Week 36

Hello family!!!

This week was so awesome!!! I honestly don't remember much about the beginning of this week but I remember the weekend! haha :) so here's the scoop...Tuesday I got to go on an exchange with Sister Brady again on Tuesday! It was a lot of fun! I love that girl! She's pretty hilarious and we just have fun! A lot of the time I want to do more for the sisters than I feel like I do, but I do my best and that's all I can do! :) haha all is well though! I learned a lot from Sister Brady, she likes to have missionary fun! And I’m a pretty chill and laid back person but I also like to have fun! haha but I have been trying to be more enthusiastic when I talk to people and I realized (because sister Brady told me) that I don't have to be enthusiastic to have passion for what I am talking about because believe me, I’ve got passion :D She also sees a lot of good in people, she is so nice, and always makes you feel like you're a million bucks! If we could all be like that this world would be a much better place!!! haha but we had a lot of fun! :)

I made lots of videos but I can't send it back to you yet :D I am not done! haha but you are going to love them :) anyways, the exchange was awesome! We saw Felisha and Andre! Andre prayed and we put Felisha on date for the 9th!!!! But she fell off date because they didn't come to church yesterday...but she will get baptized! Now she can just get baptized on Packard's birthday!!! :) (The 16th) I am determined to have someone get baptized on the 16th so I can see Packard on her birthday: D haha

We also got to do Yoga with the 8-11 year old girls in my ward! Those girls are so adorable! :) I love that age of girls :) Wednesday we had district meeting :) those are always fun! Except they make Sister Packard and I do a training every time! haha :) but I like it so it's all good...this week we got to train on how to qualify for the companionship of the Holy Ghost I loved this talk about Revelation

http://www.lds.org/ensign/2013/08/opening-our-hearts-to-revelation?lang=eng

Salvation cannot come without revelation, and it pretty much all comes down to, in my opinion, obedience. There's a reason why it's the first law in heaven :) With obedience to the laws and principles of the gospel, all other problems go away! :) But if we were 100% obedient we would all be translated...so good thing we don't have to be perfect! :) haha anyways if we are obedient we will qualify for the companionship of the Holy Ghost! :) And well we all need that in our lives...Makes life a lot easier!

          

  On Thursday we had weekly planning!!! :) I love weekly planning especially with Sister Packard because she always gives me good things to work on :) And it's awesome! I love having someone who can tell you what you can improve on with love! haha because a lot of the time it's something that I know I could work on but I just don't see it. So it's great! This week I am working on believing in myself :) haha all of you know I was a little shy girl, and struggled with confidence. I've come a Looooonnnnng way with that, but it's something that I definitely could still improve on :) I'm not the most confident straw in the bunch but I’d say I’m a pretty strong straw ;) haha so she's been helping me with that and it has been working well! I think the points when I struggle the most is when we got finding.... :) I still get a little afraid on doorsteps sometimes! :) haha but I still talk and it all goes well :) We got to take a break in the middle of planning and go to the Correy's in our ward, it was really cool. Sister Correy is writing books and she writes songs, she's very musical! And sister Packard and I love that stuff too! So it was fun to get to sit down with her :)

Just FYI I decided I’m taking piano lessons again when I get home :) haha I want to be able to play it!!! I know mom, dad, you're saying right now "I told you so" but hey...sometimes these things happen... :D Sister Correy gave us a copy of a song she wrote that we may or may not sing at transfer meeting...PS I’m probably singing a duet with sister Packard at transfer meeting....which would be extremely terrifying...but you know...I might as well just confront all my fears on my mission :) so anyways that was Thursday.

FRIDAY WAS THE GREATEST DAY EVER!!! :) haha first of all we are starting up firesides again!!! Yay! :) So Sister Packard and I got to drive up to Olympia with Sister Davis and Allred in our zone, for a practice! And we got to see all our friends!!! :) Sister hall, Beans, Sister Thompson!!! :) It was lots of fun! :) I got out of my comfort zone and sang a lot haha it's the funniest thing! I sing soprano and pretty much always have, but I’ve always loved alto, so since I began my mission I’ve sang a lot of alto, but this fireside I am singing a lot of soprano! And president comes up to me and says "you are such a beautiful alto! And I just can't imagine you being a better soprano than you are an alto, that's awesome!!!" haha that man cracks me up! I just love him with all my heart :) Anyways so I am singing in a group that sings "be still my soul" it's a really pretty version of it. :) So I am excited! Every time I sing that song I think of Grandpa Lowder. It's sweet :) that's why I’m late e-mailing today because we had another practice for the groups and then President took all of us out to menchies! They are so sweet! 

Anyways, after the practice we drove home and we got a call from the Sunset Elders in our zone telling us about a referral! They received it from the office but they sent it to the wrong missionaries, they were supposed to send it to us! :) So this guy’s name is Michael Brandon, he is going through a divorce and he is non-denominational, so his Mormon friend says "hey you really need to talk to the missionaries, they can help you!" so Michael is like alright! So he goes on Mormon.org and requests missionaries to come to his house!!! Pretty sweet eh!? So the Elders had a baptism that night so they invited him to it and then they called us and told us that he was coming and we had an appointment with him afterwards. So we were like SWEET! so we go tracting early and about 45 minutes into knocking we run into this guy named Travis, so we talk to him and he seems interested so we invite him to come to the baptism and he's like ya sure I’ll come just give me some time to get ready. So we go back and he's all ready and dressed up! :) So he follows us to the church and we're like freaking out having a party in the car because this is actually happening! :) haha so we get to the church and take him on a little tour and then we meet Michael Brandon! He came!!! It was sweet! So we go to the baptism and it was very appropriate. Michael is a precious man and he starts to cry. Travis is just very into it and love the hymns and its great! The baptism gets over and we're like hey let’s just teach Michael and Travis a lesson together and so we do! We taught them the restoration and now they're on date for the 16th!!! :) (See someone's going to be baptized that day :) ) Yaaaayyy!!! :) So Friday was awesome! :) haha

then Saturday we get up and we go to the highland hills sisters apartment (sister esplin and sister graves) for a surprise study (that's another perk of being an STL) and it was fun! :) We talked a lot about meekness and being chastened by the Lord :) haha :) it was a really good and uplifting study. Afterwards Packard and I were just pooped! I was in pain  cuz my dumb side has been hurting and Packard was tired but we were still working really hard. Then around 4 we get a call from Sister Pryor and found out that Sister Packard’s Grandma passed away :( It was so sad! But I have to tell you, I am extremely impressed with Sister Packard, she is such an example to me. That day she had Charity and practiced the character of Christ. All I could do was give her a big hug and let her cry it out. She cried for maybe 5 minutes and then wanted to go to our lesson so we drove and listened to a beautiful version of "god be with you til we meet again" which made me cry! haha but when we got to our lesson she stopped crying and instantly served the rest of the day. I was amazed by the amount of strength she had and the way she turned outward when it would be so easy to turn inward.

We did stop by sister pryors and she gave us cinnamon rolls and some oil for my side. I have been craving cinnamon rolls since the beginning of my mission and nobody makes them right!!! :) They always put raisins or nuts in them and these ones were the best they just had cream cheese frosting. haha But I can't even express how much I learn from Sister Packard like every day. She is one of the most Christ like people I know. And it makes me want to be better. Service really is the substance to our souls. It will always help us if, in our times of sorrow we turn outward and serve others. ALWAYS! :)

http://www2.byui.edu/Presentations/Transcripts/ReligionSymposium/2003_01_25_Bednar.htm

This is a good talk about that :) haha I can't even express the amount of joy I get from being on a mission! It’s irreplaceable. And I just love it so much! The friendships and the knowledge that I have gained will stay with me for eternity. And I’m just extremely grateful. There's so much happiness that comes from being a missionary! :) There's only like 2 weeks left of this transfer though :( which I am extremely sad about. I don't want to not have sister Packard as my companion! I could literally be her companion forever. We never fight, we just love and work hard and it's great! :) But, there's no growth in the comfort zone right? haha so I’m thinking that next transfer is going to be another growing transfer... :) Right now President has all the strong and obedient missionaries together and its sister Hall's prediction that next transfer he's going to put them with the ones who are struggling. :) Which will be great! But it's going to be a growing experience :) haha So we'll see :) I have absolutely no predictions, except for I think I’m staying in Chambers Creek. It’s either that or we get doubled out and both leave which I don't think will happen. But who knows? Only God! haha :)

So yesterday was also a great day! I love Sundays! We had 7 investigators at church!!! 7!!! That’s the most we've had my whole entire mission!!! :) haha it's awesome!! :) Michael and Travis were there, and George (Alice stayed home sick) Then this guy Luis that we've kind of been teaching, the poor guy cried through all of sacrament because his wife just got back from Afghanistan and she is not talking to him and wants her "space"...poor guy is so sad :( I was proud of him for staying. Then Kaale was there as always. Then Myk was there as always! :) And Nicole and Aaron came!!! :) We've been trying to get them to church for 3 weeks and they were finally able to come! :) yay! :) haha but anyways that's about it for this week....I love being a missionary and that's all! :) Oh! Also! Sister dean! (beans) Is finally in Argentina!!! We got to go and say goodbye to her last night at the office and it was a sweet moment! :) I am going to miss that girl dearly, but she's where she needs to be! :) Anyways, keep the Packard’s in your prayers :) the funeral is on Wednesday so maybe send a fb message to them :) They are a great family! Anyways I love you all dearly and hope you have an amazing week! :)

Love always

Sister Wilkins :)

Saying goodbye to Beans (AKA Sister Dean)

Week 35

Ah! Family!!!!! 

I have missed you this week :) haha! Can you believe it's been 8 months since I entered the MTC?! Crazy! Time goes by way too fast! :) I am so grateful though to be a missionary. I would not trade this time for anything. It has been the greatest thing of my entire life! And I can't even express how much I love it! I have learned so much and grown so much. I will never be the same. And sometimes I imagine not being here and I shudder at the thought because I am grateful for the lessons I’ve learned, they have helped me become a better person. And we all know our character is extremely important.

This week has been GREAT! :) I'll tell you a little about it :) Mom thank you for your package! :) I have been looking at the pictures and have made some videos for ya'll and they are funny :) So get excited! And I loved the letter as well! I am so glad that you love my companion’s parents! Because I love them too! :) I think it's the greatest thing ever! We will all be friends for forever :) All we have to do is get the Packard’s to move to Utah! ;) haha but I don't think that'll happen! I didn't get Neal’s package yet but I'm going to the office after this :) YAY! :)

So my Tuesday exchange! I keep forgetting to tell ya'll about this but now I’ll remember! There are 3 other Sisters in my zone that are from Mapleton! Sister Esplin, Sister Allred and Sister Graves!!! (Sister of Kaylee Graves that Michele knows) :) It's crazy because we all have connections! But I got to go on an exchange with Sister Graves :) She's great! :) I still think it's weird that I know her family... :) haha It's such a small world when you're a Mormon! :) But it was way fun! It was stressful for me a little because she came to chambers creek and EVERY single appointment cancelled except 2! haha so I was praying hard all day but it worked out! And we had lots of fun! This is only her 2nd transfer, and she is doing great! :)

 I love going on exchanges! It’s so much fun to get to learn from so many other missionaries :) it's also very humbling! haha Every time I try to emulate something from them because they help me realize what I need to work on! :) It's kinda funny, they always come expecting to learn a lot from me but I always learn so much from them! :) It's awesome! :) On Wednesday I got the rest of me back!!! (sister Packard) (haha that's what our ward members say when they only see one of us..."where's the rest of you?!") And we had district meeting! Our district is great! Sister Packard and I got the opportunity to give a training this week. All about LOVE! Which is of course our favorite subject so we went crazy! :) haha It was a lot of fun! And I learned so much about love. It's funny how, as a missionary you expect to be teaching when really you are just learning. :) I LOVE being a missionary! :) But it was fun and we took the stick that Sister Packard got from our investigator Mo and it was used as the talking stick! Haha we have a lot of fun at our meetings :)

After that during tracting we met Racheal and Anna! I'm super excited about them! Racheal is 20 and she's a caretaker for Anna. Anna is deaf and autistic! And I instantly fell in love with her! She's adorable!!! :) So while Sister Packard talked to Racheal I got to sign to Anna and she's just awesome she loves going to church and she is happy :) haha I wish I remembered more sign language though....I’m a bit rusty! :) We are going back this week to teach them though :) Then we had our ward meet n greet! We bring investigators and some members of the ward come and we eat food! It's great! Nicole and Kaale came (our investigators) and then all our recent converts except Terrance and it was just so much fun! I love that kind of atmosphere! Food fun and the spirit :) So it was great! and the investigators loved it too! :)

Thursday was park day! yay! :) So luckily every park day we have weekly planning so it's not too bad! :) But I just have to tell you that I am so grateful for Sister Packard :) because every time we do companionship inventory she makes me cry! bahahaha! And it's because she helps me grow! and every time i have to grow i cry :P haha jk but it's always one of my greatest weaknesses :) This week she didn't make me cry though or last week because she's making me run 5 laps around the parking lot every morning without stopping! And it takes like 20 minutes! haha I don't have very good endurance in running :P But it's so funny! She relates the gospel to running! because you have to endure to the end! So I am building up my physical and spiritual endurance! :) It's good stuff! haha :) But no, she is the greatest companion ever! :)

So the rest of the day was great too! We got some members to drive us around places so that was awesome! And we had dinner at Sister Baldwin's! She is the sweetest woman on the face of the entire planet! And I just love her! I will have to take a picture with her one day because she's just adorable! :) haha she's about 60's and she is a widow and she absolutely loves the gospel! She's precious! and she makes great food! :) Then after that we were going knocking so we walk down the street and these people are pulling the weeds in their lawn so Sister Packard and I drop down and start helping! So this e-mail has to be continued because I have to log back on :) brb :) 

Alright! Back! :) so anyways Sister Packard and I pulled their weeds with them for about an hour and taught them the restoration! They weren't extremely interested, but they did go over to Sister Baldwins and ask her some questions! :) haha it was great! :) On Friday we had cleaning checks! haha the couples missionaries go all around the mission and check the cleanliness of everyone's apartment! And we got to see Elder and Sister Jones! We were the last ones on their list! So they came and they brought us some cereal and oranges and apples bless their heart and then they took us out to lunch!!! They are so precious and I love them oh so much! :) I didn't really know what couples missionaries do until I came on my mission and they sacrifice so much to come out here and they support us and do so much for us! And I am extremely humbled. Sister Packard and I were talking about how spoiled we are. And we are!!!! We live in an apartment with two bedrooms and we have a car! And we have the greatest mission president in the world! Ah! We are so spoiled! They took us to this yummy Mexican restaurant called el torro and they even ordered us fried ice cream! :) YUM! haha we are so blessed!

 Oh! Sister Dean got her Visa!!! She’s leaving to go to Argentina on the 28th! We haven't had the chance to talk to her since she went to Olympia but the jones told us!  Then we got to go sing at the nursing home again! It was so much fun! There’s only one member in the home but there's about 10 other people that like to come and we sing hymns and the member mouths the words with us and it's so great! haha we sang "ye elders of Israel" and jazzed it up a little and then we sang "come follow me" and then we sang another song. But we also sang nearer my God to thee and Emily (the activities director) gets out her guitar and comes and sings with us! And Mabel a little old lady sang along too! :) haha oh man it was so great! :) I feel so bad for those poor people but I'm glad we get to go and help them feel the spirit :) they all have such great attitudes!

 Friday night was AWESOME!!! I told ya'll about our investigator Felisha last week. She is great! She has already been taught all the lessons in Olympia with her mom and her sisters but they got evicted and lost contact with the missionary’s right before they were going to get baptized. Well we went over there on Friday and taught her and her husband Aundre and also 4 month old Aundre jr :) the restoration! :) And it was awesome! Felisha kept adding her testimony and she started to cry when she talked about how the gospel blessed her family! It was so precious! She is so ready to get baptized; we just have to get Aundre on board! but we have faith!!! :) haha So sister Packard and I are super pumped for them!!! :)

 Saturday was also a great day! We got a text from president and sister weaver that we were invited to come over and carve some pumpkins!!!!!! So we went over there with all the other missionaries in the Tacoma area (this is the perks of being in Tacoma :D ) haha and carved some pumpkins!!! :) And we also got to meet their oldest daughter (the weavers have 5 girls!) and her husband and their 5 children! And they are all so cute! President and Sister Weaver got to meet their new little grandson! He’s SO cute! :) When I got there President pulled me aside and told me how much he appreciated the card from ya'll (you're so sweet to do that!) and told me that he loved me haha I can't even tell you how much I love President and Sister Weaver! They are seriously the greatest! And I rely on them for so much. I just love them to pieces and I'm grateful that you sent them a little note :) They EAT that stuff up! they love hearing from the parents :) haha I can't wait for you to meet them one day cuz they're the greatest people ever! :) They come home before I do though! :( Sad days!

But anyways Sunday was one of the greatest days of my mission! Saturday night I had a bad dream and I woke up at 4am in turmoil. So in the morning I told Sister Packard about it and she helped me out so much. I can't even tell you. We talked about the Atonement and this will help all of ya'll :) Because I was worried about something that wasn't even real, and it could've ruined my entire day. That’s what Satan wanted to do. But the Atonement can't fix something that's imaginary: P haha but I turned my entire day around! I wish I could tell you what i learned from it but I just can't put it into words. All I can say is that I love my Savior and yesterday was one of the most spiritually uplifting days of my mission! :) Here's some things i learned...Luke 22:32 says "But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren" Christ prayed for us, and He is patiently waiting us to be converted, to love God more than we love ourselves, then we can strengthen our brethren. I learned that we are called in the pre-mortal existence to be missionaries! And we promised our friends that we would find them and help them to go back home, and we are supposed to be serving those people TODAY! NEVER let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved. Because Love is our motive. "For what we love determines what we seek.

What we seek determines what we think and do. What we think and do determines who we are—and who we will become."

http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2009/10/the-love-of-god?lang=eng&query=the+love+of+god

When we pause to help and lift another that's when we find strength beyond our own :) During tracting on Sunday we met this family with 3 little girls Jade, Amanda and Jonny. They are the cutest little girls! And we taught them about unconditional love and little Jonny she's 6 and she says "unconditional love!" it was so adorable! :) haha but anyways this week was amazing! I loved every second and I have learned how to become more like my Savior. I am just so grateful. I wish I was better at putting things into words but i'm not :) haha but you know, it all works out! :) But anyways times up! I hope ya'll know how much I love you and miss you! I am so grateful for your continued support and love and I hope that you know how much I appreciate you. You're always in my prayers. Love you!!!! 

Love always

Sister Wilkins :)

Week 34

Hello Again Family! :)

I hope ya'll had a wonderful week! To explain the title of this e-mail this transfer has felt like YEARS! :) hahaha but I am still loving it :) I just don't really remember much about this week because It feels like Wednesday was months ago :) but I'll tell you what I can remember :) And I'll answer your question mom and tell you about chambers creek :) Chambers Creek is great! It's very much Tacoma :) haha we have a lot of stores and fast food restaurants in our area and a lot of traffic :) and a lot of ghetto areas! woot! :) haha Every week for p-day we go over to Chambers Bay and you can see the sound from there! It's not as pretty and scenic as Steilacoom in my opinion but I still love it :)

The ward is great! I haven't really gotten super close with anyone yet but they are all great and I enjoy them! They are really good at missionary work especially with recent converts and retention :) We don't get dinners very often so I don't get to know them as much as I would if we were able to go to their house and sit down with them. But that's about to change because we are working really hard to get the members involved! :) Obviously it's what God wants because conference was focused on that a lot :) haha side note this guy just came up and asked me if I had the Melchizedek priesthood! haha it was pretty fun to explain to him about it :) Anyways but the ward is great! It’s very strong! We have the patriarch in our ward and we have people who have been mission presidents and we have elder calls nephew or something! So we have a lot of very converted people and its way awesome! They definitely bring the spirit :)

It's funny that you asked if we had any investigators because last week we had 4 progressing and this week we have 11! :) So the work has picked up A TON this week! I'll tell ya'll about some of them :) First of all we are still teaching George and Alice :) We've been teaching them for a while now :) George decided he wanted something new so they've been coming to church and paying tithing and reading the Book of Mormon and they watched all of general conference! So they're really awesome! George says he's almost convinced but he needs to learn more! :) haha we have only taught them one lesson :) all the other times we've had to answer a bunch of questions :) but they came to all 3 hours of church yesterday and loved it! So all of our other investigators we have just started teaching this transfer. :) but I’ll tell you about some of them :)

 Someone else cool that we are teaching is Felicia :) We found her last week and she has been looking for a church, her and her mom and siblings have been taught all the lessons before down in Olympia and they were about to be baptized but they moved and lost contact with the missionaries and she had no idea there was another church where she lives now! She's 21 and is married and they have a little 4 month old baby! So she will get baptized, but she wants it to be a family thing so we are going to have to get her husband in on it, and he doesn't seem to be too interested so pray! :) But I'm really excited for her! I think I've told you about Kaale and Kaalee :) kaale is 30 and kaalee is 6, They are still coming to church, but Kaale is struggling with his faith in Christ, he says he likes the story...haha so we're working on him :)

We also have been teaching this part member family Aaron and Nicole. They have a 3 year old who is full of energy and they have a 3 month old baby. Aaron has been a member his whole life, but he hasn't been active for a long while, so it's like we're teaching both of them :) But they're great! keep them in your prayers because they need to be baptized! everyone needs to be baptized but you know... :) haha we're also teaching this girl named Maranda, she's married to Reece they're 21 and they have a 3 year old named Killian. :) They are hilarious! We met Maranda on Friday and found out that they had just moved here but they had been taught back in Lakewood by my very good friends Elder Dudchus and Elder Steed :)

Other than that we are still working with Myk our little 16 year old whose mom won't let her get baptized and Grace our little 13 year old whose mom won't let her get baptized. I love these girls so much! Their testimonies are SOLID grace is already planning her temple wedding! haha it's so precious! We’ve found a lot of cool new people this week so I’ll let you know how it's working out next week :)

To answer your last question I go on exchanges every Tuesday :) most of the time...haha it depends on the circumstances and we don't go on one the first week. We just have to go on 5 exchanges this transfer and we can pretty much choose when, but the best days are Tuesday and Friday because we have district meeting on Wednesday and weekly planning on Thursday. :) So we go on exchanges with the sisters in the Tacoma west and the Tacoma east zones. I'm in Tacoma west :) haha this week I actually got to go on an exchange! With Sister Casselle! She is so awesome! :) haha we had a ton of fun together and I learned so much from her! She’s from Utah, she's 20, and this is her 4th transfer. :) She's great! :) I learned so much from her! She still has her "greenie faith" and teaches things simply :) I think the longer you are out and the more you learn about the doctrine the more you want to share everything you know about one principle on the doorstep! haha but then people don't understand what you're saying....so you have to be simple! one thing that I thought was precious was that she said every morning she wakes up and takes a deep breath of relief because she's still a missionary! :) haha I thought it was so precious! It's true though, we talked about how it would be the end of the world if we hadn't come on our missions (ok that's a little dramatic I know...) but really! I would not be who I am today if I had not come to Washington. And I like who I am today a lot more than I liked who I was 8 months ago :) haha But it was a really fun exchange!

On Wednesday it was Sister Packard’s half way mark! (That’s why you got a picture text from sister Pryor with us and half a cake :) ) haha It was a really fun day :) We both thought a lot about who we wanted to be when we got home! :) So she wrote hers down and I’m going to write mine down in a month on my half way mark :) but I chose a scripture that I wanted to use to remind me who i want to be and I memorized it! So I'll tell you don't hurt me if I mess up :) but it's Mosiah 18:8-10 "and now, as ye are desirous to come into the fold of God and to be called his people and are willing to bear one another’s burdens that they may be light, yea and are willing to mourn with those that mourn, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and stand as a witness of God at all times and in all things and in all places that ye may be in even until death. That ye may be redeemed of God and be numbered with those of the first resurrection that ye may have eternal life" When I come home I want to be someone who serves others. Service is the substance to our souls! :) I have found that every time I get upset or discouraged, as soon as I turned outward it's like someone flipped a switch and I'm happy again! :) It's so easy to turn inward, but that's not Christ-like at all and of course makes us un-happy. But when we keep the first and great commandment to love God and the second which is like unto it to love our fellow men then we will be happy! "Consider the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God" I don't remember where in the BOM that is but its there and it's true! :) haha

 Oh I can tell you about another investigator, well she's more like a potential. :) But Sister McClemmeant just moved into our ward, she's 70 and her 50 year old daughter Maureen lives with her and is not a member. Mo is great! Think of the lady who predicts the future with the magic ball things (what are they called?) (I swear a veil comes over missionaries minds and they can't remember anything about the world sometimes :) ) on harry potter but with shorter hair and that's Mo :) haha she's hilarious :) And she loves to create things. Sister Packard is HUGE on creation, she loves it. Actually she pretty much loves everything but she has been very passionate about creation recently. :) And Mo comes out with this stick that she painted and shows it to us and Sister Packard gets extremely excited and talks about how creation is godly and brings out her passion for creation and so Mo decides to give her the stick! haha it has made Sister Packard’s entire week! It's so funny :) But she cherishes her stick and Mo just loves how much she loves it. :) We went back over last night and read her the book "the remarkable soul of a woman" that Aunt Lori sent me for my birthday and she loved it! :) But Mo is great....I just love her! haha :)

I don't really remember much about Thursday except for weekly planning and going to see Terrance. :) Terrance is doing SO well!!! :) I love that man! :) He's going to get the priesthood next week! EEEEEEEE!!!!! :) but he told me that he can tell that I have been a lot happier recently in his words he said "it's like going from Tim Burton Land to Disney Land" haha Terrance is a little dramatic but I have felt that this transfer since I’ve been able to focus on my relationship with God more I have had more energy and more happiness than last transfer! So that's great! I just wish that you could meet Terrance! He is the funniest man I have ever met in my entire life! And he is my good friend! :)

On Friday we had MLC (mission leadership council) and that took up a lot of the day! But it was GREAT! I got to see Sister Hall again and all my friends! It was great! :) One cool thing that I can tell you is that President wants us all to ride the bus this month! haha it's like a trap...someone gets on a bus and they're trapped until their stop comes and then you sneak up on them and tell them all about the gospel! :) haha So we're excited about that :) we talked about how it's going to get VERY cold soon...aka I might need to go buy some sweaters or something...President says after daylight savings time it gets midnight dark at 4pm so it will get cold fast...and we also talked a lot about safety :) you don't have to worry about me because all of my companions have made fun of me for how careful I am :) But hey, it keeps us safe! :) MLC is a lot like Zone conference but it's only the zone leaders and STL's so we learn about the gospel so we can teach it to everyone else! :) We also get fed lunch :) haha

So I have to tell you about this encounter we had during tracting...I felt a little like Aaron and his brethren :) we ran into 5 girls and started talking to them, I won't go into the details, but I will say that we talked to them for about 40 minutes and they weren't very nice at all. the day before we had met one of them and she opened her door and starred at us, wouldn't answer our questions and then just closed the door...when we left she said "ah the Mormons are leaving! Finally!" The reason I tell you this is because it SO applies to the BOM :) and I found strength in this circumstance from what I had been reading in it :) I have been reading in Alma, and that morning I had read about Aaron and his brethren who are missionaries who are trying to convert the Lamanites at this time :) the part I was at is where Aaron and his brethren had been delivered out of prison by Lamoni and Ammon. And they were naked and had been treated poorly their wrists and their ankles were swollen and sore. And then they went back out and started teaching again!!!! I found much comfort and peace after this encounter with these girls because I had read that the same morning.

 I didn't have to get cast into prison, I just had to take some harsh words haha :) But If Aaron and his brethren could go back out after being tortured and teach the gospel I could endure a few harsh words :) The scripture that popped into my head was Alma 26:27 "now when our hearts were depressed and we were about to turn back, behold, the Lord comforted us, and said: Go amongst thy brethren, the lamanites and bear with patience thine afflictions and I will give unto you success." I was strengthened by scriptures. :) The reason I tell you this is because I learned some very valuable lessons from this...even though this isn't the first time it's happened :P First of all I learned that God is mindful and knows exactly what I need. He knew that I needed to read that part in the book of Mormon that morning so that I could apply the scripture into my life. I cannot tell you how much love and appreciation I have for the scriptures. They are GOLDEN! :) I also learned that the merciful obtain mercy :)

http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2012/04/the-merciful-obtain-mercy

 I could not hold a grudge against these girls....Christ said something around the lines of "you that is without sin cast the first stone"  If I want to be forgiven, I must also forgive. And I also learned to just brush things off and move on! :) haha Anyways I just thought I would share that because it made a big impact on my week and such :) so it was good and awesome and I am doing so well! We don't have a lot of time because we have some things to do today...We're teaching this cool girl named Sagan at 1 and then we have a referral to go see at 6. So I gotta end this! But I hope ya'll are doing great! Keep reading the scriptures because they are GOLD! :) haha and they will help you :) It's been really cool because I memorize a scripture every day and the ones I have memorized have come up over and over and over :) the scriptures are great :) And I love ya'll very much! and hope you have an amazing week! :)

Love Always

Sister Wilkins :)

Sister Casselle and I :) We had so much fun! :) haha

She made me a little sign! She's so precious! :)

            Me and packard on her halfway mark day! :) 

                                   Eating her half of a cake :)

T`he lone red tree! the leaves are changing and it's absolutely beautiful! :)

More trees

Week 33

Hello Family!

Wow, it feels like months have passed since I last wrote...this week was SO GREAT!!! :) Can I just tell you how awesome it is to be companions with your best friend?! Because it's GREAT!!!! :) You don't have to worry about contention or disagreements; we just agree with each other :) haha our theme for this transfer is "yup" because that's the word we say the most. When someone has an idea of what to do the other one agrees and we go and do it! It is AWESOME! :) haha Sister Packard and I are working so well together. It’s awesome because we already have the friendship thing down and so now we can focus on God and His work, which makes us both like a million times happier! :) There's a quote that Packard gave me that I have found to be extremely true: "Men and women who turn their lives over to God will find out that he can make a lot more out of their lives than they can. He will deepen their joys, expand their vision, quicken their minds, strengthen their muscles, lift their spirits, multiply their opportunities, and comfort their souls, raise up friends, and pour out peace. Whosoever will lose his life to God will find he has eternal life." - Ezra Taft Benson

Last transfer for some reason I had a hard time getting out of God's way. :) But it was crazy the immediate change that happened as soon as this transfer started. When I told you I was happy before I was not as happy as I am now! :) haha Life is GREAT! And how about that conference? Amazing right!? But we'll talk about that later :) haha But I know that quote is true, we try so hard to do things ourselves when really, if we would just let go and let God help our lives would be so much easier! :) Haha but it literally feels like we have wings on our feet! That might be because we run everywhere...oh! funny story! so after the second session of conference on Saturday this extremely old man came up to Sister Packard and I and told us he loved our companionship and could tell how much we love each other haha it was funny, but it's true :) we have fun and it's great :) enough of that ramble though... :) I am going to give you general conference part 5! :) haha because to prepare for conference Sister Packard and I listened to talks in the car and they are GREAT! :)

http://www.lds.org/new-era/2003/10/how-do-i-love-thee?lang=eng

This one is all about charity and it's probably one of my very favorite talks ever! :) by Holland of course :)

I can't find the other one but it's by LeGrand Richards and it's awesome :) But the talk by elder Holland is so great! Sister Packard LOVES love. So I have recently come to be obsessed with it too :) haha but I think it's cool! The love that Elder Holland talks about is so godly. Charity should be present in our earthly relationships. :)

Ah! So I have another talk for you to read about Character and I have an experience to go with it so read or listen to it first then come back :)

http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2010/10/the-transforming-power-of-faith-and-character?lang=eng

So on Thursday morning this week (greatest day EVER!) we went over to Bishop Blackner's house, he feeds us breakfast every Thursday morning and we discuss the work with him :) Sister Blackner loves to cook new things and share little messages with us and she always gives us a recipe and a talk on our way out :) She always cooks a good but different thing! It's great! And this week she gave us this talk about Character. So we went home and read it for companionship study. And then that night we were heading to an appointment. It was about 7:15 and it was raining and dark. :) We're driving down the road when we see a car broken down at the bottom of the hill right in front of the shell gas station on Orchard Street. So sister Packard pulls over and we run out and a guy that works at the shell asks for a hand with the car so we go behind it and start pushing and we are pushing with all of our might and it's going nowhere...the guy that works at the stations slips and falls cuz the ground is so wet a slippery but he gets back up frustrated and keeps pushing, then out of the car comes 5 little tyquando boys one by one they get out and stand on the sidewalk, then the dad gets out and mom takes position as driver as the dad is pushing from the door. Then 2 bald black men come and start pushing with us and a guy who is high on life and smells like beer comes to help too and finally we get this car up the hill! And then everyone immediately disperses and goes back to their lives. Now this shows that there is an innate desire to do good in everyone. This is in the middle of Tacoma too, which is a big deal :) The difference between all of us is our character, who we were before and after, not just during I love in the talk this quote

"Faith and character are intimately related. Faith in the power of obedience to the commandments of God will forge strength of character available to you in times of urgent need. Such character is not developed in moments of great challenge or temptation. That is when it is intended to be used. Your exercise of faith in true principles builds character; fortified character expands your capacity to exercise more faith. As a result, your capacity and confidence to conquer the trials of life is enhanced. The more your character is fortified, the more enabled you are to benefit from exercising the power of faith. You will discover how faith and character interact to strengthen one another. Character is woven patiently from threads of applied principle, doctrine, and obedience."

Our Character is not developed in our trials, which is something that many might think. But it is developed by our faith, how strong our faith is, if we have strong enough faith we will be obedient! Faith is an action word! :) So when we are putting our faith in true principles such as the gospel of Jesus Christ our faith will be fortified! So if you have a little knife and then you add more metal to it and put it in the refiners fire and pound it out it becomes a sword! (Remember this is a long process and it doesn't happen easily) and it's strong! It’s fortified. So when we exercise faith in true principles all the time our faith will be built and become fortified, strong. The stronger your faith is the more you will benefit, the more you will act! Sweet. And then we have our character which grows from the same things, applying true principles and exercising our faith. I love the end part! "Character is woven patiently from threads of applied principle, doctrine, and obedience." So take a scarf for instance and look at it. It is something that benefits you! It keeps your neck warm, it's pretty :) they're great! But it was woven patiently (hypothetically it was made by hand) strand by strand, thread by thread, until it becomes something beautiful and strong! :)  Our Character is woven by our choices at every moment! Decisions Determine Destiny! :) And then when our trials come and we are tested we can still be beautiful and strong and use the fortified character we have gained to help us get through the storm. :)

Here's another amazing talk! :)

http://www2.byui.edu/Presentations/transcripts/religionsymposium/2003_01_25_bednar.htm

The character of Christ! I read this this weekend it's amazing! :) Christ had fortified Character, He, in His very darkest hour when He was suffering more pains that any man could bear without dying, turned outward. The way we can be happy is to serve others. I know that is the TRUTH! :) Service is substance to our souls! :) And that is how we can develop a character like Christ's we must EMULATE Him :) I love the word emulate, because there's NO way I can be exactly like Him, He IS PERFECT! I’m not even close!!! But I have an example to follow :) I can BECOME like Him :) I can have His image engraven in my countenance :) and my character will become fortified along with my faith as I strive to become like Him. So funny story about service. I had to get another TB test last week because Sister Packard Dean and I decided we wanted to volunteer at a nursing home in our area! I"M CLEAN! And we wanted to sing for them :) So now Dean is gone so on Friday Sister Packard borrowed a Violin and made me sing all by myself! And we sang hymns and put all the ladies to sleep :) hahaha! But there was one LDS lady who came and she just LOVED it! She was so cute! :) It was out of both of our comfort zones...haha but it was fun! "Those who bring sunshine to the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves!" -peter pan :) I loved the talks this weekend about missionary work! So often we think we can only be missionaries when there is a non Lds person around us, but truthfully we can always all be better members, we can always build faith. I am just a glorified visiting teacher! :) so visit and share messages that can build their faith and yours! (D&C 50:22) Go about doing good continually! And don't forget the challenge that was extended to you at conference about missionary work! :) speaking of conference was it not absolutely AMAZING?! :) So first of all I have to address the topic of women...I loved Elder Christofferson's talk because it's what the world needs right now! Sister Packard and I were talking about it while being sworn at and yelled at by women between conference sessions; embrace the fact that you are a girl! I loved the quote:

"Women of God can never be like women of the world. The world has enough women who are tough; we need women who are tender. There are enough women who are coarse; we need women who are kind. There are enough women who are rude; we need women who are refined. We have enough women of fame and fortune; we need more women of faith. We have enough greed; we need more goodness. We have enough vanity; we need more virtue. We have enough popularity; we need more purity."

We need to remember this! I know ya'll don't have a problem with this but I know the world does :) Especially the world in Utah! :) p.s. don't wear pants to church, show respect for your Heavenly Father :) I can't even explain to you all the things I got out of conference! Ah! :) First of all I loved Henry B. Eyrings talk! Can I just say I love you guys?! haha and he is just so precious! Henry B. Eyring has the gift of weeping! Families are the most important social unit in all of eternity! So I loved that he spoke on that it was very good! Uchtdorf and Monson were just so tender. I absolutely LOVED President Monson's talk, because he was practicing the character of Christ. He has been turning outward in his time of grief and sorrow! He is such an amazing example to us all. There's that saying "by their fruits ye shall know them" and he has very good fruits :) And Holland... bravo as always. I loved when Holland said "If the bitter cup does not pass, drink it, and be strong and endure to the end until relief comes." I think it's amazing how in tune with the spirit these men are; they know what the world needs. It doesn't matter where you are in life, everyone will have to pass through their own "gethsemane." We will each have to drink out of the bitter cup, but we must not shrink! Because of Christ, when He drank the most bitter cup, he was completely alone. He didn't want to suffer anymore. But He didn't give up. Why do you think He didn't give up? I think that in that moment He saw your face, and He couldn't, He will NOT fail thee nor forsake thee! I know that is true. Jesus Christ can succor us! He can help us. Man I just loved that! :) and Bednar is always bomb. :) He's a bold man...ps. pay your tithing :) I especially loved Elders Edward Dube and Timothy J. Dyches. They helped me out a lot on some of the questions I had :) Man! The CHURCH IS TRUE! :) I love being a part of this great work and I love that all ya'll are part of it too! I am running out of time! So your challenge this week is to go on LDS.org and read at least 3 talks and study them :) But I want ya'll to know that I love you so much more than you know. I do apologize for the times that I didn't show it. But I love you! And always will! :) Have an amazing week!

Love always,

Sister Wilkins :)

All of these people are my very best friends! I love them all so much! :)

I absolutely love all of these people :)

Brother Littlejohn! 

My zone last transfer! :) 

President and Sister Weaver bought us some hot chocolate :) 

 

Posing with the mirrors sister Packard's mom sent us! bless her heart! :) <3

Our last day together :( 

The cute book that Sister Packards mom made for us for conference! :) 

Yay! :)