Week 18

Well Hello! I feel like I need to come up with more creative ways to start my e-mails...but I’m really not that creative, so you get what you get :) This week was....well unexplainable so I'll just tell you about it :) haha So Tuesday was Sister Baird's Birthday she turned 22! Wow she's old! It was a really great day though! :) We got attacked by a few psycho dogs :) I'm not even kidding! Everyone has dogs! The other day we saw this sign "beware of dog" while we were tracting and then we saw the gigantic animal and ran away! haha :) I have learned that I hate dogs :) and I get lots of exercise from running from the doggies :) haha but don't worry I will survive!! :) Oh on Sister Baird's Birthday the Elders attacked us with silly string :) It was quite fun but took us forever to get off and then we had to go wash our car :) haha but we have fun! We taught the little activity days girls (ages 8-11) and they are my favorite!!! I seriously LOVE them! haha we taught them the plan of salvation and they are SOOOO smart! :) Crazy! haha But It was so fun :) I wish that I could just teach children all the time :) I HAVE BEEN OUT FOR 4 MONTHS!!! Crazy! haha Lots of things are crazy, :) but it seriously feels like yesterday that you guys dropped me off at the MTC! But it was 4 months ago...haha it's going way too quick!!! :) Elder Piper came for mission tour on Thursday and he is super LEGIT!!! It was such a good day! So he basically just made us teach ourselves about how to be better missionaries :) He says "if you give a man a fish it will feed him for one meal, if you teach him how to fish it will feed him for the rest of his life!" so thus he taught us about hope. I talked a little bit about hope in the cards I sent each of you...I think :) haha (I sent a letter with a card for each family and pictures :) ) But it was really cool. He talked about what we are putting our hope in and if we didn't have hope then what would we have??? Think about what each of you are putting your hope in. :) because without hope we have nothing. He talked about how after the Soviet Union fell people in that area had a horrible life expectancy. It went down 6 years in 8 years, on average it goes down a year per century. And then he talked about why, it's because these people's hopes were lost. They didn't have any jobs and they didn't know how they were going to stay alive. There hope was gone... so hold on to hope :) Keep trying! Don’t give up! Life is hard and sometimes you don't always get what you hope for, but one day the sun will rise and you will always be able to hope for a better morning :) So hold on to your hope! It will get better! :) Haha something funny Elder Piper said was "I don't answer specific questions, that's why we're general authorities not specific authorities!" :) haha I thought it was pretty funny! Papa R. is still doing so good! We taught him on Thursday and he is getting so excited about family history! It's so awesome! I am so proud of him! It's just amazing how much of a miracle he is and that God was able to work through me to help this man come into the fold. Faith brings miracles! :) I testify of that! :) Speaking of which the other day (specifically Friday) I was driving down the road when the spirit (I swear) literally drove me to a potentials house! haha Sister Baird and I didn't wanna go because the first time we talked to this girl it was super awkward! haha But we went, and she was home and we asked her if she had ever wondered where she was before this and why she was here and where she was going and she was like "oh all the time" Cha-Ching! Plan of Salvation pamphlet! haha So we gave her that and set an appointment to go back and see her! :) Crazy what happens when you follow the spirit :) So.....that was some broadcast last night eh?! haha I don't know how I feel about the electronic stuff, on one hand it will make missionary work easier, but on the other hand It's nice to not have that stuff in my life right now! (cuz you know I was a FB addict :) ) haha But it's what the Lord wants and it will be good :) I bet Sister Baird 10 bucks that you guys were crying during the missionary medley :) Cuz i was ;) haha it was so amazing! 70 thousand missionaries!!!! HOLY COW!!! When they showed the choir from the MTC I chocked up because THAT is amazing!!! Literally! I love knowing that there are over 70 thousand other people my age doing the same thing I am doing and going through the same things. Crazy! I would encourage all of you to watch it and although you may or may not have non-member friends you can boost up the friends that you do have. The gospel changes lives, and if we are living it with others who are living it we will be stronger! So do-good work and watch the broadcast if you didn't!! :) haha After the broadcast we had another singing fireside!!! AHHHHHH I LOVE THEM!!! :) haha We rode up with Sister Logan and her companion we had so much fun! It was raining BUCKETS on the way back from the fireside luckily I wasn't driving, Sister Baird was :) haha but we all made it home safely :) Ah the fireside is just what I needed! I love music so much! :) Especially amazing grace! :) haha I also love President and Sister Weaver! Oh my goodness I love them so much!!! hahaha They are amazing!!! :) And do so much good work for us. I have never seen a set of people have so much love in their hearts as they do. It's amazing :) ANNNNDDD I love Sister Logan! haha She's seriously my best friend :) haha the Elders are making fun of me for this novel I am writing :) But that's about all I have to tell you :) and I’m going to be kicked off soon :) but I am doing awesome and great and I know the Lord is guiding me! I love you all so much! Thank you for your love and support and love and letters :) haha! talk to you soon! :) 

Love always 

Sister Wilkins :)

Week 17

Well hello there! I hope you all had an amazing week cuz I know I did! It's crazy because missions make you do things that you never thought you would ever do in your life. It makes you realize the box that we put around our potentials :) This week was SO GOOD!!!!! First on Monday our zone got to go to Steilacoom beach park (sunny side if you wanna look it up) and played beach volleyball! It was sooooo fun, and afterwards we sat on the beach and made up some sweet Mormon raps! :) Such as "there once was a boy named Joe what church to join is what he wanted to know" and so on. :) It was soooo fun! :) So that was a good day! On Tuesday we had a church tour with this guy named D. (he's 32 met him on the side of the road and he's super humble and untainted by other churches) and it was my very first church tour without Sister Hall and the spirit was so strong! It was awesome, and we put him on date for the 29th :) then we went to B.’s house (a really old funny lady that loves us) and we read her 2 Nephi 31 and put her on date too!!! wooot! :) (for you michele :) ) I was super pumped that day! That night I called Sister Hall and told her about everything going on! It’s so weird that she's not experiencing every moment of my day with me anymore so I just call and tell her all of it :D hahaha! It's fun and I absolutely LOVE her companions! :) On Wednesday I did something that I never thought I would have the courage to do and put someone on date on their doorstep for the first time!! It was scary but I did it and he said yes! The spirit of God is sweet! :) haha Sister Baird and I also had to have a little heart to heart that day, she was struggling a little bit...but it was good cuz we opened up to each other and it was just awesome! Thursday was park day which always makes me exhausted because we walk all over town! We walked to the ferry in the morning which takes about 35 minutes or so and went over to Anderson Island and had way yummy food :) and we taught S. over there! She struggles with some deep doctrine things but she's doing good :) But I always love Anderson Island! I finished my penguin like 3 weeks ago but I brought it home just barely! It's so cute! :) That night when we were finding it was SO funny! These little asian boys Nicholas and Jr followed us around the whole time! haha it was so funny...they got us a potential investigator cuz they were so cute! On Friday night we went to the Agor's I LOVE THEM SO MUCH!!!! Hawaiians are awesome in the first place but they just make you feel like family and it's so awesome :) I love it :) But I'm rushing through this so I can get to Saturday!!! Saturday was the best day ever!!!!!! haha we woke up and went running and got ready and did our studies! Then I got a call from Sister Hall and she told me J. was getting baptized!!!! :) J. is a guy we met at a funeral, he lived in Tacoma but wanted to be taught by us. Then when Sister Hall moved to Tacoma she took him and he got baptized on Saturday! So I called up president and he said I could go!!! yay! :) I was soooo happy! So we went over to bishop's cuz we have breakfast with him every Saturday and he took us out to old country buffet! I had a Slurpee for breakfast. Feel free to judge me but it happened :) haha the pancakes were good too :) On the way there I got to talk to Brooke! (bishop's daughter/ bff that goes to BYU-I) I just love her! Then we got back and we went up to Chamber's Creek for the baptism! IT WAS SO GOOD!!! Sister Hall made me give my testimony on baptism and Sister Packard (her adorable companion) Sang "brightly beams our father's mercy) and it's still stuck in my head! It was amazing! And J. was SO pumped and president came to meet him! And then he got baptized!!!!! awh! I love baptisms so much!!! :) And It was so good to be around Sister Hall and her companions! I LOVE THEM!!! Of course....I feel like I love a lot of places/people/things :) haha! God has put lots of love in my heart :) It's a good thing that I love baptisms because right after that we went back to our church for another baptism! Our Investigator G. (a refferal from Sister Sweson she's a spunky woman that likes to zumba!) came to the baptism and I got to bear my testimony after they got baptized and then we gave her a church tour! And Ah!!! :) It was good :) She's a little more tough about feeling the spirit but it was still really awesome! She commited to read the BOM and pray about it!!! Then we taught N. (an 18 year old kid) and the elders came too and it was SUCH a good lesson! We taught him the first half of the plan of salvation and committed him to stop beating people up and yelling at them and loving them instead :) so that's good :) hahaha Then there was a wedding at the church and N. wanted to go so bad and he asked the bride and she said a very sarcastic yes and we laughed and walked out the door and N. walked into the wedding! I had to run back in and get him out and bribe him with candy to get him to go home!!! Crazy kid!!! :) haha oh man it was hilarious. :P oh man....that night we got to go to the beach and watch the sunset and tell each other what we're grateful for (we do that every night) and it was sooo pretty! :) Then we went home and planned and at the end of our prayer President Weaver called!!!! side note: we have mission tour this week, AKA Elder Piper is coming to check out our mission and all the missionaries and make sure we're doing everything right :) President and Sister Weaver have been stressin for weeks about this!!! haha :) I also had a dream about it...it was cool, I had a dream that Christ came during our mission tour! It was an awesome dream :) But anyways president calls and he's like "Sister Wilkins! Now I know you have a beautiful singing voice because I’ve heard it!" and I was thinking "oh dear he's gonna ask me to sing at something" and then he said "do you conduct" and I was like "yes I know how but I might not be very good at it" and he was like "well good! We want you to conduct at mission tour while Elder Piper is here!!!" AHHHHH SCARY/ INTIMIDATING. So I am conducting the music for mission tour...this is why I said that a mission makes you do things that you would never do in your life if you weren't on a mission. :) Oh man.... :) haha then I called Sister Logan and told her all about my day! I love that girl! And it's fun because it makes me feel like a normal person when I can talk to my friend on the phone :) hahaha! I love it! Sunday D. came to church and he LOVED it!!!! :) It was awesome! He was so excited about it :) and that night we went to the Brotherson's house (I’ve mentioned them lots before) and we had what I like to call a Brotherson brainstorm these people are super smart so we studied and had a discussion about "as man now is God once was and God is man may be" Mind = BLOWN! :) It was a really cool discussion :) See I'm just one of those people that accepts things that the prophets say and move on with my life but they're the kind of people who have to analyze everything :) hahaha but I loved it! :) This next week is going to be so good too! Sister Baird's birthday is tomorrow, mission tour, general broadcast (are you so excited about that cuz I am!?) and then we have another fireside! :) YAY!!! :) I love being a missionary! It’s so much fun and I seriously have learned and grown so much especially having to train :) I know that if I have a heart full of love God will take care of the rest. I know that this work is God’s work and that we are doing what Christ would do if he was on the earth. I don't care how many doors I get slammed in my face or how many people tell me I’m being led astray or why the church is wrong. I know it's true and it's worth all of that to bring one soul unto Him. D&C 18:15 I think it is? I don't have my scriptures near me at the moment...but it says something to the extent of if you will LABOR ALL your days crying repentance unto this people how great will be your joy if you shall bring one soul unto me. That scripture has proved itself to be true to me. My joy is great in this work and I love it! Of course it's hard, of course sometimes I don't want to do it. But I know that I am stretching myself and the "box" around my potential. I have gained so much more confidence in myself, in God, in others around me, and in all of you! You are the miracle!!! I hope you know how much of a miracle you are, and how much God loves you. Don't put a box around your potential with God nothing is impossible! I know all of you are amazing and I’m so grateful for you in my life! I love you so much!!! :) Keep the faith :) 

Love always 

Sister Wilkins :)

Post script: There's only one thing that sucks about having a greenie: they get like 6 letters a day and you get 2 a week! (Thanks mom and Michele :) ) *hint hint* :D hahaha! jk I know you all have lives.. :)

Week 16

Hi family! 

What a great week it has been! Training is hard but so fun :) Sister Baird and I are getting along just fine :) This week we had zone conference which was super awesome :) It's always so fun to gather with missionaries and I got to see Sister Logan and Sister Hall! I was attached to them both for the whole day pretty much :) But it was a good conference they taught us how to plan and they want us to plan a week in advance so they want us to plan 10 days out in pencil! It’s insane but we did it and now we already have this whole next week planned out pretty much, so it did help a ton! :) Now I don't have to worry about knowing what to do every day which is nice :) that's probably been the hardest thing for me because I don't have Sister Hall to help and Sister Baird doesn't know much yet haha so I just pray that God will let me know what to do and it's worked out great so far!! :) haha Thursday and Friday were awesome days! Thursday I woke up coughing up a lung (I'm better now :) ) so we ran to the store to get me some cough medicine and I felt pretty good after that :) We headed over to Anderson Island and it's been SO SUNNY this WHOLE week! I've loved it oh so much! :) But we sat out on the deck on the ferry and it was so fun! We saw some porpoises out in the water! It was crazy and cool :) I loved basking in the sun on the back of the ferry :) then when we got to the community center I just went in and gave everyone a great big hug! I love those ladies! They’re fun! We helped this really old lady named M.J. make burlap flowers and it got all over but it was fun :) When we went to go see J. (the excommunicated member who's coming back) we talked about her getting baptized and the gift of the Holy Ghost, she's been on her journey back for 2 years and she's most excited about the gift of the Holy Ghost! So I told her that she should pray about the 22nd and she sat there for a minute in silence and she started crying and said "ya I think the 22nd is a good day" It was awesome! The spirit filled the room and I was so excited for her! I called Sister Hall right away and she flipped :) It was funny! Oh the joys of missionary work! On the way back on the ferry this ferry dude Spencer took us up to the wheel house and we got to see how they steer the boat! It was pretty cool! :) That night we went tracting down by the sound and it was soooo pretty! People were pleasant too :) haha but we came upon this house and all of the sudden out of nowhere an evil raccoon bolts out of nowhere and stands on the stairs of the house just staring at us with it's evil eyes. So I took it as either Satan's little angel trying to keep us away from the house or God telling us that we should stay away from the house, either way I wasn't confronting the evil raccoon :) don't worry we went back to that house later :) That night we taught Papa R. about the Priesthood and Temples, to tell you the truth I was afraid to teach him without Sister Hall because he asks some deep doctrine questions sometimes haha but I could just feel the spirit speaking through me the whole time! It was a really awesome lesson! After that we went to M. & D.'s and I taught them about Elder Hollands talk about faith and we were talking about leaps of faith and how they bring miracles to our lives and D. says "getting baptized was the best leap of faith in my life" !!! awh! It was so precious!!! :) Haha M. also told me how he's seen me grow so much since the first time he met me, and how he can see my confidence grow along with everything else :) And it's true...I have grown so much in so many ways. I've worked on a lot of weaknesses and it's been hard but I have come out a better and stronger person. I know that God is molding me into the servant He wants me to be, I can feel it. I am so grateful for it too :) On Friday we taught D. for the first time he's a 16 yr old african american and he just barely moved in with his aunt and uncle who aren't members but they want him to get into a church so we invited him to church and started teaching him! He's awesome! We taught him the restoration and I asked him how God has shown His love to him and he said that He helped him out of a bad situation and talked about how his mom wasn't a very good mom and as soon as he got out of that house and moved in with his aunt and uncle he met us! AWH! Another precious moment! :) haha anyways the lesson was spiritual and awesome and I put him on date for the 22nd! :) He's such a cool and humble kid, he just needs love in his life. That night we got dinner dropped off to us at our house so we decided to have a picnic out on our back porch, and all the sudden evil raccoon #2 darts out of nowhere and stands on our back porch! We screamed and ran inside, and it just sat there staring at us with it's evil little eyes...the raccoon's are out to get us! Then a lady was working on the grounds and I said "watch out there's a really creepy squirrel out there!" and she just looked at me like I was insane and then I realized what I had said and fell on the ground laughing :) That night during tracting we ran into the Real Jesus! Sister Hall and I have met him before his name is jesus real (spanish) haha it was quite funny :) We also met michael jordan! this was funny his name is Michael but i dunno his last name! He’s an african amaerican guy that looks pretty rough around the edges but everyone needs the gospel so I told him who we were and he was talking to us and I brought up the BOM and he says "oh no! I don't go there with the mormons!" and was about to shut his door so I say "did you know Jesus Christ came to the America’s?!" and he was like what? haha that got his attention so I told him more about the BOM and he asked if he could have one. I told him no. haha jk! I was like awh yes you can have one!!!! haha it was pretty funny :) But we're having a lesson with him next week :) hahaha! That night we went to the Liato's a Polynesian family. Ok I'm pretty sure I’m going to gain 50 pounds with all these Polynesians around! We’ve eaten at 3 of their houses this week! The Liato's the Agor's and the Stowers! We ate at the Stowers yesterday and we had horse, stuffed seaweed, torro root and raw fish. So those were pretty much the highlights of my week...I thought I’d tell you some random things :) So since it's been SO sunny this week I’ve gotten a bit tan, and I wear my toms every day and I got a tan line on my feet so it looks like I have hobbit feet! It’s insane...another fun fact is that I see at least 3 wild bunnies a day! They’re EVERYWHERE! I just wanna catch one :) haha fun fact #3 is there are deer everywhere too and they aren't afraid of people! They just stand there! I've gotten pretty close to a few then I get scared :) So you know fruit flies? ya...and how they're super annoying? ya...in WA they're called summer flies because they are EVERYWHERE!!!! There’s also obviously a lot of raccoons and squirrels I feel like I live in the forest 90% of the time :) its SO COOL! Other than that this week we've just been working really hard, we set good goals and achieved them which I’m really excited about. We've learned and grown a ton this week, I feel like I say that every day but it's true! We've come a long way from last week and we will continue on improving! It really is so rewarding to train because you learn so much...oh my goodness I can't even tell you! haha but I hope all of you are doing good! I'm doing amazing! :) Keep the letters coming and I will try to write back! Last p-day I wrote 1 letter because we were running all over the place but know that I love each and every one of you with all of my heart! You’re always in my thoughts and prayers and I miss you and am grateful for you! Have an amazing week and learn as much as you can! The gospel is true! :)  LOVE YOU!!!

Week 15

Brittany and her new companion Sister Baird

Wow! Hi family! 

First off before I forget...I broke my glasses....I’m not really sure what to do about that...but I think I have an extra pair in my room somewhere :) (look in the second drawer down on the right side when you're facing the dresser) and If you send me that you should send me that Cracker Boy you got for me. :D Anyways so life has been a little blurry lately :) I'm thinking I should've just gotten some contacts before I left but I didn't....woops :D Thus is life! Anyways other than that motherhood is going great!!! :) My companion is awesome! Background on her: her name is Janessa Baird from north Ogden Utah went to BYU Provo and is almost done with her public health major :) she turns 22 in like 15 days! woot woot! I'm a mother to someone older than me :) (Michele I put those woots in just for you :) ) It's been an awesome/ hard week! Taking over Steilacoom hasn't been the easiest thing I’ve ever done in my life (not gonna lie) but I have learned and grown so much this week! Honestly, I was terrified to train, but I knew that God knew what I needed better than I did...so I just accepted it :) anyways so Tuesday was a crazy day and it feels like forever ago....haha! But Sister Hall got sick that day with a cold/cough (which I now have) and so she wasn't in her tippy top shape (even though she tries her hardest to be) haha So I drove to transfer meeting and as soon as we got there I started shaking! haha I was so nervous! I stayed stuck to Sister Hall's side until they forced us apart!!! :P But I ran in and met my new companion and I loved her right away!! :) haha She's awesome! that night we went tracting and she started talking on the 3rd door! I was a proud mama :) Oh man motherhood is so fun cuz you learn so much from your child :) haha! I really have learned so much from her already! Like how to follow the spirit in a lesson...I'm one who likes to stick to the plan and Sister Baird likes to go with the flow which kind of freaks me out because sometimes I have no idea where she's going with things (and I don't like surprises :D ) but she's already a great missionary! The first night when we were ready for bed I read a little note from Sister Hall (I made a testimony book in the MTC and I made my district write in it and I'm going to make all my companions write in it, so Sister Hall wrote in it) and it was so nice! I miss her! But she believes in me so much and it really strengthens me, just like all of you who believe I can do hard things lifts me up :) haha I haven't really gotten the chance to really miss Sister Hall though because I saw her Thursday called her Friday and Saturday and saw her Sunday :) hahaha! So It's been good :) President made fun of me yesterday cuz I was following Sister Hall around again I'm just so used to it!!! :) Anyways she's doing great over in Chambers Creek :) Hold on I have to send this cuz the computer is flippin out :)

Sister Stuki my alto buddy in Jesus Savior Pilot Me and my best friend! :) haha

 Alrighty I'm back :) haha So the picture I sent in the last e-mail is me and sister Baird :) But about this week...on Thursday we had a new missionary meeting/ training meeting and it was way fun! I've become friends with this cute group of girls and we're all training! They're Sister Peruch and her children :) haha Sister Bevan, Logan. & Stuki I LOVE THEM!!! But we had a little trainer party and it was so fun :) I love getting together with the sisters! It's so fun!!! :) haha and Sister Baird is friends with their companions so it's great! :) Anyways so that was fun :) President taught the trainers about basically just going and doing the things we're supposed to! :) It was good! So that was fun! On Thursday and Friday we went finding on this street called Cambridge and we found a bunch of new investigators! It was sweet! We didn't have any doors slammed in our faces! We've gotten it pretty easy lately :) but it's been great! I've learned how to love tracting! I really have....it's the weirdest thing I just all of the sudden enjoyed it! I think it's because I was forced to come out of my shell and actually talk to people and such :) And I’m a weirdo (I know this I can't deny it.) and people love it! haha jk but I learned how to do that from Sister Hall she was always herself on every doorstep, not some weird missionary robot :) So yes! Training is going so good! The work is moving along :) We're improving every day :) it's nice because Sister Baird and I are just open and honest with each other so it's been way good :) because that way we know what we need to work on :) It's been a really great adjustment so far! :) Man I have thought a lot about you guys this week wondering how you're doing! Since I only get to know how some of you are doing on Mondays :) So let me know! haha I am going to get better at writing letters on of these days :) we'll all work on it! Deal!? haha Anyways so yesterday was a super awesome great day! We went to church and Sister Olsen was there (an investigator) and R. got confirmed and bore his testimony! It was so cute!!! :) haha he said that ever since he was baptized he can feel a different peace in his life! It's awesome! Then we had another singing missionary fireside! This one was in Olympia and it was SO MUCH FUN!!!!! :) And SO SPIRITUAL!!!!! So I told you the story about R. and the song amazing grace right? Well we invited him to the fireside last night and he started CRYING when we sang amazing grace! awh! It melted my little heart! :) He also cried when I sang Jesus Savior Pilot Me with my little group, and he was SO Excited to see Sister Hall again! awh! Everyone in the ward misses Sister Hall too! haha She is such an amazing missionary! It’s crazy that I have the responsibility to step up and take her place now, but it's been the greatest learning experience of my life and it's true that when you have children you're love for your mom grows! haha because I now know why Sister Hall did everything she did :) ah man, good stuff :) I may say that line a lot :) there's this awesome Polynesian guy in our ward named Sam Stowers and he always says "good stuff, good stuff" and the elders say it ALL the time because they love Sam and so now they've got me saying it! haha but anyways that's just a random side note :) Last night Sister Baird and I talked (with the lights off aka following the rules) til 11:30! haha because we've been so busy this whole week we haven't even really had the chance to get to know each other! We’ve been working SO hard and my brain is going a million miles per hour all the time. :) It's fun! haha but being a missionary/ trainer is SO amazing! It's not easy, but I have learned SO MUCH and grown SO MUCH already!!! :) I just LOVE being a missionary!!! :) And I love the song Jesus Savior Pilot Me not only because the alto part is pretty and I like singing it but because the lyrics are awesome and the scriptures that go with it! You should look it up! It’s the last couple verses of mark 4 :) it's awesome! AH I'm running out of time!!! :) but I love you guys SOOOOOOO  much!!!!! I hope you are all doing AMAZING and keeping your heads up! We can do hard things! :) I LOVE YOU SO MUCH Read Isaiah 40:28-31 :) I like it! And tell me what you think about it! Anyways I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!! Have an amazing week! :) 

Sister Logan aka my best friend. I have lots of best friends these days. :)