I declare this a transfer for miracles

Yodelaheehoo

Alright alright, I declare this a transfer for miracles. My new companion is from South Korea and she is a tiny boss. I mean that in the best way possible. She just got back from her outbound mission in Seattle and has one more transfer left in the mission after this one. She rocks. I have now left the comfort of my West Gate home but it's okay because we keep busy with our two new assignments.

1) We are the apartment coordinators along with another companionship. This means that we are the people who everyone cries to when their living quarters aren't up to snuff. This also means that we are in charge of the missionary D.I. room. The sisters drop off their unwanted clothing and other things in the secret closet in the garage for us to arrange. The room only opens for everyone to dig through a couple times at the beginning of the transfer and then it's like the Disney vault, closed until the next transfer. So, we get first dibs of things to take but it's not so exciting when there are a hundred black missionary skirts to choose from... I'm good.

2) I'm really excited for our other assignment on the hospitality bus group. Hospitality bus tours are busloads of relatively wealthy people who travel the country and stop in Salt Lake to eat a ritzy meal. Everything for them revolves around their meals at either the Lion House, The Roof or the garden. One of the senior couples in our mission is in charge of scheduling these groups and tries to get them to come for more than just the food. So most of the time these groups will end up scheduling a tour of the square, the Beehive House, or the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. Sister Kim and I get to be some of the missionaries that give them tours and try to spoil them as much as possible. On Friday night, Sister Kim and I got a small taste of the hospitality bus life. We met a bus just outside the Lion House and then brought them in to eat. We basically played waitress for the next hour, carrying trays and filling up drinks. WHY? We didn't really get what we were doing or why we were doing it. We felt uncomfortable with the thought of hundreds of people visiting the square during that time who needed to be taught while we were playing waitress. I learned to shushup (edited for mom) and serve. I realized that I had to stop being selfish about how many people I taught but focus on the people who were in front of me. The next day we had an official hospitality bus training and really learned what we are suppose to do with the big, rich groups of old people. Our job is to love them. We will likely have a group 2 nights a week who we will spend up to 3 hours with. Though we may feel like actual tour guides some of the time, our purpose has not changed. We still invite others to come unto Christ but this assignment is specifically non-proselyting. That does not mean that we don't teach. On a regular Temple Square tour, we share with guests the history of the area and the buildings and then we bridge everything to the gospel and we try to apply it to their lives. On a HBTour, we share the history with pioneer stories of faith and that's it until they ask us questions. So our goal is to love them and to help them feel the Spirit. We got a script to learn the ins and outs of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building so I have a lot more to learn. When we take them on a tour of the JSMB, we will show them the Chapel and simply teach about its use. The HBT veterans suggest that we whip out a hymnbook and sing a hymn like "Come come ye Saints" and tell the story of William Clayton. That's how we will teach. Most of the people we will take will be retirees so the other sisters told us to treat them like our grandparents... bad idea if I'm treating these people like I did Grandpa Kyle. Buuut I'm excited to love these people. Essentially, we want to change the image of the Church in these people's minds and enable them to be open to missionaries when they see them locally. I secretly wish our audience was younger and had more life to live but every soul is great and old people are an easy crowd.

I've fear that I’ve been called on a French speaking mission this transfer.  We have a ton of time to teach on the square every day and Sister Kim replies "yes" to french tour requests before I can make up an excuse not to take it.  We've taken more French tour this past week than I did all last transfer.  I always feel very fulfilled after getting through a French Tour but they still make me sweat.  I especially like talking to French people who have a ton of questions and next to no knowledge about the Church.  I'm not a very good conversational French speaker but I always feel like I can do well when I teach the gospel.  The Church is true!

Today for pioneer day, we got to watch the parade!  The best float was a likely baptist Church who had a big Jesus driving their float with energetic choir singers and I also loved the polynesian culture center's crazy dancers.  My new favourite pioneer story to tell people is the one about Benjamin Johnson who was taken prisoner of a mob.  Since he would not deny his faith, a man tried to shoot him three times.  On the fourth try, the man ended up shooting himself.  KARMAAAAA. 

Korean motor coahces are my new best friend. 

LOVE, SISTER KAAAAAATIE KYYYYYYYYLE