Just a quick note.  Kate asked if I would update her on everyone because "no one talks to me so I have no idea what's going on back home" :(  If anyone has time to write I think that helps keep the homesickness at bay:)

Never fail with faith

Wow the transfer is over. It is crazy how fast time flies out here. I get to stay here in Dos Vientos with Sis X for 6 more weeks!! Which means that I will be with her over her Birthday which means that I GET TO GO TO THE TEMPLE!!!!!!! I am so excited!

Okay so the work here is picking up so much it is amazing! Brother Thayne, a less active we have been working with, received the priesthood yesterday which means that he is now ready to bapitze his daughter Jojo! We have been teaching them for the last 6 weeks and they are both ready now! We are so exceited to meet with them tonight and figure out a date and all the other details! This is a miracle because Bro Thayne is a pro tennis player and so he has to work most sundays. Not only that but he has been very nervous beucase he understands how important all of this is. We have been praying specifially for him and our prayers have been answered!!

There is a quote I say this week that said, "Faith makes things possible, not easy". Wow how true that is. As a missionary I see this closely everyday. But because of that faith I also know that the Lord knows what is best and what is needed. Through our faith we are able to do all things... No it is through faith in Christ we can do all things. We are nothing with out our heavenly Father and Christ. They have given us literally everything we have and are. They know all things and are able to do all things. So who is better to trust and have faith in? No one.

"IT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR US TO FAIL WHEN WE DO OUR BEST WHEN WE ARE ON THE LORD'S ERRAND." -Elder Ballard.

"BELIEVE AND ACT AS IF IT WERE IMPOSSIBLE TO FAIL" 

"THERE IS ONLY ONE WAY TO SUCCEED AT ANYTHING AND THAT IS TO GIVE EVERYTHING." 

These are some of the quotes that President Castro sent to us. They are so ture and so amazing. I have learned this week how important it is to have a positive and loving mind set. To have goals and work everyday on those goals.

This week we, as a zone, set a goal of declaring to 20 people. This means that we have to share a restored truth and invite them to do something. Sis X and I knock on a lot of doors but not a lot of them answer and sometimes we are not bold enough to get both of those things done. So on tues. we decided that we were going to get 8 decs. We prayed that people would be put in our paths. We went out and worked HARD, talking to everyone we could. We saw miracles. By lunch we had met our Goal and so we decided that we were going to continue and see how many we could get.... we got 15 that day. not only that but we met a man named Stan.

So Stan lives in one of the houses that we knocked. We talked to him but he didn't seem very interested. So we left him with a Resto pamphlet. We headed to the neighborhood right next to his and about 15 minutes latere we are being flagged down by someone in a white jeep. It was him. He came and apologised for being what he thought was so rude. He explaned that he is a huge soccer player and his big game was on and so he was very distranced. He felt really bad and asked if he could have a card so that if he has any questions that he can call. So we gave him our number and low and behold about 2 or 3 hours later he called! And we set up a tiem to go back and see him. What a miracle! Sadly is YSA (young single adult) which 2 other missionaries are over, but they are able to go and teach him now!

"ONE MUST WANT THE CONSEQUENCES OF WHAT ONE WANTS." 

I am doing so good. I am sad that I dont get to go to transfer meeting because now I dont get to see my Sister Snow. That was hard at first but I am so excited to see how the work continues to grow here!

I love you all and pray for you! I am so grateful that I get to serve a mission for my Heavnly Father and give him the one thing that he does not already have and that is my will. 

Keep on keeping on!

Sister Kate Draney

Looks like Valentine's Day was good to them!  It's a good thing someone loves them because my package didn't get there til today:(  If you are sending her a package send it 10 days before you want her to receive it, not 7:)  Here's this weeks email:)

Good timbers does not grow with ease,

The stonger the wind, the stronger trees,

The furthers sky, the grater length.

the more the storm, the more the strength,

By sun and cold, by rain and snow,

On trees and men good timbers grow.

          -Sterling W. Sill

This is a poem that Sister Snow shared with me last transfer and was quoted in Relief Society yesterday. There is a talk by President Monson from last conference that I love. As a missionary I go through all sorts of emotions. There are moments of hardship and anguish but the moments of extreme joy and thanksgiving are well worth it. In the talk President Monson reminds us that "Angels have charge over us.." There are so many people on the other side that are always here to lift us and help us. But trials are necessary. The little trials can help prepare us for future trials. They give us opportunities to show Heavenly Father how strong we have become and they give us opportunities to become stronger. 

The great thing though is that we know that we are never alone. There was a day a while ago that i needed an extra boost. As a prayed asking my Heavenly Father for help and a thought came to my head. I had received a picture from sister snow and I remembered that she wrote a scripture on the back. I hadnt read it when I got it but thought that I would see what it said. On the back she had written a scripture, Matthew 11:28 "COME UNTO ME ALL YE THAT LABOR AND ARE HEAVY LADEN, AND I WILL GIVE YOU REST." He goes on talking about His yoke and how it is light. this was a sweet answer to my prayer. "You can ask for what you need in moments. But the help that we ask for may not always be peace. sometimes He sends people and that is your answer..." We can be peoples answers to prayers. We can be that peace that they need. So I encourage you to ALWAYS FOLLOW SPIRITUAL PROMPTINGS. 

"DIFFICULTIES ALLOW US TO CHANGE FOR THE BETTER. TO REBUILD OUR LIVES IN THE WAY HEAVENLY FATHER TEACHES US TO." 

Either 12:21 we are give weaknesses to help us in this life. We are here to learn and grow and I dont know about you but I know that I grow most when I make mistakes and go through hard things. I have learned to rely on that greater source for that strength. 

So I ask you, have you ever felt a weakness become a strength through a trail? We dont get trials because Heavenly Father doesn't love us or wants to see us suffer. We get them because He loves us and wants to see us grow to the masterpiece that He knows that we can be. He is our master potter that can shape us into something so beautiful if we will let him. (Isiah 64:8)

"FAITHFUL SAINTS ARE ALWAYS STRENGTHENED BY ADVERSITY." 

Let us all be more like the David that we see as we read Psalms...and say to Heavenly Father "MY TIMES ARE IN THY HANDS."

Prayers are answered... From my letter to my mission President.

There was a potential that we tracked into at the beginning of the transfer named Karen. She was a very sweet lady and was happy to talk with us and interested in the Book of Mormon, but we could not get her to committed to a return appointment. So we prayed that we would be able to do that this week. When we went to see her as we were in the area we asked her if there was a time that we could come back and share more. She agreed and got her scheduled out and we sent a time for this Wed. As we got back to our car we said a prayer to thank Heavenly Father for this answer to our prayer and the miracle that we just witnessed! 

Along with that we had been praying for one of our investigators that had missed our last 2 appointments. We prayed that we would know a time to try her that we might catch her at home. As we followed the spirit we decided on a time to go and visit her. And she was home and invited us in to share a message. She was then able to explain that she had been out of town and then very very sick and was so sorry that she was not able to meet with us. But we set up a time for this week to meet with her again!

I know that prayers are answered. We just have to be looking for the answers and follow the spirit. I learned how important it is to pray specifically and with real intent. Miracles do come.

I hope no one minds me changing to a blog.  It will save me time and let you all see the pics:)

Just a reminder her address is:
California Ventura Mission
 3301 W Gonzales Rd.
Oxnard, CA  93036

If you are going to send her a package I would suggest sending it through UPS not the post office.  Unless is less expensive due to size to send it through the post office.  If you do send it through the post office tape it up really well.  I sent her a big envelope with a journal and some cd's in it just before christmas and one of the cd's and the journal were taken out and some other cd's put in and then it was taped back up.  Plus the post office (on larger boxes) is the same price but takes twice as long.  Everything goes to the mission home and is then forwarded to her.

Hello!

What a week. I always feel like I never get to say and express to you all the things that I want... but so is life right?

So to start things off I want to give a shout out to my awesome sister on her almost birthday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY ON THURSDAY KENA! She is now legal and that freaks me out a little bit. But here is a little sister advice, always follow the spirit. Now you are able to do more things the state is showing trust in you and expects you to live up to that trust. Just like that your Heavenly Father has so much trust in you. He knows you and loves you. He gives you that trust becuase He knows that you can handle it and He wants you to be able to learn and grow. He knows that the only way to do that is to give you space and a chance to fly with a promise that He will always be there to catch you when you fall. Interesting that I say when not if, but I do this with a purpose. We are all going to fall, were human that is what we do, that is how we learn and grow. But the important thing that we learn from Elder Uchtdorf is what we do after we fall. Do we say sitting or do we stand up? We need to stand up, dust our selves off, and keep going. Saran will try to tell us that we cannot get up from this one or that others will never look at us the same. He tries to use fear to keep us down. Lucky for us our Father in Heaven knows that and he has given us a great tool to fight back with and that is Faith and Forgiveness. Man aren't we spoiled!

For every problem he has already given us a solution. But a lot of the time we act like the little children we are and ask for another solution... one that we want. (Any parents out there know ex actually what I mean). But I know from experance that we CAN ALWAYS GET BACK UP! And I love that!!!!!!

This week I studied a talk called "The Fourth Missionary" By Lawerence E Crobridge. This talk is AMAZING! Not only for missionaries but for everyone! (But if you do have a missionary print this out and sent it to them because I know that it will help them! They will love you forever!) As I was reading I realized that the "Why" behind part of my service was selfish and wrong. I wasn't just doing it for my Father in Heaven but I wanted recognisition too. Yes this is natural but it brought me more anguish then I need or want. I started looking at different parts of my life and past life. I looked at the Why. Why do I excersize? Is it because I recognise and understand that my body is a special gift from God and I want to take the best care of it I can? Or is it because Im worried about what others think of me and the way I look? Im sorry to say but for me it was more then not, the latter reason. This brought me spiritual and mental stress that I dont need and dont want. After realizing this I decided to make a change. I was going to only focus on my Father in Heaven. I want to do EVERYTHING for Him because that is where true success and happiness come. Do I still have my moments of weakness? Yes of course I do but I am able to recorrect my thought faster and in doing so I am able to repent and change. I decided to Change the "WHY" and it has made all the diffence! 

So this week we visited Vikki! She has been sick so I was not able to visit her as much as usual. We were worried that we would come to a mental mess like she sometimes becomes when she is left alone for to long. But as we visited her on Sat she was still trucking along and moving forward!!! Guess what this means???? This means that she is really changing!!! AHHHHH I love it!!! She is so great and has a greed to talk the actual missionary dicussions!!! (before we would share messages and couldn't really get a lesson in.) But now she wants to hear and learn and CHANGE!!!!!!!!!!!! Missionary work is the best!!!

Family I love you and know that God is with you. I pray for you everyday. I thank you for your prayers and want you to know that I can feel them. If anyone wants to show true love they will write me this week ;) I love you all and I know that the gospel of Jesus Christ is true!

Love your daughter and friend,

Sister Kate Draney

P.s. Sorry ken that shout out turned into gospel. No I tell everyone about you and your Jimmer skills! Haha EVERY LDS family out here knows who he is because they are all BYU obsesed! I love you and hope you have a great birthday! You have a present coming in the mail!

This week has been amazing as usual. Sis X has been sick and so I got more time to study which is THE BEST THING as a missionary. We are such nerds and will take any oppertunity that we get to have some extra time to read our scriptures and dessert is getting a new ensign or conference talk! Haha we laugh because we really are scripture nerds! But we love it!

So Vikki is doing soooooo much better. I don't remember what I said last week about her but we gave her the talk "Come what may and love it" and its like it changed her world! Great right! She is way more positive then I have ever seen her before and there is a new found light about her! She reads everything that we give her and they are finally getting through to her!!! So happy! We are like her kids now. She has nicknames for us or she will just call us the girls. She tries to give us money and anything else we might want or not want. We have already made plans to come and visit her when we are done with our mish. this over joyed her and she told us that we cant say anywhere but her house when we are down there! Haha I love her and call her mama Vixsta!

Things with Sis X are getting better. Yes I still miss my Snow like I cant believe but I am able to help Sis X with the things that Sis snow taught me. I LOVE HER!! She is not much of a talker so I talk with sis snow... like 7 page letters.... Oh that is also why no one has been getting letters :) Blame her! No but I am going to try to do better. There is just never enough time to write all the people that I want to. But just remember all who read this that I love you and think that you are amazing and if you write me I WILL write you back.... But I only get letters from sis snow therefore that is who I write first! SNAIL MAIL makes me a happy missionary! And I will love anyone who will give me more!!!

So on one of the days that Sis X was sick I finished the talk "Come what may and love it" Seriously if you havent read it please do it is amazing! In it is says, "THE LORD COMPENSATES THE FAITHFUL FOR EVERY LOSS. THAT WHICH IS TAKEN AWAY FROM THOSE WHO LOVE THE LORD WILL BE ADDED UNTO THEM IN HIS OWN WAY." it later says "THE FAITHFUL KNOW THAT EVERY TEAR TODAY WILL EVENTUALLY BE RETURNED A HUNDRED FOLD WITH TEARS OF REJOICING AND GRATITUDE." I love this because it makes hard times a little easier knowing that as we keep the faith and move one foot in front of the other that our sorrows and tears will be returned to us 100 fold in joy! 

Other awesome quotes from it:

"THE LORD JESUS CHRIST IS OUR PARTNER, HEALER, AND ADVOCATE. HE WANTS US TO BE HAPPY. HE WANTS US TO BE SUCCESSFUL. IF WE DO OUR PART, HE WILL STEP IN."

"THE SIMPLE SECRET IS THIS: PUT YOUR TRUST IN THE LORD, DO YOUR BEST, THEN LEAVE THE REST TO HIM."

Great talk right?

Aww okay I am out of time. I had so much more that I wanted to share but there is always next week!

I love you all. The church is true. 

Sister Draney!

This week has been a crazy one. I'm finally getting to the point were I can handle thinking about Sister Snow without getting totally sad and Ventura sick. I am really starting to get into the groove of Dos Vientos and I'm starting to love it and the people here. I'm not going to lie the first week to week in a half was hard, but becasue of that I have been able to really look for the Lords hand in my life. 

Sister X is great. But VERY different from my Sis Snow. She is not very open which was one of the things that I loved most about my relationship with Sis Snow. I realized that it makes the biggest difference because not only are you able to teach with more unity but you also are able to trust one another more. I was nice to feel totally comfortable telling Sis Snow EVERYTHING and knowing that she would love me no matter what. There was no reason to be shy around her and I LOVE THAT!! But alas it is time for me to learn new skills or maybe it is to teach them. Either way I know that I will grow from this. I thank my Heavenly Father everyday for the blessing of MY sister Snow, because she changed my life!!! 

Sister X loves to laugh! We have become great friends in a totally different way then sis snow and I did. So its great in a totally different way. She is a lot like me. We take lots of pictures and have lots of fun jokes. She can be really shy at times and is really considerate of people feelings. This is hard sometimes because as a missionary we have to be bold. I mean THIS IS PEOPLES SALVATION WE'RE TALKING ABOUT!!! The reason why this is hard for me is because I am very much the same in that area. So I get to be the amazing Sister Snow in this relationship. I get to be the bold one that keeps talking even when they say "no" or "their not interested". I get to be the one that gets to do the aquard things sometimes! (like strongly suggesting that a member and non-member exchange numbers... or have a fighting couple hug ;)) But luckily I had THE BEST trainer that showed me how. 

So here in the wonderful and rich land of Dos Vientos we are teaching a lady named Vikki. She is having a REALLY HARD TIME. So quick back story. 7 years ago she found out that her husband was cheating on her. They got a divorcee, her parents died, and her area of profession went under with a recession. Yeah ouch! not only that but her husband got full custody. She had been making A LOT of money.... like enough that they were going to retire at 40. Like she doesn't have a job right now and has a SUPER nice house and 2 nice cars, one being a 90 thousand dollar car (which she has offered to let us drive countless times.... but sadly we cant.) So Vikki is alone. She had very few true friends that weren't using her for her money. So we're pretty much all she has. Not only that but she has used alcohol as a huge crutch. there have only been like 2 of 3 times that we have gone over there that she has not been at least a little intoxicated. and we go over there at least three times a week. But she LOVES us! I love having someone that I can lift... even if it is only baby steps. She NEEDS this gospel!!! because of all that has happened she is very angery at God. she tells us that she prays but her prayers are her yelling at God. Yeah... thats not going to get you very far. So we ahve been trying to help her First realize that she has a drinking problem and second that God loves her and has a special plan for her. We have shown her the mormon message of that man and his family that were hit by a drunk driver and half were killed. We explaned that God is the one that got him through that. We invited her to say ONLY prayers of grattitude. and to read the scriptures EVERY TIME that she gets bad or depressing thoughts. becasue that is what will help her. Lucky for us she doesn't have a life so she reads everything that we give her! 

Then we are teaching this guy named Kariem (like Cream). He is from Pakistan or somewhere near there. He is AWESOME! but he likes to go on tangents. He asks lots of questions, and likes to hear how the gospel has helped us in our lives. This is so fun for me because its like him asking me to bear my testinmoney! LOVE IT! his wife is totally against us but he still likes to talk to us and reads the Book of Mormon because he wants to! 

We have 2 other popel taht we teach as well but I don't have enough time to tell you about them this week. one of them though is a cute little girl named Jojo. We are going to invite her to be baptised on the 15 of Feb, which is also her 9th birthday!! I'll let you know how that goes. Here were get to knock LOTS of doors. Like that is what we do pretty much all day every day. But it means that I get to work on my DECS (declarations). I have already learned so much and it forces me to be bold with people! My goal this transfer is that they have to say no 3 times before we leave. It is a lot harder then it sounds. But it is what sis Snow called the acordian door. They start to shut it and you get them to open it up a little more by taking and you do this three times at least! 

Okay so studying this week has been awesome!!!!!! I have had to find new ways to get more out of my study because I was spoiled last transfer by sis Snow! Sis X does it differently and does not use her study journal as much as my Snow.. but that is something I have been trying to get her to do... and she is getting better! But anyways I have been studying like I am going to share it with sis Snow! As weird as that sounds it has helped me because I LOVED getting together and sharing with her what I learned and then hearing ALLL the AMAZING things that she learned. I always went away learning something from her! I loved that she would write things down as I talked it showed me that she enjoyed listening to me and was actually maybe learning something too. It really made me want to study harder because I wanted to be able to teach her something and lift her like she always lifted me!!! This week I learned a lot of things. 1st when you have fear you are not showing faith. 2nd learn to LAUGH. and 3rd HYMNS are AMAZING!!! and with all of that the scriptures are amazing! One day when I was Ventura/ sis snow sick I was feeling frustranted and in my studying found Alma 17: 10-11. 

"AND IT CAME TO PASS THAT THE LORD DID VISIT THEM WITH HIS SPIRIT AND SAID UNTO THEM: BE COMFORTED... AND THE LORD SAID UNTO THEM ALSO: GO FORTH AMONG THE LAMENITES, THY BROTHEREN AND ESTABLISH MY WORD; YET YE SHALL BE PATIENT IN LONG-SUFFERING AND AFFLICTIONS, THAT YE MAY SHOW FORTH GOOD EXAMPLES UNTO THEM IN ME, AND I WILL MAKE AN INSTRUMENT OF THEE IN MY HANDS UNTO THE SALVATION OF MANY SOULS." 

I is really easy to get upset here because you get a lot of rejection and a lot of angery people who slam doors in your face. I felt like I wasn't going anywhere but from this scripture I was able to find much strength. Also one of my fav sctiptures right now is D&C 84:88!

I want to say so much more .... but alas. I know that this church is ture. The words in the scripture can help us with ANYTHING! Even if it is missing a friend or feeling frustrated. Christ knows everything that you are going through. He has felt it all. He wants to help you so much but you have to be the one to open the door for Him. There is an amazing talk called "Come What May and Love It" It is great! We must learn to laugh in life. We make it to hard on ourselfs if we let every little thing get to us. Sooo.... "NEXT TIME YOU'RE TEMPTED TO GROAN YOU MIGHT TRY TO LAUGH INSTEAD!" because "SOMETIMES THE VERY MOMENTS THAT SEEM TO OVERCOME US WITH SUFFERING ARE THOSE THAT WILL ULTIMATELY SUFFER US TO OVERCOME."  in PMG it tells us to "Let go of what we cant control" Everyone has their agency. But we get to choose how we will react. So I invite all of you to Choose this day to CHOOSE to be happy. Wake up everyday with a resolve to make someone else smile... even if if yourself sometimes. I love you all! I know that you have a Loving Heavnly Father who wants to be and is in every detail of your life! God bless and SMILE!

Wow 2 months have come and gone. I feel like I have only been out for a few weeks and then I look at how much I have learned and grown and then feel like I have been out for years. I am amazed at how much the Lord teaches me everyday in so many ways. 

I am now here is Dos Viento. It is a little area in Newberry Park. It is a VERY rich community which makes the missionary work very different from Ventura. I spend most of my days knocking on doors. I get to meet so many different kinds of people and tell them about their Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. I has been different not having my Sister Snow right by my side but my new companion Sister Xayadeth (said Sy-a-debt) has become a great friend. 

We got here late therefore I have less time then needed. I'll tell you all about Stake conference and how AMAZING it was next week! But this I will tell you now. Elder Anderson said how important it is to have deep gospel conversations every day. We need to share our spiritual experances and look for the ways in which the Lords hand has been in our lives every day. Becaus He really is in the Details of our lives.

I love you all and pray for you everyday!

Love, 

Sister Katelyn Draney

Because I love my mom I didn't get to write a normal letter to all of you.... So here is part of the letter that I wrote to my mission president. Hope you enjoy. Know that I love all of you and that I know that Christ lives.

I can't believe that this transfer is already over. I feel as though it just began but I feel so blesses to have been here in Ventura with Sister Snow. The people here are amazing and are so willing to give. They are so open with the gospel and their time. I feel so blesses to have been able to work hand in hand with them. They have taught me how important it is to be a member missionary.

Sister Snow is such a blessing in my life. I am really sad to be leaving her but I find so much strength in knowing that I am doing the Lords will. I was reading in Psalms today and found a scripture that really helped me. Chapter 61 verses 1 and 2. "Hear my cry of God; attend unto my prayer. From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead my to the rock that is higher than I." This showed me that I have learned what I needed to in Ventura with Sister Snow and now it is time to move to a higher rock and keep learning. I am so grateful all the things that she taught me over these last 6 weeks. I filled so many pages of my study journal with things that I have learned. She is such a Christ like example and I thank my Heavenly Father everyday for putting her in my life.

I am so grateful for the promptings of the Spirit. He has taught me so much this transfer. He has lead us to so many people that have been prepared for this great message. This week we got a new investigator named Danni. She is a very sweet 16 year old girl. She is dating Seth Swainy and has been coming to church for the last 3 months. When we teach her she asks lot of questions, which shows that she really wants to understand. She has said the closing prayer to both lessons. They are very short but very sweet. I love being a missionary. I get to give people tools that help them get closer to their Heavenly Father. I am able to show them the things that bring me the truest joy! I love knowing that my Father in Heaven guides my life. He is always there to bless and help me. I loved 1 Nephi 21: 14-16. Zion starts by saying that the Lord has forgotten me, "but He will show that He hath not." It asks if a woman could forget her child. No and neither will he forget us. "Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee, O house of Israel. Behold I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands..." We may forget Him, but He will never forget us. I know that this is true. He wants to be in every part of our lives, and if we will let Him he will bless us more then we can ever imagine! I know that my Savior suffered and died for me. But I also know that He was resurrected and now lives for me. I helped Sister Snow memorize the Living Christ this week and it was the biggest blessing. Our thoughts were always on Christ and all that he has done and continues to do for us. I want to add my testimony to theirs that Jesus is the Living Christ the Immortal son of God. I know that He stands on the right hand of His father pleading for us. He wants to take all our sins, pains, and anguish away from us. He wants to bless us and be able to lift us up, but we have to let Him.

I am very excited for what the next 6 weeks hold from me. I know that if I continue to follow the Commandments and my Savior that I will always be okay and that I will truly be able to bless others lives.

This week was a great one! You would think that because of Christmas things would be harder because of homesickness. But that is the great thing about being a missionary, you are so focused on others that you totally forget about yourselves. I LOVE IT!

On Christmas eve and Christmas day Sis Snow and I went caroling with two other sisters that serve in the same word. We got TONS of referrals and were able to spend about 9 hours all together caroling!! It was so much fun!!! (and we sounded pretty great too) our christmas eve dinner appointment got sick (like everyone around here is) and so sis snow and I ended up taking ourselves out to eat! That was so fun!

Christmas was AMAZING!! Thank you to everyone for the gifts and fun cards I can't even start to express how much they mean to me! Sis snow and I had a grand time opening gifts and what not but then the real fun came as we got to go and lift others spirits! The joy that comes from being a missionary is amazing! There are no words! I hope that everyone had an amazing Christmas too, but there really is no competition to how amazing mine was :)

As I have been studying the atonement I have gain a light that has been such a blessing. I love learning and understanding more about what my Savior did and does for me. I have started to put a red box around atonement scriptures that I am able to flip and find them easily. 1 Cor 15 is AMAZING and WONDERFUL and FABULOUS!!!!!!! READ IT AND LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!! In vs 10 it says... "But by the grace of God I am what I am; and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all; yet not I but the grace of God which was with me" I love the first part, by the grace of God I am what I am. It is got that builds us. If we allow him he will make us into a masterpiece, but of ourselves we can only make a smudge. He wants to shape us into an amazing masterpiece but we have to let him. He will NEVER take away our agency and I am so grateful for that. Because then I can say that I followed him. And because I follow him he blesses me more then I could ever hope for.  (1 John 3 is also amazing!)

On the investigator side of things Sarah and Charlotte came to church yesterday!!!!!!! So happy! Sis snow and I went to primary with her (which was really different then utah primary). And then the teacher was gone so sis snow got to teach the class (with an other adult in the room of course). It was amazing and the other girls were able to bear their testimonies as they talked! The girls in this class are AMAZING!!!!! Like seriously we helped them teach the lesson because there were two of the girls that had already read the lesson in advance so they would be able to answer the questions better! AMAZING right??????

Daniel is keeping the word of wisdom!!!!! Happy day! He loves learning about the gospel and totally eats it up every time we teach him! He has a hard time studying though. He has an awesome power house day of study then he takes a 2 or 3 day brake to "let it all soak in". We told him how important it is to read every day even if it is only a verse. So that I what we committed him to. To read at least one verse everyday. It really is amazing what our Father in Heaven will do if we put forth the effort. I know that he has so many blessings in store for us and he is just waiting for a chance to give them to us. He is waiting at the door with so many gift that he cant even hold them all. He sits there waiting and wishing that we will just open the door so that he can give them to us. So open the door! Open the door and let him in!

I love you all! Send me more pictures and letters. If you don't want to write a letter then at least send me pictures!!!! Fast Sunday is coming so think this week of something or someone you can fast for. Write it down and then pay attention to the spirit as you fast and be ready to write down the thoughts that come to your mind because they will surprise you! Happy new year! I'll talk to you all next year ;)

Sister Draney

Psamls 119: 105 Amazing scripture I came across today :)

This week has been AMAZING to say the least! First off its about 70ish degrees everyday!!!!! Be jealous :) We actually went to the beach today and took awesome pictures which I will try to attach!

The snow sounds SOOOOOOOOO cold. But I do miss it. It really doesn't feel like Christmas without it, but that is actually a good thing because it is a lot harder to get home sick that way. But I want to see lots of pictures! Looking at pictures is so much fun and then I can show Sis Snow the people that I talk about so much!

So this week... Tuesday to be exact we were teaching a guy named Daniel the Restoration. (Dan is in his 40's. He lives with a kinda less active and likes his beer. He is kind of socially aquard because he has some kind of minor disability. But he is awesome!!!) He had been to church the Sunday before and in priests he learned about the Priesthood. He LOVED it and was telling us all that he learned. You could see how much he loved what he was learning and how he wanted to be able to hold the Priesthood. AMAZING! This made us so happy. He Loved learning about Joseph Smith and so we got him a triple combo so he could have the D & C! This made him so happy. So during our Tuesday lesson we obviously talked about Christ and the example that he set for all of us. So at the end of the lesson we invited him to be baptized, like we are suppose to do. AND HE SAID YES!!!!!!! Not only that but he was excited about it! The other cool part was that I got to be the one to invite him to be baptized!!! This was my first time doing it for real! The spirit in the room was insane! We have him working toward the 11th of Jan to be baptized!!!! That will be the week before transfers! I really hope that he sticks to his commitments so that he can make this date! That would be my first baptism!!

Studying the scriptures is my FAVORITE thing. I never have enough time to read and study as I want. It has come to the point that I read as I dry my hair, eat, and any other time I can squeeze it in. I am learning amazing things everyday as I read and I want to be able to share them all with you but that would take FOREVER!! There is one scripture that I really liked. It is in John 15:5 it says, "I am the vine, ye are the branches; he that abideth in me and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: FOR WITHOUT ME YE CAN DO NOTHING." With out him in our lives we really can do nothing. As a missionary this applies more then ever. We sully rely on our father in heaven and his spirit to guide us, teach us, and testify to the people we teach of the truthfulness of the words. So without him there would be no point.

Christmas is at hand. I invite all of you to take some time on Christmas and Christmas eve to really pray to our Heavenly Father and thank him for all he has given you. We live in a free country because men and women give their lives. We have a house to live in and food to eat. Presents under a tree and family all around. But most of all we have a Savior who suffered, died, and was resurrected for us. He was born in the most humbling circumstances, and died in the most painful. He will come again in more glory then we can imagine. On Christmas take some time and set a spiritual goal for the next year. Something that you will be able to accomplish, but that will stretch you and bring you closer to your Heavenly Father. Pray for those who are without the gospel. Pray for softened hearts for yourselves and for others.

In 3 Nephi chapter one we read the Christmas story from America. Nephi is really worried for his people because if the sign of Christ birth is not shown that night his people are going to be killed. He is crying to the Lord for his people and this is what he gets, vs 13: "Lift up your head and be of good cheer; for behold the time is at hand and on this night shall the sign be given and on the morrow come I into the world to show unto the world that I will fulfill all that which I have caused to be spoken by the mouth of my holy prophets." He is told the he does not need to worry because Christ will be born. This gift saved his people. Vs 15: "And it came to pass that the words which came unto Nephi were fulfilled, according as they had been spoken; for behold at the going down of the sun there was no darkness..." In Christ there can be no darkness. If we are ever in darkness it is because we put ourselves there. Christ is the source of light that we need to trust, strive for, and SEEK. He is the LIGHT the LIFE and the HOPE of the world. We need to HARKEN unto him. (Harken is to listen and then ACT. Just like faith we have to believe and then ACT.)

I love you all and hope that you have a very Merry CHRISmas. Follow that start and light and you will find true joy in life.

Love Sister Draney

P.S. I want more snail mail and MORE PICTURES! Yes from you all!! If you get this email that means you too! And No mom Pam is wrong. They forward it to my apartment! Sis Snow and I look like little kids on Christmas as we go and check the mail box every night! 

Snail mail = ME SMILE!!!!!!!!!

Wow this week has been crazy! I woke up Tuesday morning feeling nauseous. So as I said my morning prayers I asked Heavenly Father to help give me the strength to do His work that day. I got a thought that I needed to stay strong because there was someone we needed to see at 430. So I muscled through it all day and it wasn't to bad. We headed to one of our last appointments/ someone we were trying to get a hold of. We were walking through some appartment complexes looking for the right one and walked past a man. We felt like we needed to talk to him so we stopped him and gave him a mormon.org card. We ended up talking with him for about an hour!!! He was very open about religion and we talked to him about our Heavenly Father and Christ, The Book of Mormon, and Joseph Smith. And he wanted to know more!! We got all of him contact info so that we can go and teach him more! When we finished talking with him i felt so sick. So we headed home a little early. Then Wed, Thurs, and Fri I was SO sick. I felt like I had the flue but I never threw up or anything. Sis Snow was super sick to but hers was a super soar throat like strep and then it turned into a sinus thing. We would laugh and say we are both getting sick at the same time so that it will only happen once. 

On Monday we were planning for a book of Mormon class that we teach on Tuesdays. Sis Snow got out a index card and told me that I was going to die in 2 minutes and that I had that time to write down anything I wanted to tell the people I love and that she would give it to them after I was gone. This is what I wrote... "We are brothers and sisters to a perfect brother who loves us so much He bore every pain, sorrow, anguish, heart break, inadequacy, and all suffering. He gave his life so that we can LIVE. On the other side of things we have brother who is in so much pain form his choices that he wants us to be miserable like unto his self. While we are here we have a choice just like both of them did. With one comes eternal like, joy, and family. With the other comes eternal guilt, agony, and pain. But it is our choice." (That is as far as I got) Then I gave her the card. She put it on her lap and then picked it up. She looked at me and said stuff like, I have been really busy but I will eventually get this to them. And would rip it in half. You know I felt really tired today but I will get around to it tomorrow. RIP. She continued to do this until the paper was in pieces. That was incredibly painful. I got tears in my eyes because the spirit I had as a wrote this was so strong and it they were my last words. She took another piece of paper off her lap that looked exactly the same and handed it to me. This was my paper!!!! She went on to explain the resemblance this had to the scriptures. The words in that book are so important, these men took time to write down the things that mean so much to them. That have helped them in their lives, and then we just "rip them up" and say later later. WE NEED THE SCRIPTURES NOW!!! They are inspired words from God. We would be CRAZY not to read them daily and drink in the knowledge that is in them. 

I have learned so much from the scriptures. Daily I wish that I had more time to read and study from them. You never realize what you have until its gone. But I'm lucky because I get to share the joy that I get from the scriptures with so many people all day long. There is a cute grandma and her two grandchildren that we started teaching this week! They are AMAZING!! The love I have for them is crazy!!!!!! The grandmas name is Sara. She has custody of her Charlotte and Michael her grandchildren. She is the sweetest little lady. Charlotte has been having a really hard time with friends at school. there is a group of girls at school that are really mean to her and it makes me so MAD! She is the sweetest little girl with the biggest heart. She makes the little rubber band bracelets as well and gives them to sis Snow and me every time we teach her. Her grandma is a very smart lady and tells Charlotte that she needs to turn to God when stuff like that happens because He is always there for her. She wants God in their lives and has been taking them to a Catholic church, but she is VERY open to religion and God!!!! That is like winning a prize when you find a family like this!!! We get so excited when we head to teach them because they are ready!! The joy that comes from teaching others the gospel of Christ is inexplicable. 

I love it here so much!! I mean it gets kinda cold at nights like 55 degrees but we seem to survive it somehow! Today its 73 degrees and as beautiful as ever! The spirit is so strong as you follow with exactness. There is a quote that I hear time and time again... "obedience brings blessings, but exact obedience brings miracles." This is so ture. I know it because I have experanced it in my life.... daily. We find people on the street because we are where we are suppose to be when we are suppose to be there. We follow the spirit even when its kind of scary. But every time we are so richly blessed that I cant imagine not following. Positive thinking the other HUGE thing out here. you can make yourself so sad, mad, frustrated, or tierd if you think about it enough. But as you think about others and what you can do for them you are truly blessed. That is how to be truly happy. Center and build your life on Christ and ALWAYS think of others. Try it out this week and see what a difference it makes. No negative thoughts about yourself or othres. If you have one you have to find one scripture about Christ. (PMG is a great place for those!)

I love you all so much! I know that Christ i our Lord, Savior and Redeemer. He has saved us freely from death, but to be redeemed we have to meet him. He never specified where. Some days it might be half way where others it might be just a step, but as long as we give it our all and repent as we go he will do the rest! I know that the Book of Mormon is a true source of happiness that we ALL NEED in our lives. Use it and be saved from all worldly things. Trust God. "I do know that whosoever shall put their trust in God shall be supported in their trials and their troubles, and their afflictions, and shall be lifted up at the last day." Alma 36:3

Love Sis Draney, "a disciple of Christ the son of God" 3 Nephi 5:13

P.S. Find Jesus: The Perfect Leader by Pres Kimball. Print it and mark it as you read it! It is amazing!!! Also if you read any good talks (This is to anyone and everyone) Please print me a copy and send it to me PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If you wish I would love to hear what you learned as you read it! (you don't have to do that if you don't want to though)

LOVE YOU KATE!

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So California is AMAZING!!!!!!! I LOVE LOVE LOVE it! The second I drove out of the airport I got the most peaceful feeling that this is where I am suppose to be. I know that Heavenly Father sent me here because there are people here for me! And my companion.... OH MY GOSH..... she is the most amazing, wonderdful, spiritual, kind, loving..... person. I have been truly truly blessed. Sister Snow is a perfect fit to what I need right now. She teaches me so much everyday. As we study she shows me ways that she studies that help her and little highlighting tips that she has. Her testimony is so strong and I feel the spirit so strong every time she bears it!

She is an awful speller to and hates English. Twinners!!! We sit up and talk (way to late sometimes) and have become like sisters! She is so in tune with the spirit and because of that she has REALLY been able to help me! The spirit speaks.... alllllllllll the time...... we just don't listen a lot. But I have learned that as I study and pray for others the spirit teaches me faster then when I do it for me.

The people here are amazing! On the first day with my trainer we knocked some doors before our dinner appointment. The FIRST DOOR we knocked on a really grumpy man answered. He told us that he would have us crying by the time he was done with us and that he would rip our scriptures and throw them at us. Then slammed the door. WOW right? Sister Snow gave me a hug as we walked away and said, "Well it can only get better from here right?" Amazing right!?! The funny thing is yes I was sad and upset but not for the reasons that I thought I would be. Sis Snow asked me how I felt about that and what we can learn. I told her that he made me sad but that I was sad for him. I was sad because he didn't have the Savior in his life so he couldn't be truly happy. I loved this mean old man without even knowing him. MIND BLOWN!!!!!! But that is honestly how it is. I love the people here. We talk to EVERYONE around us and people, for the most part, are really kind and will actually listen. So the ones that make you grin from ear to ear and the ones that ask questions and talk back to you!!! The most amazing feeling out there!

Arg... i am running short on time and there is so much more I want to tell you! Like about Jessie who is a lady that we teach. She lives in a care center/ hospitle because she had her leg amputated recently. But she is great!!!! We read the BoM with here and talk about Christ. She is keeping the word of wisdom and everything else she needs to do to be baptized, but she hasn't come to church yet. And she has to come 3 times before she can be baptized. Getting here there is the hard part. She wants to go but either her granddaughter has to come and take her (and she won't), she had to take the transportation with wheelchair stuff that is needed (which no one has in the ward and the one they offer is way expensive), or we have to find a STRONG CNA that can lift her to and from the car. We have been calling around like crazy trying to figure it out so she can be baptized but it looked like it was going to be close to impossible. But the Lord blesses us. Today as we were at Michales we started talking to a lady by us (like normal) and through our conversation that there is a place that will transprot elderly for like $3 each way!!!!! Sounds way to good to be true! But its a new lead!

I see the Lords hand in my like every day. I will have to tell you more about all the other amazing people we are teaching here!!! But for now this is all the time that I have. I love you all. I invite you all to find someone that you can share the gospel with. Share your testimony and invite them to meet (with you) and the missionaries! The members really are CRUCIAL to the work.

I love you all,

Sister Katelyn Draney!

The MTC is an amazing place! My testimony has been stretched and pulled and tried daily.... many times a day. Im not going to lie the MTC is super hard at times but as Christ said, it's very worth it.

I miss you all like crazy, but mostly you mom. Don't cry to much okay :) I have learned her so much and have grown faster then I ever thought possible. The growing pains REALLY hurt sometimes but they are totally worth it!

My companion, Sister Jackson, is very sweet. She loves music and has played the violynn for 26 years... sense she was 5.... So if you do your math right you figured out that she is 31. I am so ipressed that she still decided to serve. She already has a masters and something else. She has made me learn so much. We think very very differently and that is a very very hard thing when you are together ALL the time and teaching for half of that time. I have become more frustranted in these 6 days then ever before. I have been humbled so many times and turely brought to my knees because I could not "stand" it anymore. She really is such a sweet girl... She totally reminds me of Skye which makes me laugh sometimes. But she really lacks self conidence so that has been my goal is to help her gain more self confidence by the time we part paths. 

Preach my gosple is like Candy!! it's so sweet and I can't get enough. The missionary mantle is such a powerful blessing. It magnifies my scriptual knowledge by 10 fold and helps me understand/ remember wat I am learning so fast it blows my mind. And oh my goodness the scriptures are the best thing on earth! I love reading them almost as much as I love breathing.

We had our first TRC lesson yesterday. It was such an amazing experience. We, Sister Jackson and I, taught a man named Jose from Guatimala. He is so fun to talk to and get to know. We taught him the first lesson which starts with how God is our loving Heavenly Father. We asked him what his realtionship with God is like. He explaned that he knows that God is there but that he does not believe that he loves all of his children. He went on to explane that there are way to many people in the world who suffer and die everyday, and he doesn't understand how a loving Father would let that happen. I asked him if he has ever prayed and felt Gods love for him and he shared a very sweet experance of a time when that did happen. We shared experiences that we have had and then bore our testimoney that we know that He is our loving Heavenly Father and that He does care about him and He loves Him. 

Later that day I asked one of my teachers what she would do to help Jose understand why bad things happen to bad people and how we could help him see Gods love for him and she took me to Alma 14:10. This is where Alma and Amulek are teaching and are thrown into prission. Not just that but the wicked leader gathers all the women and children and burns them infrount of them. Amulek wants to stop them but Alma being the wise man he is told him no. That these men had agency and that the things that they are doing will be held against them in the last day. Not only that but that these people would go straight to heaven for their love, faith, and belief. 

So now you see just a little bit of how amazing these teachers are! She would just whip out these stories or scriptures and then help us find a way to share that in the way that would work best.

Okay so the girls in my room are THE BEST!!! Sister Raynor is hilarious and likes to tease me. She likes to take at least one piece of my food in each meal and it makes me laugh! She keeps all of us laughing and helps creat some awesome memories! One day she was in the book store and the brother asked her if she wanted her change. She responded, "yes I like to feed them to ducks, and sometimes they sink." He thought this was so funny so now that is our ongoing joke! Sister Moris, her companion, is such a sweet girl! She has such a strong testimony and spirit. She has such a contagious smile that cheers up your day. She is like a sweet older sister/ childhood friend. And I think she is very pretty!

On Sunday we had the best relief society EVER! There was a song we sang called "As sisters OF zion!" Amazing!!!!!!!! The lyrics are fabulous and almost made me cry.... which mom yes I have cried... more then I would like to admit. The spirit seems to squeeze me so hard sometimes that water squirts from my eyes ;) Then a sister Mortensen spoke and told us that Hand in hebrew means power! Way cool when you think about it! Then we closed singing " Come thou Fount" and everyone had tears in their eyes. The power of that song as we all stood and sang it was incredible!

I've seen both the twins so far but Kyle is on the West campus with all of the other spanish speakers. So maybe ill see him tonight when they come over here for a devotional!

I love and miss you all like crazy but I am so excited to be able to teach and preach and help my lost brothers and sisters! The church is true and the scriptures are awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Love Sister Draney <3