The wise men took Him gold and myrrh,
The drummer boy took him beats,
In Paraguay, it's pakova,
They bring to Him as treats.
I, with empty hands and full heart,
Have little to give a King,
How could I match the gift He gave,
When He took away death's sting,
His birth, marked by a bright new star,
Brought hope to a darkened night,
His death, foretold by prophets of old,
Saved us from our sinner's plight.
I could give Him riches, wealth, or worlds
Could gift Him all I have to give
But I think His Christmas wish for me is that
A life like His I'll live.
After all, His most precious gift,
Is used most when I repent
His mercy makes me Homeward-bound
His love, so heaven sent
Beneath the boughs of my Christmas tree,
Sits no gift that bears His name,
But in my chest, a broken heart reads,
From Jesus: I took away your blame.
Merry Christmas
Sunday, December 15, 2019
Monday, July 15, 2019
Top Ten Things I Should've Taken on My Mission
Thank heaven's my mother packed my mission bags, because if she hadn't, I would've never had the stuff I actually needed in the mission field (I wanted to bring like 3000 journals and 6 pairs of shoes with me...) But, although we did pretty good packing wise, here's some things I should've taken:
1.) Photo of my baptism: This would've been nice to show to some of my investigators as they were preparing for baptism. Baptism is honestly a weird thing to ask a person to do, if you think about it, especially if they have no concept of what baptism is. Showing a physical photo of my baptism would've helped them realize, hey, I'm asking you to go do some strange thing. Baptism is a normal step in drawing closer to Christ.
2.) Photo of my family: I brought only one in my suitcase. The people who sent me Christmas cards in the MTC had the pleasure of being put up on my wall for my whole mission. I should've brought more pictures so that I could've introduce people to my family by proxy. Showing off family pictures is also a nice way to get to know someone. It makes a missionary seem like a real person with real interests and passions that has put all on hold to serve God. The sacrifice they make becomes real.
3.) Completed booklet, "my family" The Church of Jesus Christ has a cool little booklet that encourages you to put on paper important dates and stories of your ancestors up to 4 generations back. I had some companions that completed the booklet and then decorated every free space with pictures of their families and ancestors. It served as a great conversational starter, a nice way to introduce the topic of family history with members and non-members, and also a personal reminder of familial stories of faith. I should've completed the booklet at home and had it laminated or fake-laminated with clear tape.
4.) Recipes: Although I learned to cook without recipes on the mission, I would've appreciated a simple pancake recipe, cookie recipe, and a metric unit conversion chart (you buy and cook with kilos and grams instead of ounces and pounds). Popular baked items in my mission were pancakes, banana bread, and chocolate chip cookies. Most people in Argentina and Paraguay had never tasted such things, so it was nice to be able to occasionally cook something like for that for them.
5.) An extra SD card for my camera: This is why
One of my good friends bought this off the street. It supposedly had 32 GB but ended up having only 8. Also, it didn't work at all! I would recommend buying an extra one in the states (you'll definitely take a lot of pictures!) and then you won't have to worry about quality checking your tech purchases.
6.) More no-show socks: I never used no show shocks before my mission, but used them every day in the mish. When it's sooo hot and humid, you just can't go walking around in shoes without socks. I wish I would've bought a couple more pairs in the states. I had a very hard time finding truly no-show socks in Arg/Par (they usually tackily covered half my feet), and when I did manage to find a pair, they started wearing out in a week. I highly recommend REI's no shows, just for their durability (see link). You'll still get holes in them though.
7.) Anti-bug bites itch cream: One of my companions gave me a bottle, and it saved my life! She had one specifically for bug bites. Sometimes, we would have so many bug bites we wouldn't be able to sleep through the terrible itching. The medicine she had really helped!
8.) Master list/calendar of friend and relative's birthdays/other important events: As a missionary, although your life will completely change, everyone else's lives still pushes on. I liked being able to feel involved still in my family and friend's lives in an appropriate way. It would've been nice to have a list of everyone's birthdays so that I would've been able to send them a quick birthday email on p-day
9.) Health journal: I wish I would've kept a bit better record of my health problems on my mission. I was blessed with lots of health while I served, but I should've been better at recording the problems I did have so that in the event that the problems reappeared (which they did) I would have a record to refer to. It would've been nice to just have a small place to jot down symptoms, emotional and physical, to try to abate them. Examples can be found in the booklet Adjusting to Mission life. By doing this kind of record keeping, you might be able to catch early on if a certain food or water source doesn't sit well with your stomach or if certain situations make you especially anxious.
10.) Extra water filtration system: In my mission, the water would make you sick. So I NEVER drank from the tap. I had to buy, boil, or filter all my water. Although I received water filters in my mission, I broke/used out all the ones I received (maybe that's just a Kaila problem but... whatever jaja). I ended up having to boil water every day and carry around a two liter water bottle... every day. I made it work, but it was not convenient. I know REI has lots of water filters designed for camping; if you think the water might be a problem, you might want to look into buying one of those water bottles with a built in filter.
And bonus #11: A good-sized collection of loose change. A lot of missionaries start up a coin collection in the mish and will swap coins from their home countries. Personally, I liked giving pennies and dimes to the little children of Argentina and Paraguay. It was a cool momento for them, and I felt that I could give them piece of Hermana Douglass' home. Unfortunately, I had very little American change with me, so I asked my mom to send me more change in the mail, which she did. They never arrived. So if you think you might like that tradition, make sure to stock up on pennies before the field!
1.) Photo of my baptism: This would've been nice to show to some of my investigators as they were preparing for baptism. Baptism is honestly a weird thing to ask a person to do, if you think about it, especially if they have no concept of what baptism is. Showing a physical photo of my baptism would've helped them realize, hey, I'm asking you to go do some strange thing. Baptism is a normal step in drawing closer to Christ.
2.) Photo of my family: I brought only one in my suitcase. The people who sent me Christmas cards in the MTC had the pleasure of being put up on my wall for my whole mission. I should've brought more pictures so that I could've introduce people to my family by proxy. Showing off family pictures is also a nice way to get to know someone. It makes a missionary seem like a real person with real interests and passions that has put all on hold to serve God. The sacrifice they make becomes real.
3.) Completed booklet, "my family" The Church of Jesus Christ has a cool little booklet that encourages you to put on paper important dates and stories of your ancestors up to 4 generations back. I had some companions that completed the booklet and then decorated every free space with pictures of their families and ancestors. It served as a great conversational starter, a nice way to introduce the topic of family history with members and non-members, and also a personal reminder of familial stories of faith. I should've completed the booklet at home and had it laminated or fake-laminated with clear tape.
4.) Recipes: Although I learned to cook without recipes on the mission, I would've appreciated a simple pancake recipe, cookie recipe, and a metric unit conversion chart (you buy and cook with kilos and grams instead of ounces and pounds). Popular baked items in my mission were pancakes, banana bread, and chocolate chip cookies. Most people in Argentina and Paraguay had never tasted such things, so it was nice to be able to occasionally cook something like for that for them.
5.) An extra SD card for my camera: This is why
6.) More no-show socks: I never used no show shocks before my mission, but used them every day in the mish. When it's sooo hot and humid, you just can't go walking around in shoes without socks. I wish I would've bought a couple more pairs in the states. I had a very hard time finding truly no-show socks in Arg/Par (they usually tackily covered half my feet), and when I did manage to find a pair, they started wearing out in a week. I highly recommend REI's no shows, just for their durability (see link). You'll still get holes in them though.
7.) Anti-bug bites itch cream: One of my companions gave me a bottle, and it saved my life! She had one specifically for bug bites. Sometimes, we would have so many bug bites we wouldn't be able to sleep through the terrible itching. The medicine she had really helped!
8.) Master list/calendar of friend and relative's birthdays/other important events: As a missionary, although your life will completely change, everyone else's lives still pushes on. I liked being able to feel involved still in my family and friend's lives in an appropriate way. It would've been nice to have a list of everyone's birthdays so that I would've been able to send them a quick birthday email on p-day
9.) Health journal: I wish I would've kept a bit better record of my health problems on my mission. I was blessed with lots of health while I served, but I should've been better at recording the problems I did have so that in the event that the problems reappeared (which they did) I would have a record to refer to. It would've been nice to just have a small place to jot down symptoms, emotional and physical, to try to abate them. Examples can be found in the booklet Adjusting to Mission life. By doing this kind of record keeping, you might be able to catch early on if a certain food or water source doesn't sit well with your stomach or if certain situations make you especially anxious.
10.) Extra water filtration system: In my mission, the water would make you sick. So I NEVER drank from the tap. I had to buy, boil, or filter all my water. Although I received water filters in my mission, I broke/used out all the ones I received (maybe that's just a Kaila problem but... whatever jaja). I ended up having to boil water every day and carry around a two liter water bottle... every day. I made it work, but it was not convenient. I know REI has lots of water filters designed for camping; if you think the water might be a problem, you might want to look into buying one of those water bottles with a built in filter.
And bonus #11: A good-sized collection of loose change. A lot of missionaries start up a coin collection in the mish and will swap coins from their home countries. Personally, I liked giving pennies and dimes to the little children of Argentina and Paraguay. It was a cool momento for them, and I felt that I could give them piece of Hermana Douglass' home. Unfortunately, I had very little American change with me, so I asked my mom to send me more change in the mail, which she did. They never arrived. So if you think you might like that tradition, make sure to stock up on pennies before the field!
Monday, July 8, 2019
The Infamous Mission Finger RETURNS
Funny
My family went backpacking this week. It was so. Much. FUN! (I hesitate to say these words, knowing that admitting that it was fun will probably consign our family to everlasting backpacking trips for vacations).
The funny part, though was watching my little sister deal with the great outdoors. She was grossed out by the idea of bugs, dirt, and eating weird things. As a returned missionary, I've had my fair share of dirt, mosquitos, and weird foods (and I refer to things I attempted to cook for myself, the local food was delicious!) so I had no qualms about the trip.
Emma, though, worried asked about everything. Her major question was, is there a bathroom? The boys proceeded to explain the joys and rules of relieving themselves in the woods, including the caution against peeing on a tree, since animals like the salt and will eat the wet part of the tree and destroy the wood.
I have never seen Emma so mortified. And confused. How was she even supposed to pee on a tree???
But don't worry, she survived.
The funny part, though was watching my little sister deal with the great outdoors. She was grossed out by the idea of bugs, dirt, and eating weird things. As a returned missionary, I've had my fair share of dirt, mosquitos, and weird foods (and I refer to things I attempted to cook for myself, the local food was delicious!) so I had no qualms about the trip.
Emma, though, worried asked about everything. Her major question was, is there a bathroom? The boys proceeded to explain the joys and rules of relieving themselves in the woods, including the caution against peeing on a tree, since animals like the salt and will eat the wet part of the tree and destroy the wood.
I have never seen Emma so mortified. And confused. How was she even supposed to pee on a tree???
But don't worry, she survived.
Cultural
I know my mission will stay with me forever. Just hopefully... not all parts of it!
My ever famous finger infection returned last week with vengeance, this time in my eye. I woke up Friday morning looking like I'd literally been slogged in the face. My brother told me that I looked like I was constantly giving him the evil eye since I couldn't keep my eyelid more than halfway open. And my youngest brother just kept walking around saying to every family member individually, oh my gosh, have you seen kaila's eye?!?!
Yes Ben, they have, and I'm pretty sure they wished they hadn't.
We ended up at urgent care. The nurse lady who first saw us took my temp and stats then asked me the infamous question, what seems to be the problem?
I just kind of paused and gave her a look like, ummmmm, look at my face. I was sorely tempted to just be like, well, you know, with my symptoms, I think it's my kidneys.
When she finally looked up from her board, she caught sight of my eye.
Oh. Right. That giant thing.
I know my mission will stay with me forever. Just hopefully... not all parts of it!
My ever famous finger infection returned last week with vengeance, this time in my eye. I woke up Friday morning looking like I'd literally been slogged in the face. My brother told me that I looked like I was constantly giving him the evil eye since I couldn't keep my eyelid more than halfway open. And my youngest brother just kept walking around saying to every family member individually, oh my gosh, have you seen kaila's eye?!?!
Yes Ben, they have, and I'm pretty sure they wished they hadn't.
We ended up at urgent care. The nurse lady who first saw us took my temp and stats then asked me the infamous question, what seems to be the problem?
I just kind of paused and gave her a look like, ummmmm, look at my face. I was sorely tempted to just be like, well, you know, with my symptoms, I think it's my kidneys.
When she finally looked up from her board, she caught sight of my eye.
Oh. Right. That giant thing.
She sent me off to the doctor, who knew immediately what antibiotic to give me and seemed to know what he was talking about. I showed him my medical records from my other treatments, leaving out the part that I had loving scrapbooked my antibiotic boxes in my journals, so I wouldn't be able to show those to him. He assured me that I now had the correct medicine and would be fine in a couple days.
Spiritual
This week, I decided to brave a new obstacle and take on- dun dun duuuuuun- the single's ward. Why I decided to go the week it looked like I had extravagantly painted my eye in '80s purple eyeshadow, I don't know. Great first impression.
Even though my first impression must've been a little strange, I loved my impression of the single's ward. (For those of you who don't know, a singles' ward is a special church service for young adults). There's just something unique about having so much youthfulness in one place. I got the sense that basically none of us know exactly what we're doing with our lives; we're making it up as we go along. Most of us make our college student budgets stretch to include Ramen noodles and free Costco pizza at church actives. And all of us have problems, doubts, and fears that taint what would otherwise be our dreams for the future. Yet, in meeting together, we find strength. Hope. Love. Joy. And most importantly, faith in Jesus Christ, which serves as an infallible rock on which our dreams take flight.
Ramen noodles and all.
This week, I decided to brave a new obstacle and take on- dun dun duuuuuun- the single's ward. Why I decided to go the week it looked like I had extravagantly painted my eye in '80s purple eyeshadow, I don't know. Great first impression.
Even though my first impression must've been a little strange, I loved my impression of the single's ward. (For those of you who don't know, a singles' ward is a special church service for young adults). There's just something unique about having so much youthfulness in one place. I got the sense that basically none of us know exactly what we're doing with our lives; we're making it up as we go along. Most of us make our college student budgets stretch to include Ramen noodles and free Costco pizza at church actives. And all of us have problems, doubts, and fears that taint what would otherwise be our dreams for the future. Yet, in meeting together, we find strength. Hope. Love. Joy. And most importantly, faith in Jesus Christ, which serves as an infallible rock on which our dreams take flight.
Ramen noodles and all.
Monday, July 1, 2019
Chapter 1 of Real Summer
Funny
This week, I accompanied our missionaries to go visit a local family. They have some of the cutest little kids I have ever seen, including a very young daughter. The other day, we were talking about the importance of baptism. The little girl jumped into the lesson and shouted, "I don't want my brother to be baptized!"
"Why?' we said confusingly.
"Because he's going to die!"
Whaaaaaaa?
After a couple of clarifying questions, we realized that she thought that when you get baptized you die. I don't know if she was afraid her brother was going to drown in the water or just straight up keel over dead at immersion, but that's why she was so scared for her brother's baptism. We all got a good laugh out of it and assured her that baptism is not a death wish.
Cultural
After several years living out of state in Utah and then out of country in Argentina and Paraguay, I have learned that people have a... very interesting concept about what California culture is like. They think we all surf. And meet famous people. And eat vegan gluten free free range hamburgers with sides of sautéed vegetables or something like that. I promise we don't all fit that California cookie cutter.
But, in one aspect, I am as stereotypical as it gets. I. Love. The. Beach. So. Much.
This week my brother managed to convince me to go to the beach at FIVE THRITY IN THE MORNING and stay all day. We woke up at 4:15 to get there on time. The water was freezing, but I went in anyway. So worth it.
And now I have an epic wet suit tan. I feel like I can finally start my summer!
Spiritual
This Sunday, a group of men sang I know that My Redeemer Lives for sacrament meeting. It was a beautiful experience. The tone and pitch was great, but what really sold the show was the emotion I saw on the choir member's faces. Some sang with gusto and conviction, proud witnesses of Christ's resurrection. Others sang in quiet reflection, as if they were still striving to understand the significance of the redemption. And still others could not sing, only cry and feel.
I was touched by the outpouring of testimony that I felt from those humble men. They are men that I have known since birth, many of whom have supported and blessed our family for years. It was an honor to hear their heartfelt testimonies sung in fervent conviction.
Love you all and sending prayers!
This week, I accompanied our missionaries to go visit a local family. They have some of the cutest little kids I have ever seen, including a very young daughter. The other day, we were talking about the importance of baptism. The little girl jumped into the lesson and shouted, "I don't want my brother to be baptized!"
"Why?' we said confusingly.
"Because he's going to die!"
Whaaaaaaa?
After a couple of clarifying questions, we realized that she thought that when you get baptized you die. I don't know if she was afraid her brother was going to drown in the water or just straight up keel over dead at immersion, but that's why she was so scared for her brother's baptism. We all got a good laugh out of it and assured her that baptism is not a death wish.
Cultural
After several years living out of state in Utah and then out of country in Argentina and Paraguay, I have learned that people have a... very interesting concept about what California culture is like. They think we all surf. And meet famous people. And eat vegan gluten free free range hamburgers with sides of sautéed vegetables or something like that. I promise we don't all fit that California cookie cutter.
But, in one aspect, I am as stereotypical as it gets. I. Love. The. Beach. So. Much.
This week my brother managed to convince me to go to the beach at FIVE THRITY IN THE MORNING and stay all day. We woke up at 4:15 to get there on time. The water was freezing, but I went in anyway. So worth it.
And now I have an epic wet suit tan. I feel like I can finally start my summer!
Spiritual
This Sunday, a group of men sang I know that My Redeemer Lives for sacrament meeting. It was a beautiful experience. The tone and pitch was great, but what really sold the show was the emotion I saw on the choir member's faces. Some sang with gusto and conviction, proud witnesses of Christ's resurrection. Others sang in quiet reflection, as if they were still striving to understand the significance of the redemption. And still others could not sing, only cry and feel.
I was touched by the outpouring of testimony that I felt from those humble men. They are men that I have known since birth, many of whom have supported and blessed our family for years. It was an honor to hear their heartfelt testimonies sung in fervent conviction.
Love you all and sending prayers!
Monday, June 24, 2019
A New Chapter
You know, it's a lot more difficult making my life seem exotic and exciting when I'm no longer living in a foreign country as a missionary. The most exotic I can get is a trip to Utah, which granted does have some pretty exotic Jellos but doesn't hold the same weird-infections-strange-new-foods flair that my mish had. But still, life never ceases to entertain me.
Funny
So far. I've only caught up on three movies: the Greatest Showman, the original animated Cat in the Hat (hey, I was watching with my little cousin) and the live action Aladdin. Yeah, I know, I'm trying to catch up.
I think my family enjoyed watching ME watch the Greatest Showman more than they liked watching the actual movie. They got a serious kick out of it. I was SO invested in the outcome of the story, and it showed in my exclamations, my comments, and finally, almost leaving the movie early before my mother yelled me back into my chair. I guess I've been hard-pressed for "intense" PG entertainment in the past year and a half. The most entertaining the thing I watched on my mission was a series of Safety Videos on how to avoid getting sick, injured, or robbed. Good stuff.
Cultural
The other day, I went with my family to go check out a local Argentine restaurant. When I walked in, I could immediately tell that it was authentic because I recognized several Argentine name brands and my favorite Argentine treat. So I started nostalgically talking to myself in castellano. The funny part was everyone in the shop got whiplash turning around to look at this white girl speaking with an Argentine accent. It's pretty fun being able to surprise people with my Spanish!
Spiritual
I've been going through old boxes of stuff, trying to decide what to throw out and what to keep. It kind of disgusted me how many clothes I have. I mean, I must've bought a Mayfair Monsoon t-shirt every time I sneezed in high school, I have so many. So much useless stuff.
My mom came to see how the organizing was going. In classic fresh RM mode, I started crying.
There's something so grotesquely unjust at living with such excess after knowing people who live with so little. I walk into Costco and am met by an unfathomably large quantity of food, the vast majority of it the organic-veggified-healthy kind. I walk to the public library and drop my siblings off at a free lunch open to all kids and teens.
And then, to come home to a house that provides for my every need... it's pretty rough.
I guess my only option is to be grateful and to give. I have always thought that if God has trusted me with His gospel, He expects me to share it, and the same principle applies to worldly things. He blesses us so that we might bless others. God's gifts are like the plague: designed to be easily shared, highly contagious unless we actively seek to quarantine ourselves from all humanity.
Moral of the story? Be like the plague.
Just kidding.
Share the gifts God has given you
Love you all and sending prayers!
Kai
Funny
So far. I've only caught up on three movies: the Greatest Showman, the original animated Cat in the Hat (hey, I was watching with my little cousin) and the live action Aladdin. Yeah, I know, I'm trying to catch up.
I think my family enjoyed watching ME watch the Greatest Showman more than they liked watching the actual movie. They got a serious kick out of it. I was SO invested in the outcome of the story, and it showed in my exclamations, my comments, and finally, almost leaving the movie early before my mother yelled me back into my chair. I guess I've been hard-pressed for "intense" PG entertainment in the past year and a half. The most entertaining the thing I watched on my mission was a series of Safety Videos on how to avoid getting sick, injured, or robbed. Good stuff.
Cultural
The other day, I went with my family to go check out a local Argentine restaurant. When I walked in, I could immediately tell that it was authentic because I recognized several Argentine name brands and my favorite Argentine treat. So I started nostalgically talking to myself in castellano. The funny part was everyone in the shop got whiplash turning around to look at this white girl speaking with an Argentine accent. It's pretty fun being able to surprise people with my Spanish!
Spiritual
I've been going through old boxes of stuff, trying to decide what to throw out and what to keep. It kind of disgusted me how many clothes I have. I mean, I must've bought a Mayfair Monsoon t-shirt every time I sneezed in high school, I have so many. So much useless stuff.
My mom came to see how the organizing was going. In classic fresh RM mode, I started crying.
There's something so grotesquely unjust at living with such excess after knowing people who live with so little. I walk into Costco and am met by an unfathomably large quantity of food, the vast majority of it the organic-veggified-healthy kind. I walk to the public library and drop my siblings off at a free lunch open to all kids and teens.
And then, to come home to a house that provides for my every need... it's pretty rough.
I guess my only option is to be grateful and to give. I have always thought that if God has trusted me with His gospel, He expects me to share it, and the same principle applies to worldly things. He blesses us so that we might bless others. God's gifts are like the plague: designed to be easily shared, highly contagious unless we actively seek to quarantine ourselves from all humanity.
Moral of the story? Be like the plague.
Just kidding.
Share the gifts God has given you
Love you all and sending prayers!
Kai
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