The One With Christmas

Oh my sweet goodness y'all. I'm still alive, I'm just the worst and I haven't sent a weekly since before Christmas. 😅

So I'm going to be making up for it right now! Soooo I'm throwing it way back to Christmas!

I left off with me being transferred. So I was transferred to Gonzales, LA to be with Sister Strate. I said my goodbyes to everyone in Baton Rouge, including Hermana Stratton, Hermana McCombs, and Sister Jensen. I got to see Hermana Banner and Elder Roy at transfers though! 

Our ward mission leader is so crazy and awesome! He owns an old-fashioned bug and a VW bus! We got to ride around in it while we did service. We were raking leaves (because fall happens in December I guess) and we saw a man walking down the street and he was listening to music really loud and every once in a while he would stop to dance. It was hilarious, I LOVE the people in Louisiana! 

I hit my 9-month mark! And because I only serve a 17-month mission, I'm already over halfway!!

We had the opportunity this week to take some recent converts to the temple so they could be baptized for the dead. It was such an amazing experience. The spirit was so strong, you could feel the happiness of the people on the other side. The veil felt so thin at that moment. I'm so grateful for temples in my life. I have grown such a strong testimony on my mission of temples. Because we have a loving Heavenly Father who wants ALL of His children to be with him again, he provided a way. 

We made gumbo with a member and she really taught me how to make it right...i have the scars to prove it! 

My first Sunday in Gonzo was a combined ward meeting for Christmas Eve! I didn't know what the dump was going on the entire time haha. 

Christmas morning was definitely so different on a mission. I was really sad not waking up to biscuits and gravy and Andy Williams Christmas. We don't even have a regular Christmas tree, we have a Mardi Gras tree! Lol. We woke up and opened presents together with just the two of us. 

We decided to bake a cake for the members we went to FaceTime home. I got to meet my niece, Lydia for the first time and I straight up cried! And Teddy showed off his dance moves on the screen. I got a taste of what home life is going to be like,

 "Somebody ask me about Louisiana..."

"Nobody cares about Louisiana but you."

Ouch. But other than that, it was good to see my family, but I know where I'm supposed to be right now. 

After we went to a members and they fed us seafood gumbo. Where you have literal crab legs that you have to crack with your teeth and eat, chicken gizzards, liver, andouille, and shrimp. 

Then we went to an older (cajun) couples home in our ward. They are the sweetest people alive. He can't hear but every time we say goodbye he said: "I'm glad you got to see me!" Hahaha.

We had district meeting the next day and we wrote our goals for 2018. There was the bright idea to burn them in a scented candle. Which turned out to be us, almost burning down the church. We were heading back from lunch and I ran into my recent convert from Baton Rouge! I was so excited to see her I almost cried. #tendermercy then we went to target and I saw some members from Baton Rouge! It was like I never left!

Have a blessed week!

💕 Sister Kez

The One With The Play-Doh

Hey Y'all!

Hope y'all have had a good week this week! 

It's been quite eventful. There has been a cold front coming through so the weather has been AMAZING! (God is so good.)

 We played bean-boozled this week as a quadpan, which made for some pretty hilarious videos (which you will never see, unless you ask me personally.)

 Our car FINALLY got finished this week too! Yay for no longer being carless. 

We had this amazing referral from the elders. She is the cutest ever and she is super sweet. She told me she was a visual learner so to teach her the Restoration, I pulled out my can of play-doh. (Thanks to my bff Jessi for sending it to me randomly and for me carrying it in my backpack for two whole months. Cheers.) And it went so well! She said it was the best lesson she has ever had! She said that she used to eat play-doh so I kept it away from her during the lesson and she may or may not have convinced me to try it and I may or may not think it is too salty. 

We also had a member tell us for a solid 2 hours about how the rapture is coming in 10 days. So y'all better get prepared. 

Then we went to our ward's trunk or treat. Baby J was a princess and I was a deer. (the amount of deer puns were insane.) We got to go on a mini hay ride around the parking lot and got to see the temple so it was beautiful for sure. Then they split up the leftover food between the elders and us. They gave us each 32 hot dogs and hot dog buns. THIRTY FREAKING TWO hotdogs! 

Then we went to visit a recent convert. Her daughter was there (who has recently not had a very open mind) and we just visited with them. Then the next day at church the recent convert came up to us and said that her daughters told her that she has finally found the right church and they were asking about the Book of Mormon, which was way cool! 

We went and visited a member family who is never not at church but they weren't there this Sunday. So we went to visit them to see why they were gone. Turns out that he had fallen on a walk and he had to get stitches on his eye and wraps on his hands. It was so sad! But they are the best couple ever. He is super Cajun and they fed us jambalaya, talked to us about Cajun recipes and jokes, and to top it all off he sang us a Cajun song. (which I included, you're welcome.) 

LASTLY, this morning we went to Coffee Call (The Café du Monde of Baton Rouge) and had my first beignets with hot chocolate. 10/10 yall. 

Anyways sorry this is long. Love y'all!

Sister Kez

The One With(out) A Car

Hey Y'all!

I know it's been a super long time since I've updated y'all, I am so sorry!

So this will be super quick. 

These past few weeks have been super crazy, miracle-filled, hard, and exhausting

. 

Transfers happened and I am staying in Baton Rouge and training. My new companion's name is Sister Jensen (we call her Baby J.) Sister Hurd was transferred to Houma and she is training someone as well! She is training Baby J's mtc companion, Sister Tingey. 

The first day we went to a member's home to clean her closet. She had 350 pairs of shoes. So that tells you a little about how much work we had to do. (Also I got caught in a clothes avalanche and it was the scariest thing of my life.) 

Sister Stratton turned 20 and we celebrated by making a literal fruit cake and swig cookies. and we painted pumpkins. (Cause it's Fall Y'all!) 

We survived Hurricane Nate

Our car has been in the shop since Friday the 6th. Which has been ridiculous and trying. So we have been doing a lot of tracting lately and finding some really awesome people! Everytime that we have tried to walk somewhere there was somehow a member who found us and picked us up. #blessings

The investigator we met at the Doll museum came and saw us. We gave her a Book of Mormon and told her about it. I told her she was a Daughter of God and she started crying. It was the most spiritual Book of Mormon lesson I've ever had.

We visited another church on Sunday. It was pretty cool and the person who invited us was the sweetest person in the world. They had John 12:24 on the wall. Of all the scriptures. Idk why that one was there. 

Anyways, I love y'all! 

Sister Kez

The One With The Miracle Part 2

Hey Y'all! 

This week was yet another hard but amazing week! 

Our recent convert Joey has been having a really tough time lately, so if y'all could please pray for him that would be surely appreciated. 

Then on Friday was the best day ever! The miracle that I told you about last week was baptized! It was the most spiritual baptism that I have been to. She had so much support and love.  The best part of missionary work is being able to unite families forever. It definitely makes it all worth it.

And I hit my 6 month mark! I can't believe it's been 6 months since I said goodbye to my family and entered into the MTC!  Plus, I will be seeing y'all next September aahh!!

Then we went and volunteered at the annual Hot Air Balloon Festival in Gonzales. So guess who got to check something of their bucket list? ME! Sister Hurd and I got to go in one! It was amazing! It was definitely probably maybe the hottest day of the year, or at least it was according to me. 

And for those of you who watched the General Women's Conference may have heard the shout out to Baton Rouge, Louisiana! Which was amazing and the congregation definitely whooped. (Which included Elsa, who they were talking about!) It was so cool and we had no idea they were going to talk about us! Plus, I got to see a lot of people from my old area which was super sweet for me because I never got to say goodbye to them. #tendermercy 

I also had the opportunity to give an entire bag of rolls to a homeless man and his pitbull, the smile on his face really made my day. 

Work hard pray hard,

Sis. Kez

WDJD: What Did Jesus Do?  Only in Louisiana lol

​

The One With The Miracle

Hey Y'all! 

This week was a really good one! I have such a testimony of prayer and how the Lord answers them. Recently I've been struggling with my mission cause its kinda sorta super hard (whose isn't amiright). Anyways, I had a really good friend ask me to pray to see the fruits of my labors. (which initially weirded me out cause who says that.) But I did it. I asked to see the fruit of my labors every time I prayed, which was a lot. So let me introduce you to the miracle. She is married to a member and they are the most adorable couple in all of existence. They were just married in April. She is a nurse so she is pretty busy, so we haven't been able to see her in the past couple of weeks. She texted us on Sunday asking to meet on Wednesday. We had already taught her all the lessons but one, and we weren't sure what else to do after we taught the last one. So we went on Monday to go see her. We caught up for about 30 minutes. She asked us how long we've been out, when we get home, when transfers are, etc. Which was super sly. (Hurd has been out a year and goes home in February, I've been out 6 months and go home in September, and transfers are the first week of October.) She goes and gets some muffins that she made, which is super adorable, and brought them to us. Then she said, "The reason why I told y'all to come over is because...I want to talk about a baptism date." I CHOKED ON MY MUFFIN! We couldn't believe it! I asked her what day she wanted to be baptized and she said September 22nd! Which was the following week! She said it was because she wanted us there, (which does not happen!) BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE! Her and her husband are being sealed in the Provo City Center Temple next September and she wants us there! AAHHH. Definitely the biggest miracle I have seen on my mission. 

In other news: 

Hurd and I had our 2-monthiversary and we took the classic sombrero pic.

Jack came to church!

I went on exchanges to LSU with Sister Beck! 

I finally baptized my nametag in the levy next to the USS Kidd, which is really cool because it was at sunset and the USS Kidd plays music from the 1940's and so it was definitely like a movie (I also got some free sunglasses so I definitely rocked the glasses on my face, sunglasses on my head look)

Love,

Sis. Kez

The One With The Monks

Hey y'all! Sorry for not having an update last week. but iss okay cause here is one! 

Good News: I am an aunt again! My brother Greg and sister-in-law Kim had a baby! On August 29th, 2017! His name is Maxwell Evan Kezos and he is the best thing ever. 

Also, Hurd hit her 1-year mark! We celebrated with glow sticks and sparklers. 

And now for the title *drumroll pls* We went to a Buddhist temple! With a legit statue of Buddha, incense, candles, meditation pillows, and MONKS! I felt way out of my league. Our investigators attend and they invited us. And lemme tell y'all something. SISTER KEZOS IS THE WORST MEDITATOR IN HISTORY. I had to legit move every 5 seconds cause my legs were asleep. And the monk kept talking about our nose itching and so obvi I had to itch my nose. Then he went around with a PADDLE and was making people sit straighter. It was terrifying. For 40 MINUTES! Also, they have a little building that holds the urns of their ancestors (yes like Mulan!) and there was this one urn that had a Santa Clause hat on it. It was amazing. Then the monks throat sang for us. Yes, you heard me, they throat sang. It was so odd and I tried so hard to be respectful and not laugh. (which was nearly impossible but I did it y'all.)

*I didn't take any pictures, but we are going to go back and get some.

Then we got a flat tire. We put the jack underneath and it snapped in half! So we called the AP's to help us (it was 100 degrees out) and we were all sweating. The elders were a little more than us haha. Their jack was too high so we had to literally lift the car- by the power of angels for sure. Then we spent 3 hours getting the tire fixed. Apparently, when the elders had the car they ran over a nail and it has been stuck in it ever since.

For Pday we went to the trampoline park, Area 51. A member is the manager so he got us in for free! It was so fun and there was a trapeze and a tightrope. Let's just say it was definitely not my calling to be in the circus. Then we found out the next day that there is a new rule that missionaries can't go anymore so that was sad. And they took 200 miles from everyone. Nobody can go around all of Baton Rouge with 800 miles, so needless to say we are going to be biking and riding the bus a lot. 

We also got to hear Elder Bednar speak for the young adult devotional. Which was so cool. 

The rest of the week was filled with mapping, (we finished mapping 1011 people yay) tracting, and contacting. But this week was definitely the hardest week (or two weeks) of my mission. A mission ain't easy. But the Lord wanted me here and I'm still trying to figure out the rest. This church is true! I love y'all! 

#GodBlessTexas

The One With The Skating Rink

Hey, Y'all! Two-week update:

Monday: We went to the state capitol with Csanyi, who is the girl we met at the doll museum.(creepy but cute) We got to hang out and then we went to the famous Frostop for Poboys! That night we went to a dinner appointment and we got a phone call from the other sisters in our apartment. They said President was doing transfer calls that night! Which was unheard of! One of our sisters was being transferred to Lafayette and the other was already going home. It was so intense. So we waited for our call at an appointment. But we never got one, which meant we were staying together! 

Tuesday: Today was our pday because of transfers. It was Sister Uibel's last pday and her she would be in the mission home for her birthday, so we went to her favorite Indian restaurant and got chicken tikki masala (yum!) and I bought her dinner. Then after, we went to a roller skating rink! It was so fun! It was retro night! My ankles were WRECKED! And I am not as good at skating as I used to. I biffed it and it was caught on video but y'all are never gonna see it. Srry not srry. 

Wednesday: It was transfers. It was an extra sad transfer too because almost my entire first district went home. So I got to say goodbye to all of them and see most of my MTC district. So it was super bittersweet! After, we went to Chipotle (not an advertisement) and literally ran into so many Mormons! Which is not a thing that happens in Louisiana. Then we went home and met our new roommates the Spanish sisters, Banner and Stratton! They are adorable. 

Thursday: So we went to the library to get the programs done for Joey's baptism. While I was there I met a man named Charlie. Charlie is INSANE! I had to help him get onto google. Yes, google. and then I had to help him write an email about his broken head lamp. (which he broke because he wore it in his outside shower, you heard me, he showers outside!) He lives in an abandoned church on a river. Gr8. And I thought I was free from the conversation until I moved my hair and he saw my nametag. Once he saw that, it was all over. He told me about his best friend who was abducted by aliens every four years of his life. Then he recited the Lord's Prayer in Aramaic. Which I can honestly say I have never heard of. Then he tried to give me a book called, "Setting a Trap For God." Which I did not take. Then he told me all about how he knows Tai Ji and that women are better at it because of the female organs. Uh. (mind you, all while this is happening my "companion" Sister Hurd was looking the other direction while I signed H-E-L-P to her with my hands.) Then he left so I was like we gotta go! And then he caught us on the way out and gave me a paper to look up his religion. And guess what else he gave me! A layered salad recipe. A FREAKING LAYERED SALAD RECIPE. LIKE WHY?! 

And that's Louisiana, folks!

Friday- I gave an instruction in district meeting. and $5 Friday at Smoothie Kinggggg.

Saturday- JOEY GOT BAPTIZED YALL!! It was so amazing! There were so many people there that people were standing in the halls. It was so awesome I can't even!

Sunday- We spent 8 1/2 hours at the church! With all of our meetings and going to two wards. Then we visited a member in the hospital, his name is Brother Schutte if y'all can pray for him. He is the sweetest person ever and he literally makes a loaf of bread for every single person in the wards. DEDICATION.

Anyways- life is insane here in the South. Here are some pics! 

Hasta Luego! 

Sister Kez

The One With The Accident

Hey Y'all!

This week has been absolutely insane. Like more insane than the people of Louisiana-insane. 

This is long but worth reading, I promise. (and if it isn't then idk)

It was raining hard all day. And when I say raining I mean, straight up raining in our laundry room; pouring from the ceiling.  It was 9pm and we didn't have the managers number. We tried to get it from the front office window but they had only posted the hours they are open. So we legit had to tract for a number. We were knocking on all of the doors until someone answered and we could get help. yay

Tuesday-

We had someone come fix the ceiling. We then went to some meetings. We were on our way back when I got a phonecall from Elder Platt (from my MTC district) like what the dump! And we went and saw him cause he was in Baton Rouge! Then afterward we had the most secret mission ever. 

We got a text to visit a recent convert in the hospital here in BR, Our Lady of the Lake. They gave us a code to find her. We had the other sisters drop us off (so we had no car) and we asked the front desk where she was. They said they didn't have her there and that we don't need a code (which they gave us one so like ????) and they told us to go down a hall and walk until we couldn't walk anymore and pick up the phone. I felt like I was on a secret CIA mission. (which means that this was the coolest thing to ever happen to me.) We picked up the phone, which didn't have a dial pad whatsoever and waited for someone to pick up. We gave them the code and they sent us to the second floor. The second floor had no record of her. So we called another number which sent us to a different building. The problem was that this building was across the street. And by street I mean a 6 lane highway. And lemme tell ya about Louisiana, there are no such things as "sidewalks" or "crosswalks." You guessed it, we ran across the street. Straight up. Which was terrifying and exhilarating all at the same time. We found her building and they made us show our id's and check in. (side-note: the clerk wants a Book of Mormon- SCORE) and we had to leave our bags, phone, bibles, everything! They had us walk down a hall, turn right down a hall, turn left down a hall, and left down another hall. Then guess what. ANOTHER phone with no dial pad that we had to pick up and give them a code. Someone had to use a key card to let us into two sets of doors. This particular recent convert was born with fetal alcohol syndrome and was bounced from foster homes and abused. She tried to commit suicide which landed her into the super secret facility. She doesn't have much and they took away all of her dolls. But she has her faith. She loves God so much and knows that he takes care of her. She is the sweetest thing ever.

Wednesday-

I was reunited with the LOVE OF MY LIFE TODAY!! AKA Sister Adams, my MTC companion! It was so good to see her and we got to attend the temple together! I haven't been able to go through since I was with her so I was feeling some MAJOR MTC vibes. Which was super bittersweet. 

Thursday- 

I went on exchanges with Sister Thomas. If you remember or actually read the stuff I say, then you'd remember her from the time that there was a Tropical Storm named Cindy. Which is why Sister Thomas and I aren't allowed to EVER be companions or exchange with each other ever again. This is why:

We visited an EXTREMELY racist less-active member who also loves to watch murder mysteries while we are trying to visit her. But wait...there's more! We also visited our investigator who is getting baptized, Joey! There was a conflict with the day that we set for him and they accidentally triple booked the chapel. Like a general authority is coming and there are also two other baptisms. So we had to change the date of his baptism. Let's just say his girlfriend wasn't very happy with that news. She basically said that his baptism is the most important and there should be nothing else on that day. She hasn't involved us whatsoever with the planning. And she said she would have to call everyone and tell them that the date is changed. The sad part is, the date is after exchanges. I told her that one of us might not be there. She told me that she didn't care and that he has been through other missionaries before. OUCH. 

BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE!

I was driving and Sister Thomas was in the passenger seat. We were driving to get Sister Uibel more oil so that she could make dinner. I was pulling onto a highway. We both thought I was clear, but there was something that was blocking our view and there was a speeding car coming the other direction. I pulled out and almost made it and they hit the back of our car. Luckily there was a car to witness the whole thing. We pulled into a Dairy Queen parking lot and started exchanging information. At this time it was 9:30pm. I gave the cop all of the insurance information and he witnessed the whole thing and said it was an accident so he didn't issue any tickets. He came up to us and said that we weren't insured when he ran our license plate number. My heart dropped. I knew that the church insures every one of the cars. He told us that unless we have proof of insurance that they would have to tow our car. (TEARS) So I called the vehicle coordinator. He yelled at me that we did have insurance, which I was aware of, but the cop wasn't aware of. I called the insurance company which sent me to an extension which gave me an invalid number. I called another number which did nothing. I called the first number again and it sent me to a different extension and they verified the insurance. AT THE END OF THIS ALL I WAS BASICALLY JUST A PILE OF TEARS. 

Friday-

We were on our way to exchange back and we were stuck in traffic next to a construction site that had an ambulance and they were loading a man in the back. It was the craziest thing. I got Sister Hurd back and we went to get an estimate on the damage of the car. Then we headed to the library so I could fill out an accident report. The insurance company called me at least 4 times to get my side of the story and I had to go into the library bathroom everytime, while I was filling out the report, and there are timers on the computers. You could say I was a little bit stressed. 

Saturday- 

1 month with Sister Hurd! We went to the State Capitol building with the Red Cross to volunteer for people who were affected by the flood. We got really dope vests. #perks  They had an obstacle course for kids. Sister Hurd and I raced each other. I totally won and didn't cheat at all. Then afterwards we went to lunch with the President and Sister Varner. Which sounds absolutely terrifying, but they are truly our parents out here. They just wanted to know if I was physically okay (which I am) and mentally okay (which I am working on.) They really care, which is refreshing. After, we went to a less-active's house. She has a garage full of ceramic making supplies. She makes all the things that you see in hallmark stores. We got to help her paint! Which was so much fun! 

We had an appointment afterwards. We didn't end up going because we had a super awful feeling about it. 

It has been an emotional rollercoaster of a week... but D&C 121:7-8

Love, Sister Kez

The One With The Goodbyes

Quote of the Week: (from an elder)

"I'm effing allergic to bees!" 

Hey Y'all!

I don't even know what this week was.
Turns out I am not going to be in a trio after all! 

This week we had to say a few goodbyes. Sister Ferre that I have served around my whole mission went home and a couple of elders. Also someone that has come out and taught with us a lot, Nicky, left to serve his mission in Korea. 

I did service for the Louisiana State Museum. They have all of the library from New Orleans in their basement. BOXES AND BOXES of books! All from when Hurricane Katrina hit. We went and archived books for hours. It was actually super interesting! We had to wear masks and gloves. It was very official. We found this book from the 1880's and it was basically ruined. But it was poems...in braille! It was the coolest book ever! They have archived hundreds of boxes since Katrina and they are still not done. That is 7 years worth of labor! 

But this week I wanted to focus on someone we are teaching. 

His name is Jack. He is a 29 year old man from South Africa who lost his fiancee in a car accident. Since then, he has been drinking himself to death. He is stuck in a dead end job and truly believes that there is no point in his life, or life in general. Jack is the smartest person I have ever met and cares for his dog, Maleficent (or Millie) more than he cares about anything else. My companion, Sister Hurd, met Jack in November of 2016. She got transferred out. Since then he has gotten into anti upon anti online. He knows more about our church than any other person. But for some reason he has never run away. He even gave us an 84 page booklet of anti that he ordered online. (which I have read and none of it is valid btw) But now Sister Hurd is back, with me. He stays and listens to the lessons we have to teach. Jack's job is the reason why he chooses unhealthy ways to deal with his problems. He has attended a 12 step program with us. We made a promise with Jack that if we found him a job that he would quit everything cold turkey. The next day we found him 3 job opportunities. We have yet to hear but I will keep you updated. 

The point of this biography on Jack, is I need some help. On Sunday, we shared "hard-day scriptures" or scriptures that we use to get us through our hard times. I am trying to compile a list to help give Jack some hope for his life. And I am recruiting y'all! This is your opportunity to be a missionary! (YAY)

To start things off here is mine. 

Doctrine and Covenants 45:62 "For verily I say unto you, great things await you."

❤Sister Kezos

I love y'all! Now please help me help Jack!

(tessara.kezos@myldsmail.net)

(This is Louis Armstrong's!)

The One With The Dolls

Quote of the week (and new life philosophy):

*drinking root beer out of wine glasses "I don't understand why you have to drink alcohol to be able to drink out of pretty glasses."

Hey Y'all!

Super crazy week, lemma tell ya! A sister in the mission lost some family members unexpectedly and had to fly home for the services, so she came to be in a trio with the other sisters in our apartment. SO THERE ARE 5 PEOPLE LIVING IN OUR APARTMENT. But it is just for a week, then she goes back, and then Sister Ferre goes home. Then Sister Uibel, Sister Hurd, and I are going to be in a trio for 3 weeks. This is going to be an adventure! 

Anyways, after I signed off last week we went to the Baton Rouge Old State Capitol. The view was insane! 

The man who built it was actually murdered inside and they still have a bullet hole (cool fact!)

Last week we were looking at a map of Baton Rouge (to find out where some members live) and a sister found some tiny writing and it said The Enchanted Doll Museum. So obviously we were totally interested. So we went to visit it. Turns out it has been closed for over a year. And for some reason, being the missionaries that we are, we knocked on the door. Twice. And someone actually opened the door. They told us they were having an estate sale that weekend and so we offered to help. (never turn down a service opportunity) So they gave us a tour, and it is totally haunted. They had hundreds of dolls. and So many creepy ones. And we went back throughout the week to help as well. I know way too much about dolls now. I'm not going to put pictures because I don't want y'all to get haunted or something. 

Then on Sunday we got to have dinner with Elder Bluth's wife (area seventy!) She was so sweet.

Sorry this is so short, Love y'all!

Sister Kez