Fishes and Loaves 🐟

 

Week: 58
Date: March 17, 2025
Location: Springfield, Illinois
Email: leah.kimball@missionary.org
Companion: Sister Searle /West Jordan, Utah
Blog: https://livinlavidastlouis.blogspot.com/?m=1

Lexi's Mission Blog: https://iputtheradincolorado.blogspot.com/

Right before we grubbed on crepes for the YSA linger longer! 
Springfield Illinois
March 202t5

HII EVERYBODY!!!

What a fyaa week it was!!! Literally so fun, and it was 70 degrees all week long!!! Sister Searle and I were literally tanning in a UV of 4 during our lunch breaks!!! Praying to be tan again soon!

Guys, this week was just so great!!! We had the coolest miracle happen on Tuesday. Sister Searle and I didn’t really have the funds to hit the store this past preparation day, but we thought we’d be fine. Also, genuinely, we had canned food, so if worse came to worst, we knew we could whip up some canned beans or something! But anyways, I was kinda bummed because I knew we’d have to eat the canned food. We were just disappointed in ourselves!

JRE AND SISTA HUGHES IN J-VILLE 
Springfield Illinois
March 2025

 My fishes and loaves moment after Carolyn's!
Springfield Illinois
March 2025

Anywayssss, that day we had a lesson with the Elders’ friend, Grandma Carolyn, who is literally the sweetest human ever!!! She’s going to be baptized as soon as she gets her First Presidency approval! Unaware of our food situation, Grandma Carolyn had three huge bags of food ready for us to take home. She told us she was trying to get rid of it all before it expired in three weeks. So she gave us all of the food… of course, we refused, but she was like, “No, I’m not gonna eat it. I just buy what I see, and I always buy too much.”

Guys, what a miracle that was. Grandma Carolyn genuinely had no idea that we had an empty kitchen, but God knew. God really does provide for His missionaries! Such a cool miracle!

Aniya is literally the cutest human ever!! On Thursday, we went to Dunkin’, where she works, to do our weekly planning. This girl kept giving us free things! Lol! She gave us all the donut holes they had and her favorite refresher drinks. She also introduced us to her coworker, Indu, who we are now teaching!!! She’s literally the slayest dry member ever! I’m so hyped for her baptism!!

Posing with my free dunkin 
Springfield Illinois 
March 2025

 Oat milk not tea so it's busss
Springfield Illinois
March 2025

We went and taught the baseball guys again!! They are literally just getting cooler with every lesson!! Every time we go back, there are more of them to teach! We teach the new person (this week, it was Luke and Will), and then we add them into a group chat that we have! This group chat literally almost has the whole Lincoln Land baseball team on it!! We send them the Book of Mormon chapter they should read, invite them to church, and let them all know when we are coming to teach again! Haha, it’s literally so awesome!!

While teaching them this week to their specific needs and religious backgrounds (Lutheran, Presbyterian, and non-denominational), I realized how each area we serve in as missionaries at that exact time is literally prepared for our unique strengths! I have had the blessing of sharing Jack’s conversion story with all these boys, and it has actually been the coolest thing ever!! Keep praying for them! They told us that after we leave each lesson, they all read the assigned chapter together! How pure!!!

We also had the privilege of meeting and teaching our friend Terrion this week! He’s so cool! He told us he’s been going through a lot, and meeting with us and getting closer to Christ is just what he needs right now!!

Aniya and Indu gave us so much free dunkin!!! 
Springfield Illinois
March 2025

My queen Carolyn!!! 
Springfield Illinois
March 2o25

Tanning because UV is 4! 
Springfield Illinois
March 2025

I got to go on another exchange in J-ville (Jacksonville, Illinois). I have been there like six times! Lol! But I got to go with Sister Hughes! She’s genuinely such a fun missionary!!! She’s been out for three weeks, and she’s rocking it! It’s literally so fun to be out with her because she has soooo much greenie faith, so we talk to the craziest people!

On our exchange, we saw a guy on a red bicycle and were like, “We should go talk to him,” but then he started riding away too fast for our legs. So we just left it and kept knocking on doors.

Two hours and a couple of lessons later, we saw the guy on the red bike again!!!! Sister Hughes was adamant that we HAD to go talk to him. So we went up to him, but he started biking away… so then we legit started sprinting after him, and he biked faster! Lol!

Then we booked it back to the car and chased after him. We finally stopped him!!! His name is Jre, and Jre was like, “Y’all chased me down. I know God is trynna tell me something.”

So we got to teach Jre about the Book of Mormon and how it will change his life. We invited him to read it and pray about it! Then, he called us the next morning and told us he had read 12 pages of the Book of Mormon! He was so cool! I’m stoked to hear how his prayers go! God is sooo cool for putting people who are prepared in our path!

Halen came to church this past week. After much prayer and consideration, we had to give Halen back to the Lord’s hands. He started talking a little crazy again this past week, and yesterday at church, he gave my companion a heart keychain… He’s genuinely a little scary, so we took that as confirmation to stop teaching him! I’m pretty relieved—he has been a pretty scary guy to teach!!

Anyways, in better news!

David went to church in Texas again this past week! He’s on date for April 13th, and he’s so awesome! I’m hyped for him!

Larry came to church again yesterday, along with our new friend Jacob! We also got to have crepes after church! I’m literally living my best life out here… I love crepes!!!

The district!! + Brother Zollinger 
Springfield Illnois
March 2025

This week in District Council, our DL had us read The Call of Duty, a talk from President Thomas S. Monson in 1986. Our DL, Elder Horning, invited us to memorize a quote, and while reading through it and studying it, this quote stuck in my mind:

“Duty is never worthily performed until it is performed by one who would gladly do more, if only he could.”

“I slept and dreamt

That life was joy.

I and saw

That life was duty.

I acted, and behold—

Duty was joy.”

I know for the past couple of weeks, I have been talking about the same thing over and over again. I think it has been such a theme of my mission. I truly believe and know that as we show more love in the world, we will experience more joy. JESUS IS JOY!!!

I am so grateful to be a part of this great work that brings the greatest joy!!! God is good every day!

— Hermana Kimball

Dad: Doubling the sacrament attendance is crazyyy!

Mom: Honduras queen, sad I couldn’t be there with y’all!

Colton: Poor Kash is being force-fed BYU basketball. Lol.

Caryn: Can’t wait to recreate the Reeves’ awkward family photos.

Taylor: Your summary of the chat literally made me lol.

Bailey: “HAHAHAHAHAH” — I didn’t know you could show happiness.

Clay: No call, no updates, no comments from me.

Lexi: I have told everyone about Summer ‘23 for you… tears every time… lol jk.

Bella: Very proud of you. 👏 Sorry Mom is trying to set you up with the Honduran elders.

Collins: Looks like you are living the good life in Honduras.

Capri: Only real island girls like coconuts.

Kash: I love that you are always wearing BYU!

Reese: I can’t wait to squeeze you!!