Ugh! Spiders!!!

Hey Everyone!

I will NEVER complain about spiders again!  This week at the Joseph Smith Farm, I was observing a sister on tour and I held the door open at the log home so everyone could get out and go down to the frame home.  As I was holding the door open, out of the corner of my eye I saw a BIG black shadow crawling around from the inside of the door, across the width of the door, landing right next to me.  I quietly freaked out and bolted away from the door.  I thankfully had our cell phone in my pocket and quickly called the office at the Smith Farm to ask someone to take care of the spider.  Thankfully someone from Facilities Management was already on the Farm.  As the tour I was observing went on ahead, a new tour group my companion, Sister Graham, was observing came in.  With a smile plastered on my face and panic in my heart, I greeted them into the log home and told Sister Graham, the guests, and their tour guide, Sister O'Leary, not to touch the door as they walked in.  Finally, Jeff from Facilities Management walked in.  As he tried to cup the spider in his hands, it fell to the floor and started running towards us!  Sister Graham, Sister O'Leary, and I screamed in unison as we tried to run away from the big black monster spider running towards us.  Jeff was then able to catch the spider and take it away.  Ugh!

And if that wasn't enough, when Sister Graham and I got home, there was another spider just as big crawling in the hallway.  With no one to call, we were on our own.  With shoe in hand, I walked through another room to get to the other side of the hallway behind the spider.  Sister Graham had a boot ready in front of the spider (which stayed perfectly still as we geared up for our attack).  Just as I stepped close enough to squish the spider, it bolted.  But with my "Survivor" mode on, the spider's run was unsuccessful and my shoe, very forcefully, got it.  We are now always on alert for spiders!

This is a SMALL one compared to the one I killed last night that was IN OUR HOUSE!!!

I hope everyone enjoyed General Conference as much as I did!  We had an interesting experience in the midst of Conference.  After the Saturday afternoon session, we were talking with some visitors and they asked us where we were from.  When I responded that I had lived in San Diego, they lit up and said pointing to the pavilion area, that the two young men there were from San Diego as well.  Before leaving the church my companion and I got to meet and chat with them.  It turns out they are from Fallbrook!  Small world!  One of them is a recent covert of about four years (two of those years serving a mission) and the other wasn't a member of the Church.  For the past five weeks, they had been cycling from Utah to their destination of New York City to catch a flight back to California.

Visitors from Fallbrook

The non-member friend had been asking about the Church during their five-week journey and went to Church with him every Sunday during the five weeks.  Sister Graham and I offered to teach him the next day.  On Sunday morning, a family in the ward invited all eight of us missionaries serving in the ward for breakfast before General Conference.  When we walked in we were surprised to find the two guys from Fallbrook already sitting at the table.  We all had a great time.  Then it was time for our tour shift and Conference to start.  Sister Graham and I went to the tour site and everyone else went to the Church building to watch Conference.  Due to tour buses coming through, we weren't able to watch the morning session of Conference live. By the time I got back from taking tour after tour, it was almost time for the afternoon session to start.  As we walked back to the Welcome Center, we saw the two guys with white shirts and ties on.  With a senior couple and his friend there, Sister Graham and I taught the most powerful restoration lesson I've been a part of, committed him to read the Book of Mormon, and be baptized.  He accepted both.  The next day we ran into them again and they reported that they had an amazing time at the Gradin Building and Hill Cumorah tours where they had more spiritual experiences.  The next morning they were off to catch a bus to New York City.  I hope to hear how the story ends!

God's plan is perfect and He prepares people who are ready for His Gospel even if that means they have to travel cross country on a bicycle and sleep on the dirt for five weeks to prepare them to hear the message of the Restoration.  Miracles happen on a daily basis here in the New York Rochester Mission!

Love,
Sister Killen