greet and sometimes if the teacher is sick we teach!! We taught last week and there used to be only like 2 people and now there are up to 25!! :) People all over the community come :) I love it!! At the end of the party on Friday, David was telling us about his last contact on his mission and how it was the only time he cried and how he felt something lift from his shoulders when he walked away... I was shocked and then went home and wrote in my journal and cried haha but he is super awesome and really inspires me to be a good missionary. He told us to be dedicated and to have fun and you can really tell he was an awesome missionary! Now he is the ward clerk!

Which reminds me... we had an amazing Consejo on Sunday!! (I think it's called ward council) Well it was awesome and some of the leaders had recieved some of the same ideas and revelations we had and so it was cool! It felt so unified!!! I love it! I love Conroe!!! 

Moral of the story... FALL IN LOVE WITH WHEREVER YOU ARE IN LIFE. FALL IN LOVE AND THEN LOVE EVEN MORE. When you love the people you are with, that is when you start to see them the way Our Savior does. The ones who surround you are the ones who God chose to surround you. So be obedient and bless them all because obedience has an effect on everyone. 

I have given my heart and soul to Conroe, it's a wonderful place full of wonderful people! I feel like in the end it'll be like Sweet Home Alabama, "You see I gave my heart away a long time ago, and I never really got it back". But I guess more importantly I have given my heart and soul to the Lord. El senor me manda donde quiere que vaya. 

This is my miracle to the president:

(m) Pues tuvimos muchos milagros, pero uno era que durante la semana tuvimos muchas cosas muchisimas cosas que hacer, reuniones derepentes, preparacion, y otras cosas entonces sentimos que no tuvimos mucho tiempo para ensenar y visitar personas. Era sabado y solo tuvimos como 3 horas de proselytismo porque vivimos lejos y tuvimos la conferencia de las mujeres. Sentimos mal porque no estabamos cumpliendo con nuestras metas y sentimos que pudiamos hacer mejor! Entonces fuimos a la casa de una investigadora y ella no estaba! Entonces envez de irnos decidimos a poner una meta de que cuando alguien no esta, tocamos a la menos 5 casas en su alrededor. Entonces empezamos y no encontramos exito hasta que estabamos diciendo si debemos irnos o no pero decidimos tocar en algunas mas puertas! Las proximas 2 casas ensenamos mensajes pequenos pero poderosos y ella fijaron citas con nosotras para que regresariamos y ahora tenemos 2 mas personas que ensenar! ellas son muy lindas y bendiciones de Dios porque sabiamos que solomente tendriamos poco tiempo entonces nos esforcamos a hacer lo que podriamos. 

Love you all!! Have a wonderful week!!!! Miss you so much!!!!! Be ready to play when I get back:)

Hermana Koch

Finally gave in and got my hair did... haha it literally looks like it used to when I went to the beach... 

well not like bleach blonde beach hair but just like the honey colored hair like Nicole's.

  hermana Provost, Katy, y Hermana Marlowe

MY COMPANIONS!! Well not all of them but a lot of them!! I trained all of these lovely ladies!!! 

Well technically not hermana Buno ahha 

Emily and hermana McOmber.

la Fiesta Patria!

Yummy food!

Obispo and Elder Wildman!!

Sept 22, 2014: Conroe, TX: What a Week!

                                           Chile con mango mmmmmmmmmmm

Hola queridos mios,

   So this week has been FULLLLLLLLLLLLLL..... of MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMucus. 

You probably thought I was going for the other M word... miracle... well both M words are good... both are good, both favorites (Brian Regan) Well anyway ya I was like dealthy ill this week. Real bad, Conroe, tiny, blessed, town spreads viruses like rapid fire... and who gets them? hermana Koch..... it's like my immune system detects it before it even hits and lowers itself so that I get hit right when the party comes to town and I get hit hard. Well anyway life is good though I am way better than before :) Almost over it. I just am stuck with one of those nasty coughs that sounds like you've got somethin that's trying to drown you in your lungs. 

But not much to report :)

I LOVE MY MISSION. I LOVE MY WARD. I LOVE MY PEOPLE. MMMMYYYYY PEOPLE. haha But really I love them. This week we have been visiting so many members of our ward and focusing on them and how we can help them. I have learned so many life lessons and I am just obsessed with every single one of them! The Gospel is SOOO real. It is, it is real-er than real. It is fabulous and perfect and happy and beautiful and merciful and peaceful and wonderful and bright and calm and tranquilo perfecto maravilloso. I just love it and everything about it. And if you are missing any of these descriptive words in your life you are missing something! MORE of the gospel. We should never be to the point where you've had enough of it. It was really hard getting my second call about a death in the family the other night. And I hit my knees praying and I prayed and I slept and I prayed all day at church and then I got a blessing and God told me that before this world He had chosen the trials I would face specifically on my mission and that in this moment this happened so that I would be able to learn how to suffer with JOY and I feel it. I am not sad. I am glorious. I am happy and I am fired up. The Plan of Salvation is true and if you don't believe it or choose not to share it you are dying a truth that is one of THE GREATEST sources of happiness. I know it's true because I can feel it in my soul. I AM a daughter of God. GOD! I am HIS daughter. And I AM going to return to Him and I WILL hug my family surrounding His thrown, and my wonderful, special, unique and beautiful Aunt Claudette is in peace and I pray for her and I LOVE HER. And I will see her again :) And we can laugh together. And I testify of that in the name of Jesus Christ. 

My mission miracle to the president:

 

(m) Sentimos que necesitamos enfocarnos en la juventud. Entonces esta semana empezamos a hacerlo! Tuvimos 2 lecciones con algunas jovencitas y ensenamos su leccion en Domingo. Pero el milagro fue cuando ensenamos una de ellas, fuimos a su casa y la ensenamos sobre la restauracion. Ella nos sorrprendio muchisimo! Pero la cosa mas grande y increible era en el fin de la leccion!!! Hablamos sobre como ella sabe que El Libro de Mormon es verdadero y ella dijo que lea con su familia pero no personalmente..... entonces la hermana Marlowe compartio una experiencia con El Libro de Mormon y la escuela y era exactamente lo que necesitaba ella! Y imediatamente cambio su corazon! el resto del tiempo que estuvimos en su casa ella siguia repetiendo "estoy muy animada para irme a dorme para que puedo levantarme y leer antes que me voy a la escuela! no puedo esperar por a ver que pasa! cuan mas increible seria mi dia!" realmente me lleno con felicidad y el proximo dia nos mando un mensaje diciendo que su dia estuvo bonito y mejor porque leyo. :) 

I love you all soooo much!! I hope all is well! MANY PRAYERS ARE COMING YOUR WAY!!!

Con mucho amor,

Hermanita Koch

 Intercambios con la hermana Carbajal!!!.. chile con mango mmmmmmm

Con Tere <333

 Elder Howe!!!

Sept. 15, 2014 Conroe

Hola Familia!!!!

   This week was llena! I am sorry I have been so lame on the emailing side! But I love you all the same! :) It takes me a little bit longer to email the president so I just feel like I don't have much time. haha But I know you are dying to hear about hermana PROVOST!!!! SHE IS DARLING!! She is from Utah, Ogden. She is 20 and super sweet. She is so motherly and takes care of all of us. She worked in a nursing home before she came and is super legit. SO as of now there are 3 of us! So when I go on exchanges with other hermanas I can go with both of them and then hermana Provost and hermana Marlowe can work without me in our area! It's really great! I love being sister training leader! It's awesome. 

This week we had some great miracles and lessons. We have been progressing and becoming better at reaching our goals! I know you want to hear about Paula and Mauricio because I haven't talked about them in forever! SOOOO someone named David Vasquez came home from his mission a little bit ago like maybe a month? Idk... but ya so he is a super awesome return missionary. I mean he just has that like look in his eyes that just tells you he was awesome. So he texted us and told us that he was free all day on Friday!! Who does that? A super awesome return missionary. So we asked him to come out with us for our appointments at 7 and 8! Well the day is going on and our friend Kevin who we were supposed to teach at 7 was not answering!!! And as the day went on I was feeling really strongly that we needed to take David to visit Paula and Mauricio, we just felt like they would fall on eachother well and David is from el salvador and so is mauricio! So i told the hermanas I was feeling that and they said that they had been too! So we changed the plans a little and David is a stud and walked to the lesson bc he didnt have a car and we cant drive him. We went in and Mauricio wasnt there but we had a beautiful lesson with Paula! As we spoke to her we could feel her explain to us the way she can, that she and Mauricio had been reading the Book of Mormon and that they have already seen a difference in their lives and that specifically they have seen changes with their daughter! It was so cool! David shared his beautiful conversion story and Paula's mom came in which is always a miracle and she said to David she doesnt know how but somehow we (us and paula) understand eachother. Later Mauricio came home and joined us for the closing song and we sang his favorite, "ill go where you want me to go" and then had a prayer. He and David really seemed to liek eachother! which is awesome! MEMBER SUPPORT IS THE BEST!!! As we left David told us that he had never taught someone like that and that it was an amazing experience :) He helped a  bunch! On sundaywe told this story at correlation and when we explained to the elders what Paula said about her daughter and all the things she has seen change, they were like how did you get all of that?! (you know becuase she doesnt speak) and it really hit me how much of a miracle it is everytime we go and can comunicate with her. It is truly a blessing, the spirit makes up for what we dont understand. I know that the ONLY reason we can understand her is because the Lord wants us to. 

Miracle to the President: 

Entonces tuvimos MUCHOS MILAGROS. Pero algo que me ha fortelecido mucho durante la semana paso cuando fui para intercambios. Mis hermanas Provost y Marlowe ensenaron alguien muy preparada! Decidimos que ellas podrian hacerlo aun que no estaba yo, despues las llame y ellas dijieron que tuvieron una leccion maravillosa y que ella lloraba y compartio sus sentimientos de las cosas que estan pasando ahorita en su vida! Los dias pasaron y cuando llegamos en la capilla en Domingo ella y su esposo y sus 4 ninos ya estaban sentados listos para la reunion sacramental!!! :) Despues ella dijo a su hija quien tiene como 5 o 6 anos que si ella se porta bien se va en la mision tambien como nosotras! Me senti TAN FELIZ no pudia creer mis ojos! Yo se que hay personas preparadas! que hay personas quien llegan a la iglesia la PRIMERA vez que esten invitados!!! :) 

Sunday was such a treat to have people visiting the church.... SOMETHING REALLY EXCITING IS THAT THE FAMILY CAME TO CHURCH AND ALSO HERMANA VILLANUEVA!!!!!!! My old sister training leader who went home that i love SOOO MUCH came to visit texas and took us out to eat with her new boyfriend ;) It was sooo happppppy. i love her! but i forgot my camera sooo sorry. but these pictures are from elder howes birthday we spent a quick minute at the barreras to sing him happy birthday and smash his face... of course i got smashed in the midst! 

Saturday night was sports night and we played soccer!! I have sadly become rather aweful at the sport even though I played for my whole life... definitely doesnt show hahaha. So after I had enough of panting from my asthma and hip checking people on accident because these hips have a mind of their own ahhaha, I decided to hang out with my favorites Hermana Hernandez(little cutie from Guatemala!) and Obispo Ortiz and hermana Ortiz (just saint like people from mexico) i love them all with my whole heart they cracked me up for like an hour! hahah teasing me about getting trunky and marrying a hispanic man haha

I love this gospel so much. I have been having a little bit of an internal struggle lately being sad that I will have to leave this amazing ward fairly soon. They have become my home away from home and I am oficially obsesed with conroe. I know itll be hard to leave because all of my other wonderful wards and areas were SO HARD TO LEAVE. But i think this will be a little bit harder because I am leaving the mission sometime soon. BUT THAT IS IT. all i will talk of it, and never again willl you hear anything about it!!! 

I have learned some really amazing lessons this week. I know that if I didnt go on a mission I would have NEVER learned these same things and in such a meaningful way. The families here have taught me so much and I have learned that as you serve others and you love others with all you have and care so much about them, you naturally loose yourself. When ever I heard the quote that president Hinckley said to forget yourself and get to work I always panicked and tried so hard to do taht but that was still focusing on me. What I learned was that really what it is, is that as you start to work, as you start to care, as your love grows, as you give yourself to the Lord and His chosen people, you loose your natural man and you become the child of God that you are. Serve someone this week will ya? Care about someone so much that your heart hurts! LOVE YOU ALL HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEEEEEEEEK. ABRAZOS Y BESITOS!!! 

con mucho amor,

hermana Koch

Sept 8, 2014: Conroe: AND THEN THERE WERE 3

Hermanas Koch, Provost and Marlowe

Hola Hola,

Sorry I just really don't seem to have time these days but I'm not even sure why... So I'm really sorry if I didn't get to anyones email to respond but I sincerely love you all and feel so loved and appreciated everytime I email. 

So I think you already know this but we got a new hermana! Her name is hermana Provost and she is so sweet and motherly! She is so cute and is 20 and she worked in an elderly home! She is from ogdon! how in the world do you spell that.... anyway she is so sweet!! I don't have really anything to update from this week sorry!! BUT I LOVE YOU ALL!!! We had stake conference and that was fun and beautiful! 

LOOOOVE YOU 

Miracle to President: 

Un milagro que vimos esta semana.... Un dia durante la semana hicimos metas por el dia porque no estabamos teniendo exito invitando 25 personas y hemos visto que cuando cumplimos con esta meta Dios nos bendice con milagros y un crecimiento de fe. Entonces hicimos una meta para el dia, sentimos que necesitabamos invitar 10 o mas veces antes de las 6. entonces el dia estaba pasando y no tuvimos exito durante el dia mas temprano y no habiamos cumplido con nuestra meta entonces sentimos inspiradas a irnos a un lugar y poner volantes para las clases de ingles. Vi algunas personas y senti un poco incomoda pero sabia que era satanas! enotonces. fuimos y hablamos con todo. a las 620 tuvimos 11 invitaciones. Y despues de eso el senor nos bendijo que 32 invitaciones cuando llegamos al fin de la noche. Vi en las caras de mis companeras un fuego y amor por el evangelio y ser misionera. Me encanta esta obra y para era un milagro, cuando hacemos metas el senor nos ayuda cumplir. Yo se que los numeros no son las cosas mas importantes. pero cuando yo puedo ver la cara de la persona que es el "numero" me hace sentir tanto gozo que no puedo explicar. yo se que el senor cuenta sus ovejas. 

(I wish I could read her Spanish. I tried googletranslate but it's not good enough to add to the blog. I did however get out of it that she knows Heavenly Father loves his children and that he allows miracles. Satan can try to get in the way of their goals but they pushed through and gave out invitations to english classes. This was my favorite part: 

(I saw on the faces of my companeras a fire and love for the gospel and being a missionary. I love this work and it was a miracle. I know the numbers are not the important things, but when I can see the face of the person who is the "number" it makes me feel so much joy I cannot explain . I know that the lord loves his sheep.)

I know that this is the Lords work. That true happiness is found in His true church and through using His son's atonement. I love my savior, redeemer, brother Jesus Christ and I know that He suffered and died for me but most importantly was resurrected for me. So that I can have eternal happiness in my home and someday my Heavenly home. I love you all so much! When we draw closer to Him we set ourselves apart from sin and emotionally distracting things of the world!! 

Con mucho amor,

hermana Koch

Mission Leadership Training

Sept 1, 2014: Conroe: NEW TRANSFER!!! NEW HERMANA OTRA VEZ!!!

Spanish conference- Elder Abadillo and Hermana Ardmore

Email #1:

Hey!! I am so sorry that I don't have like any time to email but I love you all and I hope you had a wonderful holiday!!! This week was wonderful! We had a conference for all the spanish missionaries and I had exchanges with Hermana Mcomber! and Marci and Michelle want to get baptized!!!! I'LL LET YOU KNOW LATER MORE!!!!

LOOOOOOOOOOOOVE YOU ALLL!!!!! 

hermana Koch

Email #2:

HOLA!!! 

     Well this week was awesome as usual!! Hermana Marlowe and I just got a call saying that we will be training a new hermana!!! Hermana Marlowe has only 5 weeks!! ahha This is going to be so awesome! :) We are really really excited!!! 

I can't believe I just started my second to last transfer!! soooo insane!!!!! I LOVE YOU ALL..... but I'm not ready to be done... so I wont be... hahaha 

This week was really great! We had some amazing lessons! We are making some eternal friendships!!! I love missionary work!! I love helping strengthen the ward! 

I LOVE GOING ON EXCHANGES! I LOVE PLAYING VOLLEYBALL! I LOVE TESTIFYING! I LOVE READING THE SCRIPTURES! I LOVE INVITING PEOPLE!!! 

I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY! It's the best calling ever. 

I love you all!!!! Share the gospel this week!!! Doesn't matter if it's with a smile or if it's with inviting someone to enjoy of the blessings you have!!! The smallest things help the Lord's team :) 

CON AMOR

Hermana Koch

Spanish conference- Hermana Zabriske

Exchanges with Hermana Mcomber!

 Zone conference.... bye Hermana Knappen :(

bye Hermana Carter :(

Jenni!

Hermana Miller!

 I found my name!!!