Monday, May 18, 2015

Missionaries never die, just the name-tag does!!

Hey Y'all!!!

Whelp this is my final email. :( I will be flying to Boston next Monday (25th) to be with Mom and Ron for a week! (They are Temple missionaries there till November.) Then on June 1st I will be flying to Salt Lake City and will be released in Brigham.  Crazy how fast time flies! I never thought this day would come and I still am in denial that I am leaving good ole' Georgia. I love it here SO MUCH!!! Man the people are my favorite! Everyone waves to one another and they tell you "well I reckon we be fixin' to get going soon." I'm sure gonna miss it here! 

This past week was what our district was calling "all-star" week! It was to pump us all up to reach our goals at the end of the transfer... well it was our worst week (as in numbers/goals) ever! :( We did lots of service though! Sister Muegge had the best idea ever! So there is this amazing thrift shop that we love! It is supporting a children's home too. Every time we go there the same, sweet old lady is working by herself. So Sister Muegge said lets go and ask her if we can do service for her?! AWESOME!!! :) SO that is in the plans now! :) We also have been helping some members out with cleaning, moving and organizing their houses! Candace is also doing better! She told us that she still wants to get baptized, she is working towards it and everything! She just needs to have everything medical taken care of. Well I hope we can help her see that she will have more peace and assurance with everything once she is baptized. I just love her though! :) 

I have learned SO MUCH while I've been on my mission! So much growth and being stretched out of comfort zone. I have a firm testimony of this gospel and how it not only blesses lives, but changes them for the better! I know it is true! I know that Jesus is the Christ and he suffered and died for each and everyone of us! I often think of a line from the song 'This is the Christ' "How many drops of blood were spilled for me?" What an awe inspiring thought that is. He is the perfect example. I have been working on becoming more like Him. He has many attributes. When I first came out in the field, during my first interview President Cottle asked me what my mission goal was? I hadn't really thought about it, but I knew I needed to and wanted to work on charity. So that has been one of my main focus for the past 18 months. 1 Peter 4:8 has helped me so much with understanding charity. But in the Joseph Smith translation it says "... for charity preventeth a multitude of sins." King James version: "And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins." 
 I have never prayed so hard, then on my mission. I know God hears and answers our prayers! He is very much aware of us and He loves us all way beyond our comprehension. I am so grateful that He trusted me enough to send me on a mission, so I can help the people here in Georgia and South Carolina find the truth! I really love these people! 
Like everyone, I am continually learning, growing and improving. I always want to be an instrument for good. I want to remain and continue to strive to be obedient, for i know that when we are more blessings come! I can tell a difference when I haven't been fully obedient. Heavenly Father really wants to bless us! All we have to do is have a willing heart and follow Him!  

I love y'all so much! I will be seeing many of you real soon. Keep fighting for the truth! xoxo Peace out!

~ Sister Willie
With Candace! 

Burning my dress on my 18th month mark!

All of us in our fabulous tie dye shirts! :)

Friday, May 15, 2015

Miracles, Mothers day, Exchanges and The Crescent!

Hey Y'all!!! 

So since I talked with my fam yesterday this probs will be a short email, plus we are gonna go tie dye stuff real soon! :) 

So this week flew by SUPER fast! It feels like 3 days ago was p-day! So this week was busy! We celebrated Cinco de Mayo, but Elder Ah Fook got hit by a car when they were riding to the restaurant! He is ok, but his bike got messed up! 

We saw Candace and Jamie a few times! So the first time we saw them this week was so weird! We were teaching them about Eternal Marriage/Temples and Family history. We decided to read The Family: A Proclamation to the World with them.... well that opened up a can of worms or something. Good gravy! They just gave some interesting remarks and were confused and not humble or open to learn or listen! The spirit was gone and it was not a happy place. I felt like we just needed to leave, I was sad tho cause I love them so much! Well two days later we go over again and it was such a different feeling! I have been praying for Candace and Jamie a lot and I feel like Candace is ready, but Jamie is not ready and he is getting defensive. :( So sad! And I feel like that is a big reason why Candace chose to not get baptized this week. But Candace, man I just love her SO much!!! She was at church for all 3 hours!!! Her first time she has stayed that long! She loved it and made some friends!! :) 

Wednesday was exchanges! I stayed in Valdosta and Sister Wheelwright was with me! She is so sweet and has served here before, so that was a lot of fun! We got a new gator!! Angie lives in the projects and just had brain surgery, neck surgery and knee surgery! Her daughter is Brianna and is 15. They both are awesome! She was a media referral from a friend in Atlanta. We taught her the first lesson and she enjoyed it. She doesn't have to much Bible knowledge and just moved here. She is excited to get a copy of the BOM and to learn more! We went back to another appointment with her. Brianna answered and said her mom had a DR's appointment and she forgot. So we taught Brianna about the BOM and gave her, her own copy! I am excited to teach them! :) 

It was so awesome talking with my family yesterday! It was a lot easier saying goodbye since I will be seeing them in 2 to 3 weeks! :) Which doesn't feel real to me. It feels like I have 3 to 4 months left! Which I am totally ok with that! I love my mission SO MUCH!!! I love the people here in Georgia and all that I have learned! I really don't want it to end! "Are you willing to change?" - Elder Zwick Much love! xoxoxo 

Pics!
1: My district at the Crescent! (a Victorian home) 
2: Lunch after ZTM. Gotta show our street signs! 
3: So this is a Giraffe in the kids play room! Super cool! :) 

~ Sister Willie
 My district at the Crescent! (a Victorian home)

 Lunch after ZTM. Gotta show our street signs! 

 So this is a Giraffe in the kids play room! Super cool! :)

Monday, May 4, 2015

"Reverence leads to Revelation." - Sister Zwick

Hey Y'all!!! 

So this past week was awesome, but also a bit of a struggle cause I was sick and then we had a half mission zone conference with Elder Zwick of the 70 up in Macon! So not as much work was done as I would have liked, but It was still awesome and I learned a lot! :)

So first off Candace has been super sick! So her baptism is pushed back and we were unable to visit her. But we texted her a lot and took over a card and a stuff Eeyore! She loved it (but was sleeping so she told us later!) Candace is having a lot of concerns and also feels like she needs more time to learn. So she isn't sure if she wants to set another date just yet. :( But I still love her tons and I can see her potential! She is great and is so willing to learn! 

So Elder Zwick! Man he is so AWESOME!!! The conference was longer than normal, but was such a spiritual powerhouse! Sometimes the spirit was so strong that it felt like you could cut it with a knife! He talked about so many different things, but they all focused on the main point of being obedient and giving your will to our Heavenly Father. He talked about how our calling is divine and that all of us were placed in our mission by an apostle of God and it is by revelation. It is the same as getting a companion and a new area! He had everyone in their companionship chose an attribute or principle they have learned together in the past 3 weeks, share a story, scripture and testify. Well he was only gonna chose 4 companionships to come up and share. So there was roughly 120 missionaries there and Sister Muegge and I were chosen... man I thought I would be nervous to get up in front of everyone, but i wasn't! Sister Muegge was, but I told her everything was ok and she prayed and then calmed down. :) We did great and then Elder Zwick had us stay up there as he talked to all of us about missionary stuff. He is so nice and very personable! And then later I won in a PMG race, so at lunch he comes up to me and congratulates me and told me again how impressed he was with my story and testimony. :) Sister Zwick also spoke to us about prayer, finding the joy in our missions every day! And she also said that reverence brings revelation. That was said at the very beginning of the conference and it totally changed the feel of it! Like I said before, it was so spiritually empowering and I had ALL of my questions and concerns answered! It was just marvelous! :) 

Proverbs 3:5 is the "Theme" scripture for the week! :) "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding."  The Lord knows all things past, present and future. Follow the revelation and inspiration you receive, even when you don't understand why. Give your whole heart to Him! Heavenly Father wants us to be happy and to succeed! Never forget how much He loves each and every one of us! Luv y'all! xoxoxo 

Pics! 
1: With Sisters Call and Ellison... and the photo bomber Elders! lol
2: Valdosta Missionaries in a tree house! 
3: With Sister Schmidt!! Walker and Muegge


~ Sister Willie
With Sisters Call and Ellison... and the photo bomber Elders! lol

 With Sister Schmidt!! Walker and Muegge

Valdosta Missionaries in a tree house!