Week 37

Hello Family :) 

So I am not going to lie....mostly cuz i'm a horrible liar....but I'm a little bit emotional today. Yesterday we were getting ready to leave and go invite people to church when we get a call from president weaver. Tomorrow there are 2 Cambodian Sisters coming to our mission. Sister Mcquivey in Mountain View ward has been waiting for them, she's Cambodian speaking but she has been the only one. So she has been companions with Sister Casselle who is English speaking. So we had to have an emergency transfer. Sister Packard is going to Mountain View tomorrow at noon with Sister Casselle, she's not going to be an STL anymore cuz she has been one for 6 months. (That’s the max)

 I am getting a sweet companion, her name is Sister Chipman and she is a flower. :) I don't know her too well, but I do know that she's tender. President started to cry when he told me, he is a very tender man and he knows it will be hard for me to not have Sister Packard be my companion anymore. I was crying when he told me. But I think he has a vision for Sister Chipman and I. Everyone says we're both tender flowers, and that we are going to do very well together. I am excited. But I feel like being selfish and keeping Sister Packard as my companion forever. :) She's going to be in the zone right next to me (Tacoma east) and Sister chipman and I are STL's over Tacoma east and my zone Tacoma West. So luckily I can still talk to her :) haha But I am just...sad! haha it's worse than leaving Steilacoom! So that's my news for the week :P Transfers weren't supposed to be til next tuesday.

 So I'm going to have an 8 week long transfer with Sister Chipman. :) It was supposed to be 7 weeks cuz if it was the normal 6 transfers would be on Christmas Eve. So now it will be 8! That’s a long transfer! But like I said it will be good :) Sister Chipman is great :) This morning I woke up with all sorts of emotions, sadness that Packard is leaving, overwhelmed with change I don't like change :P, thinking about my investigators and how we can help them...the emotion list goes on...I needed help! I want to be good I want to help others with my calling not only as a missionary but also as an STL. So I asked God to help me. I knelt down before personal study and asked Him to help me know how on earth I can be prepared for this next transfer and be the best that I can be. My half way mark is coming up, and I want to be better. I want to be more. So I asked Him to show me how, then I opened my scriptures to start reading the BOM which is the first thing I do every day, except for today. The pages opened to St John chapter 15, the words were marked red from my childhood days so they caught my attention and I read

" 4 ^aAbide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me." 

I knew I was getting an answer to my prayer, so I went back and read the whole chapter...

" 1 I am the true ^avine, and my Father is the husbandman.

 2 Every ^abranch in me that beareth not ^bfruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he ^cpurgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.

 3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.

 4 ^aAbide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

 5 I am the ^avine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without ^bme ye can do nothing.

 6 If a man ^aabide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.

 7 If ye ^aabide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ^baskwhat ye will, and it shall be done unto you.

 8 Herein is my Father ^aglorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.

 9 As the Father hath ^aloved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.

 10 If ye ^akeep my commandments, ye shall abide in my ^blove; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.

 11 These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your ^ajoy might be full.

 12 This is my commandment, That ye ^alove one another, as I have ^bloved you.

 13 Greater ^alove hath no man than this, that a man lay down his^blife for his ^cfriends.

 14 Ye are my ^afriends, if ye do whatsoever I ^bcommand you.

 15 Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you ^afriends; for all things that I have ^bheard of my Father I have made ^cknown unto you.

 16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have ^achosen you, and ^bordainedyou, that ye should go and bring forth ^cfruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my^dname, he may give it you.

 17 These things I command you, that ye love one another.

 18 If the world ^ahate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.

 19 If ye were of the ^aworld, the world would ^blove his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.

 20 Remember the word that I said unto you, The ^aservant is not greater than his lord. If they have ^bpersecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.

 21 But all these things will they do unto you for my name’s sake, because they know not him that sent me.

 22 If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had^asin: but now they have no ^bcloak for their sin.

 23 He that hateth me hateth my Father also.

 24 If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had ^asin: but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father.

 25 But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They ^ahated me without a cause.

 26 But when the ^aComforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall ^btestify of me:

 27 And ye also shall bear ^awitness, because ye have been with me from the beginning."

 I learned A TON from this chapter. It became very sacred to me today. But the top 3 things I got out of it was #1 I need to abide in Christ, rely on Him, draw near to Him. #2 I need to be joyful and rejoice! I have found such joy this transfer and I don't want that to go away. #3 Love with my whole heart. So that is what I am going to do! Remember Him.      

       

 So anyways I will tell you about the week now :) On Tuesday we had interviews with President and Sister Weaver! They are seriously THE greatest people I have ever met. I love them so much! They have impacted my life a ton. :) I'm so grateful for them. So anyways I talked to President Weaver a lot about how to build my confidence. I'm not near as bad as I was back home but sometimes I crawl back into my shell :D It's safe and warm in there! haha But he told me to treat the symptoms. Holy cow that is great advice! of course! Treat the symptoms of your problem and it will get better! haha duh! but I never thought of it.. so he told me I had to interrupt Sister Packard twice in every lesson and then he told sister Packard! Darn....haha i thought I could keep it to myself ;) haha jk but I have been doing SO much better this week! Sister Packard made me pin my bangs back too :P haha So that I can show my confidence to other people :) She didn't really make me...but she told me in her own roundabout way that I should :) haha Oh how I love her. :)

Anyways I talked to him about a ton of things, and I just love him SO much! He literally views us as perfect and has SO much love for us missionaries, especially the sisters! :) His love has enabled me to do so much. He has so much Charity. I seriously can't tell you how much I have learned from that man! He really does want what's best for me. He helped me a ton. :) Not that I need a ton of help, but this life is time for us to prepare to meet God! It's our time to improve :) so he is helping me to improve :) Then I talked to Sister Weaver about how to be a better STL I want to help the sisters so badly, but she said that all I can do is just love them. And be me. :) She read with me Alma 5 and made me cry. They really do see the best in others. She just read the questions and looked at me and said "yes" their love truly motivates me. And reminds me I am a daughter of God. 

And now behold, I ask of you, my brethren of the church, have ye ^aspiritually been ^bborn of God? Have ye received his image in your countenances? Have ye experienced this mighty ^cchange in your hearts?

 Do ye exercise faith in the redemption of him who ^acreated you? Do you look forward with an eye of faith, I say unto you, can you imagine to yourselves that ye hear the voice of the Lord, saying unto you, in that day: Come unto me ye^ablessed, for behold, your works have been the works of righteousness upon the face of the earth?

I am so grateful to be in this mission with President and Sister Weaver :) 

So anyways the rest of Tuesday went really well. We taught Luis who came to church last Sunday and cried the whole time. He cried during the whole lesson too...poor guy. His wife just got back from Afghanistan and is with another man. :( He was just in pure turmoil when he got to the church for his lesson. So we talked to him about the Atonement and somehow Sister Packard and I were blessed with a ton of joy during that lesson. By the end Luis's whole countenance had changed! He was smiling! It is amazing, the power of the spirit in healing us. So he came to church this Sunday too. He is doing so well. We met Luis the very first day of this transfer, and luckily got to be there with words of comfort from God when he needed it most. God works in mysterious ways. 

On Wednesday I got to go on an Exchange with Sister Davis! She's one of the ones I went to the salt lake temple with before my mission! And I'm not going to lie she's scared the crap out of me until this transfer as I got to know her I've learned that I love her tons! :) It was a fun exchange; I think it's one that I learned the most from. Sister Davis has grown a TON since she's been out and I loved hearing her experiences. She's not one with a ton of emotion haha she's extremely sarcastic, but she's hilarious and she likes me so that's good! :) haha So we had a good time :) I got to leave my area and meet some other people in Soundview ward! :) Oh! I met my 11th grade English teacher's sister! Mr. Woddups! He was like my favorite teacher and now his sister is working in the mission office! They got here 2 days ago! There have been a lot of new couple’s missionaries coming in. The jones are leaving soon :( they are my favorite! They’re the ones who took us to lunch a few weeks ago and they are just so precious! They will be missed.

But anyways...Thursday was Halloween!!! woot! haha So we did weekly planning and then Sister Packard and I prepared for the training we got to give and then we got locked in the church! Haha from 3 to 5 we had zone meeting then we got to go and get food from this tiny little shack of a burger joint called lefty's it's very yummy :) haha then from 6:30 to 9 we were locked in the church! And we got to watch a movie! Oh my goodness people you HAVE to watch this movie! It's called Ephraim's rescue! It’s about the pioneers :) and It is so touching! And precious! it was a good movie. And of course afterward we had a little testimony meeting! haha My very first spiritual Halloween :) It was GREAT! :) Friday was a great day! We were super busy!!! We taught Michael and Travis our miracles from last week! They are still both on track to get baptized soon! We also had one of the coolest experiences! We asked President a few weeks ago if it would be ok to take some other Sisters to the Nursing home with us to sing. And he said yes! So we took sister Davis sister Allred sister esplin and sister graves! :) It was SO cool! It was very spiritual and uplifting! And there were a bunch of old people! haha they are so funny and hilarious! Only 1 of them was Mormon though! So it was awesome! :) We got to sing amazing grace at the end and some of the ladies started to cry...it was so precious. And then each of us got to bear our testimonies at the end. It was one of my favorite days of my mission. Of course....i have a lot of those :) haha

Then we all went and saw the Sunset Elders and their investigator Victor who is in the nursing home! Victor is so precious! The Elders put Victor and his wife on date last transfer and that same day Victor's wife overdosed and passed away. Then they had to take him to the hospital and then the Elders lost track of them, so 2 weeks ago we find out he's in the Nursing home! (That’s the beauty of district meeting, we all know each other’s investigators :) ) So we tell them and now Victor is going to get baptized! So we went and sang a song to him, he started to cry, so elder poulson sat next to him on his bed and put his arm around him, it was so precious.

That night we went to George and Alice's! So George and Alice aren't in our area so we've been team teaching them with the Stadium Elders elder Larson and elder Holt for about 2 weeks now so they can go to their ward but still have us teach them. That's what President told us to do :) So we couldn't go to the lesson last Friday because we had Michael and Travis at the baptism and such! That miracle and then this Friday we went over and George told us he's getting BAPTIZED!!!!!!!!!! Oh the little stinker tricked us! He came to church last Sunday and told us that the elders aggravated him and so we were super worried then he tells the bishop and his friend who referred them brother Jarvis that he was getting baptized but he didn't tell us til this Friday! He says "guys I got some really bad news for you, I've gone to church and I’ve read the book and I just……" and at this time Sister Packard and I have our hearts in our stomachs thinking they're going to drop us and then he says "And I can't find anything wrong!" And we're like WHAT?! And then he says so I'm getting baptized on the 9th!!!! We screamed and danced and had a party with pumpkin pie and hot chocolate :) haha AHAHHHH! I’m so happy! I thought George was going to take a long time, he used to be a Baptist minister so he's super smart and super bible oriented. But he believes! He knows it's true! Because it is!!!! :) YAY!!!! Alice isn't quite ready yet, but she'll get there :) So that was awesome! 

Saturday night we got to go to an elder’s quorum pot luck and Michael came he loved it! And we got to eat good food with our ward! :) It was great! Sunday we got our surprise call I cried and then we went out and invited people to church then left to go to the mission office to car pool to centrailia for a fireside! I got to see all my friends again! I love them so much! The fireside was AWESOME! I cried :) haha of course :) We always sing amazing grace and i always cry :P I got to sing in a group that sang "be still my soul" it was very pretty :) and it was just....awesome :) haha I LOVE sharing my testimony through music :) On the way back I got to sit next to Sister hall in the car and it was so good to talk to her again. I miss her so much! :) But we are all going to be best friends when we get home! :) So that's good :) haha It was awesome! :) I am learning so much every single day out here. It is the best thing ever to be able to focus on missionary work. I love it! I love being a missionary! And i love the gospel! :) And i love all of you! I hope you are having an amazing week! 

Love always, 

Sister Wilkins

"Good timber does not grow with ease,

The stronger wind, the stronger trees.

The further sky, the greater length.

The more the storm, the more the strength.

By sun and cold, by rain and snow,

In trees and men good timbers grow."

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 :)