Officially Started My Mission!

11-19-2014

Today is not my normal P-day in the mission anymore, today it is just because of transfers and coming out here. So after this week it will be on Mondays from now on.

I didn´t write out any points this week or pre write my blog so it is going to be kind of brief probably. I´m not sure.

But I left the CCM yesterday morning early. Went about 35 minutes to the mission home, met up with all the other North American missionaries that are new that came from the Mexico CCM and we had Capatación (training) pretty much all day.We had a short interview also with our Mission President to see who we would be good to be companions with and what area of the mission we needed to go to. I was actually the first one he interviewed out of about 40 or so missionaries. I got my assignment and left yesterday around 4:45 in a taxi to the bus station, then we rode the bus for about 3 hours. And now I am here! ...Now that I postponed where I am long enough I will tell you.

I´m in CAÑETE! It´s pretty close to the beach along the coast. We actually planned in our zone meeting today to take one of our P-days in Decemeber and go. Which will be way fun. I´m actually in a smaller little area of Cañete called Imperial. You can all go look it up on Google Maps if you desire. It´s quite different here. I have decided I´m never complaining about pot holes or a bumpy road ever again because a guarantee all the roads here are awful. Imperial has a lot of dirt roads as well. (Which I did expect to some extent) But it is pretty poor here too. Its interesting because there is a ton of run down buildings with dirt roads and garbage and dead animals everywhere in one area and not that far away is another more public area that's a lot nicer and not that bad! Also, there are a zillion dogs, and they KEEP THEM ON THE ROOFS here! Very interesting. But I am embracing all the cultural aspects of it while I am here.

OH, so I thought it was going to be an adjustment to be in a companionship instead of in a trio like I was in the CCM, but guess what? I´m in a trio YET AGAIN. I do have mixed feelings about this but I am determined to make it the best! One of my companions is from California and the other is from Mexico City. They have both been out almost a year and have been in a companionship for like 3 months.

Our apartment is quite nice! Hermana Saucedo (Mexico) said it is like New York. It actually is very clean and quite nice. Very small, but nice. I will send pictures next week. I didn´t know we were stopping here to email so I didn´t bring a way to send pictures. (I´m sending this email from a small room/street store thing. You just walk in and tell them you want an hour and then they unlock one of the computers and put your time on it. There is about 12 computers in here that just basically go right out into the street.I definitely haven't seen anything like this before.

Church wise, I had a District and Zone meetings today. I understood most of what everyone was saying but speaking correctly is difficult. I don't know near as much as I thought I did. But it is okay. We just barely were standing in the street, my companions and some other Hermanas from the zone were getting ice cream and this lady just comes up to me and asks me if we come visit people at their houses! Of course I said yes. But after that I didn't understand much else she said.So the other Hermanas started talking to her and got her information since she lived in their area.

This week I leave as a spiritual message just my testimony because I don't have my english scriptures to look up a scripture to have the exact quote and I'm sure you all don't want them in Spanish.

My testimony is this. I KNOW this church is the true church of Jesus Christ here on the earth today as it was when he was on the earth. It has brought me a lot of peace and comfort and knowledge to know where I have come from why I am here and where I am going. I know Jesus Christ is our older brother and our Savior. That he suffered and died for our sins so we would be able to return to live with our Father in Heaven. I know this mission is going to be the most difficult thing I´ve ever done but it is so worth it to me to go without the comforts of the US for 1.5 years so I can preach the gospel and help bring others to a happiness that I have and a knowledge that I have and ultimately be able to live in the presence of Heavenly Father again. I am so grateful for this opportunity.

With Love,

Hermana Kiser

Lima South Here I Come!

November 12, 2014

So this week the new Latinas got here, and they are AWESOME!! They are all super nice and we have become actually really good friends with them. It’s nice, because the last group of Latinas hardly talked to us even though we tried to with them and kind of ignored us, but these ones are VERY willing to interact and be friends. It’s great because they want to learn English and we want to learn Spanish so we just help each other out!! One day we spend like 1.5 hours talking to them and learning different words, talking about insects and critters here in South America and they also were helping us learn how to roll our Rs better! I wasn’t very good at it before I got here. The only way I could do it was if I sounded like a machine gun. The Latinas gave me a little riddle that helps and I have gotten SO much better and can actually do it with words now. 
Its "r con r cigarro. r con r barril. rapido corren los carros y las ruedas del ferrocarril.
I will definitely miss these Hermanas for sure. Two are going to Bolivia La Paz mission but one is going to MY MISSION, Lima South! :)
One Hermana, who I talk to the most, Hermana Lopez, from Colombia, always shares her candy with us, and the other night she gave me her bracelet from right off her wrist. She is so cool and sweet. I pray that I will get a companion as patient and chill as her.
So this Sunday Elder Evans is coming to the CCM. I guess he's in the 1st Quorum of the Seventy, right under the Apostles as far as missionary stuff goes. But nobody knows who is speaking in sacrament meeting with him this Sunday, so we all prepare talks and then they call us up right then and there (very much like the Hunger Games) so this week since I am an Advanzado I have a VERY high chance of getting called on. It would be cool to speak with him, but I am very nervous as well, because of course, it has to be in Spanish! On the upside of him coming I am singing in the choir that day, a super beautiful version of "I Need Thee Every Hour".
So since it is Spring it’s the time of new life here! This week I found a nest in a bush at about waist level with a momma and 2 baby birds!! They are SOO cute. I definitely check on them every day. ha-ha :)
It’s weird to think this is my LAST EMAIL FROM THE MTC!! Next week at this time I'll be who knows where within the Lima South Mission, with a completely new companion! :) I am VERY ready to get out of the walls of the MTC, but I am definitely not prepared. And I am going to miss my district here SO much. They are all such a great bunch of Elders and Sisters. If I could I would totally serve my whole mission with them. (But I most definitely do want to have Latina comps too though). Goodbyes here won’t be fun at all...
Well, I've had a splendid time here at the CCM in Lima, now it is time for my mission to REALLY begin!
I hope all is well wherever you all are! Remember you are a child of God and he loves you SO so much and wants the best for you.

Love, Hermana Kiser :)

                       Baby birds I found in a bush here. Havent named them yet.

Lima Peru Temple

My district with our morning teacher Hermana Oliveros at the Lima Temple.

I am an Advansado...! Only 2 more weeks in the CCM!

Not a whole lot happened this week at the CCM... or at least that I care to disclose in this blog ;) haha So I am just going to do a couple bullet points of things I could come up with. And AFTER there will be some pictures because we just found out we can now email pictures!!  :)

 

--This week one of my companions accidently pulled a chair out from under my other companion and she fell to the floor. I felt awful, but I'm not going to lie, I thought it was quite hilarious.

 

--We had the delectable churros in the cafeteria here TWICE this week!

 

--I have now tried asking 2 North Americans where they are from in Spanish, thinking they were Latino, only to get a completely clear answer of California and Salt Lake in English.  haha Whoops!

 

--I saw a big slug today at the Temple

 

--The new Hermanas got here last night and one is from Cardston, AB!

 

--The CCM President and his wife are nice, sometimes, but they are super scary. 0.0

 

Yep, thats honestly all I could come up with for this week... Its just been classes and practice teaching! Pretty routine...

 

I hope you all enjoy the pictures and have a wonderful week!

 

Hermana Kiser

 sisters in my district also all my room mates. 

                                                     the beds is of course my room

 

a picture of me with the soccer field.

The flowers are here at the MTC. I just liked them so thought I'd send them 

the 3 of us (my companionship) at the temple 

district selfie at the temple 

 the one of all the people  in front of the MTC sign is my district doing the "page 33" sign with straight faces. this is a MTC joke. Page 33 is the page in the missionary handbook that talks about interactions of elders and sisters. 

 

the one building of the house is just becuase. its a nicer part of town, just an example of what a house looks like.

 

the street and palm trees was out the back of the bus today on p day.

Excerpt from email to family 10-29-2014

10-29-2014

I don’t do a mass email; I just have people look at the blog. I am SOOOO so happy that I came to this MTC. The Lord definitely knows what he’s doing in all things. I met a kid from Pocatello, he’s a newbie, and he went to the same HS as Trevor and knows his little sister Ashley! Kind of cool. Also a girl here went to the same HS as Aubrey from my HU soccer team. And there are currently 2 kids here from Montana. One is from Billings the other from Great falls.

 I play soccer every day!! I made a bicycle kick goal the other day. And everyone thought it was the coolest thing ever. One teacher told me last week his dream is to be able to play soccer with me, and yesterday he did! ....I still have a cool head and am not cocky, but to be honest all the Latinos love me since I play soccer. :)

I am DEFINITELY getting enough to eat. Probably too much! And one of the CCM (MTC) rules is to eat all your food. Sometimes it’s hard because we don’t dish it up ourselves, the people working in the Cafeteria do.

I have been healthy! Although I eat a lot of beets! But it’s all good. ;) But I feel great! I haven’t had a single head ache yet!

My comps are from Rexburg and North Salt Lake. Vanessa South and Jennesa Coleman. If you want you can look them up on FB. Ha-ha

Studying is WAY easier than at home! It’s weird. Of course all we do here is church stuff so it’s totally normal.

Tell grandma hello and I love her! :) 

Well love you guys!! :) Tell everyone hello

The days feel like weeks and the weeks feel like days. (10-29-2014)

The days run together here. Its hard to remember what day’s things happened. I COULD look in my journal but I don’t really have time for that. ...but today, and maybe more emails, I’m going to use a series of subtitles and describe those things, not necessarily having anything to do with events. 

My Companions:

Everyone always says being in a trio is super hard. But what of us? We get along really well and haven’t had any problems. Hermana Coleman and Hermana South are the best that I could ask for. We get along so well that we have some odd things we do. 1. We have a handshake. 2. We have a quote wall in our room for all the funny/stupid/fantastic things we say. 3. There is a picture of a hand heading into the bathroom and it has a bunch of cartoon germs on it. We each picked one and named it. Mine is Calvin and the other 2 are Eli and Steven. 4. We beatbox/hum/sing (rap) together. We got some pretty cool rhythms going right now. ...We have a ton of fun. Don’t get me wrong though they are both spiritual examples to me and we study/teach a lot too. We always talk about how blessed we are to have this companionship. 

Food:

We’ve had carne and pollo saltado many times this week and it is the best! Also, the ice cream is way good here too... my vegetables of choice that they serve here? Definitely beets! I LOVE BEETS! None of the vegetables are raw they are always cooked. ...At home I didn’t like apples very much but here, they are quite good! Also, bananas at home make my mouth itch, but not here! :) 

Out and About:

Monday and Tuesday this week we got to go on a "field trip" and leave the CCM. Monday we went to Migrations (I have no idea what it was for and what we did there. Nobody said and nobody spoke English, whatever it was its helping us to be able to get our Visas to stay here I think) And Tuesday we went to Interpol (which was at the National Police Place or something). There we were finger printed and we gave them other papers, I don’t know what they were exactly. They also checked our teeth, which I guess was in case we die they use it to help identify our body. Crazy as all of the papers and stuff was and not really communicating well with people other than pointing and some Spanish words I feel really good like everything is well taken care of. 

Traffic:

People drive nuts here!! I would definitely never survive. I think that a huge reason why it’s not a driving mission. And there are bunch of super old, cobbled together crappy cars, but there are some sticking nice ones too! Like Mercedes, Porsche, a lot of Nissans etc... It’s just crazy to see the little 3 wheeled taxi car things (which are really motorcycles with bodies) driving next to nice sports cars. Also, they have traffic cops here. And what’s WEIRDER is ALLL of the ones I’ve seen, except one, have been women!! Common things you see in traffic; round abouts, HUGE speed bumps, and jam packed busses. And everyone here honks, a LOT... for not reason.

Common American Places I’ve seen

McDonalds, Subway, Burger King, Chilli’s, Hard Rock Care, Gold’s Gym, and a bunch of nice car dealerships. Also they have Pepsi here, but NO MOUNTAIN DEW! :O Pepsi, but no Pepsi products?! What the heck. But it’s good... I don’t need that anyway.

But out of ALL this week, there was one experience that was the absolute best! We (my district) were sitting in class one morning and we heard the voices of children. For a moment we got super confused because obviously there aren’t any kids at the CCM (MTC). So our teacher told us real quick that sometimes the primary kids from the nearby stake come to visit to kind ofish take a tour. So we got super excited and we rushed to the door. When we opened it, there was a huge line of Peruvian kids. The little girl directly next to the door as we opened it screamed while shaking her hands in the air with the biggest eyes of excitement. I literally felt famous for a second. So our district went out into the hall along the wall to say hello. They all then went to each one of us and shook our hands. Some of the little kids even gave us hugs. Then all the adults with them gave us hugs, did that whole side cheek kiss thing too. (That will be something to get used to) But they said 'Gracias' into our ears with the most gratitude I’ve heard. I will never forget how excited those kids were and how grateful they seemed. They were all so stinking cute too!! It makes me super excited to get out into the field and have a ward I go to and will get to know the members and kids there.

Its weird I’ve been here almost a month. It feels like hardly any time at all. Even though I’m tired all the time and having classes over and over all the time, I am definitely enjoying myself here :) Hope all is well wherever you all are! Feel free to email me (posted on this page) with any questions or anything. My time to write is short (only 1 hour) but I’ll do my best to reply! 

Love, Hermana Kiser 

Scripture for this week... We’ve been using this chapter in our lessons a lot lately... 

Ether 12:27 (Book of Mormon)

"And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.

Poco A Poco

 

Thats what all the teachers here say, "Poco a poco..." Little by little. Its true though, we are learning a lot but little by little.  Our maestra said its like watching your fingure nail grow. You cant see it growing if you consciously look at it, but if you arent focused on it then one day its just super long. One day we are just going to be able to hold a compoletely normal fluid conversation in spanish.

 

This week FLEW past! I cant beleive its already P-Day again! The newest group of missionaries got here last night. THere are about 20 North Americans and 60 Latinos (thats what I heard anyway). Its kind of odd though because the group that just left had 40 North Americans in it. Its also weird being considerered Intermedios instead of Principates, I feel like i just got here.

 

Things have gotten to be in a pretty regular shcedule now, so nothing SUPER exciting. Ive taught about 5-6 lessons in spanish, broken of course, but its coming along pretty well :)

 

The birds here are super nice! :) Ive seen blue, yellow and red ones, and mulitple hummingbirds, and there are a lot of morning doves everywhere. But the sounds here are so different there are so many there is always birds singing which I enjoy. The plants are also very different of course.  Its just weird to see palm tress and other tripical-ish plants ive never seen on a regular basis. Not complaining though!

 

There is a ton of construction all the time around (outside the MTC) that echoes off everything and its super loud sometimes. We study outside a lot so sometimes its gets pretty irritating. There are actually quite a few small mountains that jut up everywhere here so it echoes off that too. You cant see teh mountains all the time though because of A. the fog in the morning or B. the smog during the day.  Some people joke that on P-Days when we leave the walls of hte MTC that we breathe in straight cancer. Its really not THAT bad though, there are definitely way worse cities in the world!!

 

...So the rumors turned out to be true, I DO eat rice at least once everyday. I actually am not sick of it yet though, after 2 weaks!! I also have never eaten this much meat in my life! I, most of the time, at lunch and dinner either chicken of some kind or carne (meat). They dont sepcify the meat unless its chicken (pollo), so its just meat. And every morning we have fired or scrambled eggs a piece of cheese, a slice of deli ham, and a couple rolls. And they have THE. BEST. juice here!! Im pretty sure its because its the real deal.

 

My companions are still great. Im so very thankful they dont get on my nerves or anything because I have LITERALLY been around them 24/7 since I got here. And my district is still amazing. We had the BEST district meeting/testimony meeting on Sunday. They will all be fantastic missionaries.

 

So until today when we went out into the city after the Temple I didnt feel like I was in South America. But today, when we went to some stores I actually did feel like I was not in the US anymore. There were just so many people out and about and darting in between traffic and the shops have their different food/fruit and stuff! It was amazing. I think I will thrive here in the fact that I love just going out and getting after it. We went to a place today called Garajes, which is its nick name because it is litterally a building of garages that they roll up and have their teeny shops inside. I bought a couple Peruvian soccer jerseys there today. ALSO, the busses make it seem like Peru. They shove as many people as they can onto these busses and we are standing so close together we are about as close as pringles. Its nuts. But it is SO much fun. :D 

 

I can and I cant wait to get out into the field. I am enjoying learning here, but at the same time I miss the interactions with everyday people and I cant to get out and experience the Peruvian people and culture more.

 

Well, not a whole lot else to report. I love it here! Until next week! :)

 

Love, 

 

Hermana Kiser

 

P.S. WE GOT TO WATCH THE "MEET THE MORMONS" FILM!!!!! They had it as a surprise! We asked when we got here if wed be able to watch it an they said no. And then on Sunday we actually DID get to see it!! What a great movie (documentary). I highly  suggest it to anyone/everyone. :D ...quote from Hermana Gonzalez (MTC Presidents wife) "I am going to say the name of the movie we are going to watch. And you will not scream." Rotflol. It was great. :)

I'M FAMOUS

 

So I've literally played soccer everyday except for Sunday and today which is pday and dont have time to. I played the very first day i was here and suprised all the latinos so much! Now everyday they ask me if im playing and say champion everytime i walk bye. Really, just about every person in the MTC knows who I am and that ive played college soccer. its the absolute best to be playing here in Peru, its insane. it still hasnt hit me yet that im in south america, its just not real. 

 

The MTC (missionary training center) or CCM (in spanish) is great!! There are about 120 missionaries here. My companions are pretty great too, which is nice. And yes, I have 2. This is because the girl who was suppose to be my companion got engaged literally the day before coming out here. craziness! so im in a trio. My district is also the best. (A district is basically just a group of missionaries about 10 or so for classes etc. not very many people came into the MTC at the same time as me so all the people I flew in with on the plane are in my district. They are all North Americans of course we are all at basically the same place in our learning in classes. We will be one class together for the entire 6 weeks we are here. And there are 11 of us. 6 Elders and then 5 of us sisters. The guys in my district seriously are the best though. They are all very fun, kind and considerate, spiritual, and hard working guys. I am extremely impressed with them. And one is British!! so that always keeps it interesting with his accent and goofy sayings/phrases nobody else knows.

 

Adjusting to the missionary life has actually been way easier than I thought it was going to be. I havent had withdrawals from facebook or anything like that really yet. but i guess it has only been a week. So I share one room with the 4 other sisters in my district. we have bunkbeds. and I get up to shower at 5:30 in the morning. Which is about 30 minutes earlier than I have to but I hate the rush of it and like to just be able to get ready when not everyone else is around. I say its crazy because there are 3 showers and 3 bathroom stalls for about 24 girls. which are all the sister missinoaries here. it nuts. then we have breakfast at 7:00 which always consists of some kind of egg, fried or scrambled, a piece of cheese, a piece of ham, and some fruit and rolls. everyday. but i totally dont mind. and from about 7:45-9:30 its classes and studying all day except for 1 hr of Physical Activity time and 45 Minutes for lunch and dinner. Although I am adjusting, i still am tired basically all the time, but its completely fine! :) It will be my life of being tired for the next 18 months anyway.

 

Its crazy how fast we learn here. I just think about HS spanish and how long we took to learn somethings and here, its like MANY things in one day. I cant imagine how it is for people with zero spanish background. Ive been here a week and I can already pray, bear my testimony, approach people and ask about them, and today I am teaching my first lesson...ALL IN SPANISH.

 

So I guess its super rare for missionaries going to any of the Lima missions to come to the Lima MTC. They all generally go to the Mexico MTC. So I am literally the only sister missionary going anywhere here in Lima and there are only a couple Elders going to Lima missions. So im unique in that aspect here too.

 

Haha, one thing that is super funny, that im just going to have to go with the flow of is everyone calls me Hermana (sister) Kisser because they cant pronounce Kiser correctly. 

 

So as missionaries we have one Pday a week (Personal Day) which is today. It's our one day a week to EMAIL family and friends, wash our clothes and bedding, and not wear church clothes all day, and take pictures of any kind. The unfortunate thing though is that it ends at 3:45 :/ Oh well! Because one unique thing about the Peru MTC is that we get to go to the Temple once a week on our Pdays in the morning. Its pretty close so we just hop on a bus and go! But the evern CRAZIER thing is that we get to go shopping afterwards for 1.5-2 hours depending. We of course stay close-ish to the temple. But its weird because we literally leave the mtc, catch a bus for 50 cents (peruvian) WITH NO ADULTS OR LEADERS WHATSOEVER and just go to the temple and go about shopping after wherever we want. (within reason of course. we dont go anywhere dangerous or sketchy or where we shouldnt) Today we just went to the temple store (peruvian deseret book kinda, but super teeny) and this place called Totus. Its just a big grocery store. Kinda of like a mini walmart, but it was SUPER nice. But it was just weird to me to learn that we could leave the walls of the MTC at all, let alone go shop by ourselves!

 

So funny story. The toilets here are not up to par. I say this, because I flooded one! 0__O In the US it never would have. But I flushed it, then it went up a teeny then I thought it was going to go down, but it never did! So thank goodness there was a plunger there so I could plunge it. ...although I still had to clean up some water,  :/ unfortnately because of this me and my companions were a bit late to our sunday devotional.

 

Im not sure what all to write about! I feel like Ive written an awful lot, and congrats if you made it to the end and it all made sense. The keyboards here are weird because they are spanish keyboards so excuse the typos and the lack of punctuation. So much has happned this week and its been the longest week of my life, but not long at all at the same time, so its kind of odd to know what to write about what people would like to hear. But i think next weeks email will be more put together and consise and Ill tell you a bit more about how things work here and since Im in a schedule it wont be so hectic.

 

I hope everything is going well for all who read this! Life is great for me so far here in Peru!

 

Hermana, Kiser

One Week... How is this real life?!

Exactly one week from today I will be sitting in the Atlanta, GA airport in route to Lima!!  I feel like I have SO much to do still, but then at the same time it doesn't seem like that much.  People to see/say goodbye to, organizing, last minute shopping, packing, packing and more PACKING, printing important stuff I need, and then just the things of day to day living!! Either way, this week is going to be nuts!  There are so many thoughts and emotions in my head right now there is no way to even express them in words! ...If I had emojis on here that might do the trick ;)

Well, in honor of my last week in the U.S. here is a picture of the Peruvian flag!

One Month!

Today is September 7th and in exactly one month I will be setting foot in the Perú Missionary Training Center where I will spend the following 6 weeks learning Spanish and how to properly teach as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

I feel like I mainly have most of my important preparations done, but still feel like I have a lot to do, which I do!!  Two months to get the right clothes, get immunizations, hygienic supplies, load up on mission appropriate music, go to the temple, and then visit family/friends before I leave is not much time at all! If I was staying in the United States where I wouldn't have to purchase a lot of extra things due to Peru not being a super developed country two months would totally be enough time.  But as of right now, I'm stressing a tad bit about my preparedness.  I do know that everything will be alright and it will turn out as it needs to and the Lord is most definitely there for me and will help me and provide for me if things go awry.

I was informed today at church that my mission plaque has arrived and it just needs a photo!! Things beginning to seem a lot more real!

To finish off this short little post I'd like to share the scripture that I put on my plaque for my "favorite scripture".

It's Doctrine and Covenants 88:67-68

 "And if your eye be single to my glory, your whole bodies shall be filled with light, and there shall be no darkness in you: and that body which is filled with light comprehendeth all things.  Therefore, sanctify yourselves that you reminds become single to God, and the days will come that you shall see him: for he will unveil his face unto you, and it shall be in his own time, and in his own way, and according to his own will."

God speed my friends, and let us live in the light and not the dark.

What IS an LDS Mission?

So what exactly is a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints?

It might not be exactly what you might think of when you hear the word mission.  In many other churches and organizations they go on mission trips as well. However, these often times are only for a few weeks or a month or so, and these groups go together to help build a school, work in an orphanage or some kind of service related thing while sort of expressing their Christian ideals. While these are great things and it's wonderful that there are caring people who go out and help others throughout the world a mission for the LDS church is different in many aspects.

Most young men (not all, it is a personal choice to go although it is advised) in the church at the age of 18 go on missions for 2 years.  The young women in the church at 19 have the opportunity to go for 18 months. Both men and women don't HAVE to go at this age, they can go later by a certain amount of years. (I am 21 and just heading out)

The process includes filling out papers, doctors physicals/dentists appts, and an interview with your Bishop and Stake President. After all that is done the "papers" (online) are sent to the First Presidency  and Apostles of the church.  They, through the promptings of the Holy Ghost, assign you to somewhere in the world; within the United States or not. There really are very few places in the world where missionaries aren't allowed.  This assignment, or calling, we know to be from God, our Heavenly Father who knows exactly where we need to be and will be most successful in helping others and for our own personal growth.


So what is it that we DO for this time?

We are called as representatives of Jesus Christ. Our main duty is to help those we come in contact with and teach come to an understanding of the truthfulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ and bring them closer to Him through baptism. We also help less active members of the church as well as the active members in our areas.  Not only do we preach of Jesus Christ and his gospel and the knowledge, happiness and peace it brings to our lives but we participate in service for anyone who needs it.

Because we want to be as close to our Heavenly Father as possible on our mission and have the spirit with us continually there are some guidelines we follow to help us achieve this.

Music: "Listen only to music that is consistent with the sacred spirit of your calling. Music should invite the Spirit, help you focus on the work, and direct your thoughts and feelings to the Savior. Do not listen to music that pulls your thoughts away from your work, merely entertains, has romantic lyrics or overtones, or dulls your spiritual sensitivity by its tempo, beat, loudness, lyrics, or intensity."

 Entertainment: "Do not watch television, go to movies, listen to the radio, or use the Internet (except to communicate with your family or your mission president or as otherwise authorized). Watch only videos or DVDs that have been authorized by the Church or your mission president."  "You are not authorized to have a personal computer. Do not use a computer except to communicate with your family or your mission president."

We also desire to uphold a certain appearance.  As ambassadors of the Lord we want to dress professional and conservative.  As Sister missionaries we wear dresses or skirts. 
 "Choose attractive, colorful blouses and tops that you can mix and match with a variety of skirts."

Our dear Prophet, President Thomas S. Monson said the following:
"You can dress attractively without being immodest. Within the Lord’s guidelines, there is room for you to be lively, vibrant, and beautiful both in your dress and in your actions."

We want to present ourselves well but not be flashy. We don't want to detract anything from the spirit or our message.


A missionary's schedule is also a bit different to most people.

Everyday is a day of lessons, proselytizing, or planning and studying.  We have one day a week, called Preparation Day (P-Day) where we wash our clothes, go grocery shopping, email/write letters to friends and family, and if we have time participate in some kind of activity we wouldn't be able to do on the normal days.  Then of course every Sunday we attend Church.


This post, although it IS a synopsis of an LDS missionary, still turned out to be way longer than I anticipated!! (not as brief as I had hoped, I have issues with condensing things) BUT, I hope in some way...if you read it all... it helped you come to a better understanding of what I will be doing with my time for the next year and a half!! :)

Pre-Mission Bucket List of Food

So since I'm going to be in Peru for a year and a half and much of it will be rural communities in the Andean Highlands I will be exposed to a great deal of new food (which I may or may not do a future post about) and will be without the regular American fast food/junky food/desserts/candies etc etc. So this is a tribute to all the food that I want to eat at least once more before I leave.

In no particular order... just as it pops into my head.

• Bacon Cheese Burgers
• Regular Cheese Burgers
• Fried Chicken
• Milkshakes
• Fake Mexican Food (Not like the real stuff in New Mexico)
• Fake Chinese Food (Panda Express)
• Cake
• Ice Cream
• Brownies
• Donuts
• MOUNTAIN DEW
• Pizza (Various kinds)
• Chocolate Bars
• Butterfingers
• Snickers
• Twix
• REESE'S
• Hard Candies
• Skittles
• Lemon Drops
• Starbursts
• Werther's Caramels
• Hot Dogs
• Shepard's Pie
• Meatloaf
• Tuna Noodle Casserole
• Cookies
• Kraft American Singles (Cheese)
• Popsicles
• Sunny D

And I'm sure I could make the list go on!! But these are some that I am indulging on before I go. :)

Called To Serve

So after going back and forth between the decision to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints for actually several years I have come to know that that is exactly what I need to be doing with my life for the next year and a half.

I heard that people generally get their calls on Thursdays or Fridays.  So I was sitting eating lunch and heard that a young man from my home ward just got his mission call that day and he had turned his papers in a week or two before I had. So I thought, could there be a chance?! I decided I wouldn't get my hopes up too high and I would just wait for my dad to bring home the mail from the P.O. as usual. THEN, I heard of a girl in my singles branch who got her call that day as well! Two weeks prior she claimed we turned in our papers on the same day.  After I heard that there was NO waiting! I found an extra P.O. Box key at my house and rushed off the to the post office.  I opened our box and there, squished in half was my mission call!

So on August 8, 2014 I opened my call to be a missionary for the LDS church in front of my Dad, Mom and sister Chelsea, with my grandma on the phone and my dear friend college Corey Hubbert on FaceTime.  I opened it up and flipped the paper over as usual so I couldn't see the destination right away.  But after I did that, staring me in the face were passport application papers.  I knew at that moment I HAD to be going out of the states somewhere.

I read from the beginning-

Dear Sister Kiser:

You are hereby called to serve as a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  You are assigned to labor in the PERU LIMA SOUTH MISSION.  It is anticipated that you will serve for a period of 18 months.

You shall report to the Peru Missionary Training Center on Tuesday, October 7, 2014.  You will prepare to preach the gospel in the Spanish language.

I am SO excited for this opportunity and will hopefully have my mom keep this blog as up-to-date as possible!

I hope you all enjoy following my experiences in Peru!!