Well, I guess the cat is out of the bag... but I am going to STORNAWAY!!!

Hello my friends and family! 

Well, it was moves call last night and I am indeed moving far, far away. I am going to the Isle of Lewis. CRAZY! My companion is from France. I won't get to my new area until Thursday night!!! Goodness, I am already tired of my just HEARING about my travel plans ;) I will miss Sister Montoya and allllll my friends in Limerick so so much. But I know the Lord has a plan for me. It is hilarious that I am going to Stornoway because that was the running joke of where I thought it would be so funny if I got sent WAY over there... Sister Cannon and I made a plan that she would come to Stornoway to kill me off way back when we were in Glasgow together... maybe now it will happen! 

I am excited because I will be back in the same zone as Glasgow. We have to skype in for District Meeting. haha, that will be weird.

We have two friends here in Limerick that we JUST got with baptism dates. I have so much confidence in Sister Montoya to take care of them. :) 

I will miss the close communication with McCleary Kent and Sister Cannon... but I will learn a lot on this tiny island. 

Funniest thing that happened this week was when we went star tipping (thanks for the idea Sister Caswell) with Sister Montoya, Elder Scott, Elder Hutchings, and Elder Butler! It is when you look at one star and spin really fast and then someone runs over and shines a light in your face and you fall down no matter how badly you try not to... Hahahah! Those elders think they are so tough, but then they can't help but fall down!!! 

I made two amazing apple pies this last week. I know that Sister Montoya and Elder Anderson, Butler, Hutchings, and Scott are sad I won't be here to make them more pie... Hahah!

I am going to an island off of Scotland. I am very excited. I will have a new address, but until I get it you can feel free to send me post to the mission home. 

I will be taking 2 or 3 ferry rides. I don't usually get motion sickness, but the last 2 ferry rides I took I was rather ill... so we will see what will happen this time!

Does anyone know where Katie Smith is going on her mission? 

Love you all! Have a wonderful week! Thank you for your love and support. I love my mission. I love all that I have been able to learn about myself and about my Savior, Jesus Christ. I am so blessed to be able to serve here in Scotland and Ireland. Time goes by too fast. I will continue strong, till the work is done. 

Love Sister Kelsey Griffin 

Last District Meeting in Limerick, Ireland...

Short and sweet!

I had an amazing week and I am feeling loads better! Thanks to everyone for there prayers for me <3 :) Thank you! I feel so blessed with all of the love and support that I receive. :) 

I love you all! Have a wonderful week!!! 

Feeling Better

My dearest friend, Sister Kate Cannon <3 On exchanges, woot woot! I was SO sick that day! And accidentally lost my temper and told some woman that she brainwashes her kids... woops! 

On Thursday, it was my first time out of the flat in soooo long! The Zone Leaders picked Sister Montoya and I up at our flat to take us to Dublin for the All Ireland Conference! :D I LOVE road trips! I made muffins the night before and Elder Butler made brownies. It was a fun trip... for me anyway! I talked the WHOLE way, to Elder Hutchings dismay. Hahahah! I don't know why, but when I was created they forgot the "off" switch! :) The conference was SO good! I got to see so many of my friends! I still wasn't feeling too well still... If I stood for too long I would see black spots in my vision and feel so dizzy, but it was SO worth it to go! It was a very inspiring conference! Sister Montoya and I are very excited to go back to work this week after a whole week of rest!  

Sister Weber sent this picture with the following: Dear lovely Sisters,

You know, I know that this picture is of the sisters that came in the same group, But if you were to put Sister Montoya and Sister Galbraith into this picture, it would represent the very best and finest of all of the Missionary Sisters in this mission, probably the WORLD, At least the 6 We love the most.  Others will come, and maybe are here already but we don’t know them very well.  Our group is limited to the Limerick Zone. 

By the Way, Would you Six please send me your 1.  Home email address,  2.  Home phone number,  3.  Home address:  We really want to stay in touch with you, you know,  check on how you are living the gospel, run a background check on any young man you may have feelings for, crash your wedding, that sort of thing.  Love you Gobs - webers

Kelsey says: In this picture it is the lovely sisters that I was with in the MTC! We are finally together again after about 14 months of ALL of us being apart! (Sister Griffin (me), Sister Henkel, Sister Allen, Sister Jacques! :) I love those ladies and I am so blessed to know them! 

What a way to start 2015!

Quote of the Week:

Elder Klebingat: "often trials and tribulations are allowed to come into [your life] because of what [you] are doing right."  

Scripture of the Week:

1 Nephi 11:17 -we don't always know the meaning of all things. 

So Christmas was great! I am still in awe of all the love and prayers and gifts from friends and family. Thank you all again for all that you do for me. I really feel I can never repay you all. 

On December 31, 2014 the last day of 2014 I got a call early in the morning telling me that I had a dr. appointment since I've been sick with a cold for about 4 weeks now. They gave me the address of the dr. office and the dr.'s name. They spoke fast and in an accent that is not American, British, Scottish, or Irish.... I thought I knew where I was supposed to go though, so I wasn't too bothered. It was just past the church about an hour and fifteen minute walk. Sister Montoya and I grabbed a small lunch and went walking... turns out I didn't know the dr's office I was supposed to go to... When I walked into the dr's office and told them I was there 12 o'clock the lady looked at me and said "no you're not". I assumed she was just being cheeky when she saw the badge because a lot of the Irish are not a huge fan of us Mormon missionaries... but it turns out the dr office I was supposed to go to was in city center (about 2 hours away walking, and it was already 11:40). While we were walking I was trying to think of anyone who lived close by that could drive us, especially because my lungs were burning with pain... well, luckily our friend Patricia who lives by the church was able to pick us up and take us to the dr :) Turns out since I didn't take care of the cold I had four weeks ago properly my body has a lot of infections in it... I am going to be doing a lot of resting this week. 

Then we went to a member's home and ate dinner and played games. Communication wasn't the best... We were supposed to be home by 6pm, but she thought differently.. needless to say, we were late home. Then we set an alarm to wake us up at 11:30pm so we could write goals and celebrate the new year together... well, we accidentally set the alarm for 11:30am and woke up right before personal study. Whew... what a way to start the new year, right? 

On the 1st we went to the Hogan's home with the four elders here in Limerick (Elders Anderson, Butler, Hutchings, and Scott). We watched The Princess Bride, Monsters University, and Meet The Robinson's! :) I LOVE THOSE MOVIES! Meet the Robinson's was SO inspiring. Keep Moving Forward!!! Then we played Just Dance... I lost horribly! I have no rhyme or reason. Haha! Sister Montoya and I danced to Crazy in Love together.. wow, the dance moves were a little crazy... Awkward... Hahaha! It was a fun night though! AND the Hogan's made corn dogs! What I have been missing from 'Murica! ;) 

Well, hopefully this week is good. A lot of resting will be taking place, and the All Ireland Conference in Dublin! It is so exciting because I will see all the sisters from my group for the first time all together since the MTC (Sisters Allen, Henkel, and Jaques)! :) 

Thank you for your love and support! Well... emailing is almost over... Sorry if I'm unable to send long personal messages to everyone, but know of my love for you all! <3

I know the church is true. I wouldn't be out here if I didn't know that. I know that we have tests and trials to strengthen us. I know that being strong can feel lonely, but we are never alone. Keep moving forward. :) 

<3, Sister Kelsey Griffin

PS my friend Azariah from Limerick has been called to serve a mini mission in Glasgow! My last area! How cool is that! :) 

With Sister Cannon

The Faloons

Popcorn!

Happy New Year!!