The Otha Side of the Mississippi!! 👑

 

Week: 21
Date: July 1, 2024
Location: Southside, St Louis Missouri
Email: leah.kimball@missionary.org
Companion: Hermana Bruin/ St George, Utah 
Blog: https://livinlavidastlouis.blogspot.com/?m=1

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Had to take a pic w/ grandmas cakes!
St Louis Missouri
June 2024

Hey squad another week and this week flew! The first two days were so long then this past weekend just flewww! The baptism helped a lot and fun lil' road trip!! 

So let's get started!! Wednesday night we taught our friend Josue!!! Josue is so cool!! We found Josue through Rebecca because they are dating!! Rebecca is a member! She was baptized in Nicaragua and didn't know there was a Spanish church here! We have been meeting with the both of them for a couple weeks but they were in the middle of moving.. so we lost some contact, but we finally got some solid lessons set back up with them!! After our lesson on Wednesday we had to straight up tell them, “The Book of Mormon is the only way you will come to know this is the restored gospel of Jesus Christ”. Such a cool experience because right then and there Josue committed. He said he will read it to seek answers for himself! 

They spelled public library wrong.. awk..
St Louis Missouri
June 2024

On Thursday and Friday we were able to get some good service in!!! Our Relief Society President Sister Bluemel is a Spanish teacher at a middle school. Anyways, she wanted to paint her whole class room before the school year and claro que si, las hermanas came to the rescue! It was so fun to paint, chat, and eat some gooood Chick Fil A with her! I literally love her so much! She is a huge glue to our branch and literally serves all day long! The service was so fun and reminded me of painting with my mama when I was in middle school!! Super super fun! 

Biggg organizer girls!!
St Louis Missouri
June 2024

Hard workers painting !! 
St Louis Missouri
June 2024

NOW FOR THE BEST PART OF THIS EMAIL!! HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK!!! Sister Bruin and I got the chance to take a quick road trip to the other side of the Mississippi to Illinois and watch our friends Sylvia and Mario get baptized! This was the most special experience I have ever had on my mission! I was blessed to have been there since the beginning of their journey with God and literally so blessed to see them make a covenant with him and be baptized!! It was so wonderful! Also Y'ALL.. Sylvia and Mario are from San Pedro Sula, Honduras (my home in Honduras) what a testament that God is in the details, he knows and loves me individually. 

I was able to speak with them after and ask them how they felt and Sylvia said she felt so much peace. Mario said he didn't want to get out of the water but he also said it was either the Holy Spirit or how warm and refreshing the water was ahah.. Soooo.. but it was funny and they were just beaming with joy! They both came up and thanked me and I literally just gave Sylvia the biggest hug and thanked her because my testimony has grown so much! Seeing them so happy literally reminded me why I'm here and it's because the gospel of Jesus Christ is a happy gospel and I am so blessed to share the joy that I receive from Jesus Chirst. 

 BAPTISM FOR SYLVIA AND MARIO!!
Illinois
June 2024

Sunday was such a beautiful day!!! It's been like 100 degrees here and Sunday it cooled down for the day !!! 90 degrees we were blessed!! Lol! But for some reason we contacted, literally no joke, 200 people to come to church this past week and 1 showed up.. Heavens these past two weeks have been so dry! Hopefully, we can get some people who will actually come to church! 

My spiritual thought this week comes from my dad! Yesterday, (his birthday) I got the opportunity to call him and I was just complaining on how we can't seem to get anyone to actually come to church. My dad, being a spiritual beast, just told me everything we learned in “Come Follow Me” this past week. Sometimes when you have already testified and preached to the people and they decline, the Lord will have you go back, even when you don't want to. He has you go back and do it differently. Teach differently. So that was the advice my dad gave me for the upcoming week. Do it differently. The mission has its highs and its lows, and it's been pretty discouraging to get so many “no’s” or so many people uninterested. But I'm hyped to take on this new week! I'm hyped to find those who are prepared this week! Keep Bellavilla in your prayers! That we can find those miracles! 

I love you all so much! I hope you have the best Fourth of July!! Go swimming for me this week 🙌 !! I love y'all ! Remember God is so good! 

-Hermana Kimball

Dad: Ayyy anoth'a year for the legend!!! 

Mom: We all know the real reason you have the cast… 

Colton: New cribb

Caryn: Forever grateful for sending me social media posts! 🙏 

Taylor: Sorry you're the only one who actually works lol 

Bailey: I know being with mom is less fun w/o Lexi and I!

Clay: Making me have fomo lol

Lexi: Gosh, guess I'll talk to you next week.. 

Bella: Have the best time at girls camp!! 

Collins: Mama Mia Child 

Capri: You need to come wash my car here in STL! 

Kash: I usually can't linger any longer either..