Week 22

me and my comperero 

So it's been 5 whole months since I left, which I can't even believe! It has FLOWN by! I only have a little over a year left! CRAZY! It seems like just yesterday I was eating my last supper at Milargros! :) Soooo This week has been GREAT!!! :) I got the package ya'll sent me! I jumped up and down about 60 times because it felt like Christmas and I finally don't have to wear the same thing every week! :) YAY!!! haha And I've listened to that cd like a zillion times :) Sister Thompson is getting sick of it but I am In NO way shape or form listening to her bouncy primary songs. That's the only music she brought and it sometimes makes me want to be un-christlike :) haha But other than the horrible taste in music we are doing great! :) haha Also I did get the memory card!!! I haven't been able to watch the videos because it's a different formatting since you recorded them on the cannon so I have to watch them on the computer :) but they make me smile :D Thank you!! I'm also making some videos for you :) Way too many but hey you should get excited :) I also got $109 worth of liquid in my arm! (Hep A shot) and I have a gross wart on my foot so I might have to go to the doctor :P Also! I have great news!!! :) haha you get to meet the Mortensens!!! :) Well hopefully.,..haha they're coming to Utah for Sister Phillips wedding and they said they were going to Provo so I asked them if they would bring some stuff to you that I don't use and want to give to you they said yes :) So I’ll give them mom's number (so you have to answer your phone to unknown numbers) and have them call you when they're there so they can get that to you! They’re the best!!! And they loved that card you sent :) thanks mom :D Alright so random cool things that happened this week: Luckily I didn't witness any accidents or run into any crazy creepy ladies *knock on wood* riding the ferry was so fun this week! I am glad I get to ride it during the summer because you can stand outside and we saw a seal, and some jellyfish and porpoise!!!! My favorite was the seal cuz it was adorable!!!! :) We were like school kids running up and down the ferry trying to get pictures :) it was fun...haha I also met Satan this week! He told me that I was a poor misguided fool! :) haha Oh the joys of tracting! I also played with a Lizard! :) It crawled up my arm and felt really weird! haha Bishop fed us breakfast on Saturday and he made waffles and ice cream! YUM! :) Kalei Agor painted my nails, which hasn't been done for a loooonnnnngggg time (finger nails), and I decided I really like having them painted! haha I made some way cool earrings on Anderson Island that I now wear all the time! They’re guitar picks with charms! They're SWEET! :) haha So story: last Sunday a member of our ward (brother Barclay) brought his girlfriend to church (these people are in their 40's btw) they have been dating for like a year and she's a CNA and always worked on Sunday mornings so she could never come to church with him until now!!! :) haha So she came last week and we got to know each other and it was great! We taught her the restoration and she loved it and it all made perfect sense to her and she went through 85% of mormon.org and we put her on date for this saturday (the 27th) This is what we call a GOLDEN investigator! :) haha So anyways she's doing so awesome! But yesterday we found out that she can't get baptized this weekend because her boyfriend (brother Barclay) told her it's the anniversary of his wife's death.  It was so sad...I don't even think G. knew but it's ok she's getting baptized on the 3rd instead! :) Happy day! She is so solid! yay! haha and we're meeting with her tomorrow! Right now the work in Steilacoom for the sisters is going great! We have 11 progressing investigators, which is the most I’ve had my whole mission! But it's awesome! We are always busy and I love it! We are working hard all day every day and it's awesome! I hate the days when you have no idea what God wants you to do...but we have this whole week planned until Saturday! woohoo! :) hahah so it will be a busy week! I find so much joy in this work! I love the people we are teaching right now! It’s crazy how much you love people when you don't even know them at all! I’ve been so busy I haven't even talked to Sister Logan at all this week cuz we're so tired by the time we get home we fall into bed at like 10! haha God has blessed us sooooooooooo much for some reason he has trusted me with these precious souls and I love them way too much! Missionary work is hard but it's so worth it! :) I have learned that the hardest things in life are usually worth it haha :) I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY!!! :) Oh before I get into my motivational speech I have to tell you that I've been doing some stuff for family history recently and I’ve found that we have quite a few ancestors who need temple work done!!! So your challenge is to do your missionary work and get that done! :) haha because I can't do it even though I really want to :) So that's your job for the next 13 months! :D So this week I was thinking about our investigators, I will explain...So we have potential investigators who are people we've knocked into and haven't had a return appointment with but were interested then we have new investigators who are people who we knock into who we taught a lesson to (on their doorstep) and set a specific return appointment. Then we have other investigators who are people who were progressing and have stopped or people we can't get a hold of. Then we have PROGRESSING INVESTIGATORS!!!! Who are people who are searching and keeping commitments and meeting with us :) So I was thinking this week about all our progressing investigators and how it's so frustrating when they're not keeping their commitments. Then I was thinking about me....and thinking about if I am a progressing investigator for the Lord. This week I’ve been reading in chapters 20-24 of Mosiah and I really love Mosiah haha but Limhi and his people are put into bondage by the Lamanites and they have to give 50% of everything they have to the Lamanites...so basicallly it sucks. Then King Noah's wicked priests come and steal the Lamanites daughters and the Lamanites think it's Limhi and his people (the Nephites) so they go to war against them and long story short they end up finding out that it was King Noah’s priests that stole the daughters and not the Nephites. So they stop the war and go back to their lives but the Lamanites basically torture the Nephites and use unrighteous dominion over them so the Nephites get frustrated and go to war against the Lamanites. They go 3 times and they failed each time and lost a bunch of their people in war (which kinda made me laugh at their sillyness) then they humbled themselves finally and turned to the Lord but the Lord knew that the Nephites needed to have a change of heart, so they "prospered by degrees" So anyways I was thinking about that and how sometimes I feel like I am trying my hardest but the Lord isn't helping me (even though He is) and it isn't because He doesn't love us, but it's because He knows that we need to have a change of heart. So he prospers us by degrees! So we have to be progressing investigators for the Lord. We have to do everything we can to make ourselves better and keep our commitments. go to church read the scriptures, say sincere prayers. It's that easy. But sometimes we get in a roundabout, we forget we are sons and daughters of God, we sin, we get into a funk where we can't decide what to do, and we go in circles. In order for us to keep going and not become a former investigator we HAVE to do those things. So keep going! Keep your head up! This life is about progression, about growth. If you never leave the comfort zone, why do you need the comforter? Leave that comfort zone! Do things that make you cringe! haha Reach out to people, do everything you can to progress in this life. I help my investigators progress towards baptism. We need to help each other progress toward Eternal Salvation and the Celestial Kingdom. We will prosper by degrees which can sometimes not be fun...but "I can do anything through Christ which stregtheneth me" so that's my motivational speech :) haha I know that the Church is true. The people might not be perfect, but the gospel is. And we are all progressing. I know that if we rely on God we can do anything, even the things we don't think we can do. Anyways times up but I hope each of you have an amazing fantastic wonderful week!!! I love you all so much!

Love always 

Sister Wilkins :) 

My lizard friend!