Dang we worked this week! We got 22 lessons which is super exciting :) We are meeting new people like crazy there is so much work to be done! Sorry this is a day late, my companion got the stomach bug so we were home bound yesterday but it was the perfect day to regroup! I was definitely running low on juice.

Mondey: We cleaned our apartment so good! Im talking bleached everything! Ahhh nothing like spring cleaning :) we went out and taught the Restoration that evening and I wore my rain boots. They are the best! Shout out to Sarah Barrand for her lovely gift I love them!
Tuesday: We had a lesson with a newer investigator, we introduced her to the Book of Mormon, but before we got to that we asked if she had read the restoration pamphlet. She totally had and basically taught us the restoration. I was amazed! Really cool. We love her. Then later we met with A less active that we tracted into, her name is Heidi. She is 24 and has 2 adorable kids and is married. She has been living in the house for about 1 and 1/2 months and then we showed up. She went to church in her teenage years and then just stopped. But we started reading the Book of Mormon with her and she just took right off we texted her to remind her about reading and she texted back with a summary of the chapter we had left and with the comment of "The Book of Mormon is basically my life! I can apply the whole book so far to something in my life!" It was so cool to hear that from her :) She is great.

Wednesday: We tracted into a new family and it's pretty cool because they are so eager to learn, dad included :) I love seeing their excitement because it really is that important! We are talking about their salvation! They, Marcus and Kala are so sweet. They have 3 children, Asia, DaLeah and DaMoney. They are funny. We taught them about the restoration on the doorstep, everyone just sat on the steps and they just soaked it up. When we went back to see them we brought them a Book of Mormon and they committed to reading it. It's been really cool because we have been really working hard on getting people to read the Book of Mormon because it holds the pure doctrine of Christ. If they get it from there it's still pure. So we have studied the first couple chapters like 5 times now and its amazing how much you get out of it every time. I recognize new things every time! 

Thursday: We invited Kathy Coney to come to church and she said she would! She is reading and praying! We got a couple potential investigators today :) An amazing feeling, we were able to pray for one of them specifically for her daughter. Her daughter is 10 and has Diabetes. She really opened up to us after the prayer and said that she couldnt believe we were that far from home just to be able to pray for her daughter. We were really able to express that God had sent us. So we will go back and see her soon.
Friday: We had a lesson with Ms. Cathy Spencer, she is so cute. She cracks me up, she always has the funniest things to say. But her faith is so strong and I can see it growing too. She is reading the Book of Mormon and doing her best to receive answers. She prayed and got the answer to just keep reading.
Saturday: We sang at the Nursing home and cheered them all up they are so sweet. They really appreciated it. Then they had us sing for their nursing home church service which was cool. I totally was off key several times but they had no clue which was good hahaha they are the best.
Sunday: Kathy Coney came to church!!! yay my first investigator in church! It was way cool. She liked it and said she would come again. It was fast sunday because of conference, we went around and had some lessons but at 4 o"clock one of our less actives had dinner all ready for us. We went over and had roast with rice and gravy and green beans with homemade cake. It was killer good it tasted like beyond words good. She was pleased to see how much I liked it. She is so sweet her name is Sister Robinson. She has so many antique things, her house is like a dream. She loves me because I love it so much. Before we start out Book of Mormon study she always has to tell me and show me her recent finds :) She is quite the bargain shopper. But Sister Smith got sick after eating there and we have been home bound ever since. Not bad though it felt great to clean and read and pamper myself for the day as well as her.

Spiritual Lesson learned: PRAY!!!!! Make it a conversation and do it all the time. The difference it can make in your life is amazing! Read the article in the Ensign named "It isnt a sin to be weak" it is really amazing and has made me be more positive. Have an amazing week. 

Love, Sister Kerr

Sonic Stop!

 Ice cream run after we volunteered at Salvation army. Its the best ice cream ever and only a buck fifty!... I totally spilled but it was really hot out and it was melting faster than I could lick!

So humid my camera lens fogged up... got to love it!!

Mississippi Rainstorm!

One Month Marker ♡

HAPPY BIRHTDAY ROSIE ROO!! I love you girl friend ;)

My companion has been out 9 months! We are both completely honest with each other which is great. No struggles really that havent been dissolved right then and there. She is teaching me a lot. When I got here she had been here for one transfer and is really having a hard time getting over her last/ first area. But we are really focusing on getting lost in the work so we can come to love everything about this place.

Kensey!!!! God knew how much I needed that package. We had our first contentious lesson with someone and I had a really hard time. I didnt handle it the way I wish I had.. but it wasnt too bad. I kinda really got down on myself about it though, and there was a package waiting for me in our mail box. I about died. Tore it open and held everything close. I love my pictures, I love my music and I loved them cookies. I adore that necklace too. You guys are the sweetest and I miss you. But I know Im in the right place. 

The Salt Lake Missionary council people came and trained us on how to use the pamphlets when we teach and by using them we can really shorten our lesson time! It was a really great 7 hour meeting. The spirit taught so much that by the end we didnt want it to be over then we looked at our watches and realized it had been 7 hours!    

Tracting is one of my favorite things to do! Sister Smith and I walk up to random people or knock on there doors and just proclaim that we are their missionaries! What can we do for them? They always look at us like what? I have missionaries? But then we explain that we are living in this area and we are here for them and the sweet people of McComb, Mississippi say come in! I love them :) We have been working on finding a lot and teaching a 7 minute restoration lesson and then set up a follow up appointment to weed out the uninterested, or unprepared people. We have been working on shortening our lessons so we can get more in. It is very common to be in someones home for an hour and a half which is ridiculous to me but its also the culture down here. So we are trying to find a happy medium with the people :)

One time this week Sister Smith and I were talking to someone we had just tracted into and she said we should come back after the holiday so we said alright and turned to leave and Sister Smith says enjoy your ice cream :) Then we get back to the car and I told Sis Smith that she was holding a bowl of mashed potatoes!! We got a good laugh out of that one.

I ate a crawfish!! It was pretty crazy. An investigator took us to dinner and we slipped in the first lesson :) Im not too sure he was expecting that though. Everyone just tells us how amazing we are to be out here doing Christ's work but then just think that they already know everything... So we share with everyone and sometimes religious people are surprised because they think... wait I already go to church. But the crawfish were great!! The tails were yummy the brains a bit salty... not sure I will ever willingly desire the brain but the tail was good :)

Conference was so good!! I swear it was only a total of 2 hours long! I was not ready at all for it to end. We went to Liberty to watch it, the town next over with a ward building that broadcasts it. Liberty is beautiful. The drive there looks just like the drive to black pond in June. Mississippi in April is just like New York in June! So we get there and watch and I loved Elder Bednars talk so much about Godly Fear. It really changed my perspective on a lot of things... So did Jeffrey R Hollands. I love hearing from God's messengers. I wrote down some specific questions to be answered because we had asked our investigators to do the same thing so I wanted to be able to talk to them about my answers because I knew I would get them. It is so amazing what the spirit can do. Easter night we went to the Culotta's house and they are just like the Drake's! It felt so good to be in my element. We played ping pong and pigged out. They have such a comfortable home to be in :) It was so good to be able to spend Easter with them, I love them. But having Easter on my mission put so much more meaning into the holiday. What an incredible thing to celebrate. In personal study I was able to read through all 4 stories of Easter in the New Testament. I think that Jeffrey R Holland captured my thoughts and feelings in his talk. He had me crying and I am just so grateful to be apart of such a beautiful plan. Knowing that if I jump my very highest I will be caught by his powerful arms reaching for me. The big thing this Easter I #BecauseHeLives and as we were handing out the cards inviting people to watch the video I thought that I should come up with an end of that statement for myself, and it wasnt until Easter Morning when I was reading in the last chapter of John that I came up with Because He lives I must feed His sheep. So that is what I am out here doing. That is why I am out here, because He so boldly told His disciples to feed His sheep. Well I am a disciple of Christ, and He refers to His people as His sheep all throughout the Bible and the Book of Mormon. So therefore I KNOW I am in the right place at this time, God would not have me anywhere else. I just want to testify that this is Christ's work, this is NOT my work. That our Savior died for us, for our own good! And it isnt until we jump our absolute highest, we do EVERYTHING we can and put forth every once of strength and then some that He can catch us and pull us higher.

I'm so glad we have a car!

This week was so good y'all. I am surely thriving down here. My first Sunday was good... but the second one was way better. We have a tiny branch :) But they sure know how to throw a linger longer!

Tuesday: We had a great day of tracting and then to top it off we had the most incredible dinner ever made by Sister Rayborn. She is from Salt Lake and her husband from here. She made Ham, funeral potatoes, and delicious salad! We were so stuffed! Then we met with Jimmie an investigator after and we were practically miserable thanks to our food babies.
Wednesday: Tracting... Hola!! The best we were walking around met some nice people and then it hit me!! I was going to wet my pants and there was nothing I could do about it! We were a ways from our car so we speed walked over to Ralph Stephanie and Jimmie's house and I asked if I could use there bathroom hahaha All Ralph said was "Honey, I've been there before." Then we went out and continued tracting. Then we went to the church building to practice the song we were going to sing with the Culotta sisters. Then we met with our darling Ms. Kathy. She is just the grandest of everything. We love her so much. She is the first person I have come to love on my mission and I can see her through God's eyes. She is splendid! She made us chip dip to snack on throughout the lesson and it was so good and basically straight sour cream.... not cool... dipping my chips in fat!
Thursday: WE volunteered at the food bank which is super fun with the elders :) Then we went back to Ms. Renea's house and met with her. We walked in chatted and then asked her if she had read the restoration pamphlet we had left with her last week when we had tracted into her. She said she had and she believes it is true! Sister Smith and I looked at each other like did we give her the right pamphlet haha because no one reacts to it like that at first! I love her already. We had a wonderful lesson on the restoration, it is the perfect time to teach it with conference this weekend! She said she would watch it and pray if there is a prophettoday. She is amazing! WE had several other lessons but this was the highlight one for the day!
Friday: We went to Ms. Renea's mom's house, she is packing away her things because she died a couple months ago. She gave us so many clothes! We are excited to try them ontoday :) SHe is sweet and very receptive of our help. She couldn't believe that we were willing to come on over and help her randomly. It meant the world to me to be able to serve her though. We left from there and went to the ol' folks home and helped out with some bingo! It is so great to spend time with them. One lady gave me a dollar and asked if I would get her a coke. So I did and come to find out she can't have normal drinks because she chokes on them. I had an anxiety attack while my companion laughed her head off because she did the same thing her first day! Ms. Shirley can always get a cold pop off the new ones. We met with Ms. Kathy and brought her pumpkin cake in payment for the chips and dip. She liked it :) We brought Sister Watkins who is a member in the branch who is practically the same age (60's) and lives on the same street. They got along very well. Our lesson went well, and once again I LOVE MY MS. KATHY!! At the end of the lesson she brought out a grocery bag filled with first aid stuff, tums, band aids, motrin, cotton balls. Mama she is the answer to you and daddy's prayers. We tell her that all the time!
Saturday: Sister Smith and I manned the cupcake decorating party table at the Culotta's house. They through a huge Easter primary party. He is the branch president and she is the primary president! They are the best! They have two daughters who just returned from missions, Kailiegh and Kelsey. We love them :) But our branch is so small that they are assigned in our branch they live in Liberty which is about 20 miles away. The party was way fun and exhausting! After that we went to Ms. Renea's again helped pack up more of her mama's house and then met with several others. Then we went to the Dunaways for dinner and women's broadcast. Dang if that doesn't make you homesick for your mama I'm not sure what would! But I thoroughly enjoyed it and they gave me chocolate which cured my sad feelings :)  Love you my sweet mama. They said in it that "You cant not remember God and forget your mama, and you cant not remember your mama and forget God." So true mama God is present in everything you have taught me!

Sunday: President Hansen came to our Branch. Sister Hansen was sick so he asked us to bear our testimonies. So two weeks in a row I've spoke :) We taught primary and they were little angels this week. It went really well! Loved it. Then we had a linger longer and you would have guessed they we cooking for 100 people when there were only about 40 people there! It was so stinking heavenly and we ate outside and enjoyed the sunny day. It was 81 yesterday. The Elders called us and asked if they could have the car for the day... so we gave it to them and biked... very interesting! It was fun but boy are those helmets fun. I feel like people are more responsive when we ride up sweaty and panting telling them we are missionaries and have a very important message about Jesus Christ that we want to share with anyone who will listen! They take the pamphlet :)
I love being a missionary! I know the church is true, but more importantly I know that Jesus Christ established it. This is his work. I wear a name badge that holds my families name on it as well as His. He is whom I serve. Which means I am willing to serve anyone! I love all the things that we have been able to do to help people feel of Christ's love. I am grateful for this wonderful time of the year where we can remember our savior and all that he did for us!

I love y'all, have a very blessed week, and be safe!
these are the words that nearly everyone speaks to us as we leave. I love the SOUTH! 

Love Sister Kerr