Take Me Back

For all of those that haven't heard, I am home.  I got the heart breaking news that the mission department didn't think it was a good idea for me to try and finish recovering in Canada.  For the last three weeks, I was really sick but kept pushing forward in the work.  I have been receiving several tests to try and figure out what's going on.  It's good to be home but my heart is still in Edmonton.  I fell in love with the people and the work I was doing.  Never in my life had I been happier.  I know without a doubt that God has a plan for each of us and He loves us so much He gives us challenges.  Through our challenges, we have the chance to grow and get closer to Him and our Savior, Jesus Christ.  I know that this church is true and you can truly be happy not just for the moment, but forever.  There is nothing better than seeing people grow and serving those around you.  If you want to be happy, serve a mission!

Week 17

Dear Family and Friends,

We have some unfortunate, mixed news about Kiley.  For those who haven't heard already, Kiley has been suffering with some intestinal and stomach problems for the past couple of weeks.  She has been trying to get better, but her condition has worsened to the point that she is too weak to physically do the missionary work she has enjoyed so much.  We found out tonight that her mission president has consulted the Missionary Department in Salt Lake and has felt inspired that Kiley should return home to seek treatment for an unspecified period of time.  That is all we know so far.  We will find out more details in the next day or two as to when she is returning home and let you all know.

Thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers.  This will be a big adjustment for Kiley similar to when she left.  She will appreciate all of your love and support.  Please understand that leaving her mission is like coming off a spiritual high and can be a little confusing and overwhelming.  She has learned and grown a lot, enjoyed the people she has met and taught, and is really sad about leaving Canada.  However, she knows she is not well enough to continue to be effective as a full-time missionary.  Our focus will be helping her get better and helping her transition to whatever Kiley decides is next for her.  Life does not always go according to our plans, but we have faith that Heavenly Father will bless us and guide us over the next few days and weeks.

Sincerely,
Tom and Shannon Rexinger

Week 16

Kiley did not write very much this week.  She has not been feeling very well and was not able to work much last week.  She asked that we keep her investigators in our thoughts and prayers.  Akan is still progressing toward his baptismal date.

Please keep Kiley in your thoughts and prayers.  We hope she will be able to start feeling better soon so she can get back to working hard!

Week 15

So, I have the two companions now!  One is Sister Galovich and the other is Sister Fellows.  One is from Utah and the other one from Idaho.  I can't remember which right now.  It was way hard saying goodbye to Sister Tam, but it's working out for the best.  I have already learned so much from my new companions and we are working a million times harder.  I didn't think it was possible to work this hard.  Our goals are crazy, but with our triple companionship, we are rocking it!  We are all so different, but we work really, really well together.  We are helping to change lives and we are more than excited.

Our week was super busy and productive.  Last Sunday, we went to a less active member's family birthday party.  He invited Sister Tam and I and another friend.  I ended up talking to that one friend and now he wants to meet with the missionaries at least every week.  The less active member is also turning his life around and preparing for a mission.  That's so exciting and awesome.  Monday, we had a BBQ at a less active member's house with one of our investigators.  Tuesday was Canada Day.  We went down town with some members wearing regular clothes because we were doing service after.  That was way fun and we saw many missionaries there as well, which was fun, too.  Wednesday was really hard with transfers and Sister Tam leaving, but we got through it!  Thursday, we had a lesson with Akan and he now has a baptismal date for August 2nd.  I had a prompting from the Holy Ghost to commit him to August 2nd and he accepted.  I LOVE PROMPTINGS.  We also had a lesson with Mavis and she's progressing toward baptism.  We plan on committing her to a baptismal date this week along with her daughter.  We also met up with another investigator and she took us out for ice cream.  Friday was the 4th!  Happy Fourth!  We did service and planned our transfer goals most of the day.  It was hard not thinking about home.  Hopefully the fourth wasn't that great since I was gone.  Just kidding!  That night, we had supper with members and ended up teaching her son that I've never met.  Our lesson was about The First Vision.  He gave us his phone number afterwards and we plan to teach him again.  Saturday, we had a member baptism and we taught the first lesson.  And, we had another investigator show up to that!  She liked it!  After the baptism, we taught her.  She has kept us away from her kids for a while now, but she invited us today to go with her and her kids to Fort Edmonton!  This is a huge deal.  That means she's serious.  Sunday was crazy as usual with church meetings.  Our investigator and her less active husband had their baby blessed by his dad.  The baby is a year old.  That was cool that they were at church.  After church, we taught them and there is crazy progress going on with them.  We had a potluck for break the fast and lots of non members went.  That was so fun.  We got some appointments!  We are so excited.

I hope everyone had a good 4th of July.  I love and miss you.  Sorry for not being able to respond very quickly to many of your messages.  I have a bunch in my inbox still.  The time flies each week on the computer and we have to sign up for using them at the library.  When our time expires, the computer turns off.  That means someone else has their time/turn.

Have a good week.

Love,
Sister Kiley Rexinger

Week 14

Hey Everybody,

This week, Elder Nelson (apostle) and his wife came.  They talked about the need to be prepared and the importance of sacrificing more time to go to the temple and do family history.  That was fun and interesting.

Sister Tam is being transferred and will now be teaching/speaking Mandarin Chinese.  We said our goodbyes to many families and had some really powerful lessons.  It's amazing how many people have said we have changed their lives.  I also had exchanges with Sister Young and that was so much fun.  I learned so much from her.

We have several progressing investigators.  We are expecting 6 on Sunday at church.  Hopefully that works out.

Tomorrow is Canada Day!  That is the national day of Canada, a holiday celebrating the anniversary of July 1, 1867, when the three colonies were united into a single country.  The mission is giving us a free day, but of course we get to talk to people.  We are super excited!  We are going downtown to festivals and stuff!

I hope everyone has a great 4th of July!  Light some fireworks for me and get sun burnt!

Love you all,
Sister Kiley Rexinger

P.S.  I tried shrimp this week.  That was gross.

Week 13

Hey Family and Friends,

Things are going well up here in Canada this week.  I'm feeling a little sick.  I went to the doctor to be seen for my allergies.  He did give me an inhaler so I'm doing better now.  They also drew some blood work to check some things out, I guess.  I've grown so much spiritually these past weeks.  For example, I was challenged to read the Book of Mormon cover to cover in my first 12 weeks on my mission and I have 20 pages left!  I'm so excited.  I've learned so many new things.

Every week for the past 6 weeks, Sister Tam and I have found a new investigator.  We have so much work going on here.  We went from no investigators to 9 in the last 12 weeks.  Three are progressing and we have a few returning less actives.  Akan is a guy that just showed up to church one day with his coffee.  We found him at the bus terminal and he loves us!  He also loves reading the scriptures.  What is our secret?  The secret is love and wanting to talk to the people.  We are hoping that our efforts bring a new light and energy to our ward.  People love us.  We also have Family Home Evening every week with several families.

Transfers are the following week, after Canada Day!  Yay!  It's still cold here, but I'm getting darker each day.  We also had a zone conference this week that was great.  The matching dresses was a unity thing we were encouraged to do. 

Anyway, I hope everyone has a great week.  The Gospel is true.

Love,
Sister Kiley Rexinger

Week 12

We have achieved some great goals for our area.  Not long ago, there were no investigators for our area and now we have seven!  We have also been visiting more of our less-active families and seeing positive results from our efforts and Heavenly Father's help.

I have been thinking about the importance of the principle of obedience as a missionary and throughout our lives.  I'm working on obedience because I know it is important and will help us become closer to Heavenly Father and His son.  Thank goodness for the Gospel and the Atonement.

On a less serious note, I have arranged our room and apartment here.  I put pictures all over our ugly wallpaper and fireplace.  It's starting to finally look like something I would call "my room."

Another funny thing happened this week when the Elders were complaining the other day about how they always get bad things yelled at them.  Sister Tam and I started laughing and said we always get honked at or whistled at or even asked out!  I had a few guys ask me to go grab a coffee with them.  Sorry, but not this Sister!

I hope everyone has a good week!

Lots of love from up north,

Sister Kiley Rexinger