Life's A Mission

Hola mi familia y amigos! Esta mi, Kaylee!

 Some have you have already heard, that I got home a few days ago. Sadly I have been having a lot of health problems all throughout my mission and it got to the point where I needed to come home to get better. I kept it very secret with only having family know what has been happening. I had multiple doctors telling me I needed to come home and being my stubborn self I would tell them no. I knew that I was needed in the mission and I loved the people and the gospel more than anything. I wanted to stay and work with these people as long as possible.

Even though it was really hard and there were many days where I would be really sick during tracking and lessons, I wouldn’t trade that experience for anything else in the world! I grew to love the people and what I was doing with all my heart. There were days where it took everything I had to make it through the day, but I did it because I loved the people and my savior. The families and individuals I was able to meet and teach changed my life more than they would ever know. They helped me understand what love and true happiness comes through Christ. I learned the importance of families and how precious they are. I’m beyond lucky I am able to have mine for eternity, and that was my favorite thing to teach that to other families and see them become closer as a family and to Christ. I’m forever grateful that I was able to see and experience that.

My mission pushed and stretched me in ways I never would’ve been able to at home. I’m grateful for the trials and struggles that were given to me, so I could depend and turn to the lord in everything I do. It broke my heart to say goodbye to the people and the work, because it grew to have a very special place in my heart. All I can do is thank God everyday for letting me be a part of his work and glory and experiencing everything I have seen and felt. I miss the people and missionaries I was able to work with so much! They have made my life so much brighter from their examples and light they brought. I'm very blessed to have been able to work and be around them.

It’s been very hard, but I’m glad to be home and to be able to get back to health. The thing that I love most is our whole lives are missions. Missionary work doesn’t cease after a mission, there is more work that needs to be done throughout a lifetime. Even though my work is done in Baltimore, I will forever keep the people and memories in my heart forever, and continue to love and pray for them every day. I’m excited to use what I experienced and learned and apply it into my life now and in the future. I gave it my all, and that’s all the Lord can ask of a missionary.

I would love to share my testimony in Spanish of what I have learned and grew to love from this experience:

Yo se que el evangelio de Jesucristo is verdad y porque su expiacion nos puedemos regresar con el y nuestro padre celestial otro vez. Amo mi Salvador y su inglesia. Amo todos los bendiceones que el evangelio trae en nuestros vidas. Mi Corazon es completo porque del gozo el evangelio trae en mi vida. Yo digo estas cosas en el nombre de Jesucristo amen.

The best part is my whole life is a mission, we don't need name tag to be a missionary! I will always be Hermana Hirsbrunner! Thanks for all the love and support everyone has given me through this life changing journey, I couldn’t be more blessed and thankful for the amazing encouragement and friendship everyone has given me! You all kept my head up.

Con amor por la ultima vez,

Hermana Kaylee Hirsbrunner

Baltimore Maryland Mission

My sweet neighbors came and decorated the house for me to welcome me home and heart attack the door! It was so cute having all the little kids in the neighborhood come and welcome me home showing me what they decorated on the driveway and seeing their AMAZING spanish!;) Seriously how blessed I am for all the wonderful people I have in my life!! I wish I was able to get more pictures of it all, but I wasn't feeling so good after the travels! They are so awesome and I can't thank the friends and family who have been so kind and helpful!

That day was so special to me! I was able to see my family and I never knew how excited I would be to see them until I got off the plane! There is nothing better than running back into your family's arms and feel the excitement and love from them! After being released from being a missionary I was able to go to the temple with my parents and I couldn't of been any happier to be with my family in my favorite place int the whole world!

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Here are pictures from christmas with my district and companion. It was so much fun being able to do missionary work during the christmas season and being able to share and celebrate Christ. On Christmas eve the hispanic cultures celebrate it as christmas! So they eat a ton of food have loud music and stay up till 12 and THEN open up their gifts! It was a ton of fun! On Christmas we were able to visit a member's house and have christmas dinner with them! They made the most amazing food ever!! Love mexican food!! 

We were also able to have a missionary christmas party and because there were only 8 of us hermanas out of 200 missionaries in our mission we decided to go all out with the hispanic traditions! Hermana Matrigoni who is from Hawaii made us all headbands from real flowers that we got to wear! They were so beautiful! It was so fun being so close with the other Hermanas throughout the mission, they were awesome! 

I was also able to finally go through some old pictures and videos from Mexico! These ones made me laugh and made me miss my district in Mexico! It's awesome how close we were all able to get being from all around the states to come together and learn and teach. All the people I have met have truly changed my life and I'm so proud of the work they are continuing to do! 

Im almost 99% positive that Hermana Berry and I are crying in this picture!! Don't worry HAPPY TEARS!!! We were excited for what was in store for us and we always had the best and most uplifting conversations! Im so proud of her and all the things she is doing in Medesto, CA!

Hermana Watts and I took off all the couch cushions in the case and played lava after all our district left for their fields! Hermana Watts and I had one more day in Mexico until we got to fly out, so we spent the day very well:)

MISSION ADDRESS

If you want to send me letters or packages (which I love) through the mail you can send them to the mission home at the following address: 

MISSION HOME ADDRESS:
Sister Kaylee Hirsbrunner
Maryland Baltimore Mission
4785 Dorsey Hall Dr. Ste 105
Ellicott City, MD 21042-7862

I can also receive mail directly at my apartment.  Since this address changes frequently and for safety reasons, you can email my mom at laurahwfg@gmail.com and she will forward it to you. 

I made it to Baltimore!!

     Hi Everyone, I’m officially in Baltimore in a cute little town called Frederick.  The people here are so kind!  I love the branch I am serving in because the Hispanics are so sweet.  They are hard to understand at times because the people are mostly Dominican Republic or Cuban, so their Spanish is super fast and slurred.  They are very sweet though!  I just have to tell them to slow down at times otherwise the whole conversation I have with them goes right over my head.  Also, THEIR food is good.  THANK GOODNESS!!  These Cuban women make such good food and they LOVE sweets!  They made us these pancakes that have fruit in them and you put jam and ice cream on it…oh my goodness it was so good!  Though what I’m not excited for is chicken soup… they put all the parts of the chicken in it!  I’m not joking when I say all the parts of the chicken.  You get the heart, liver, and their favorite..the feet!  They love the feet and the heart.  Other then that my companion and I like to live off cereal and hot pockets. 

    My companion’s name is Hermana Sedillo!  She’s the sweetest thing.  She started her mission as English speaking and then got moved to Spanish speaking her 6^th month into the mission and now she is training me.  She is really quiet and a little shy.  I honestly thought she didn’t like me the first couple of days because she wouldn’t talk to me unless it was to teach me something or to correct my Spanish.  She has started to open up and talks to me a little bit more so that’s good.

     There are only 8 Hermanas including me who serve in our mission!  That is so small!  Though I love it because our mission president likes it when we all get together and support each other.  So we get to see the other Hermanas often.  Its funny when we are with the English missionaries and the Spanish missionaries start speaking to each other in Spanish and they can’t understand.  That was eye opening when a sister asked me what I was saying because it just shows how fast I have been learning!  It is such a blessing!

    When serving these people they remind me so much of the people in Mexico City and there are some that come from places and conditions like that.  The people from Mexico City were really really poor.  A lot of the houses were not finished so the families didn’t have to pay house taxes.  Their homes were really not like houses, more like a shelter.  They were very limited on food and clothing.  During this time of year it get cold!  So a lot of the people freeze.  A lot of the families get really sick and die because of the open sewer systems.  The whole city would smell so bad because of that.  There were a lot of people who would live out in the streets and would sell anything they had to make money for their family.  You would see moms walking around in the streets with their babies on their backs trying to sell stuff to people driving by.  From my experience in Mexico I have never been so grateful for the small and simple things I have been blessed with.  I had a lady tell me that having nothing and living in the United States is better the having nothing and living in Mexico.  We are seriously so blessed to have what we have.  At night you could hear gunshots and wild dogs at night.  When I flew back into the States with an Elder as soon as we stepped off the plane in Atlanta we almost cried.  Mostly because the air smelled so good, but also because we didn’t know how lucky we were before. 

     This month we have been teaching “lluminadad el mundo” light the world during this season.  List the thing you are grateful for and find someone you can serve and lighten.  Everyone go watch the light the world video!  It’s my favorite and it’s the best way to remind us what this season is all about.  I love you all and miss and think of you all daily.  Thanks so much for all your prayers, love and support.  Have a Happy Holiday and remember the reason for the season!!

                                                                         www.lds.org
                                                                     www.mormon.org


                                                           https://youtu.be/P_VRN7hcL_8

Amor Siempre

Hermana Hirsbrunner

                                                             President and Sister Christiansen

                             The ONLY Spanish speaking missionary in the group arriving today

                                                   Welcome feast at the Mission Home

                        Met by Brother and Sister Simpson (friends of Gma & Gma Hirsbrunner)

                                Our little Spanish group!  Only 8 Hermanas in the entire Mission!

                                            Hello SNOW!! Welcome to Frederick, Maryland!

                                                          My trainer, Hermana Sedillo

Last Week at the MTC!

Just Pictures this Week!!  I will miss my District and companions!