A SUPER busy, but AMAZING week!!

HEY Y"ALL!!!

This week was jammed packed and flew by SO fast! Not only did we have lessons and service, we helped with a funeral, had interviews with President, had ZTM and stake conference!

We are having great success with Cheryl! We had a super great lesson with her on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. She is starting to recognize the spirit more and more! She is a little skittish tho, so we are taking things slowly with her. She was at church for the first time this past Sunday!!! And it was stake conference and Elder Kopischke was there! He is a great speaker and Cheryl was excited to listen to a general authority. She enjoyed church and all that was said, but she was getting overwhelmed with all of the people there, so she was ready to book it out at the end. lol. But we have another appointment with her today and she loves when we come over! She is reading the BOM and has great questions! She is great and it is only a matter of time and love till she excepts this gospel! :)

ZTM was great! I love this zone and having so many mission buddies! I gave a training on charity and I feel like it went very well. I really enjoy learning more and more about charity! 1 Corinthians chapter 13 is all about charity and I also love Moroni 7:42-48! I just love the scriptures! The perfect example in our life for charity is Christ! And I know if we all can think of someone in our own lives who is a great example of charity to us. Just like I did with the missionaries in my zone, I would like to also invite all of you to pray to have more charity and to see others through our Heavenly Father's eyes. Even if you feel like you are good at charity, you can never have enough charity! For when you love others before yourself, you truly will be blessed. One of my favorite scriptures is 1 Peter 8:4 (look at footnote 'a') cause charity prevents a multitude of sins! wow!!!

Stake Conference was awesome! it was about ward council and how the entire ward can be involved. and on Sunday the theme was on testimony and conversion. My mission President was on the stand with his wife! I love them both so much! His testimony and the Colombia temple President's testimony touched me the most! :) I am super glad that President Cottle is my mission President! I feel very lucky indeed! :)

I love y'all very much! xoxoxo Keep praying for charity!

~ Sister Willie

 Southern Girls! :)

@ the Savannah river rapids!

Hanging with missionaries on P-day!

Mermaids and Plantations!

Hey Y'all!!!

Last week was super great! We had exchanges with the Stevens Creek Sisters and MLC!!! Plus some awesome miracles and adventures!!! :)

I was with Sister Call in NA! I just love her! We found 3 new people to teach in 10 minutes!!! Woot woot! What a miracles! And the cooler part is that they all gave us return appointments for Thursday, within 30 minuets of each other! Well on Thursday Sister Gray and I went back and only one of them was able to really meet up with us then and her name is Ariel!!! We LOVE her SO much!!!!! She is 23 and going to college and working at target. We taught her the restoration and she is so smart! We talked about the priesthood and how men can receive it and late on we talked about Joseph Smith in the grove and his experience and how he would eventually become the prophet. She pipped up and said "So that means he got the priesthood then?!?" Super smart girl! Most people don't pick up on it that fast! She said she would like to be baptized by a man who has the priesthood and says yes she thinks there should be one true prophet here om Earth today!!! She is great! :)

Sister Call and I went and visited a sweet older lady named Elaine. She is barely out of our area and we have a RC that lives 2 streets down from her. I met her on exchanges last transfer with Sister Cano, and they closed that sisters area. :( I kept feeling like I needed to go see her, so of course I am going to follow the spirit! We knock on her door and she is so happy to see us! She is adorable! We talk with her about what has been going on since the sister have left. She tells us that the Elders visit her and call her but is not the same since she feels awkward. :( But we helped her feel better about it and read the scriptures with her. She is cute! I am so glad that we went since she really needed that! Hopefully it helps her progress more! :)

We had MLC on Friday and it was great like usual! I love seeing President and Sister Cottle! Plus all of the other leaders in the mission! :) I really love being a missionary and I really enjoy MLC, even tho it means I have to give training's the next week in ZTM! :)

So last week Amelia took us to see a plantation!!! Redcliffe plantation is super neat!!!! It was built in the 1850's and has slaves quarters and a beautiful driveway lined with 50+ Magnolia trees!! I was in history heaven!!! :) lol! It is super cool serving in a very historic area! I love it! I really love my mission, for many many reasons! I love you all! Hope you have a great week! xoxoxo

~ Sister Willie

Yup I'm an expert at climbing trees in a skirt!! :)

Sister Gray and I on the Plantation Steps!!

We are pals! I love Sister Gray!

With Amelia!

This is the Plantation House!

We ate crab legs at the Plochas! yummy!

Inside the library! I was in heaven! #nerd

Celebrating Sister Gray's year mark!!

Happy Valentine's Day!!! lol! I love all ya'll! :)

Peace and Hope!!

Dearest Family and Friends!

So this email will be short..... but we had miracles this week!

We spent time with Amelia and her family! We met her husband James and he is awesome! He was kinda in shock that there are "girl" missionaries! lol! But he asked us a few questions and relaxed around us. On Sunday Amelia and Peyton were at church again Amelia was feeling the spirit strongly and turned to us and said "I keep feeling like I need to get up and bear my testimony..." And she did! It was so beautiful and I am so proud of her! Plus it helped the ward know who she is! That evening Bishop called us and just thanked us for finding her, he said he had a good chat with her after and he was just glad that we found her. Super neat!

We saw Erin, a old media referral! She and her daughter Emily were excited to see us! woot! They are super busy but told us their schedules so we can try and catch them home! Erin is a good mom and we had a great talk about modesty. She is very good with helping Emily be modest, we are very impressed since that isn't something I have seen here in the South.. unless they are LDS.

We are continuing to help the Plochas! And Brother P.'s heart is softening! Us and the Elders went over and did service for them last week! That sure helped too! And We took them out on a "lunch date" last week! I just love them SO much! We asked Bro. P. What was his hold up from being baptized? He said it isn't just one thing, he cannot pinpoint it... We think he is just stubborn! lol Plus when he is ready be be baptized he will let us know. :)

Yesterday is Relief Society we had a great lesson on Hope and Peace! I loved it and it reminded me of some of my favorite scriptures! John 14:27 and 1 Corinthians 14:33! They bring me so much peace and comfort! I love y'all so much! Keep smiling and know your Heavenly Father love you! XOXOXO

~ Sister Willie

 Sometimes you find hidden treasures! :)

I just thought this sign was cool! lol ;)

 Coloring with Peyton!

The week where everything fell through....

Yup family and friends this week was one of those "harder" weeks.

So we had A LOT of set appointments this week and man we were excited!!! Well out of 13 set appointments only 3 worked out! So we did a lot of scrambling and knocking on doors... not that much success. But is was still a good week! #GMM

We have seen Stephanie and she is slowly asking more questions about the church, but her boyfriend Dale has been asking us lots of questions! Last night we showed up cause our set appointments were cancelled and plus I love the drop in and surprise them method! ;) We gave them both a Restoration pamphlet and committed them to read it. Stephanie said that this time she will write down her questions for the nest time we see her!

Amelia is doing great! She was at church again yesterday with her 4 year old!!! Little Peyton is super cute! During the meeting she decorated me with stickers and when I sat back down from saying the opening prayer she gave me a big hug and told me that she loved me!! AWWW! Kids are so cute!!! :) After Sacrament meeting she told her mom that she did not want to leave, she liked church a lot! So next week Amelia said they will stay for the whole meeting!! Woot woot!! :) We also should be meeting her husband this week!

We had a good time meeting different peeps! We went to a very nice nursing home and met a sweet older lady who has a napkin person living in her shoe! lol :) We also met this man who was fixing his truck and he told us all about the governments conspiracy theories. He also told us that his wife is from Alabama and the people from the are just plain crazy! haha!

Brother Plocha is progressing really well! Sister P. pulled us aside and told us how much he has changed already! Woot woot! We found out that he hasn't read the BOM all the way through, but he says that through the years of having missionaries and members come over and share something out of it that he has read it at lease 6 times then! HA! We are gonna work on getting him to read the BOM!!! We is very intellectual and likes learning about everything (He taught us all about stock and bonds one day!) and I know he will read one day. His heart just needs to soften a bit more and he needs to let go of his pride. I sure do love them! They have become our Grandparents in NA!!! :)

I love you all so much! hope everything is going well!?! I am loving my mission so much! I truly love being apart of this glorious work and helping people progress towards excepting the gospel! No matter if I am the one who plants the seed, feeds, waters, weeds or even harvest it. I am just so grateful to be an instrument in His hands!

xoxoxo

~ Sister Willie

Amelia took us out for Japanese food!!! #Sushi

The sign says it all! ;)

hahaha! We had fun during District Meeting!

Tribute to my Grandpa Law!!

Hey family and friends!

Well this past Saturday my Grandpa passed away. I am so grateful for the Plan of Salvation and the knowledge that families can be together forever! My Grandpa was a great example to me. He had a strong testimony and loved the Savior very much! He also loved missionary work! He served a mission in France and was always talking about it. I hope that I am the type of missionary my Grandpa would be proud of. I love him very much and know I will be seeing him again soon.

We had a great and very spiritual district meeting last Tuesday. Since my district is only 4 peeps it usually is the same people talking, but this time we decided to have a testimony meeting and it was AWESOME!! I love being strengthened from others testimonies :) What else is super cool is that all 4 of us are staying! None of us are getting transferred! We have 6 more weeks to be a part of miracles in NA!!! We all feel like we are here to help one of our favorite people ever!!! Brother Plocha! His wife has been a member for 35 years and they have been married 54 years! He is AWESOME and loves us all very much! Sister Plocha told us last week that Bro. P's heart is softening, he has come a long way in just 6 weeks. So when none of our names were called, this is the impression that all of us felt!

We did service with Rocky! Sweet member that has been very sick for a few weeks. We helped her take down all of her Christmas decorations and the tree. And we visited Sharon, the RC. She has been sick for a long time, but she was able to make it to Church! When we were trying to leave, our car wouldn't turn on.... I think I just have the worst luck when it comes to mission cars. lol. The Elders came and jumped it for us and the Brother Dunagan was nice and fixed a few things for us.

Amelia was at church!!! She and her whole family were sick this past week, so we didn't get to see her :( But this week we are going over to help her clean and get her house ready for spring!

We had a cool miracle of sorts this week. Early Saturday morning we received a phone call, this man had a thick accent and asked "is this the Mormons?" We told him yes and he told us that when he had been walking he had found a card on the ground with the Mormon.org website and our phone number written on it. He wants to learn more!!! SWEET!!! So we get information and he asks if we can meet up in a public place? So later that afternoon we go to meet him at the library... well he wasn't there. :( We called him but his voice mail doesn't even sound like him... we think there was a miss-communication. But as we walked around the library we met two new people to teach!!! SO all in all it turned out to be great! :) Hopefully he calls us back!

Welp, I love y'all very much! Have a great week! Keep smiling and don't forget to read your scriptures every day and to have family prayer! Make sure you are protecting yourself and your loved ones! XOXOXO

~ Sister Willie

Dead raccoon..... yup we are in da south!   

 You know you are a redneck when.... your truck is camo. lol :)

@ Brick pond! #bestdistrict

Meeting Elder Andersen!! :)

Hey Hey!!!

Last week was a BLAST!!! I went on two exchanges, dyed my hair, helped Stephanie move, knocked doors, met crazy peeps, taught lessons, received answers to my prayers and met an Apostle of the Lord!! My only complaint is that I wish time would slow down! I can't believe it is Monday already!

The two exchanges I went on were awesome! Both great Sisters! The first was in NA with Sister de st. Jeor who is from Centerville Utah. She is awesome! We had great success in helping Stephanie. We also talked with a less active, part member family. The girl is the member and she is only 24. She is scared of the temple and doesn't fully understand. She is letting her fears rule her. So we helped address many of her concerns. She is still afraid, and really doesn't want to let go of them. But hopefully by helping her come back to church and feel the spirit she will be willing to let them go.

The other exchange I went on was in Aiken SC with Sister Cano!! I went on exchanges with her last transfer. She is super awesome and from Peru! We had a lot of success there! She is serving in the Coker Springs ward and it is on fire! We visited this sweet less active lady who is in need of friends. We helped her clean up her house and cook dinner! We also had an appointment with an active, part member family. They had some pretty deep questions about families being sealed for eternity. They aren't sure if they believe in it and wanted their questions answered. I love when the spirit brings things I have studied and learned to my remembrance so I can truly help answer peoples questions with the truth. I love how this couple is handling their doubt and concerns. They still attend their meetings, read their scriptures and they ASK question so they can learn and progress! They didn't stop going to church just because something didn't sit right with them! They are going about it very well! They asked the missionaries and now they are gonna ask their Bishop to receive further insight! woot woot!

Saturday was the best part of the entire week!! Elder Andersen of the 12 Apostles spoke to our entire mission! He was with Elder Soares of the 70. They both spoke to us! Elder Soares talked to us about our vision and how the choices we make on our mission will affect the rest of our lives, into the eternities. He talked about the trust the brethren have in us too! Elder Andersen talked about having an eternal perspective and not to get down on ourselves when we don't see the work moving at lightning speed! Him and his wife spoke on honesty and how as a disciple of Christ we should be honest in all things. Awesome! After the meeting the entire mission went out to lunch together at a mall! Like 220 missionaries taking over! :) It was great seeing friends and meeting new faces! I love my mission so much and all the friends I am making!!! I don't want to come home.

Remember Amelia?!? Well she is doing great and make it to church yesterday!!! We love her so much and are so proud of her! She is having us over for dinner this week and we will get to meet her husband!!! woot!

And a random funny story to share.... SO apparently last night I was sleep praying. lol! Sister Gray told me that I woke her up cause I was on my knees in my bed and praying out loud! She said "what are you doing? Did the alarm go off?" And I didn't answer her, laid back down. haha! I'm glad to know that I pray even in my sub consciousness! :

I love y'all! As a church sign said: 'Follow the star in 2015' So remember to always keep our Savior in your thoughts! xoxoxo

Pics! 1: With Elder Poti and Sister Smith! #1 2: Saying goodbye to one of my favorites! Elder Allen. He goes home in a week. :( #BMFE 3:

~ Sister Willie

 With Elder Poti and Sister Smith! #1

Saying goodbye to one of my favorites! Elder Allen. He goes home in a week. :( #BMFE

And this is how we dye each others hair... with bread and orange juice! ;) lol I love my companion so so so much!!! #dynamicduo

Eating Squirrel.... it taste like chicken!

Hey Family and Friends!!! 

Its a New Year and man, the time is flying by SUPER fast!!! We had a fantastic week over all! 

We went on exchanges with the Stevens Creek sisters. I went to Evans, Georgia with Sister Porter! I was in the MTC with her a year ago! Wow we both have changed and grown so much! We taught many people and saw lots of miracles with finding new people for them to teach! We even had an interesting adventure! So miss communication from a member but we ended up without a car, in the dark and the car was 4 miles away! lol. But it turned out good, the less active we met let us inside and we were abler to talk with her before walking back to the car. But I got stuck in the mud! lol! So my shoes look even more beat up! :) 

Sister Gray and I had a great lesson with Amelia! The less active I met last transfer who is from OK!  Her Dad past away 2 weeks ago and she is doing pretty well. She was very excited to see us and we have a set appointment this week to see her and help her around her house! She was going to be at church yesterday, but she got nervous. So this Sunday she is gonna try again! 

Crazy drama happened with Stephanie this week! Poor thing is emotionally drained. But she has to be out of her house ASAP! So us and the Elders and a few ward members went over and helped her pack up her house. 20 years of stuff sure can add up! She doesn't even have a place to stay or put her stuff! Its so sad and I wish I could do more for her. We have had great discussions on the WOW and LOC.... she thinks we are crazy to wait! lol! But she does see some of the blessings in our own lives that we have pointed out to her. We just need to talk more about Obedience and how our Heavenly Father loves us so much. He just wants to keep us safe and have us return back to Him. He knows what will get us safely back to Him too! Trusting in our Heavenly Father is key and that trust will have us do His will over our own will. 

We ate squirrel on New Years day! (No that is not a tradition) The Elders and a member caught, killed and cleaned it! haha! They were nice and let us try it.... it tasted fine, but was chewy and I think squirrels are cute and fluffy! So it was hard to stomach for me and for Sister Gray too! lol! But now I can say I've tried it. On a way random note...... two squirrels live outside our study room window and I have named them!!! They are Murdoch and Bonnie-lass, and yes they are cute and fluffy! :) lol! 

Friday was MLC!!! Best one ever!!!! I just love President and Sister Cottle!!!! They expressed their love for all of us so strongly and it was very spiritual! Many of us leaders were crying because of how touched we were. He called us friends and he was crying too. I also loved seeing many of my mission buddies!!! I justb love my mission SO much!!! 

This morning Sister Gray and I taught President and Sister Cottle. They are going though out the entire mission and having every companionship teach them two principles. One of our own choosing and one of theirs. We taught on Obedience and then they chose for us Tithing. It went very well. They both said they were impressed with us and liked how we taught them. Plus we were unified!!! :) It was great seeing them! I really enjoyed it! 

This Saturday we are having an Apostle come to the mission!!! Elder Andersen is coming to speak to our mission! SO the entire mission is getting together!!! Woot woot! 

I found a new favorite scripture this week: Mosiah 16:9 "He is the light and the life of the world; yea, a light that is endless, that can never be darkened; yea, and also a life which is endless, that there can be no more death."

Pic... I will have to try and send some later. This computer is SLOW!! And we are short on time today. 

I love y'all! xoxoxo 

~ Sister Willie