Sister Brittany Ann Wilkins: Week 26 & 6 months down!

Hint...I am following in my mother’s footsteps :)

(Britt sent us this before she sat down and wrote the larger e-mail. Her mission mother is Sister Hall so we guessed she was being transferred to Chambers Creek.)

Well hello family! This week has been crazy and I know all of you have been anticipating this e-mail :) So I am going to tell you all about my week :) I am going to try to make it through this e-mail but I’ve been a little under the weather recently so it might not be as long as you want it to be :) Tuesday was a really awesome and amazing day!!! I got to go BACK to Chambers Creek and go on an exchange but this time I got to go with Sister Hall and Sister Dean and Sister Packard came to Steilacoom with Sister Thompson! Oh my goodness! It was SO much fun to be with Sister Hall for 24 hours! haha We had a blast! :) Sister Dean asked us questions about each other to see if we really knew each other and I do have to say that I think that we know pretty much everything about each other! haha I told Sister Hall that she was planning my wedding :) We went to dinner at a really nice old lady's house in the Chambers ward named Sister Baldwin :) and she made this bleu cheese dressing so I had Sister Hall taste it and then asked her if I would like it and she said no :) so I didn't even try! haha She knows what I like...haha don't judge! So the first thing we did was go to see this couple named T. and U. who were really excited about the church until they went to sacrament meeting...the talks were on seminary which they had no idea about so they didn't really enjoy it as much as they could have so we went over there and talked to them and Sister Hall being her good self is just being so bold and basically telling them that the whole truth is right in front of their faces! haha oh how I love her boldness! I had a really cool thought that the spirit gave to me during that lesson "You are never going to be where God wants you to be if you're not willing to be who he wants you to be" I said that because they didn't want to have to live the Mormon lifestyle, but how true is that sentence?! We are never going to be in the Celestial Kingdom if we aren't willing to be who God wants us to be...This week I also learned a lot about expectations...Often in my life I have only ever expected to make it to the Telestial Kingdom. But guess what?! I'm NOT going there! Now on my mission I have realized if we aren't expecting to go to the Celestial Kingdom we're never going to get there because we aren't going to do the things necessary to be there...So I want each of you to expect to be with me in the Celestial Kingdom! Got it?! haha After T. and U. we went and saw T. little john (aka T. small bathroom) haha this guy is HILARIOUS!!! He really likes his star wars :) he's probably like in his 50's and he came out for his lesson with a light saber and a toy gun:) haha he's so funny! And he has nicknames for all the missionaries he's met...I am dimples (of course) and Sister Hall is sparkles and Sister Dean is sunshine/ biscuit head! :) haha Sister Dean had a bun on her head this day and so T. decided it looked like a biscuit so he called her biscuit head! So that was a really fun lesson! Then that night we taught J! J. got baptized this past Saturday so that was a legit lesson :) I love him! That night Sister Hall and I got to talk about all our wonderful sacred memories of Steilacoom! :) haha Ah! It was SO much fun! I loved every second of that 24 hours! haha Sister Hall will always be one of my very best friends :) I could talk all day about this day but lets move on :) Wednesday was a really good day because Sister Thompson and I were really pumped and ready to share the gospel and be bold! :) This week I made "sacred week" because I knew I was probably leaving Steilacoom so I didn't want to get trunky and not work hard so I made sure I worked so hard! This week we have 8 progressing investigators and 8 on date we got 11 new investigators and taught 24 lessons!!! :) haha So I’m really proud of the hard work that we did and I am glad I am able to get a lot of work to do before the end of the transfer :) Thursday was AMAZING!!! In the morning we had our interviews with President! I love that man SO much! He is the BEST mission president in the whole world! And he has so much love for us missionaries! (Especially the sisters :) ) During my interview with him I asked him what I could do to be the missionary that God wants me to be. Because I've only got a year left and I want to do my very best!!! :) President talked to me about how God gives us character traits to bless us. I told him I was a little insecure haha :) or a lot :) and so he read ether 12:27 with me and told me he knows I am amazing. Seriously that man has SO much love in his heart! I don't know how! :) haha But I have so much appreciation for him. I started crying because I was stressed about possibly having to leave Steilacoom :) And he just pulled me up and said "you need to cry on my shoulder" So he let me cry on his shoulder :) haha I can't even tell you....he's amazing and SO Christ-like! This is the best mission EVER!!! :) Then we went to Anderson Island and I said goodbye to all the ladies and Jackie! They told me how much they love me and Sister T and I sang "God be with you til we meet again" It was a really really good day at the community center <3 ok I have to get to Saturday! haha so that morning I woke up and the first words that came out of my mouth were "we'll be fine as long as president doesn't call us because he only makes special transfer calls" haha so we go out to breakfast at Carrs with bishop and eat our flying saucer pancakes! We had to go get our car an oil change and new brakes so we took our car in and Brooke drove us around to our appointments and bishop froze my wart again :) haha Then we went back to pick up our car and we're sitting waiting when all of the sudden the name pops up on our phone "President Weaver" my heart skipped a couple beats! So I run outside and he tells us our transfer calls....are you ready for this? Because I am STILL in shock...haha So Sister Thompson is staying in Steilacoom and one of my best friends Sister Stucki is coming to be her companion! :) and I am....ah I can't even contain myself! I AM GOING TO CHAMBERS CREEK!!!!!! :) haha I am taking Sister Hall's place with Sister Packard and Sister Dean! Sister Packard and I are going to be the Sister Trainer Leaders for the Tacoma west and Tacoma east zones!!! holy crap..I am literally crying as I type this! :) haha God knew that this was the ONLY transfer call that would ever get me to leave Steilacoom! I have wanted so badly to be companions with Sister Packard and Sister Dean and I am SO flippin excited!!!! :) The address to my new apartment is: 3517 73rd ave ct w #5 university place WA :) So write me because I know this is going to be a hard transfer. I am excited because I know it will make me grow so much, and I love growing because no matter how hard it is it's so rewarding! :) I am so extremely humbled...I never in my whole life thought that I would ever be an STL. I am not a leader! I'm a follower! haha that's what I say to everyone, but God makes us uncomfortable so we can grow! :) I am seriously very very very very very excited! Sister Packard is awesome! She's an amazing singer from Texas and she's going to BYU majoring in music :) and she's awesome! Sister Dean is a visa waiter she's waiting to go to Argentina! :) She went to the MTC 4 days after me so she's been out for a while, but she is also from Utah! :) haha of course, and she goes to Utah State! :) I am so excited for this awesome tripanionship!!!!!!! :) AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! :) haha I’m excited! Yesterday was a pretty hard day for me....I have out my whole heart into this sacred area of Steilacoom and these people are my family...I love them so much! So I was NOT the only one crying yesterday when I was saying goodbye! I am pretty sure that the whole ward was crying too. I have SO much love for this place! :) Yesterday felt like farewell take 2! haha having to say goodbye to everyone. This place has been so sacred to me. I have never grown so much as I have the past 6 months, and I wouldn't trade it for ANYTHING!!! :) I love being a missionary so much, and Steilacoom will forever have a very special place in my heart :) You will all need to come back and visit with me! I want you to meet my very best friends! :) haha and I have many places to stay if I want to come back! It's good because I know I will not be forgotten here. In PMG it says to leave each area stronger than I’ve found it. And I know I have done just that! My fist print is on every door and my testimony on many hearts. Some souls have come into the fold and some have small seeds planted in them. The number 1 thing I hope I've helped people know is that their Heavenly Father loves them, and now that I’ve done my work here I am excited to go share my love with the people of Chambers Creek. It's a very bittersweet moment. But it's so worth it. I can't even tell you how much I have grown in Steilacoom! Everyone talks about how quiet and shy I was at the beginning and now I’m a bubbly little crazy missionary! haha I really have overcome a lot of weaknesses and a lot of trials. I will never forget my Steilacoom :) haha oh man...I am still in shock...but my bags are packed and I'm ready to go. Tomorrow I will be leaving on a brand new adventure. And I couldn't be more happy to be doing so! Remember that I love you all SO much! You are the miracle and you're amazing! Keep pressing forward and ENJOY to the end :) I love you SO much!!!! :)

Love always

Sister Brittany Ann Wilkins :)