Happiness is only real when shared.

Imperial Beach, baby!

Wow! What a busy week! I don't know how you and dad do it every single day, week after week, month after month! I am so jealous you got to go to that concert! Paul Cardall is one of my LDS favorites. What a neat opportunity to meet both Josh Wright and Brother Cardall after the concert!

I'm sure those who visited this week were truly grateful for your love, time and counsel. You and dad really are great missionaries in the sense that you follow the promptings of the spirit in all that you two do and say. Something that I really enjoy is getting to know other people through helping them in ways like you did. I love asking questions to try and figure out why people are the way they are. 

Pink mustaches in honor of Uncle Dick.
Hermana Kelemen loves stories about him.

This week, our district took the color test. With every one's results, each person had a dominant color and a secondary color. After being together as a district for a transfer, it was fairly easy to guess every one's dominant color--but it was interesting to see how off we were at guessing every one's secondary color. Except for me.... :/ I think it's fairly easy to see the Blue/Yellow in me.

A lot of times, people don't show or express how they're really feeling or what they're really thinking.  Almost every time I share with someone new that I struggle with depression and anxiety--almost always--their first reaction is "I would have never guessed!". There is nothing more frustrating than the term, "I can't. I have depression." I don't want to EVER use that as an excuse to not be able to do something.  I still don't necessarily feel that I've 100% accept it. I don't want others to see that side so I let the yellow side of me shine and the blue part of me serve and lift others. It's a matter of learning to accept it and live with it. [And that means getting help if needed.]

Here in California, I feel like the goals are more focused on getting to know your investigators...Really trying to find what it is that they need to progress and have that desire to read, pray, come to church, keep the commandments....AND THEN, baptism. In Chile, all I ever heard was baptism, baptism, baptism. Sure, the number of baptisms were higher in Chile, but it's incredible to see the difference in retention here in San Diego.

With my dear friend, Hermana McBride.

I have such a more personable relationship with my investigators and the members here. It's easy to see their dominant color just by knowing them--but it's amazing to see their secondary colors come out as we ask them questions directed by the spirit. We find doubts, fears and concerns that we never would have guessed were there.

In my patriarchal blessing it says, "I bless you with the ability to create beauty for others. As you reach out to help others, you will also be lifted. It will be important that you bless the lonely, sad, disaffected, hungry, cold and tortured. These are they were have reason to believe that there is no God." I know, that as a representative of Jesus Christ, I can help reassure these people that they are loved by ME and a loving Father in Heaven. I see the promised blessings of myself being lifted as I truly get to know and love the people here. I forget about myself and feel happier when I can see others progressing and receiving the blessings of heaven.

Whether someone is a yellow, white, red, or blue, all anyone wants is to feel is love and acceptance. With an understanding of this gospel and the plan of salvation, our love for those around us increases when we remember that we really are all children of God. Another thing that I've learned this transfer is...Treat others the way THEY would like to be treated. When we really take the time to get to know those around us, the things they need to feel loved, important, and accepted will be known unto us and we will develop more Christ-like attributes and be more accepting of ourselves.

"A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, 
if ye have love one to another." 

John 13:34-35.

This week was great! We finally got to spend lots of time with Socorro (who came to church with her husband and is getting baptized in March!!!!) and Areceli. We have still yet to see Sandra so if you can continue to keep praying for those three, that would be awesome! 

We got to go to Imperial Beach last week for p-day! SO fun to be out on the pier and enjoy a beautiful sunset over the ocean! Today we get to the amazing opportunity to go listen to Clayton Christensen give a conference to the entire San Diego Mission! Wahoo! Stoked! 

Life is soo good! I'm so thankful for all of you. Keep being amazing. Always remember how important you are. I'm cheering for y'all out here in Cali!!!! 

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!  Thanks for the package, Mama. I'm pretty sure you've sent me one almost every week! You ROCK! xoxo

Love love love,

Aunt Kath

Go BIG, or Go Home!

What a week! I am so thankful to be here and the opportunity I have to get to know the people of Chula Vista!! That doesn't mean that the hard times don't come, but it's just so much more enjoyable to grab a diet coke when your down :) I keep thinking about how all of this fell right into place...My mission, my area, my companion, I get to RUN and eat what I want...I get to do everything I love here in the mission field! I doubted for a second if I was really happy I came back out...it was difficult. But now that I see how fast time is passing, I've realized I need to do what Caleb always told me while running and rock climbing, "Go big or Go home!"

This morning we had the opportunity to go to the temple! And yes! I saw the new, NEW temple movie. It was awesome and kept me awake :) I think I like other new one better...but still, so good. You see pictures of the San Diego temple everywhere, but it was so much better in real life. It was overcast when we went in to the 10 o'clock session, but the SoCal Sun was shinning and the temple grounds looked beautiful as ever!

As I sat in the celestial room, I thought a lot about our temple covenant...the law of consecration...and how I could apply this law to becoming a consecrated missionary. It's pretty intense that we've promised to submit our will 100% to God's will. Always trusting in His plan and not ours. That was something I definitely had to learn while being so sick in Chile. I never understood why all those things were happening when I was trying to do HIS work. I wanted to give it my all, but physically couldn't. I'll never forget, a couple of days before I left to come back home, I really tried applying Matthew 26:39,

"And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt."

King Benjamin said, "And now, if ye believe all these things, see that you do them." I believe that this is God's work and that I am only his servant. I know the things that I need to do and what I need to do in order to have success. When people ask my why I decided to serve a mission, I don't really know how to answer. But when people ask me why I decided to come back, I know it's because I now have a better understanding of the The Atonement. I feel like I truly not only understand the Lord's sacrifice for me, but I FEEL IT. I feel His love and mercy all the time. I decided to come back because this five month sacrifice is only but a small way I can show my love for him. It is insignificant for what he's done for me.

We are busy planning Bertha's baptism for Saturday! She passed her interview on Sunday and is really looking forward to making her first covenant! This lady is so sweet and has all the faith in the world. It's awesome to be her missionary and help her understand this gospel. She is a single mom and works like crazy to provide for her family. We are working with church to try and find her a better job. We found a two other potential investigators and trying to juggle 15 others! Haha, it's crazy busy, but totally awesome! We are definitely being blessed and watched over all the time!

All right, I love you all! 

Thanks for your love and support. 

You're beautiful.

P.S.  Dad - Hahaha, yesterday, while contacting, we were trying to decide on new and interesting converstaion question starters that we could ask people as we contacted them. We decided that we should just start asking people if they like donuts. The story you sent, Do You Want a Donut? will be perfect for us if that is the question we use!

Do You Want a Donut?

There was a boy by the name of Steve who was attending seminary in Utah. There, seminary classes are held during school hours. Brother Christianson taught seminary at this particular school and had an open-door policy. He would take in any student that had been thrown out of another class as long as they would abide by his rules.

Steve had been kicked out of his sixth period class and no other teacher wanted him, so he went into Brother Christianson’s seminary class. Steve was told that he could not be late, so he arrived just seconds before the bell rang and sat in the very back of the room. He was also be the first to leave after the class was over.

One day, Brother Christianson asked Steve to stay after class so he could talk with him. Brother Christianson pulled Steve aside and said, ‘You think you’re pretty tough, don’t you?’


Steve’s answered, ‘Yeah, I do.’
 


Then Brother Christianson asked, ‘How many push-ups can you do?’
 
 

Steve said, ‘I do about 200 every night.’
 
 

’Two hundred? That’s pretty good, Steve. Do you think you could do 300?’
 
 

Steve replied, ‘I don’t know… I’ve never done 300 at a time.’
 
 

’Do you think you could?’ Brother Christianson asked again.
 
 

’Well, I can try,’ said Steve.

’Can you do 300 in sets of ten? I need you to do 300, in sets of ten, for this to work. Can you do it? I need you to tell me you can do it,’ Brother Christianson asked.

Steve said, ‘Well… I think I can… yeah, I can do it.’
 
 

Brother Christianson nodded, ‘Good! I need you to do this for me on Friday.’


Friday came and Steve got to class early and sat in the front of the room. When class started, Brother Christianson pulled out a big box of donuts. Now these weren’t the normal kinds of donuts, they were the extra-fancy BIG kind, with cream centers and frosting swirls. Everyone was pretty excited. It was Friday, the last class of the day, and they were going to get an early start on the weekend.

Bro. Christianson went to the first girl in the first row and asked,

‘Cynthia, do you want a donut?’
 
 

Cynthia said, ‘Yes.’
 
 

Bro. Christianson then turned to Steve and asked, ‘Steve, would you do ten push-ups so that Cynthia can have a donut?’
 
 

Steve said, ‘Sure,’ and jumped down from his desk to do a quick ten.

Then Steve again sat in his desk. Bro. Christianson put a donut on Cynthia’s desk.
 
 

Bro. Christianson then went to Joe, the next person, and asked, ‘Joe do you want a donut?’
 
 

Joe said, ‘Yes.’

Bro. Christianson asked, ‘Steve would you do ten push- ups so Joe can have a donut?’

Steve did ten push-ups, Joe got a donut; and so it went, down the first aisle. Steve did ten pushups for every person before they got their donut. Then down the second aisle, till Bro. Christianson came to Scott.
 
 

Scott was captain of the football team and center of the basketball team. He was very popular and never lacking for female companionship.

Then Bro. Christianson asked, ‘Scott do you want a donut?’
 
 

Scott’s reply was, ‘Well, can I do my own pushups?’
 
 

Bro. Christianson said, ‘No, Steve has to do them.’
 
 

Then Scott said, ‘Well, I don’t want one then.’
 
 

Bro. Christianson then turned to Steve and asked, ‘Steve, would you do ten pushups so Scott can have a donut he doesn’t want?’
 
 

Steve started to do ten pushups.

Scott said, ‘HEY! I said I didn’t want one!’


Bro. Christianson said, ‘Look, this is my classroom, my class, my desks, and my donuts. Just leave it on the desk if you don’t want it.’ And he put a donut on Scott’s desk.
 

Now by this time, Steve had begun to slow down a little. He just stayed on the floor between sets because it took too much effort to be getting up and down. You could start to see a little perspiration coming out around his brow. Bro. Christianson started down the third row. Now the students were beginning to get a little angry.
 
 

Bro. Christianson asked Jenny, ‘Jenny, do you want a donut?’
 
 

Jenny said, ‘No.’
 
 

Then Bro. Christianson asked Steve, ‘Steve, would you do ten pushups so Jenny can have a donut that she doesn’t want?’

Steve did ten, Jenny got a donut.
 
 

By now, the students were beginning to say ‘No’ and there were all these uneaten donuts on the desks. Steve was starting to struggle a bit. He had to put forth a lot of effort to do pushups for each donut. There began to be a small pool of sweat on the floor beneath his face, his arms and brow were beginning to get red because of the physical effort it required 
 

Bro. Christianson asked Robert to watch Steve to make sure he did ten pushups in each set because he couldn’t bear to watch all of Steve’s work for all of those uneaten donuts. So Robert began to watch Steve closely. Bro. Christianson started down the fourth row. 
 

During his class, however, some students had wandered in and sat on the heaters along the sides of the room. When Bro. Christianson realized this; he did a quick count and saw 34 students in the room. He started to worry if Steve would be able to make it.

Bro. Christianson went on to the next person and the next and the next. Near the end of that row, Steve was really having a rough time. He was taking a lot more time to complete each set.

Steve asked Bro. Christianson, ‘Do I have to make my nose touch on each one?’

Bro. Christianson thought for a moment, ‘Well, they’re your pushups. You can do them any way that you want.’ Then Bro. Christianson went on.

A few moments later, Jason came to the room and was about to enter when all the students yelled, ‘NO! Don’t come in! Stay out!’
 
 

Jason didn’t know what was going on.

Steve picked up his head and said, ‘No, let him come.’
 
 

Bro. Christianson said, ‘You realize that if Jason comes in you will have to do ten pushups for him.’
 
 

Steve said, ‘Yes, let him come in.’
 
 

Bro. Christianson said, ‘Okay, I’ll let you get Jason’s out of the way right now. Jason, do you want a donut?’
 
 

’Yes.’
 
 

’Steve, will you do ten pushups so that Jason can have a donut?’ Steve did ten pushups very slowly and with great effort. Jason, bewildered, was handed a donut and sat back down.

Bro. Christianson finished the fourth row. He then started on those seated on the heaters. Steve’s arms were now shaking with each pushup in a struggle to lift himself against the force of gravity. Sweat was dropping off of his face and, by this time, there was not a dry eye in the room.

The last two girls in the room were cheerleaders and very popular. Bro. Christianson went to Linda, the second to last, and asked, ‘Linda, do you want a doughnut?
 
 

Linda said, very sadly, ‘No, thank you.’
 
 

Bro. Christianson asked Steve, ‘Steve, would you do ten pushups so that Linda can have a donut she doesn’t want?’
 
 

Grunting from the effort, Steve did ten very slow pushups for Linda.

Then Bro. Christianson turned to the last girl, Susan. ‘Susan, do you want a donut?’


Susan, with tears flowing down her face, asked, ‘Bro. Christianson, can I help him?’
 
 

Bro. Christianson, with tears of his own, said, ‘No, he has to do it alone, Steve, would you do ten pushups so Susan can have a donut?’


As Steve very slowly finished his last pushup, with the understanding that he had accomplished all that was required of him, having done 350 pushups, his arms buckled beneath him and he fell to the floor.

Brother Christianson turned to the room and said. ‘And so it was, that our Savior, Jesus Christ, plead to the Father, ‘Into thy hands I commend my spirit.’ With the understanding that He had done everything that was required of Him, he collapsed on the cross and died. And like some of those in this room, many of us leave the gift on the desk, uneaten.’
 
 

When everyone in the classroom heard what the teacher meant by it and realized everything. Steve smiled on the ground where he laid in his own sweat and began to cry.

Californiaaa, here we cooome...

Oh, how blessed I am to be here in San Diego!! I've had an incredible first week and am so excited to finish up on my mission here. I would never take back the hard times in Chile and will forever remember all that I learned while serving there--But man, if this place could have been my full 18 months...

It's incredible to me how much trust President Clayton has with his missionaries. I swear, it feels like I am breaking a million rules everyday with what I was used to with Pres. Kahnlein. It's interesting to see how much more obedient these missionaries are here with fewer rules than in Chile - where it's a serious boot camp...And yes, I CAN drink Diet Coke here :)

I don't know if Aunt Sharon or Uncle Craig have gotten in touch with you yet, but I have been assigned to Chula Vista and my Spanish ward meets in their same building! It was really fun to see Sharon and Uncle Craig and catch up with them. I don't know if any of you have seen "The District" but our church building is the same one that they film all the activities and interviews. Also, The Robles Family and German meet in our same building as well! It's so funny to have been trained watching these investigators and now get to serve with them. 

I love my companion Hermana Kelemen. The first few days, the only person I could relate her to was Deb from Napoleon Dynamite. Super awkward, hates giving hugs and pretty quiet. I just kept making jokes, telling crazy stories and tickling her earlobes to make her feel super awkward. Hahah, then one day, BAM,  she totally opened up and now we're besties. She's from Provo. Studied 2 and a half years at BYU-I and guess what?? She loves to run! So we get up every morning and go for a BEAUTIFUL, California morning run. The weather here is incredible! I think they said the weather is going to get up to 80 this week. Today, we are doing a zone activity--bowling and then going to the pier for ice cream! So excited. All the missionaries are really close here (another thing I'm really not used to. We were only allowed to be with our zone once every transfer in Chile. Here, we do an activity every week!)

The Mormon Battalion on our first day.
I even got to meet the sister (middle) who
opened up her mission call the same day her
mother and two brothers opened theirs as well.

There are a lot of different things about the mission here--I'm content with all the changes except, 

it's a bit sad not using Spanish 100% of the time. It took me a couple of days to get used to contacting and teaching in English. If we are teaching anyone in English, they also speak Spanish. So, I guess you could say I'm in a Spanglish Speaking Mission. The people here are incredible! We have SO many investigators we're trying to juggle and lots of less-actives. They focus a lot on reactivating people in this mission, so we work with a lot of less-actives and part-member families. It's awesome! We were able to set two baptism dates yesterday! Bertha: 50's, single, lives with a couple of her older kids, hates her job, the church is trying to find her a new one, reaaaaally happy, reeeeally humble. Araceli: also 50's, lives with her sister, her family is from Mexico and Kansas, works, is pretty well off, has the cutest little Cali house. We have a lesson with her on Thursday and are hoping her sister, Perla, will be there so we can set a date for her as well.

Honestly, it's really weird to be out here on the mission again. It might not have been exactly what I would have wanted to be doing right now, but I felt strongly it was what the Lord needed me to do. I can't complain for the two-month, home vacation! Little Scotty being born and his blessing (who, I'm sorry, but probably miss the most), Thanksgiving, Jamie's Wedding, Christmas, New years!!!! I miss all of you, but it'll be good to finish and I couldn't be happier with my circumstances. The Lord has blessed me in so many ways. This is the least I can be doing and a sacrifice I am more than willing to make. I love my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and am ever so thankful for the gospel and the restoration. 

Happy Birthday, Begga boo!!! I was thinking about you all day on the 10th ;) I hope you have a fun date with Jordan! Make sure he doesn't take you to breakfast because, remember, going out to breakfast does not count as a "date". Tay Tay, have you been able to help out Emily and Millie's family? They are really looking forward to having you in their house! Keep up the mission prep! It'll be a great blessing to you! Cam, sounds like you had an awesome game this weekend. Wish I could have watched you shoot some hoops, bud. You're my favorite little brother. 

Thanks for all you do! I love you so much! If you're ever bored and need some sunshine, you'll know where to find me :)

All my love,

Hermana Pendleton 

Home to Heal

After an excruciatingly painful September and October 2013, while serving in the Chile Vina del Mar mission, Hermana Pendleton came back home to Kaysville, UT to have surgery. Despite her determination to continue serving, her health had deteriorated to the point that it was necessary to address a condition she had called Pilonidal Disease. It is very common among young adults ages 18-30; yet, seldom talked about because of the potentially embarrassing location of the condition. 

A great site for more information is http://www.pilonidal.org/education/whatisit.php

Quite honestly, Katie has been very open about the whole thing and we all felt it was beneficial to talk about the condition - especially since there may be others who are suffering from Pilonidal Disease, but do not know what the problem is. Thankfully, there is help to be had. Because the church has seen so many missionaries that suffer from this condition, they have had a specialist, Dr. Glen Morrell, trained by the nation's leading Pilonidal specialist on how to effectively treat and successfully operate on the church's missionaries that are suffering from the symptoms.

We are grateful to Dr. Morrell (who, ironically enough,  happens to live in our Stake) for his wonderful care. Katie was very blessed and experienced a rapid recovery. The average post-operative healing time is usually six weeks. Katie was cleared to return to the mission field between four and five weeks. She ran a sub two-hour half marathon (just for fun) at seven weeks post-op! The young lady is incredible!

After visiting with our Stake President, Katie was given the opportunity to decide if she wanted to return to the mission field in Chile or stay stateside. After much prayer, she felt it would be best if she finish her mission in the United States. A request was submitted by our Stake Pres. and a few days later, she learned that her remaining time as a full-time missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints would be spent in the California San Diego Mission (Spanish speaking!) It couldn't be more perfect!

For a good laugh, watch the video below to see Hermana Pendleton in the surgery recovery room as she rants about "Jesus-time." She was obviously still in missionary-mode. So funny!

...So tell that someone that you love, the things you're thinking of, if tomorrow never comes. ~ Garth Brooks

To preface Katie's email this week, we would like to share with you 
some background that is significant in relation to Katie's letter.  

Eleven years ago, Katie's father, Scott Pendleton, tragically passed away. 

Scott was born on January 23, 1960, to Alan and Beverly Pendleton and was raised in Bountiful, Utah.  All that knew Scott enjoyed his uncanny sense of humor and quick wit.  He had many talents and excelled both at academics and sports.  Scott graduated Summa Cum Laude from Brigham Young University; where he met Dianna Woodland.  They were married in the Salt Lake Temple and were blessed with two children, Jeremy and Katie.  Scott fulfilled his dream of earning an MBA from Harvard.  However, he was the first to acknowledge that his greatest accomplishment and most valued treasures in life were his children.

Scott passed away on September 29, 2002.  He was a gifted man who loved the Savior and the gospel.  To this day, his influence continues to be an important part of his children's lives. 

September 30, 2013 letter from Hermana Katherine Pendleton:

Hello my dear friends and family,

I am wanting to share a cool experience for my email this week. It probably won't be very long because I have to go back to the doctor in just a bit...but this is something super special that happened to me this week.

For those of you who don't know, I have been consistently sick my entire mission. Stomach problems, vomiting, diarrhea, hemorrhoids, the list goes on. Just when one thing starts to get better, I am blessed with something else. I could go into detail with what I am dealing with right now, but I will save you all from unpleasant images and unwanted information. I'll just simply say, I spent three days in the hospital this week, trying to get back to a healthy state.

Luckily, I have been blessed and get to have one more change with Hermana Castleton! This girl has really helped to keep my spirits high, and has all the patience in the world to stay with me and take me to and from the doctor almost everyday. (I have another doctor's appointment today and Wednesday.)

On Friday morning, I don't know why, but I just really wished that I could sit down and talk to Daddy Scott about what was going on. It's one thing to be sick and not feel good, but when you're sick and in the mission, all you want is a parent to take care of you. This whole time, Mama, I've wished it was you. But Friday morning, I could have used a good Daddy Scott joke. As Hermana Castleton and I were walking to lunch, I told her, "I would never wish to have my dad here on earth, after all that he went through...but for some reason, I just really want to talk to him about all that is happening." We arrived at our lunch appointment without time for her to respond.

Even though I was feeling sad, I was happy we were able to have lunch with our Branch President, President Ortega, (aka, my dad here in Coquimbo). He knows about all that is going on with my health and is always calling and checking up on me to make sure everything is okay. He asked if he could give me a priesthood blessing and I gladly accepted. As he put his hands on my head, I immediately could not only feel his loving hands, but also Daddy Scott's. I know without a shadow of a doubt that Dad was there, with his hands on my head, present for this blessing. 

As President Ortega started to give me the blessing, I couldn't believe the things he was saying . Not only was he blessing my physical health, but my mental health. As if he knew all that I have been through throughout my life. He was saying things that I knew I had never shared with him before. It was all perfect and we were all in tears. Never, have I felt the spirit so strong in my entire mission.

I know I am being watched over and that blessing was just what I needed to help me pick myself back up. The power of the priesthood is real. I know that our Heavenly Father is very aware of all that we are going through and he knows exactly what we need. I love being a missionary. I don't care if I have to be sick for the rest of my mission, I love this work and will always be willing to work through my trials. 

Hermana Castleton con Maria y Guillermo!

I was so happy to receive so many wonderful emails this week! Thank you all for the update in Crazy-ville! Tay, Hermana Castleton and I are dying over how pretty you looked for Homecoming! Becca and Cam, thanks for your letters :) Cam, so proud of you for accepting the challenge to bear your testimony. Tay and Becca, there is always next month! Dad, your message was beautiful and got me even more pumped for General Conference! Seriously, G. C. is like Christmas in the mission! 

Okay, I love you all so very much! Thanks for your thoughts and prayers. Keep strong and carry on!

Love, 
Hermana Pendleton