Week 74

Hello Family and Friends! :)

Ok so I feel so overwhelmed with all the stuff that I want to tell you about this week!!!! It was amazing!!! :) So fun! So first of all, saying goodbye to my very best and eternal friends was really really hard, but at the same time I felt at peace about it because we are eternal friends :) hahaha Transfer meeting was amazing and I am so grateful I got to be there for my friends! :) They all have such powerful testimonies and it was amazing to see how much all of us have so much more substance to ourselves. I love all of them so much!!! :) Now let’s talk about Yelm. haha Oh my goodness! Yelm is Crazy! :) I cover Yelm, Rainier, and a little bit of Tenino. It is the land of the Ramsters! I don't know if you've ever heard of the Ramtha following, but everyone in Yelm is part Ramtha...I swear! haha I absolutely love it here! :) And Sister Stevens and I are getting along amazingly! It's kind of funny because I knew a little about her because she was in my zone for 2 transfers in Tacoma, but I never really took the time to get to know her. And honestly I never thought that we would be friends, which is funny because it happens quite often that the people you don't think you'll be best friends with usually end up being your greatest friends, and, can I just say? I absolutely LOVE Sister Stevens! We have so much fun and work hard and are obedient and it's just amazing! :) We talk WAY too much and laugh way too much and teach a ton. She is from Utah of course, :) she's 21 and goes home in 3 transfers (so she came out with Baird and Chipman) And just all around amazing :) haha She also wants to be an El-ed teacher! :) and we both LOVE teaching, lessons are powerful and so full of goodness! :) So ya, I think we're getting along... ;) jk she is like, my best friend and I have a strong feeling that that's not going to change over the next 6 weeks. We are very focused and love the work and we are very open with each other, so we just work! :) which makes everything else work :) We wake up every morning and go and run a mile, and then we get ready and just plow through the day like crazy! :) It's insane, we both had instant trust with each other and now we can't stop telling each other everything about our lives! haha We seriously never stop talking, it's a struggle to go to sleep sometimes... :) It's very relieving and just amazing....I love it! :) The work is awesome! The ward members are awesome and funny :) Their faith is great! The work here in the Deschutes River ward hasn't been so good until Sister Stevens got here! Then it just took off! There's a lot of "low hanging fruit" aka people who are well prepared for the gospel but haven't had missionaries knock on their door for a while. Or lots of PMF's and UBC's (part member families and unbaptized children) So it's awesome! So I'll just tell you about the week, Sister Jackson drove us to and from Transfer meeting. I love her and her family she's married and has 8 kids and they are a bomb.com missionary family! She took us to a UBC's house. His name is Ethan. He's 11 and LOVES marshmallows! He’s a way funny kid! His Grandma is super active but his mom isn't so we are just trying to get him to like coming to church and then he will be baptized! We know he'll get baptized sometime in August but we aren't positive on the exact date. Our district here is crazy. Yelm is a somewhat apostate district haha they're all good elders, but they just have some traditions here that I don't really agree with. :) haha So the sisters are the enforcer of the rules. It's an all Elder district again! haha I really like the elders, they're just crazy :D haha as always :) I love them! District meeting on Wednesday was fun, also on Wednesday we taught another investigator named Mary Bird she's a cute little old lady who has a Mormon son! :) she's on date and is just learning, she lives on the "bird compound" haha It's this whole family that live in trailers and houses next to each other :) Wednesday night was awesome! Ok so I have this obsession with rocks, and we went to visit this less active and she had rocks all over her house, Stevens didn't even notice all of it! haha but we got into this long conversation and she gave me a rock!!! haha people are so awesome! Sister Stevens calls it spirit nudging :) because when you leave a person’s house they have felt the spirit so they feel bad about turning us away so they give us something or say "stay dry" or "stay cool" haha so Barbara had a spirit nudge and gave me a rock! She doesn't really like the church, but she loves the missionaries now! It’s funny how when you find something in common with people every once in a while they instantly want to talk to you and love you! :) I will refer back to this later :) haha On Thursday we just went all over the place! :) That night we went and met 2 recent converts! There were 4 baptisms here in June and that's the most they've had in....a very long time! and they're all super amazing! :) James is an older African American guy that is just SO sweet and always smiling! :) And Leon is a middle aged guy who has changed his life and is just so grateful for a reason to be good and to be happy he's so sweet! This transfer I have just been praying my heart out to LOVE these people SO so sososo much and I already do! I love my companion, the people, the ward, the zone, and the area...I LOVE IT! :) That night, we got a text from the Elders wanting us to go to lunch with them the next day (which is totally against the rules) and I wasn't going. haha at this time I didn't really know how Sister Stevens would react (I didn't know her! :) ) so I was just sick in my heart, but I told her how I felt and prayed about it. :) The next day (Friday) we did companionship inventory and talked it ALL out and figured out each other’s expectations. Both of us just want to work and be obedient and do good! and man, we just really needed to have that talk. That's where we really started becoming more unified. It was awesome! :) Also that day, I mentioned how a guy in the hospital in Olympia told me that I had to find a single mom this transfer, he was a little crazy, but I believed it. Then Sister Stevens told me that her stake pres. told her that in her setting apart! and so we are searching VERY hard for our single mom. It is very cool and has helped me have more faith. Saturday we went to Clearwood it's this gated community that's pretty much just a city. We could make a whole stake if everyone was a member! haha but the gates were open because it was garage sale day! So we went and had a ton of fun and talked to a ton of people! :) It was SO good... We are going to go back, people were just so nice, we passed out 4 BOM's and gave cards to lots of others. The funnest part of that day was after dinner. haha! We went tracting in the boonies! The first door we knocked on we met Ken and Belinda they didn't really want to listen but then...I noticed they had rocks too! SO I freaked out and it turned into an hour long conversation and left them with a prayer and they gave me a crystal! :) they were WAY nice! then we found this girl named Sparkle. Sparkle is a white Hindu with a plastic rhinestone glued to the middle of her forehead and 2 kids named Shanti and Dharma. She gave us some prayer beads! So here we are with rocks, name tags and prayer beads and Sister Stevens had a cross bracelet on that an RC named Cindy gave her! We just must have looked crazy :) hahaha :) Sunday was just awesome :) We just looked for our single mom. And our ward council set a goal for baptisms this month, it's 6! so we are going to work our butts off! I'm running out of time, but basically I love it here! :) I am feeling so good, and my back has stopped hurting, and I am just in pure missionary heaven right now! Something else that's cool is Sister Stevens and I are doing this thing called "walk with Christ" we did the first day so far and my testimony of the Savior has already grown. I love being a missionary because I get to testify of Him every waking moment! I know that Christ lives! I know He loves each of us and I know that at the end of our trials, there is always a bright light, because of Him, we are free and can have joy! :) The church is true!!! :) I have so much more I would love to tell you, but I just want you to know that I LOVE you and MISS you SO much!!! :) Never forget what the Savior did for you. Think of His names and think of how he has affected your life. And Always remember Him!!!! :) I love you lots!!!

 

Love always

Sister Wilkins :)

Sister Stevens and Sister Wilkins

 

Week 73

Hi Family!

Well It is a very bitter-sweet time of life right now! Tomorrow some of my very dearest, best friends are leaving the WA-TAC. I am sad, but excited for them to move on to their next adventure. I am sure I will be crying tomorrow! haha but, what can ya do? :) I am so grateful for these wonderful sisters who have impacted my life so much, each one of the ones coming home have been my greatest influences and someone that I could look up to throughout my whole mission. I will never ever forget these wonderful sisters. I am grateful that I had the sacred opportunity to serve with Sister Ryser (my mtc companion, she's going home early for school.) Sister Hall and Sister Packard and go on exchanges with Sister Esplin, Davis, and Stucki and also around Sister Scott, Logan, Bevan, Crosby and so many others (there's 13 of them and for some strange reason I can't remember everyone that's going home at the moment!) haha my heart is just full with love and gratitude for the way they have changed the face of the Washington, Tacoma mission. It has been such a privilege to serve with them. I am also extremely grateful to have been around Sister Hall and Bevan these last 2 transfers. It has been so fun! :) I am really going to miss all of them for the next 6 weeks. But I know God is calling them to something & somewhere different. :) Another Bitter-sweet thing, I am being Transferred! I am going to Deschutes River in the Lacey Stake. My companion will be Sister Stevens! I haven't ever been on an exchange with her, but I served around her. I was a little hesitant about the call, but I know God knows what is best for me! I think she's from Utah, all I know is she's very loud and eccentric :) haha I am really excited for this opportunity to learn from her. :) The next 6 weeks will be the very best. I am excited to work my tail off because I have had the sacred opportunity the rest of my mission to take 6 months to create good relationships and leave my areas better than I've found them. And now I'm on a time crunch! haha but I know that I am going to be working HARD and doing my very best to leave my new area better than I found it. Something that I learned about it is that it used to be a branch, and now they've created 3 new wards from it. And I've also heard it's pretty on fire at the moment :) even if it's not I am just excited that God is giving me this sacred opportunity to grow and learn. Saying goodbye to Olympia is one of the hardest things I have done. This has been such a sacred space. This was definitely my "refiner’s fire". I have loved the ward and the investigators here, and it breaks my heart to say goodbye. Poor Macey Adams has been coming out with us every day this week because she knew there was a possibility that I was leaving and I made her cry! Her along with the rest of the ward. One of the things that I have reflected on again and again about leaving, is I've seen how much I love these people so much, and also a small part of them loving me too. All I know is that this place has changed me. I have learned so much. And I have made dear friends. I am seriously going to miss this ward. Why must I always get so attached?! haha poor Sister Boone cried her eyes out. But I know she will take good care of Olympia. I have been able to see how important repentance and patience is here. I have seen the importance of a good attitude. I have learned how to love people that I wouldn't normally love. I have seen Seth, Maria, Nyah and Alaisa enter into the waters of baptism and make a covenant with the Lord. I have taught Jesus and Crystal, Gary, The Morriseys, The Rendons, Sabrina, Marlon, Jhonny, Maggie, Kelly Walker, Somon and Izsiah, Dominic, and so many more. I have created great relationships in the ward with Macey, Silem, The Falters, the Opdahls, June & Don, and so many more wonderful members of the restored gospel. And served with Sister Horgesheimer, Flannigan, Jensen, and Boone. And my heart melts when I think of the sacred experiences I've had with each of them. While we talked about Heavenly Father, and Jesus Christ, and felt the spirit. As we grew together and learned together. That's why Olympia is so sacred to me. It reminds me of Mosiah 18 in vs 4 &5 it describes the waters of Mormon as a wilderness with thickets of trees and in vs 30 it talks about how it is "beautiful to the eyes of them who there came to a knowledge of their Redeemer". It is sacred because I have come to a greater knowledge of my Redeemer here. And how much He loves me, and all of His children. I will never forget the way this place has changed me and touched my heart. It will forever be sacred space, just like Chambers Creek and Steilacoom. I am just so very very grateful for my mission. I can't even express how much I love it. And how grateful I am for each experience. I will never be the same. But I won't say goodbye! cuz this won't be the end of the best days of my life! :) I am moving on to a new area, with a new companion to create one last sacred space as I prepare for God calling me back home. It is insane how much I have changed in 17 months. And I am grateful to God for letting me have this experience. Every morning when I kneel to pray I thank Him first for letting me be a missionary. I am just so grateful! My heart is so full. I need to stop now though, before I start crying :) This week we've been focusing a lot on Marlon, Jhonny and their mom Maggie. We just started teaching Maggie this week. It's hard, because they are supposed to be moving at the end of the month to California. So, we aren't sure how it's all going to play out. But we had some really great lessons with them! And I am grateful I got to teach them :) It's kinda cool, because I met Jhonny in April, and he was super flaky, and now we are teaching him, his brother and his mom. I think they just all needed to be there, God has perfect timing. I hope that they accept the message of the restored gospel. :) Also a great thing that happened this week was with the Morrisey's! :) Elizabeth is the mom and is the only member. She has a son who's 18 Jordan, Her husband Quinton, his kids Savannah (12yrs) and Tom (10yrs) and their kid Kaden (1yr) We've been working on them since I think when I was with Horge! haha, and they've just been way busy with everything and we haven't super focused on them because they didn't seem super interested, but for some reason I kept going back. Well last Saturday I found Savannah and Tom at their grandpa's in Elma and they said they wanted to be baptized, and got grandpa on board! and this Saturday after transfer calls I went over to say goodbye and I found out that Quinton's heart is being softened and he's been thinking about being baptized too! And Jordan is a flaky teen but he has the desire too (he's in Hawaii though for the summer) IT"S A MIRACLE!!! :) haha Elizabeth, Quinton and Kaden came to church yesterday too! It was wonderful! :) I just love these people so very much. I can't even explain how great it is to see someone come to church or read the book of Mormon! It brings a smile to my heart every time!!! :) Time is almost up, see? It goes SO FAST!!! haha but I just want you all to know that I know this gospel is true. I know God loves us and would do anything for us. I know that Christ lives and through Him we can do all things! I know that Thomas S Monson is a prophet called of God. I know the Book of Mormon is true. It has such a power in its pages. Please read it, cherish it and love it. I am grateful for Olympia, and the wonderful people here and what they've taught me about my Savior. I couldn't ask for anything better. I am so grateful for each of you. I pray for you. I think of you often. I love and miss you dearly. I am grateful for your prayers and continual love and support as I have been on this wonderful journey. I love you lots!

 

Love always

Sister Wilkins :)

 

Exchanges from last week :)

 Hall and Bevan are dying :(



The Morrisey's

 

  The Opdahl's :)

Week 72

Hello Family!

I feel like compared to your e-mails today mine isn't going to even be close in comparison! haha Thank you for your kind words and thoughts. I am so glad you got to meet the Weavers. They really are so special and hold such a sacred place in my heart. I bet the homecoming was amazing. That is the spirit of the WA-TAC. And now you know why I never want to leave!!! haha but I know that that spirit will always be in my heart :) I really don't even know what to tell you about this week besides exchanges! haha so we'll start there :) haha We are just trying to find people to teach, and It's been kinda hard. But on Thursday night we got a call from the STL's and were told that we were going to go on exchanges!!! I finally got to leave the area! (since I've been training the last 3 I've stayed in oly for all the exchanges) So we went from Friday at 3 til Saturday at 4! And I got to go to Elma with Sister Stucki! Have I ever told you how much I love that child?! haha cuz I do! neither of us really knows how we became friends....haha but we are like best friends! It was a lot of fun and I learned a lot! We really didn't do that much teaching, we taught some recent converts, some less actives and such! but we also did like 2 hours of service and went to a funeral! It was really nice, because I got to kind of relieve some stress and just relax a little. I think that being in the area for 6 months and training basically the whole time has made me feel really old. :) Sister Boone says that I'm basically training her too, which I feel like I am...haha so it was nice to just have someone think about the things you have to do and such for 24 hours! haha I think that's probably a big part of why I have been sick. But anyways, I just love being with Sister Stucki! we never stopped talking. And since she's going home in like 9 days it was cool to get some advice from her and just "hang out" haha :) I learned SO MUCH from the exchange. Friday night we decided to tell each other our life stories, and it was insane how similar we really are! haha but while she was sharing she kept telling me of all the different times the spirit directly spoke to her and I just had this prompting to pray and ask Heavenly Father to help me with my back. Which I have done a million times. So when the time came to say our prayers, I knelt down and I prayed with so much faith that God would ease the burden placed upon my back. *Disclaimer that night I did not take my muscle relaxer because I knew we'd stay up talking :)* The next morning I woke up and every morning since I've had this problem I've woke up and so much pain, but Saturday morning I woke up and felt fine. IT WAS A MIRACLE! I can feel God easing my burden when I have faith and patience. I am trying to find a good chiropractor in Olympia. I'm not really sure when I can go because I think they want us to go on Mondays but neither Sister Blatter or I know of any good chiropractors in Olympia so I've got to talk to some members before I can go. We don't want me to be in more pain! haha I am feeling somewhat better though and could probably function until I get home :) Plus next Monday is Hall and Bevan's last p-day! :( anyways that morning we went to a funeral haha Sister Stucki had to talk about the Plan of Salvation and I just sat in the audience and cried. :D I am a baby! haha I was just thinking throughout the whole thing "what do I want my family to say about me at my funeral" haha and so I was just deep in thought. I am just grateful for the Plan of Salvation and that we all can be together again! :) Then we went and did service for about an hour :) haha we pulled some lady's ferns out of the ground! it was hard work and I'm kinda sore :D hahaha but it was so much fun!!! Then we went and visited some less actives and I found 2 of the UBC's from Olympia at their Grandpa's house in Elma! haha S and T M. They are 12 and 9 and they've been coming to activities; I found the M family my first transfer the step mom is the only member. her husband her son and her 2 step kids (S and T) are not baptized, but S and T' real mom is baptized and so are their grandparents! haha so I am excited to work with them! :) But seriously, what are the chances?! haha it was a lot of fun. Here are some things I learned about from the exchange: Do things for my future children. Be the kind of person you want your husband to be. Acknowledge what is happening, aka you are going home. Enjoy and cherish every moment. Remember spiritual promptings. Cheerfully do all things that lie in your power. bear testimony all the time. Heavenly Father would do anything for me. I don't want to be a comfortable missionary. I need to be grateful for what I have. Now let me explain a few of those things. First of all D&c 100:4 talks about how God has called me here for a wise purpose for it is "expedient for the salvation of souls" I am so grateful to be here in Olympia! I am such a spoiled snot sometimes because sometimes we don't have a ton of work to do as far as investigators go, and that's not really how it was in my other areas. But I know of missionaries who have a hard time like this their whole missions! And so I really need to have an attitude of gratitude. because who knows if I have come to this kingdom for "such a time as this"? So I am going to do what it says in D&C 123:17 "cheerfully do all things that lie in our power, and then...stand still with the utmost assurance to see the salvation of God and for His arm to be revealed." So I am determined to cheerfully do all things that lie in my power! and that's all we really can do, at the end of the day I want to look back and just see when I was cheerful. Even when I come home. I want to always be happy and always remember Jesus Christ! :) This week Sister Boone has really been struggling with confidence. I have had a feeling that I might get transferred and have to leave the sacred land of Olympia. and so she has just been wallowing! haha I came back from the exchange and I was so happy and filled with the spirit and she cried ALL day long. So I just decided that I was going to tell her what President Uchtdorf would say "Stop it!" haha she's doing better now, but I just think negativity is the root of all evil! haha We all fall into the trap sometimes, but we have to get ourselves out of it ASAP! :) I feel like this Is really short and I only have a short time left. Other than that, here's a few things that happened this week: G's in Oklahoma but we found out he is still way interested in learning and progressing. A random guy found our number on a bus and texted us and wants to meet with us! I love to bear my testimony on every doorstep! D wants to come to church! we couldn't get him a ride this week, but we will get him there. A less active family that we've been working with since March came to church for the first time yesterday! S still meets with us but doesn't see the importance of church or even wanting to come anymore. All the youth went on trek and came back and and had an amazing time! I haven't mentioned it a ton but I absolutely LOVE the young women here! haha They make my entire day! :) I am out of time :( But I just want you all to know that I love you SO Much! :) and I am grateful for your love and prayers! :) I know the Gospel is true, and I know Christ lives! Keep faith! and share it too! :) Love you!

 

Love always

Sister Wilkins

Week 71

 

Hello family!

I am sorry this is late today! I was at the doctor...now before you start freaking out I am fine! :) haha I saw Bishop Blackner's brother (Bishop Blackner is in Chambers) and he saw me without any co-pay which is super nice! I went to the doctor because after 3 weeks of back pain, I decided to just tell Sister Blatter about it and on Saturday at interviews she asked Sister Boone if I was just a complainer or actually in pain hahaha and so she scheduled an appointment :) They won't let me go to a chiropractor on the mission, they don't pay for it! So I just wanted some kind of medication to help with the pain. it's really frustrating when you're trying to work SO hard, and you're being held back by something! :) So he put me on 2 prescriptions and we're going to see if they work! :) I told him I only have 2 months left, I just want some pain medication and I'll take care of it when I get home! haha so yep, that's why I am late :) It's kind of fun, I can't carry anything around really, so I let Sister Boone do a lot which is good for her because she relies a lot on me. :) But anywho don't worry about me, it's not a big deal :) haha I know you're still going to worry, but I promise that I am being taken care of. the ward members and Sister Blatter are ALL over it! especially the Mcowen's and Falter's :) so no worries! :) haha Dr.Blackner told me I was born with the wrong posture...woops! :) anyways I am learning a really cool lesson from this! it reminded me of Mosiah 24:14-15 where Alma and his brethren are in bondage under Amulon. they couldn't even pray!!! so they prayed in their hearts, and God heard their prayer, and said that he would "ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders that even you cannot feel them on your backs" (something like that) and the people submitted themselves cheerfully and with patience to the will of the Lord. I know God is testing me to see if I am trustworthy, haha He knows that I don't like pain, but I will not rest, or give up! (unless the dr tells me to :P ) So! I am going to submit myself cheerfully and with patience to the will of the Lord. I know that we can do ALL things through Christ. I know that I could never ever do this without Him. He has strengthened me so much, and I am so grateful for His strength. We have 5 people on date to be baptized after this week, and I am just so grateful for all the wonderful miracles I get to see because I am a missionary, and that these wonderful people have the sacred opportunity to enter the waters of baptism and come into the path of eternal life and eternal joy! :) So anyways onto what happened this week, it was another weird week, haha We had a mini zone conference and interviews, so we had some interruptions :) But on Monday we had to say goodbye to J and C. It was literally one of the hardest goodbyes of my mission. ( I think I say that every time though...)  I love them so much! We were there for almost 2 hours helping them move, then I shared D&C 6:36 with C (J had to leave) and then said our goodbyes and I was fine....until we got in the car :) hahaha then I just lost it! I am going to miss them dearly! I already do! haha It's so weird to not go and see them...but luckily I can still keep in touch with them :) C gave us like their whole fridge and freezer full of food, so we are set for life! :) or the end of the transfer. Transfers are on the 22nd btw :) but we don't talk about that...hahaha On Tuesday we got to meet the Blatters. It was good. I like them :) Nothing could ever compare to the Weavers though! It's a hard adjustment for me, but I know the Blatters are servants of the Lord and they are just wonderful! :) and super sweet! :) President Blatter doesn't hug us or even kneel with us so it's weird...haha but they are still way sweet! They are from California, have 6 kids, he's a stock broker...haha We had interviews with them on Saturday and it was good. Very different..haha President Weaver would always cry with me, this time I just felt like I was crying at him! haha I think they are just really nervous and not super sure on how to be really personable. They have 4 boys and 2 girls :) so I don't know if President Blatter is super used to girls crying all the time :) But I really really like them, haha but it is an adjustment from the Weavers. This morning I was thinking of all the "endings" that I am experiencing as my mission draws closer to coming to a close and as my friends move away and such haha and this morning I read a comforting thing from President Ucthdorf:

In light of what we know about our eternal destiny, is it any wonder that whenever we face the bitter endings of life, they seem unacceptable to us? There seems to be something inside of us that resists endings.

Why is this? Because we are made of the stuff of eternity. We are eternal beings, children of the Almighty God, whose name is Endless¹³ and who promises eternal blessings without number. Endings are not our destiny.

The more we learn about the gospel of Jesus Christ, the more we realize that endings here in mortality are not endings at all. They are merely interruptions—temporary pauses that one day will seem small compared to the eternal joy awaiting the faithful.

How grateful I am to my Heavenly Father that in His plan there are no true endings, only everlasting beginnings.

So that was happy! :) haha

Other than that we are working with a few people. We are working with a girl named C, it was cool how we found her, she was at a bus stop while we were street contacting and she was in a hurry so we just gave her a card, later that day we knocked on her door during 5-7's! and she invited us to come back. So we taught her the Restoration and she wants to be baptized! :) Last night we had a cool experience with 2 other investigators M and J. I actually met J back in April, but he was kinda flaky and wouldn't keep his appointments so we just gave him a little break. Well as you know I've been here for a while so I've started re-knocking things and we found J's brother M! So last night we got to teach them the Restoration. It was really powerful, I kind of sense that both of them are going through some really hard times and seriously NEED this gospel. I love the people we are working with, even though I really miss J and C! hahaha :)

The 4th was fun, I kinda took a break from stressing out and just relaxed a little so my back could stop tensing up. We went to a ward breakfast in the morning, and then the Opdahl's for lunch and the Falters had a big bbq that night :) They wanted us to spend time with members and such so we did! :) We also had to do 2 hours of knocking though, Sister Boone was really mad about that and didn't want to do it. haha but we went and did it anyways! :) So a few of the people were nice, but not interested. Then we knocked on this lady's door and we talked to her for a good hour! Her name is L, and she had a BOM from past missionaries. But she invited us in just to listen to why we believe what we do and how it blesses our lives. And so we told her and she had all sorts of questions, in the end we basically taught her the Plan of Salvation! And she was just crying. She said "out of anyone I've ever met you 2 are the easiest to believe." The spirit was so strong and I was so grateful that we were able to meet L. The saddest thing was that she felt like she wasn't worthy enough to ask God questions. or even if He loves her. She was just crying and I wondered to myself if I hold myself back from having a stronger relationship with God because of my insecurities and not feeling "worthy enough" I think all of us do, because we are imperfect. But I think that most of the time we are just too hard on ourselves. :)

Another cool experience was with a lady named T. Sister Horgesheimer and I found her. But she's way busy and her husband was deployed in Sudan for 2 years she has 2 cute little girls. so we reknocked on her door! haha and she was still there, and still interested. She said she's been looking at churches but none of them feel like "home" so we told her she should come to ours! Then on Thursday night we went to invite her to the ward 4th of July breakfast and she was crying so hard. It was a testament to me that I needed to follow the spirit because at that moment T really needed us and God sent us there to comfort her, but I actually almost didn't go, because I was in a hurry. But the spirit told us to go, and I am SO grateful that I followed it. It's so important to listen to the quiet whisperings of the spirit of God. He knows what we need.

I am just about out of time, but I want all of you to know that I know this gospel is TRUE! I got a letter this week from J C telling me about his road to baptism. He is such an inspiration to me because he has overcome so much, and is one of the best members of the church that I know! And he went from so unhappy to hopeful, and happy! even joyful! Because he decided to let God help him. I know that life is so much easier when we let God in to help us. He will strengthen us and guide us in all things. He will do anything for YOU! and I know that he will never fail or forsake us. He cares so much :) so let Him in! :)  I love you SO much!

 

love always

Sister Wilkins :)

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/04/grateful-in-any-circumstances?lang=eng

 

 

J AND C!!!! <3  With Sister Boone and Sister Wilkins