Week 78

Hello!

Well I don't think this will be my last e-mail, but we will see :) So I guess I’ll tell you what is going to happen since I just assume you know, but you probably don't :) On Tuesday we'll have transfer day, the meeting starts at 1:30. After the meeting I will be staying at the Blatter's home that night and then fly out on Wednesday morning. :) Being at the end of my mission is the hardest thing, I don't want to leave, but I am excited to come home and be with all of you. It's hard for me because all I want to do is focus on the work! Which I do my best to do, but I also have to think about my final report (which is pretty much finished) and packing and all that jazz! So that is a little difficult for me, I just want to be a missionary!!! haha but it's all good :) I am doing my best and that's all that matters! :) God told me to just love and be cheerful! so that's what I'm doing!! :) This week was good; we are really struggling with finding new investigators! But the work still goes on! I am at peace with it because I feel like we are working really hard and being obedient! So God is going to let miracles happen here! The bishop is really pumped about getting the members involved here, so I see that in the future the work will be booming here in Yelm! :) *fact: Deschutes River is not a city, it's just a river :) haha but it's a pretty river!! :) It took me like 2 weeks to figure that one out :D Anywho I am excited for the work that is going to happen here, even though I won't be here. :) I just love this ward and want them to prosper! :) Mary didn't get baptized this week, she had a heart attack, and just didn't feel good...and so she's on date for this Saturday! So we are hoping and praying that she'll get baptized! I am really hoping she will, I love her so much!!! :) And she lives on a compound of her grandchildren and great grandchildren and great great grandchildren! :) This could be converting generations!!!! I know that she will get baptized, but I am not 100% positive it will be before I leave...which is sad, but hey! As long as she gets baptized I am happy! :) She's awesome though :) The rest of our investigators are moving slowly but surely...everyone likes to go out of town in the summer...how weird is that?! This weekend we had a ward BBQ and it was really fun! I really like this ward, especially the Jackson family :) they are awesome! and they feed us dinner like...ALL the time.. :) Whenever we don't have a dinner we just go over there! Because, well funny story..my companion is allergic to milk! and so is half of the Jackson family! so it's good to go over there, it's healthy and it doesn't make Sister Stevens sick! she's been kinda bad about not eating anything with milk in it until about a week ago...BOTH of us went on a milk free diet. Because I was not going to let her get really sick! I feel like I've had like 60 strange diets on my mission, you're not even going to know what I like to eat anymore! haha I like everything...except fish and mushrooms, still don't like those! :D and I still don't drink milk. unless it's vanilla almond milk :D but it's fun! I like to test my self-control I guess...but funny story! We tell this family the day before we go to their house for dinner that Stevens was allergic to milk. So we go to their house and what do they have?! KFC!!! Everything in that place has milk in it! haha and then they were like "so no milk huh?" hahahahaha oh how we need to understand the things we are putting into our bodies! :) But anyways, I love this ward it's awesome! I wish I could spend more time here! But I guess that's not in God's plans... The goal of the mission is to open our mouths! so I've been doing some crazy things recently, like tracking people down or running after them, or yelling at them from afar :) haha it's quite fun! Everyone needs the gospel! and I feel like I'm doing something missionary-like at all times of the day! :) instead of just driving from appointment to appointment :) I am quite excited for this week! I get to go to the temple on Friday! Which I have been waiting for since August 9th :) hahaha I am super excited! I love the temple! And I have a lot of things I want to talk to God about :) Something that I've really internalized this transfer is what I call "Looking through heavens eyes" I learned about it when I was with Sister Packard, but I have really internalized it! (I decided that missions are great for internalizing cliché statements :) ) There have been many circumstances in which I have had to do my best to see things through another's perspective. Such as the Mackenna Elders are teaching an investigator from our area. Which is totally illegal! And not cool at all :P But I have had to see things through their eyes and try to understand why they do such things :P but anyways! Life is awesome! :) I am just so grateful for the opportunity I've had to be a missionary it's THE best thing EVER! I love it! :) I am very grateful for Sister Stevens; she is like, the greatest friend ever! :) On Sunday I was feeling pretty sick, so she cooked me lunch and took care of me!!! :) haha she's a true friend because she cares, and she helps me to be a better person. That's what a true friend is, someone who helps you to be better! :) I cannot believe that my mission has gone SO fast! But I am grateful for EVERY second. I have cherished and loved it all. I have come to a greater knowledge of my Redeemer. I am NOT by any means a perfect person, and I don't profess to be. But I am trying and I am changing every day! and That's what this life is all about. I am so grateful for the opportunity I've had to witness many lives transform! It's so amazing to see people come closer to their Savior, I love with all my heart all the Recent converts, investigators, members and companions I have had the opportunity to work with. The Wa-Tac will always be very sacred ground to me. I have learned and grown more than any other time in my life. And it's all because when you take everything away, all the distractions and such, and focus on Christ, you are changed through His atonement. I have been able to rely on Him SO much and He has been there all along. He is truly my very best friend. I am eternally grateful for Him, and I am grateful that God has a plan for me and my life. I trust in His plan and His timing, I know He knows better than I do. I know that Christ's church has been restored. That the young boy Joseph Smith saw Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ in a grove a trees In New York, because God though it important enough to call him to be a prophet personally. In the words of Sister Hall "If Joseph Smith is good enough for Jesus, then he's good enough for me" I know that Joseph Smith was truly a prophet, and that we have a living prophet today! Thomas S. Monson. He is truly God's servant, and He has the power and inspiration to help each of us in our lives. I hope that we can all heed his words. I know that going to church every Sunday is VERY important. We NEED the sacrament. We need that spiritual boost. Not going to church is like not eating! ARE YOU CRAZY?!?!! :) I know that this work is God's work and He has let me be a missionary in His vineyard for 18 months. I am eternally grateful to Him for that. It has been so sacred. I can't even express how amazing it is. It has not been a sacrifice, but a GIANT blessing! The church is true my dear brothers and sisters :) I am excited to come and see you shortly!!! :) Love you tons and tons!

Love Always

Sister Wilkins :)

Week 77

Well this week has been quite eventful :) I am so happy that baby Benson is finally here! Lucrecia did show me the pictures and I was on cloud 9! :) He is the most adorable thing I've ever seen! I am very excited to meet him :) just tell him not to grow until I come home k? :) I am glad to hear it all went well and such since I've been stressing over it since Christmas! haha <3 I am very grateful for our eternal family and all the little people coming into it! :) So since last week a lot of crazy things have happened! I'll tell you about them when I get home :D haha But Mary Bird is still doing pretty good! She was on date to be baptized this Saturday, but she doesn't feel quite ready yet. We are still having faith that it will happen, so keep her in your prayers :)  she had a congestive heart attack this week, the poor lady is just so old and falling apart...But her heart is as big as ever! This ward needs a person like Mary to influence it. The ward is CRAZY ok let me rephrase that, the people individually are awesome but once we step into relief society it's like an intense group therapy that I swear will eventually turn into a brawl. It's insane! haha so we are really working on ward unity. I think the problem is that these people don't love themselves enough. They don't realize their true potential which is horrid. So Sister Stevens and I are really praying and working a lot to repair the ward. It's just crazy :) I think I'm here because I don't get caught up in drama and I am just innocent to such things and so I can just love everyone :) haha and I do! I absolutely LOVE this ward...I will be sad to have to leave it. But it's got its weaknesses just like everything else. The people aren't perfect, but the gospel is! :) Something else that I learned about this week was the power of prayer. On Wednesday we were in a hurry but Sister Steven's GPS wasn't working...so I just said a quick prayer, and as soon as I said amen it worked! haha miracles happen :) The most powerful prayer was last night. We were at our bishop’s house and Sister Stevens was into a topic and when she gets into her stories its intense haha but she said something that kind of hurt my feelings, and she knew it. So when we left I was just mad, well more hurt than mad and I just started crying. Sister Stevens is such a repentant soul and said she was sorry right away. The whole car ride home was pretty silent and I was just praying that I could handle things in a Christ like way. When we got home Sister Stevens sincerely apologized and she felt so bad. And I was seriously just filled with so much Charity. I forgave her and we both felt the power of the atonement wash everything away. God used me as an instrument to help both of us learn about Christ. The spirit was so very strong and we hugged and everything was fine. The Atonement is truly amazing and can heal all things. Because of Jesus Christ we can truly be healed. Regrets become relief, Sorrow becomes hope, and we can have clean slates because of Him. This is just a small instance in where the Atonement worked. But I know it works for all things, both large and small. I truly have a testimony of these things. And it’s something that I've really learned a lot about as I've been a missionary. My Savior Jesus Christ is amazing. He can truly heal all things. So this week we had Zone conference and Stake conference! It was the Blatter's first zone conference and it was pretty good :) They focused primarily on us opening our mouths and we had some breakout sessions where we rotated around and did some different things. It was fun :) I learned that we really just need to open our mouths everywhere we go! Even when I come home, I can still talk to people about the gospel everywhere I go! :) it's only awkward if you think it is :) haha so Sister Stevens and I are really working on that :) It's been fun! But right before Stake conference on Saturday night I had the opportunity to have my final interview with President Blatter :) It still really hasn't hit me that I'm coming home...haha I'm not sure when it will. I'll probably proclaim I've been kidnapped when I got on the airplane! haha just kidding :) But it was a really good interview. He asked me about what I was going to do when I got home and I just said "I dunno I haven't even thought about it yet.." he just laughed at me. :) He's happy that I'm not a trunky missionary :) It was just really good. He gave me a lot of advice and he told me that Heavenly Father wanted me to know that He was proud of me and that I could go home with no regrets. which was really a big answer to my prayers. He of course talked about going to the temple every week, scripture study, and praying. And of course marriage. Haha! He told me that the Holy Ghost would testify to both me and my future husband that we were supposed to be together which I never thought about before but why would God tell me what to do in the most important decision in my life?!?!! haha so it was really good :) I appreciate President Blatter a lot. After stake conference they took us out for ice cream!!! it was fun and awesome! :) I am very grateful for them. :) I get to spend my last night at their house so I’m excited to get to know them better :) So the sketchy stuff that I wasn't going to tell you til I got home, well I will just tell you cuz I have time :) haha! So it was August 15th and that morning we did weekly planning and then we went over to this family that we had found the day before the Greggersons. Well they had just moved into this house, but they were actually living in a bus because the house was trashed! So we took Lucrecia over and we did some service with them. Well the whole house was filled with drugs and syringes and cigarettes. It was DIGUSTING! We only stayed for a short while when the mom came out and told us she didn't feel comfortable with us being there, but she would call us when she felt it was safe. So that was sketchy. Then we went to Mary's and found out she had had her heart attack and then we went to go and visit Leon. Earlier that day Leon's friend Andy called Lucrecia and told her that Leon was mission and he didn't know where he was. Well Andy is a liar so we thought we'd go and check things out. So we get to Leon’s house at like 8:15 and it's pretty dark outside. We knocked on the door and no one answered but Summer their dog came out and was growling and barking. Which she NEVER does she knows us and is always really sweet so I knew something was wrong. Dogs only act like that when there's a disaster! haha so we follow her and she is just backing up and growling and we find that the back door is open. So me feeling like something was really wrong and that Leon was hurt decided to go into the house! haha Stevens thought I was crazy! but I had to see if Leon was ok. Well we got to a certain point and decided to turn around. No one was there even though there were lights on. Leon is still missing :( so please keep him in your prayers. But it was seriously the sketchiest day! :) haha but it was fun :) Don't worry I won't die before I come home :) I'll see you soon :) Anyways, Sister Stevens and I are still best friends and we still have a ton of fun, we work hard and are obedient. And it's just amazing! I am SO grateful for this time I have to be a missionary! :) It's the greatest thing in the WHOLE world! :)I know that the Gospel is true. I know that the Book of Mormon is a true book written with the words of God to help us in our day. It has such an amazing power in our lives. Prayer works. I am so grateful I can converse with my Father in heaven. I am especially grateful for my Savior, and His sacrifice for me. I couldn't ask for a better best friend. He cares SO much about each of us and really wants to help us. and He CAN!!! :) if we let Him :) I love Him so very much. I love all of you and miss you lots :)

Love always

Sister Wilkins :)

Some Sisters in Sister Wilkins' Zone

Week 76

 
Well, can I just say this week was amazing!? The best part was of course going to the temple on Saturday! It was absolutely amazing! The bowers from the Deschutes river ward took us up there and they were SO nice! They took us to Deseret book so Stevens could get some garments and I ran into Carolyn from the chambers creek ward which was fun! and I splurged on buying some little pictures! I love pictures of Jesus! And I bought it with manna from heaven! haha so side story, Sister Stevens and I were knocking the other day on a street named Ursula and legitimately met Ursula! haha there was just a rude lady who told us it was a private road (but there was no sign that it was) and then she watched us walk all the way down the road until she couldn't see us anymore. Well Yelm is boonies so we just decided to walk to the next street and I like rocks so we were looking down examining the rocks! haha and in the middle of the nowhere boonies I found manna from heaven! aka $20!!! Well there were no houses around so I couldn't give it to anyone...So see? When people are rude to you God blesses you with manna from heaven :) hahaha ok end side story :) After Deseret book we went to the temple!!!! I was SO excited! As soon as we got there I saw Sister Hall standing outside and I jumped on her and gave her the biggest hug in the world! It was so good to see her!!! Her mom gave me 2 hugs one from mom and one from her :) haha I was just SO happy! then we walked in and Sister Flanigan was there! She and her old companion Sister Young went to watch a family they recently baptized go do baptisms for the dead. That's one cool thing that President Blatter has changed is that if our recent converts have family names to take to the temple we are allowed to go with them!!! :) We are planning a trip on the 30th of this month with the recent converts here! which means I would get to go 2 days in a row because the Friday before I come home the departing missionaries get to go to the temple together. :) Anyways so I gave Flanigan a big hug! As we were checking in Sister Hall says "I didn't know 2 of your converts were receiving their endowment" And I was like "WHAT?!" haha I found out that Gina Blanchet-Parker was there also receiving her endowment!!!!! I was freaking out! :) So excited! :) So we walk in and the spirit I felt was so strong I seriously just felt SO much love! :) And we ran into some Steilacoom people on the way in! I have missed them! It was so fun to see them! :) After we got changed we went to the chapel and waited for the session. Sister Hall and I were talking about some sacred memories we had of Steilacoom and how we even found papa rich! haha the 2nd or 3rd time we went back he was standing in his boxers drunk! And now he was going to be all dressed in white in the temple. The atonement changes people. Our desires, our hopes, our everything! I have watched the atonement change many lives.. especially mine. :) Then we went into the session and it. was. amazing. that's all I can say. The spirit was so strong and I felt so at home, so comfortable there. In the celestial room afterward it definitely felt like heaven. I went up to Gina and said "remember me?" she was SO excited that I was there! haha she had no idea that I could come! But both she and Papa Rich were just glowing! and SO happy! They couldn't stop smiling! Also a man named Brother Olson from Steilacoom also received his endowment. We taught his nonmember wife while I was there, but she still hasn't gotten baptized. So brother Olson decided to go receive his endowment. It was SO special! :) I can't even put it into words. It was just amazing! This is what missionary work is all about! It’s about the people and it's about coming closer to Christ. And I am SO grateful for the sacred opportunity I had of seeing Papa rich, Gina and Brother Olson make covenants with their Father in Heaven. They were just so happy. I realized really how much this work means to me. It is truly everything. I just love my mission so much! In the temple I asked God "it's true isn't it?" and He confirmed to me that it is. I already knew that, but my testimony of it was strengthened as I sat in the temple and felt the presence of God there. It truly is the place that heaven and earth meet. I love the temple, and I know that it is a place of learning and a place where we need to go often. This morning I read in Alma 47-51 and it talked a lot about fortifying cities against the Lamanites, and I compare it to fortifying ourselves. We need to strengthen ourselves and our testimonies as we go through this life because Satan is powerful. If there's one thing I've learned about him it's that he is very real and has real power. And we as disciples of Jesus Christ must stand strong in the faith. And do those small and simple things that build our testimony. I have such a testimony of prayer, scripture reading, church, and the temple. We NEED those things. They are our living water. WE NEED WATER! :) So do those things, and when the fiery darts of the adversary come, we will be protected. I am just so grateful for the gospel. It is the greatest thing in the whole world. I am so grateful for my mission. Being with the people from Steilacoom and sister hall again as well as writing my final report made me realize how truly grateful I am for my mission, and how truly grateful I am for the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I am still the same person, I am not perfect at all whatsoever, but I understand the atonement more and I have more substance. I am trying to be like Jesus as we all should. And through my Savior Jesus Christ and His love and grace I am changed. :) I am so much happier. I realize now how much I needed this mission. I NEED it! :) Sister Stevens is still my greatest friend :) I love her so very much! Last night we had a bit of a scare, haha there's been 2 Hawaiians in our house (sister Stevens last companions) and apparently they were very in tune with the spirit world and they said we have ghosts in our house, but rest assured they're good spirits! haha so there were just some noises going on and the screen door opening and it was scary :) So we said a good prayer and Sister Stevens was so funny. She stayed up till we both fell asleep and told me happy stories! haha It's so nice to have a companion who cares about you as much as you care about them. Comp unity! :) yay! haha it sure makes working easy :) The recent converts here are amazing, I have fallen in love with them :) haha Leon is 22 and he was a drug baby, he hitch hiked around America and has overcome SO much. James Davis is 77 and his wife recently passed away. The night Sister Stevens and Sister Muti found him he has just found out he had terminal cancer and he was grumpy and shewed them away, but he said he heard his wife's voice tell him to bring those girls back so he did. Both of them had the opportunity to go to the temple Saturday morning and do baptisms. When we asked them how it was they just lit up and said it was amazing! :) They couldn't even describe it :) it was so precious! :) then there's Tea and Cindy, they didn't go because it was at5:30 in the morning! haha but they are so cute and sweet! :) I love them! And we might be adding Mary Bird soon! She is the sweetest little old lady! She came to church this week again and loved it! :) so we are hoping and praying that she will join into the church of Jesus Christ! :) I'm running out of time, but I just want all of y'all to know that I know that this is Jesus Christ's church. it really is. I am so grateful that I am a part of it and get to bear my testimony of it each day. I rejoice in anti! because my testimony is stronger than that and I KNOW that what I share with the people of Washington is true. I wouldn't trade this time for anything! :) I am so grateful for Jesus Christ, because of Him I have been changed and I have hope. I love Him so much! I am keeping the family in my prayers especially this week as we welcome baby Benson into this world! :) I am so excited! :) I love you SO much!

Love always,

Sister Wilkins :)

 

Sister Wilkins with Papa Rich and Gina Blanchet-Parker

 At Spaghetti Factory on Papa Rich's special day

Week 75

Hello!

So this week has been so crazy busy! haha It's been wonderful! :) But nothing too crazy and of note to really write about, at least nothing about Ramsters or prayer beads :) But it was a way good week! it went by so fast! So last week I got my...TRUNKY PAPERS dun dun dun haha that's what they're called. But it didn't make me trunky :) It basically just tells me what to write in my final report and to send stuff home! So I'm doing that :) It was pretty funny though :) I am very grateful that God is protecting me from becoming trunky! haha Stevens has killed 4 other sisters and out of all of them she says I'm the least trunky! so I'm grateful for that :) I just don't have any desire to be any different now than I have been the rest of my mission :) I LOVE it here in Yelm! and I love the people! God of course is making it really hard for me to leave...Sister Stevens and I are still best friends :) we still talk and laugh all the time and way too much and we still work super hard. I am really super grateful for Sister Stevens. On Thursday night after praying I just started to cry, I don't know why still! hahaha but Sister Stevens said a prayer with me and made me feel a TON better. And that's just how it is, every day. We are there for each other and it's really great. I love having companions like this!!! :) haha Especially ones who like to be obedient! :) We have seen many miracles this week and it's been amazing! :) We had 9 people at church on Sunday! How awesome is that?! :) We were so sincerely excited! I want to tell you about some of them...First of all Mary bird. She’s on date for the 23rd! She is the sweetest old lady! She has one son and I think he lives in Idaho and he just got baptized into the church as well as her granddaughter! So that REALLY softened her heart, she lives on what we call "the bird compound" because she took in all these foster children and they all take care of each other. The foster children are like 60 now so Mary takes care of the Grandchildren and great Grandchildren. She has SUCH a big heart, and the greatest thing was the smile on her face when she came to church!!! :) She is ADORABLE! ha-ha she just walks in with her yellow outfit and oxygen tank and HUGE smile and she was singing all the hymns! It was precious! another person who came to church was a UBC named Miriya, her dad has been less active for years, and they came to church yesterday and he bore his testimony and it was amazing!!! Then he told us that he wants his daughter to be baptized! This morning though, we got a call and he told us that his wife would not be supportive :( Ren is a member also, but she feels that she's learned everything that she needs to learn about the church. So we are praying hard for her. Ethan was also there! our 11 year old UBC that loves marshmallows! :) haha he is SO close! He just has to decide that he wants to be baptized, and then he will :) haha so we'll see! It's been really cool because our whole ward council came up with a goal of having 6 baptisms this month. And everyone fasted for it and is praying for it and searching for people who are prepared! Seriously! I am in missionary heaven! :) haha I love it here! and I love my companion! What could be better?! Another person we are working with is a lady named Kay, she is friends with a bunch of members and was a referral from them, she is so ready and she knows it's true but she's not so keen on taking a leap of faith, her husband passed away about a year ago and her daughter moved away to college, she is so lonely and I know the gospel with help her! but, she's not quite there yet, so we are praying REALLY hard for these people, something that I learned more about this week was the power of prayer, last night during mighty prayer, I prayed that an investigator would answer our messages and as SOON as I said "Amen" we got a text from him! :) I know that God listens to and answers our prayers. He is always there to comfort us and help us. :) I am so grateful that the most powerful all-knowing being allows me to converse with Him as my Father. :) This next week is going to be the BEST! :) We are going to the Temple with Papa Rich on Saturday! I AM PUMPED!!! :) haha I can't even tell you! :) I love the temple and I love papa Rich! I have been thinking about my time in Steilacoom as I have started thinking about my final report, and it was such a sacred time for me. I am grateful for the lessons I learned there and all the people, there and in all my areas! This morning I was reading in Alma 26 again, I just love that chapter, and that just happened to be where I'm at in the book of Mormon right now. It's all about how much Ammon loves missionary work! haha And I love missionary work! :) I am seriously SO grateful for my mission and I’m grateful that I still have time left to serve the people here in Washington. I am focused and I am cherishing every moment! I just can't even tell you the smallest part of what I feel. But I love it! :) haha Yelm is such a great place still :) constant excitement! :) I am seriously grateful to my Heavenly Father that He sent me here with Sister Stevens for my last transfer! It is such a wonderful experience and I love it so much! :) I can't even express the joy that I feel as I ponder on my mission and as I work hard to serve the Lord and His children. I have come closer to my Savior Jesus Christ and have felt more of His love and Grace. It's amazing how much I have learned in these last 2 weeks of this transfer. I have definitely had lots of opportunity to ponder on the affect my mission is having on my life. It is CHANGING me and most of all it is giving me substance. :) my theme scripture right now that I've probably mentioned is D&C 123:17 "let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power and then may we stand still with the utmost assurance to see the salvation of God and for His arm to be revealed" I am trying my very best to cheerfully do ALL things that I can do to keep my eye single to the glory of God and help Him with His work. I am grateful for your continual support and love. Especially your support in these last weeks of my mission to help me be the best missionary I can be! :) All of you are in my prayers and I hope you know that I truly love each of you so much! :) Keep reading the Book of Mormon! and also especially, pray! It's such a wonderful tool that God has given us! :) I Love you!

Love always

Sister Wilkins :)