Hermana Kayla Zayas' Missionary Experiences in Arizona Scottsdale Mission: 2022-2023

  here are some words i would use to describe the last 17 months: • redemptive. • transformative. • eye-opening. • beautiful. this upcoming week will be my final full week as a missionary for the church of Jesus Christ of latter-day saints. let me walk you through a typical day: • wake up, exercise, & breakfast • 1 whole hour of getting to know my Savior in the scriptures  • teach people about Jesus Christ  • tell people God loves them • teach and testify of Jesus Christ • cry with someone having a hard day • testify of Jesus Christ • get bashed by someone • testify of Jesus Christ & God's love  • give a stranger a hug • testify of Jesus Christ  and at the end of the day, around 9:30pm, you are just so exhausted but SO HAPPY because you know you did everything you could that day to serve God's children. and then you get to do it all over again. can you see why i am so devastated to have to leave???? alrighty enough of that i am definitely in denial. let'...

  hello darlings!!! another week of miracles(: monday night we had the special opportunity to attend a family home evening honoring hermana carrillo, one of the sister missionaries who served in this mission and who passed away a few months ago. her mom came to visit the mission this week & it was so incredible to meet her and talk with her. hermana carrillo served 3 of the 4 areas i have served in, and so it has been so beautiful to see the impact she had on so many people, including mine💛 tuesday we had the transfer call & found out that hna godoy was leaving!! she is now in the west valley & although i miss her with my whole heart i am beyond excited for the experiences she will have over there. i am now in a trio with hermana stoddard and hermana stubbs!! two of my besties!!! they are incredible missionaries and honestly the biggest miracle of the week was that we have been able to consistently teach in unity it has been so cool!!! thursday was transfer day: super ...

  good morning beautiful people!! pday got moved to today because transfers are happening tomorrow!! i am staying in los olivos with hermana stoddard & we will be trio-ing with hermana stubbs, who i actually just went on an exchange with last week!! she is just the best, i am seriously finishing my mission with the best compañeras ever!!(: life as a missionary is just so happy. every single day we serve others & teach people about Jesus Christ. it is a lifestyle that makes it so easy to feel the Spirit of God in great abundance, and since the fruits of the Spirit are profound joy and peace the thought that this chapter of my life is coming to a close is pretty sad. pero i am enjoying every second i have left and have been making goals for how i can keep this Spirit with me for the rest of my life(: every night at around 9:45pm, all the missionaries in the arizona phoenix mission kneel and pray for the faith to see miracles, faith to find families, eyes to recognize those wh...

  hello my dear friends!! it has been a humbling past couple of days. friday afternoon i got a call from my mission president asking me if i would be okay with getting transferred to a new area. my old companera, hermana brandt, is going to be serving as a sister training leader trainer and i will be replacing her and serving with hermana stoddard as a sister training leader. today marks 1 month until i go home, so this call was super unexpected since i have been serving in this area for almost 5 months and was certain i would finish my mission here. it feels really weird to think that i have to uproot and start fresh in a new area with new members, people we are teaching, and a new companion. my heart hurt soooo much saying goodbye to my dear friends and ward members at church yesterday, but oddly enough with that heart ache came an unmistakeable peaceful assurance that this is the Lord's will for me. i am so excited to get to serve with hermana stoddard in the los olivos for my l...

  otra bella semana aqui en downtown phoenix:) on monday we got to pick up hermanita godoy which was so happy because i missed her literally so much. at night we had an inconvenient t-bone incident. we are all okay!! it was literally a teeny tiny fiat that hit us hahah and it wasn't even going that fast. Heavenly Father most definitely protected us tuesday morning i received news that my sweet abo completed his mortal life. i have to admit this was really unexpected since he was sick for just a couple of weeks and we did not expect him to digress so much. Heavenly Father was looking out for me though because guess which lesson we taught the most on tuesday? the plan of salvation. it was so special to be able to testify to so many people of the reality and divinity of Jesus Christ and how because of Him death is not the end!! i am so grateful for covenants that bind us to Christ and to our families!! i know they are real!! i know without a doubt i will see abo again. i am so gratefu...

  hello my dear friends:) on thursday we met with a self referral named carlos, and HE BROUGHT HIS ENTIRE FAMILY. and then, THEY CAME TO CHURCH ON SUNDAY!!!! seeing them all together at church just made me so so so happy. its just been so special because we  have been praying so hard for miracles, specifically to be able to teach a family, so to have the Lord answer our prayers in this way fills my soul with light and love and joy. friday night we got a call from missionaries in tempe asking if we could visit one of their members who is staying at a hospital in our area. the next day we were in the icu, praying with and ministering to a sweet sister and her family. a few hours later we found out one of our friends is moving to mexico today, we were able to minister to her and comfort her and read and pray with her.  sunday morning we had the most incredible lesson with our friend jorge. the spirit was so sweet as we taught him the plan of salvation.the light and hope and ...