December 29

I sure enjoyed talking with yall this week. I miss you so much. I can't wait until I get to be with you all again!

I hope everyone can get back into the routine of things. One thing I don't think you will have to worry about me when I get home is laziness. I will probably be able to be lazy for like two days and then I will have to be doing something. I can't stand not doing anything. My companion has been sick the last few days and so we have been inside, after about three hours I was bored out of my mind and so I started organizing my stuff to occupy my time. 

Not much has happened since talking with yall. But we did have a miracle! While sister Whetstone was resting we got a phone call, from the Elders and they told us that they had just eaten at a members home and our investigators were there. They had a fantastic lesson, and our investigator Valarie had a huge aha moment with them and is now working towards a day when she can soon be baptized! 

So I am actually making New Years resolutions for the rest of my mission. I am going to have 4 more baptisms, bear testimony as often as possible, repent daily, and endure/enjoy to the end :) I have been trying to think of how I wanted to end my mission and I feel that these are good goals for me to work towards. Yall should make some spiritual New Years resolutions and work towards them this year.

This week has been fantastic!

December 22

This week has been fantastic! Thanks for the awesome package! It was like the Mary Poppins bag of packages! We kept pulling more and more out it was awesome! Before I forget I sent home a package today it should get home on Christmas Eve, but you may not be able to get it until after Christmas because of your plans. It has presents for the whole family, nothing big, just little things, and some more of my clothes that I want when I get home (I used them for extra padding). There is a note explaining what is for who. 

I can't wait till I get to skype you all on Thursday! Plan on 12:00 your time to skype. I hope that time works for yall. I figure it will be after all the presents are opened. I am seriously so excited I can barely stand it. 

This week has been wonderful. We had our Christmas program on Sunday and I sang in it with a sister from our ward. We gave out the cd's that we had made to the ward and we had 5 investigators at church! It was amazing! 

Right now we are working with an investigator named Valarie. She has come to church the past 2 weeks and absolutely loves it. Everything that we teach her she just eats up and loves it. Please pray for her and that we will be able to set a baptismal date with her for the month of January. It is so nice to see the miracles that are happening here in Macclenny! Seriously this place is on fire! 

Ryan's Baptism

This week was phenomenal! Ryan was baptized and he had so much support from the ward. He is truly a remarkable guy! I know that he will do well in the gospel as he tries his best to live it. We actually had 7 nonmembers at his baptism! It was such a great day! President Craig called us after and congratulated us. It was seriously the best day ever! It is incredible to see how happy the gospel has made him. 

We will be skyping sometime after 5:00 our time. I will get back to you next week about a more specific time. I can't wait to see yall! It will be the best day ever! 

Today I am getting my hair trimmed! There is a lady in our ward who is amazing at hair and she said that she would do it for me! She is also doing my companion's hair with some cool highlights and lowlights.

Phenomenal!

December 9

So this week has been phenomenal! Ryan is still set to be baptized on Sunday! He is progressing so well! We had a great lesson with him yesterday in one of our member's home. It was probably the best lesson I have ever had. The spirit was so strong. A young 18 year old girl bore her testimony about how the gospel is joy, and how it is the only way we can truly be happy. 

It is amazing to see how much the members love us here. Everybody comes up to us and asks us how we are doing, and if we need anything. They love us so much! It is so rewarding to see the difference from when I first arrived here. 

I am so excited to skype yall in just a few weeks! Just think, after that you only have to wait 2 months and 2 weeks to see me in person. The office called me this week and asked me which airport I would be flying into. It doesn't really hit me how much time I have left until I get calls like that. I only have 12 weeks left. 

We also had presidents interviews this week and I probably received the greatest compliment ever from president Craig. He told me that he could always count on me and that he never has to worry about me. It was amazing. That is exactly what I wanted to have my mission president say about me.

Post Thanksgiving

December 1

So our thanksgiving was eventful.  On Wednesday I got terribly sick and threw everything up all night long. So thanksgiving I slept all morning and then we went and I had as little as possible at another member's house. My stomach had settled by then, but I was still taking it easy. 

We had a great time at the cane grinding, but it was the grossest thing I have ever tasted.  it was sure fun though! 

Ryan seems to be coming along well. He has the whole world against him though. People are not giving him any credit and they think he is joining because of a girl he likes in our ward. I just wish people would let him be and believe him about why he is joining. It makes me sad. I think he will do well though. He is gaining a testimony little by little, just like everyone else. I think we forget that converts are just like little sunbeams when they begin their journey into the gospel. We expect them to have a huge testimony right off, but that is just not realistic. 

In response to your question, yes the second coming is coming soon, but a lot still has to happen before that time will be here. We have to tell everyone about the gospel, and right now we still can't reach everyone. Barriers still have to come down, wickedness has to increase, and the righteous must be more righteous. We have to be better, and we have to work hard, but now is the time to prepare (spiritually and physically). 

Also we should totally go see Mike and Nat when I get home and then come as a family here to Florida! Yall would love it here! 

This week...

Mark Thatcher will make an excellent Bishop! Also, I am so proud of my Aggies! Hopefully next year they will be better than ever!  

So I started to bawl when I read that you have my release date papers. I don't know what I am going to do when that time comes. It will be very hard for me. I am really going to miss it here, but I am super excited to see yall! So many emotions all rolled into one, it is crazy. 

So this week we set a baptismal date with a young man named Ryan. He is awesome! It was very interesting when we set the date we told him that it was going to get very hard in the next few weeks for him to keep that date. We told him to recognize the adversary and his ploys to try and stop him from getting baptized. The day after we set this date, his mom got put into the hospital, his ride for church got put on restriction for driving and coming to church because her father has some problems with Ryan and the church. I have been attacked more by satan than probably ever before and basically all hell has broken loose. It is amazing to me the lengths that satan will go to to try and get someone to not be baptized. But we are winning the war against him. I feel like Ryan is meant for something extraordinary. There is just something about him. He has been remarkably preserved for the situation that he has grown up. I think Heavenly Father has some big plans for him. 

So this week we are having like three days of thanksgiving. We are having dinner on Wednesday and then on Thursday we have 2-3 dinners we have been invited to, and then on Friday we have more cane grinding with a lot of nonmembers at a members home. It should be a really great week! I as afraid because we only had one person half signed up on the dinner Calendar and I was sad, but the ward totally came through. 

No transfer…Macclenny is such an amazing place! I really am so excited to see what is going to start happening in the next few months with the work! It will be awesome! 

Baby Alpaca

November 17

So this week has been good! We have been having more success. We actually found some new investigators! We have also been having some investigators come to church! Things seem to be looking up here in Macclenny! I hope it continues that way. 

This week we got to help our Ward member who has an alpaca farm and she just had a baby alpaca! It is so cute! Seriously! We get to hold it tomorrow! It looks like a little lamb with a really long neck. I love animals so much! It is ridiculous. 

Oh also transfers are the week of December 10. I will know the 9th of December if I get transferred or not. 

Enjoying one more warm Winter in the sunshine state

It sounds cold there! 

So today we had some excitement, we have been on tornado watch for a couple of hours. No tornados touched down, but the sky got really green it was scary. We bunkered down at the church because we were away from the house, but the internet wasn't working.

Burrrrrrrrrrrrrr it sounds cold there! I am so glad that I am missing another winter. I will miss seeing the snow, but not the freezing cold.

This week was great! We have been having more success. We actually found some new investigators! We had an investigator at church! His name is Ryan (name changed). He has been coming to volleyball for weeks, and this last Saturday we had a really spiritual lesson about the stripling warriors and he was really interested. We gave him a Book of Mormon, and he read the introduction and the testimonies and is loving it! Hopefully he will get baptized in the next few weeks. Things seem to be looking up here in Macclenny! I hope it continues that way. 

We also think that we are staying! President is not taking Sisters out of Macclenny! Which is crazy because some sisters that just had a baptism in our district are being taken out. I think president has really seen the potential this place has! I really hope I get to see some of the fruits of my labors before I go home.

So this today I am buying you some Christmas presents, nothing too big, but something special for yall! I just wanted to let you know that is where my money is being spent this week. I have been much better with my mission expenses this month. :)

Also I ate some weird plant called chyote which is a cross between a pear and a cucumber. I made a soup out of it. It wasn't too bad. I also had a duck egg this morning. This week we got to help our Ward member who has an alpaca farm and she just had a baby alpaca! It is so cute! Seriously! We get to hold itIt looks like a little lamb with a really long neck. I love animals so much! It is ridiculous. These are just a few of our adventures this last week!

For thanks giving we are having two thanksgiving days. We are having thanksgiving with the member we live with and her family.  We are also having a fun party and cane grinding that everyone in the ward comes to at a members house. There will probably be more plans to come.

Anyway, I love you so much! Thanks for all you do!

New Companion

I still can't believe how much everyone has grown since I have been gone. I wish they would all stay little. It sounds like Halloween was fun for you all! Thanks for saving my phone! I should be due for an upgrade and so I will hopefully get the 5c, I really like the gold one ;)

This week has been crazy. Transfers are always a big deal. My new companion is Sister Rachel Whetstone and she is from Modesto, California. She is very funny and she talks a lot.....she could talk more than you or mom. I think she will be really good for this area. I don't think that President will close our area, if anything he will take out the elders. I think this area will do really well in the next few transfers.

So with transfers we hardly got anything done. We did go out and try to find a whole lot more, but nothing seemed to come of it. Hopefully this next week will be better. We have zone conference this week in Gainesville. It seems more and more I need a spiritual recharge.

The last three days have been freezing! It went from upper 80's/lower 90's to low 40's in just a day. It isn't that cold in comparison, but those quick snaps make it seem so cold. We even turned the heat on. 

So this week was slow, but we are still trying to get this area moving. We did have a miracle with a few of our youth. There is this one girl named Allie (name changed) and she reminds me of a mix of me and Hannah. I have sort of taken her under my wing. We heart attacked her family's house and it made their night. She loved it. I really hope I can set her on the right path.

Also, I did not get attacked by any wild boars, but I have eaten one, it tastes like normal ham. 

Halloween

I hope MC plays well, I feel bad for them, they used to be so good. Also I hope our Aggies can survive, 4th string, man what happened to all of our other QB's?

So Sister Koenig is getting transferred. My new companion is Sister Whetstone, I will meet her officially tomorrow. She came out with Sister Koenig, and she is like 23 or older. That is pretty much all I know about her. I hope everything works out, that first week with a new companion is always so awkward.

Anyway so this week has been really amazing! We have had so many miracles and so much inspiration. I keep having ideas come to my mind on what we can do to get the missionary work going here. It is so amazing to see the progress of our ward. My first ward council I had here was so awkward, no one said anything, and no one wanted to help us. Now everyone is giving us suggestions and people to go see. They really want to know about our investigators and we actually talk about their needs! It is awesome!

Tomorrow we are having our ward trunk or treat and a fall festival. We go big in the south, cotton candy, face painting, snow ones, a cake walk! I am hopefully going to dress us like an Nephite (aka an Indian). We are doing a face painting booth and heading out candy taped to mormon.org cards. It should be really fun! The ward loves us so much we get asked everyday if we need anything! Christmas is going to be the best here!

More Cookies for Converts

That story about Brooklyn meeting Elder Scott was probably the cutest thing that I have ever heard. …I wish that we could protect them more from the big bad world. It seems to be getting so bad lately.

Anyway, we are trying to continue to work with our members to earn their trust. It is incredible what some good cookies will do for ward moral! We have been making "cookies for converts". We have made delicious pumpkin chocolate chip cookies and been delivering them to our entire ward. They LOVE them! We have been also heart attacking them and writing thank you cards like crazy. It is so amazing what the little ways we show our love and appreciation can really make their day. 

We had a rough week as far as regular missionary work goes. We had so many appointments fall through. It seems like you can never have two good weeks in a row. We do have a few people that have some very good potential to be baptized in the coming months. Please just keep them in your prayers and also could y'all unite with us in praying that every companionship in the mission could find a family of five people to teach before Christmas. We are trying to focus on finding families to being into the gospel because that is where true growth comes in. 

Oakiefanoeie Swamp

Sorry, it has taken me so long to write back, we went to the Okefenokee Swamp in Georgia for Pday and we are just getting back.

Anyway, this week has been a bunch of adventures. First we had a trade off with the sister training leader coordinators (like AP's but not). It was so nice! I was able to get some suggestions on how we could work with our Ward a little more and what we could do to help them get really involved in the missionary work. I also got to realize how much I have matured on my mission. I always love those little glimpses of my progress, it is very encouraging. 

So we have been working with a few people, but they don't seem to have been able to get answers to their prayers. Please pray that Marilee and Donna (names changed) will be able to receive an answer that this is the true church of Jesus Christ upon the earth today. There are so many people here who are on the verge of conversion, they just have to exercise a leap of faith and they will receive their answers, 

So today we went to the Okefenokee swamp! It was amazing! We saw two alligators in their natural habitat! We also went on a commercial water taxi ride through the swamp. It was so beautiful! I bought some cool souvenirs that I will send home maybe for Christmas or I might just give them to you when I come home! We also got to see the Chesser house, which is a really old swamp house in the middle of the Okefenokee. We finished our day with a hike to a tower in the middle of the swamp and at the top you could look out across the entire swamp! It was so beautiful! I am so lucky to be able to be in such a beautiful place! 

Last week after I emailed y'all we went and visited with a less active family and they had 40 snakes and a pet raccoon! You know me I just had to hold the snakes and let the raccoon climb on my back and give me kisses! I feel like I am a great adventurer out here in the Florida jungle! 

Anyway, I love you all so very much! Keep up the good work! Also read Elder Scott's talk again (i think I sad that last email, but I am just making sure!)! 

Okiefanokee Swamp

October General Conference

Recording at Jacksonville Beach

This week has been crazy and wonderful! We have been working our tails off to help the ward here and get our area book organized and also make sure all of our records are correct. We also watched meet the Mormons! And we had general conference! 

So for the past few months the ward hasn't been very enchanted with the sisters that have been here and so we have had a hard time getting the ward to give us a chance. But with some hard work, good baking, and just good, ole love we have managed to break through their walls. It was wonderful at this last ward council meeting they were joking around with us and we're poking fun at my companion. It felt so good to see that!

We also were able to watch a pre-showing of the Meet the Mormons movie with all the missionaries in our zone at the stake center in Lake City. It was SO GOOD! Yall need to go see it! Seriously! It showed so many amazing things about some amazing people. I think that it will be a really good missionary tool in some areas of the country. My ward mission leader from my first ward actually called in a favor from a friend and got the local movie theatre in Fleming Island to show it for the opening weekend! Please promise me that yall will go see it! 

We also were able to listen to the amazing general conference! I absolutely loved the Saturday sessions! They were so uplifting and exactly what I needed. I really liked the younger 70 that had a Russian accent Jorg Kleignat (I believe that is his name). His talk was very bold, but it was all truth that some times we like to put off. I felt like he addressed the things that are truly preventing a lot of us Latter-day Saints from getting to the next step of our eternal progression. I also loved that so many of the talks are about making a family strong and centered in Jesus Christ. Mom and Dad as well as everyone else, I would like you to reread/re watch elder Scott's talk, it was very inspired, and it has some key principles that are for strengthening our family. I really liked the four very specific ways that we can feel peace in our home. There are people around you that are seeking to pull you down and cover you with filth, DO NOT GIVE INTO THAT. By reading the Book of Mormon you will be able to recognize the spirit more and more and it will help you stay safe. 

Today we are going to Jacksonville Beach to record some songs with some other members in our ward. We are even having a few nonmembers coming with us. Our Bishop's family is going to give the CD to the entire ward for Christmas! It is such an honor to be asked to do this. I am so grateful that our ward trusts us enough to ask us to do something like this. 

Anyway I hope that you are all doing well. I love you so much! You are so amazing! I love Fall! Keep up the good work and go see meet the Mormons! 

Maxxlenny, FL

So this week has been interesting. I am in Macclenny and it looks just
like Bear River City. No joke. It is soooooo small town. I love it
though! The first night here we went to a part member's home and had a
"jam" session out in the back yard where we sang all sorts of church
songs. We live with a member who is amazing! And we sleep on bunk
beds.

There is pretty much nothing here. We have already visited the only
store here. It actually had modest skirts! I only bought one and I
finally got a wallet that I like. Right now we are sitting in
Starbucks right in front of Walmart and emailing you.

So I got a flat tire in my bike this week and we had an adventure
trying to get it fixed. Now I know pretty much everything you need to
know about a bike! I have become sort of a jack of all trades out
here. I can landscape, sew, fix a bike (and an air conditioner for
that matter), I can make cute cards and invitations in a matter of
minutes, build houses, paint houses, take care of alpacas, horses, and
fish, and do anything else that you can probably name. As a missionary
you acquire lots of skills.

My new companion is Sister Koenig she is from Fallon, Nevada. She is
super fun!  We are having a blast trying to figure out what we can do to

help this area grow.

I am doing okay. I am still adjusting. I am trying to do what The Lord
needs me to do. I am stressing out because of how fast this is going.
I don't think that I will be ready to come home. There is a song that
we listen to that talked about the progression of a mission and how
you leave you heart here and I cry every time. It will be the hardest
thing ever for me to come home.

Transfer

So this week has been interesting. I am in Macclenny and it looks just
like Bear River City. No joke. It is soooooo small town. I love it
though! The first night here we went to a part member's home and had a
"jam" session out in the back yard where we sang all sorts of church
songs. We live with a member who is amazing! And we sleep on bunk
beds.

There is pretty much nothing here. We have already visited the only
store here. It actually had modest skirts! I only bought one and I
finally got a wallet that I like. Right now we are sitting in
Starbucks right in front of Walmart and emailing you.

So I got a flat tire in my bike this week and we had an adventure
trying to get it fixed. Now I know pretty much everything you need to
know about a bike! I have become sort of a jack of all trades out
here. I can landscape, sew, fix a bike (and an air conditioner for
that matter), I can make cute cards and invitations in a matter of
minutes, build houses, paint houses, take care of alpacas, horses, and
fish, and do anything else that you can probably name. As a missionary
you acquire lots of skills.

My new companion is Sister Koenig she is from Fallon, Nevada. She is
super fun!  We are having a blast trying to figure out what we can do to

help this area grow.

I am doing okay. I am still adjusting. I am trying to do what The Lord
needs me to do. I am stressing out because of how fast this is going.
I don't think that I will be ready to come home. There is a song that
we listen to that talked about the progression of a mission and how
you leave you heart here and I cry every time. It will be the hardest
thing ever for me to come home.

Miracles

So we have been seeing so many miracles these past few weeks! This area has truly blossomed! Nick is getting baptized on the 16th of August and he is one of the most solid converts that I have ever seen! He is so converted it isn't even funny. He is defending the church to his anti family, and he has even gotten his mom, step-dad, and little brother to come to church 3 out of the last 4 weeks. It is awesome! I love baptisms so much! I have missed seeing one! The Lord has definitely prepared Nick and I know that his baptism is a direct answer

I also wanted to tell you how grateful I am for the Book of Mormon. There is so much power in that book. It has helped me so much throughout my mission. I know that is has given me hope, peace, and comfort. Please remember to read it everyday. Hayden and Katie are included with this challenge. Anyone who can read should be reading at least one verse in the Book of Mormon daily, it will change your life, and perhaps save it. It will bring you strength to fight the adversary. It will give you courage in those situations that might seem too hard to handle. It will be the light at the end of the tunnel. Please read it everyday. 

Overcoming challenges through hope and faith

Anyway, this week has been another great week of miracles. We have had so much success lately with having lessons. Hopefully this will carry over to many people being baptized in the coming months. We have a lot of success finding people, but they somehow drop off the face of the earth and we never hear from them again. 

This week we have been riding bikes more than ever. I like it well enough. I don't like doing it for long periods of time though.

So this week I spoke in sacrament. I spoke on overcoming challenges through hope and faith. It was pretty ironic since I just went through basically the hardest point of my life these last few transfers and faith and hope were what brought me through it. We have also been studying the Christlike attributes and the first two just so happen to be faith and hope, it was really nice to see how far I have come and to see how much I grew. I am so grateful for hope and faith and that they were able to help me get through that rough time. 

We had an amazing miracle last night thanks to the guidance of the spirit. We were just going to knock a street and we had a few doors to choose from. I felt like we needed to knock the door right in front of us instead of crossing the street. When someone answered it turned out to be the home of a member of our ward who is fairly active. We laughed about how we didn't realize it was her house and then we asked if there was anyone who she knew that we could visit. She directed us to go see her neighbor and said that she had actually brought her to church before. We went and knocked on her neighbor's door. The lady opened right up and let us in. We talked about church and she said that it was different than what she was used to, but that she loved it. We have a return appointment with her this week! It is amazing what happens when you follow the promptings of the spirit. 

Ft, Caroline Ward

This week was pretty dang good! We have been working our tails off
here in the Ft. Caroline ward. We are finally starting to see some
success here.

This week we set a solid baptismal date with Nick for August 16th! We
are so excited to see this for him! He has been coming to church for
more than a month straight and you can just see the change in his
eyes. He has so many questions, but he understands that sometimes we
don't always need all the answers. I am so excited to see him enter
the waters of baptism. He has a goal to get sealed in the temple to
his fiancé (who is an active member of our ward) when he is able to.

We also had an adventure this week while riding our bikes. We have
been asked by President Craig to fast from our cars 1-2 times a week
and bike. We tried that this week and the day we did we had a HUGE
thunderstorm roll through. We biked a few blocks and were completely
soaked through. We stopped into a store to get out of the lightning
and the first person that saw us had her mouth drop to the floor
because of how wet we were. We pretty much stayed that wet until the
end of the night, but it was worth it! We had some great lessons with
people we would have normally passed in a car.

We also had a big move this week. They are no longer allowing Sisters
and Elders to be in the same apartment complex, so we are now living
in the Arlington area. I will send you my address a little later today
when we find the phone. We definitely upgraded apartments. We switched
with the zone leaders and of course we planked them and they pranked
us.  We left upside down glasses of water all over their apartment and
they took all of our toilet paper and put our beds in the living room.

Last p-day we also went fishing. I didn't catch anything, but one
Elder caught a sting ray! It was so much fun! First time fishing!

HUGE Facebook Challenge

So this week feels like it has been two weeks jam-packed into one. We had Zone meeting, then President interviews, and then District meeting all this week. We also had our trade-offs with our Sister Training Leaders. We also have been given a HUGE challenge for Facebook.

So our mission is hosting a HUGE Facebook even that I have invited you to join. It will happen tomorrow and will be the first of four events that simply involve changing your profile picture on Facebook. I need you to invite everyone on your friends list to attend. Spread the word through the ward and at work. Tell everyone to look up the discover the book Facebook event page and join it. All of the information for the event is on that page in the event info section. It has the potential to reach millions of people all over the world. We need as much support as we can get. We have a few Mormon celebrities joining us (like Alex Boye). I messaged LDS Living magazine and they said that they would love to help get the word out about this event. We basically have decided that we are going to use the resources that the Lord has given us to reach everyone in the world. This will help with that. There is a prophecy that was given by Ezra Taft Benson it states:

"I have a vision of homes alerted, of classes alive, and of pulpits aflame with the spirit of Book of Mormon messages.

I have a vision of home teachers and visiting teachers, ward and branch officers, and stake and mission leaders counseling our people out of the most correct of any book on earth--the Book of Mormon. I have a vision of artists putting into film, drama, literature, music, and paintings great themes and great characters from the Book of Mormon.

I have a vision of thousands of missionaries going into the mission field with hundreds of passages memorized from the Book of Mormon so that they might feed the needs of a spiritually famished world.I have a vision of the whole Church getting nearer to God by abiding by the precepts of the Book of Mormon. Indeed, I have a vision of flooding the earth with the Book of Mormon."

(Flooding the Earth with the Book of Mormon) Ezra Taft Benson October 1988

This is part of fulfilling that prophecy. Please get everyone you can on board. This is very inspired and very simple. We need your (you and Dad) help. This is how we are going to flood the world with the Book of Mormon.

So this week has been pretty good. We have been trying to find people like always. We actually had a miracle with our Bishop's wife. We went on splits with her and the investigator that we were going to see wasn't home, so we went to see some of the elderly sisters in our ward. At the last sister's house we met her home health nurse. We had a great gospel discussion that was started by our bishop's wife! It was amazing, she just started to talked about the gospel. She introduced us and the Book of Mormon. We ended up setting a return appointment through facebook, because she lives just outside of our area. It was truly a miracle.

Tuesday we get to go and help out again with Habitat for Humanity. We finally got Mormon Helping Hands shirts, so it will be good "publicity" for the church. It will also be fun to just do service as a district. There are quite a few people leaving this next transfer and I will really miss them. It will be nice to have one last big service project to do with them.

President's interviews were just what I needed this week. He helped me realize that I am doing okay. He also helped me to understand more about the enabling power of the atonement. It really helped me to see that I can do this because my Savior will give me strength.

Anyway, I love you so much! Keep staying strong!

Lots of love,

Sister Williams

Keeping my chin up

So this week has been good. We have had many miracles this week. Things are still very hard. I am just trying to keep my chin up and press forward. I wish that things would just get better sooner, but I know that the Lord is on my side and He has a purpose in all of this. It is so very frustrating to want to do so much, but to only be able to do so little. I know that things will get better in the future, I need to learn something from this and I haven't figured it all out yet. I know that I am being made stronger through it all. I just have to take things one day at a time, (and you know how hard that is for me, I want to take everything all at once).

This week has definitely been the refiners fire for both of us and our investigators. Our investigators who were unmarried have decided to separate, and it didn't go so well. They still are wanting to meet with us, but things between them have become complicated. It was an unexpected, double edged, answer to prayers. We have been trying to know what we could do to help them progress in the gospel. One of the largest obstacles that was preventing them from moving forward was getting married, because of this new change they have many more opportunities in the gospel. It is a very hard situation though, they are both still wanting to come to this ward and they don't want a blow-up to happen at church. We are praying that this will bring them closer to God instead of further away.

We have also had one of our investigators surprise us by coming to church yesterday! She is in the navy and her ship has been coming and going for exercise practices, so she has been out of town a lot. She came and loved the testimonies that were born. We had a lot of little children get up and bear their sweet, simple testimonies. It really touched her heart, and she wants to come back! We have really been struggling to have people come to church, so it was really nice to have an investigator there.

Hurricane season started yesterday. We are expect 13 named storms roll through in the coming months. Needless to say we have emergency preparation all taken care of. We have been blessed with a few rainstorms that have rolled through in the past few days. Normal storms here are the really bad ones back in Utah. At about lunch time everyday there is a thunderstorm that usually shakes the buildings and pours for a few minutes. Within an hour all signs of the storm are gone. This week is tax free week for emergency preparedness, so I will be stocking up on bottled water.

This week we also had a wonderful district meeting. We were asked to think about one act of disobedience that we could sacrifice. I choose to sacrifice my fear of opening my mouth to everyone.  It felt so good. I felt a sense of relief come over me. I gave my fear to God and He is in control now. I am so grateful for an inspired district leader. He prepared trainings that were meant for me. It was one of the most spiritual meetings that I have been in. I needed to know that everything was going to be alright. This brings to mind a talk that Jeffrey R. Holland gave a while ago called "missionary work and the atonement." Inside of it he says:

"Anyone who does any kind of missionary work will have occasion to ask, Why is this so hard? Why doesn’t it go better? Why can’t our success be more rapid? Why aren’t there more people joining the Church? It is the truth. We believe in angels. We trust in miracles. Why don’t people just flock to the font? Why isn’t the only risk in missionary work that of pneumonia from being soaking wet all day and all night in the baptismal font?

You will have occasion to ask those questions. I have thought about this a great deal. I offer this as my personal feeling. I am convinced that missionary work is not easy because salvation is not a cheap experience. Salvation never was easy. We are The Church of Jesus Christ, this is the truth, and He is our Great Eternal Head. How could we believe it would be easy for us when it was never, ever easy for Him? It seems to me that missionaries and mission leaders have to spend at least a few moments in Gethsemane. Missionaries and mission leaders have to take at least a step or two toward the summit of Calvary.

Now, please don’t misunderstand. I’m not talking about anything anywhere near what Christ experienced. That would be presumptuous and sacrilegious. But I believe that missionaries and investigators, to come to the truth, to come to salvation, to know something of this price that has been paid, will have to pay a token of that same price.

For that reason I don’t believe missionary work has ever been easy, nor that conversion is, nor that retention is, nor that continued faithfulness is. I believe it is supposed to require some effort, something from the depths of our soul.

If He could come forward in the night, kneel down, fall on His face, bleed from every pore, and cry, “Abba, Father (Papa), if this cup can pass, let it pass,”  then little wonder that salvation is not a whimsical or easy thing for us. If you wonder if there isn’t an easier way, you should remember you are not the first one to ask that. Someone a lot greater and a lot grander asked a long time ago if there wasn’t an easier way.

The Atonement will carry the missionaries perhaps even more importantly than it will carry the investigators. When you struggle, when you are rejected, when you are spit upon and cast out and made a hiss and a byword, you are standing with the best life this world has ever known, the only pure and perfect life ever lived. You have reason to stand tall and be grateful that the Living Son of the Living God knows all about your sorrows and afflictions. The only way to salvation is through Gethsemane and on to Calvary. The only way to eternity is through Him—the Way, the Truth, and the Life."

I have to go through some hardship so that I can truly know how precious salvation is. Salvation is not easy, but it is attainable. I am trying my very best to trust in my Father in Heaven and Savior Jesus Christ. I know that they will bring me through. 

I can't believe that school is out. It feels like it was yesterday that it started. I can't believe how fast time flies. And yes it is so stinking hot and muggy here, I feel like I am in a sauna.

This week has been another hard one, it had its good days and its hard days. I wish that life could be one constant, but I guess it wouldn't be very fun if we had everything stay the same. We has a few miracles. I don't know why, but Heavenly Father has seen to bless us with three weeks of amazing numbers in a row. I have never seen higher numbers in my life. We are having 10+ other lessons in a week (my previous average was 5) and at least 2 member presents (which we usually get none of). We have also been having new investigators come out of nowhere. I think that the Lord is trying to help me see that even though we are going through a tough time, we are still being blessed and watched over.

I had one amazing miracle happen this week. I got a facebook message from Hailey's and Abbey's father Jeff. He wrote to me and said that he had seen a change in his family and that he had been talking to Tracy and that he wanted to take a leap of faith. He noticed that the change had come when they joined the church. He asked if he could meet with missionaries! It was amazing, I about flipped out of my chair when I read that message. He hasn't had any religion in his life for over 20 years, but he really wants to find God and happiness. I sent a referral for the Elders in his area, and Sister Houtz and I will teach him on facebook with Tracy's help. I am so excited! Maybe one day Tracy and him will decide to get married and they can be a forever family!

Today we are going to play volleyball with our district, and then heading to get a haircut (actually more of a trim) and a new satchel from target. It should be a good day. We haven't done anything fun for a few weeks because of miles and so we can't go far. It will be nice to get out and about, I have found that I need to do something "fun" on P-days to help me stay focused on the rest of the week.

Anyway, I love you all so very much! Thanks for all of the encouraging words. I love you!

Lots of love,

Sister Williams

Challenges

t sounds like you will all have such a fun summer! I hope that next year will be the same, or maybe I will just have to save up all my money and go on a nation wide tour to visit everyone.

So this week has probably been the hardest week of my life. I have felt a constant attack from satan, and it is really frustrating. I will be just fine, but it will take time and I am still going to have my off days, but I am learning how to take a break to feel each emotion instead of putting them away and having a HUGE meltdown later. I got a really powerful blessing from my district leader this Saturday that helped me get some peace and comfort. I also have been learning how to pray more earnestly. I am finding that you have to constantly improve. Even though I thought that I had spirituality figured out when I left, I am being very humbled out here and I am learning that I have a long way to go. It seems that there is always a new level that you can move up to.

Also Sister Houtz and I get along great! I know that I don't mention her very often, but it doesn't mean we don't get along. I actually really love Sister Houtz. We have been through a lot together. She is going through the wringer as well. We were definitely placed together at the time that we needed each other. She really encourages me and helps me keep going when I need it.

This week we had zone conference. It was really good. We were assigned to read a talk about being a consecrated missionary. It talks about what we need to give up to be fully consecrated to the Lord. The first time I read through it I felt like I was the worst missionary ever, but then I went through it again and I felt better about it. When we got to zone conference I found out that I was not the only missionary that had felt the pressure. It seemed that the only missionaries that didn't feel that way were the ones who were going home in a transfer or two who had already become a consecrated missionary. I felt much better about it after that.

We have been struggling with investigators this week. We didn't have anyone come to church this week. It was really frustrating. We don't know what is going on with them. We hope that we can get in better contact with them and see what is stopping them from progressing. We just keep working hard because we know that it will pay off. The Lord has been blessing us immensely with fantastic numbers these past few weeks. It has helped us to feel much better about everything else. I just have to keep telling myself that things will get better, because they will. It is all in the Lord's hand.

Anyway I love you all so much! Tell everyone to have a great last week of school!

I can't wait for Mother's Day

I am so excited for Mother's day as well! Can you believe the time that has flown by since Christmas. It feels like yesterday that we skyped, and now we get to do it again! Only 13 more days! 

So this week has been fairly mundane. We have knocked so many doors my knuckles should be bruised by now. I heard the greatest description of tracting when we were at dinner with a member a few weeks ago. "Tracting is just something that you do to prove to the Lord that you are willing to do anything to find new investigators." It is so true. We are putting in the time, just like every missionary before us, to show the Lord that we are doing our part to find those who are ready to hear the gospel. We did see a miracle this week with tracting though, we pulled up to a neighborhood and the very first door we knocked on opened. A young mother was there and she invited us right in! She said that she had been looking for a church, and had just gotten off leave for the navy. She had been stationed on the ship the Gettysburg for 9 months and had just gotten home last week. We asked her if she knew a navy chaplin who lives in the ward next to ours who had also been on that ship (it was weird, the spirit totally had that one, because I had only heard of him from Sister Davidson in passing because she was there when their ward fare welled the Gettysburg). She knew exactly who he was and she got really excited that he was a member of our church. We talked to her about the Book of Mormon and the Restoration, she thought it was all very interesting, and agreed to come to church. It was amazing, I have never had anyone let me into their home like that.

This "quarter" our mission has been focusing on using the Book of Mormon in every finding and teaching moment. We are participating in a 90 day read of the Book of Mormon and we are sharing our "aha" moments with President and Sister Craig through our weekly emails. One of my "aha" moments came last week when I realized how much the Book of Mormon brings the Spirit into our lives. Just by reading it the Spirit subconsciously helps us make better decisions in our lives. I have really seen that with our investigators Heidi, Tom, Sam, and Kate. We have challenged them to read the Book of Mormon five minutes a day. They have been reading for the past three weeks and there have been such changes to their lives. They are starting to live more of the commandments without even knowing it. They have more patience one with another. They have more love for one another. I think that is one of the largest reasons we are told to have family scripture study each day, because even if we do it grudgingly, the Spirit makes its way into our hearts and minds. We make better decisions and we grow closer together as we read as a family.

Today we are going to the Zoo! I hear it is 20 times better than the Hoggle Zoo, and we get to feed Giraffes! So expect some cool pictures next week! I am seriously so grateful to be able to have done so much while I have been out here. It really gets me through the weeks. I love to experience things and make memories of Florida! It is so beautiful here! We are going to have to take a family trip here one day. It is definitely getting HOT here! I don't know how I am going to make it through the summer. The humidity is seriously messing with my hair :)

Anyway, I love you all! I can't wait to see all of your beautiful faces! We will coordinate next week for a time that will work best for both of us! I love you so much!

Fun, Crazy. Busy Easter Week

I loved the package! Sister Houtz and I were just saying that we needed some new bath and body works spray! Thank you so much for sending packages!

So this week was a week of fun, adventure, and miracles! Monday evening we went to President Craig's home for FHE with Heidi! It was fantastic! We spoke about the origin of the Book of Mormon and how we can have personal "aha" moments with the Book of Mormon. There were many people that got up and gave their "aha" moment and one of the stories really stood out to Heidi. They were reading a verse about being baptized and Heidi looked over to me and said "this is for me." It was exactly what we wanted her to hear! After we talked for a good hour in the car with her about what she needed to do to be baptized. She set a date that she would talk with Tom about getting married on. She then set a realistic date for baptism in late May!

Tuesday we got a call from the YSA sisters that their car was in the shop, and so we drove them around for a few days. We went to institute, which was great, but really weird. We met a lot of YSA people, which was also weird. I don't know if I want to go back to a YSA ward when I get home. It might take me a while to get back into that type of stuff. Because of this detour we were unable to work in our area for about three days, and when Thursday rolled around we didn't have any other lessons (which is REALLY bad). So we worked really hard and were diligent in all that we did. We tracted in the rain, and tried to share the gospel everywhere we went. I also developed a nasty cold through all of this which didn't help things.

On Wednesday we had our coordination with our ward mission leader and ward missionaries. The Elders told us about a young lady who they had previously been teaching who had texted them that day that she wanted to be baptized. They told us they thought we would do best with her, so we have started working with her. We had set an appointment with her this past Saturday, we really had no idea what to expect. Her name is Lexie and she is amazing! She is ready to learn and has a baptismal date for May 17th. Her family is also meeting with us! They were the biggest blessings from the Lord! It was amazing, right at the moment that we needed the Lord's help He poured out the blessings!

Another miracle was that we had 7 investigators at church! 7! That was a direct blessing from the Lord! I have never seen those type of numbers before. It was such a huge blessing! We also participated in the choir performances. It was a beautiful program. We sang with the primary children "Live like His Son" and it was truly beautiful. It touched a lot of hearts. We also sang "Because He Lives" which was also very beautiful. I sang the extremely high soprano part. You would have been impressed! Easter was so wonderful yesterday. I am so grateful for what we get to celebrate on that day. I am so grateful for the sacrifice of our Savior! It is because of Him that all things are possible.

We were also supprised by our awsome ward missionaries. They gave us each adorable Easter baskets with lots of goodies! We had Easter dinner at our Bishop's house. They invited many of the people in our ward who have no where else to go for dinner. It was wonderful to see all of them. We are so blessed in this ward!

So now for the FUN part! Last Monday we were able to go to the "beach." we actually were 20 feet from the beach, and could barely see the ocean, but we had fun! We went to a great souvenier shop and got some great stuff. I got this beautiful photo book, that is made of big banana(?) leaves and has some shells and sand on the front. It is beautiful! I also got a cute "Beach Patrol" T-shirt. I want to go back and get the matching sweatshirt one day! I also got some great Salt Life stickers and a key lanyard (I have really needed one of those). It was so fun to go out and have a sister's day! I hope I didn't break the bank!

Anyway this has been my great week! I am so grateful for all of the sacrifices that you have made to allow me to be here!