Good week! - Dec. 1, 2014

Hey Family,

 

  I can't believe that December is here! November has come and gone and I can't believe how fast the time is passing. Lights are hanging up around in the towne centre and Christmas trees are starting to pop up in windows. The feeling of Christmas is in the air and it's making me very excited. Congrats to Maddie on your win! That's awesome! Good luck next week and in your tournament :)

  This week has been pretty good! The harvest festival went really well and it was great to be able to have a fancy meal. Megan, our investigator, was able to make it and I think that she had a really good time. The women have been really friendly to her and things are going really good. We've been able to meet a couple of really cool potentials this week, including a man named Iman (not quite sure how you spell it). He just moved here from Egypt and is a doctor in Dudley. He has his own faith but when we introduced him to the Book of Mormon he was very interested and says that he wants to learn more. Unfortunately we won't be able to see him for a couple of weeks because he is on call for work, but the day that we set up for him is the day that the rest of his family will be coming from London so hopefully we'll be able to teach them as well. One of the coolest experiences that I had this week was during a lesson with Georgette. We were running really late to get to the appointment because of the buses, and we sort of changed our lesson plans because we knew that she wouldn't be able to stay for very long. When we got there and finally began talking to her, she took out her Book of Mormon and told us she has some questions about a chapter that she read. It was Mosiah 18. She told us that she had prayed to Heavenly Father and then when she opened the book that was where it fell open to. We discussed it, talking about baptism and other things, and then she told us that she knew what she needed to do. She wants to get baptized! She said that she felt like God was speaking directly to her and that she had received her answer. She is now preparing to be baptized onJanuary 10th! It was incredible! It was such an amazing experience to see that she had been able to receive and answer to her prayers. It totally strengthened my testimony and I know that the power of prayer is real. We still have a lot to teach her but I'm so excited for her and for what's ahead.

   Sorry that this email is coming in so late and that it is so short. We went to the German market today in Birmingham and we don't have a whole lot of time. I'm putting up a bunch of photos so hopefully that will make up for it. Another crazy thing this week, the Sisters in Stourbridge have been living in our flat for the past couple of days because their heater broke and they don't have any warm water.  Super crazy but also a lot of fun. Thanks for all of your support! We'll have more time next week so I'll be sure to give you a better update. Hope you guys have an amazing week. Love you!!

 

Love,

Sister Wilde

I hate Brussel sprouts!! - Nov. 24,2014

Hello family!

 

 Thank you for your email! It is so good to hear from you and about all the fun things that are going on in your lives. Happy birthday to Mitch and Maddie!! I can't believe that you guys are flippin seventeen years old! Crazy stuff.  I'm sorry that your packages didn't arrive before your birthday. But just know that something is on it's way :) I'm super jealeous that you went to that movie! There are adverts for it everywhere over here and it looks really good. Holy moly 27 plays! Man that's awesome! I'm looking forward to hearing about the season and how Maddie will be tearing it up on the court :) How has the weather been for you guys? I've heard a little bit about New York. That's crazy! Have you had any snow at the house? It's hasn't been too wet but man it is getting pretty cold. In fact, we were having a lesson at Sammi's house, one of our investigators, and you could see our breath while we were teaching. It was pretty dang cold haha. I think I'm about to start wearing two pairs of tights! It's definitely cold, cold. Supposedly this time of year is usully alright but come January and February and it will be pretty nasty. Hopefully I'll be able to get used to this humidity sooner than later. Also, tell Carson that he better go to Africa. That would be so cool! You'll have to let me know what he decides to do!

  So I realized that I've been telling you about a lot of different people but not really what has happened with them. I guess I'll fill you in! Charly. We tried to have a lesson with her after the first time she came to church but we were never able to and we invited her to church again but she never came. One day we were throwing our rubbish away before heading out and we saw Charly drive past on her scooter. We saw her and waved but she looked at us like she was trying to go by without us seeing her. We walked out to the sidewalk to see her but when we got there she was a long ways away and she wasn't looking back. I guess she isn't really interested. But it's super awkward now because we literally see her EVERYWHERE. We always say hi when we can but most times she just looks down and drives past us as fast as she can. Totes awks. Cheezie never called us back and doesn't answer the phone and Natalie and Vinny are never home. Kind of a bummer but I've noticed more and more that that just kind of happens. But no worries, we are working with some pretty cool people at the moment and things are going really well. Our new progressing investigator is named Megan. She is awesome! We were able to teach her twice in the week and then she came to church with us yesterday. We were pretty stoked! She has been investigating other religions since she was about 15 years old and hasn't really been satisfied with any of them. Imagine that :) We first time we spoke to Megan while we were waiting at a bus stop. We had seen her a couple of times around town that day and we figured that we were probably supposed to talk to her. She said that she knew a little bit about our church, but wasn't really interested in learning more. We eventually convinced her to let us stop by at least for a little bit to share a short message with her. Both lessons that we've had with her have gone really well! We have taught her about the Restoration and the Plan of Salvation She is very knowledgeable and has a great understanding. We invited her to be baptized and she said yes! The only problem is that she says she'll need about six months. She is worried about jumping into it too quickly and then getting bored of it or it not being right because that's what has happened with the other religions that she has tried out. She is sincerely studying it out though and I know that once she knows that this is true that she won't have any problems with it being sooner. That's the hope at least :) Owen wasn't able to make it to church because of a family situation but he told us that he is still interested and that he will keep in touch. We have two other investigators right now as well. Ryan and Mitch. Ryan is 19 years old and is in college. He doesn't have a religious background and is pretty curious. We had a good first lesson with him and he still wants to learn more. Unfortunately we just found out that he is in the Elders area so we'll be losing him. Mitch is older, not sure his age, and is from Jamaica. He is very religious. We actually stopped to talk to him because he was playing some gospel music really loud from his car :) I'm not sure how interested he is in the church but we've had some good conversations about God and I think that he'll want to learn more once we can have an actual lesson with him. Things are definitely going well! We have definitely been blessed and I know that Heavenly Father is watching over us and helping us along the way.

  So you're probably wondering why the subject says "I hate brussel sprouts". It's because I do. We have had a few dinner appointments this week and we've had them everytime. THEY ARE DISGUSTING. Thank you mom for never making them. I've tried my best to eat them but it is so difficult. Even when I pile on everything else to make it bearable the still the taste comes through. Nasty. Anyways, I hope that you guys have a good week and Thanksgiving holiday! Even though they don't celebrate Thanksgiving, they do celebrate the Harvest so we are having a Relief Society Harvest/Thanksgiving feast on Thursday. I'm pretty excited! Thank you so much for your love and encouragment. You guys are truly amazing and I'm so grateful for your examples. I love you all and I'll talk to you soon!!

 

love,

sister wilde

Tender Mercy! - November 17,2014

Hey family!

 Thank you so much for the package!! I was a little bit confused when I saw that there was cereal inside, but I was so happy to see those packages of fruity dino-bites. Breakfast has been pretty great :) Thank you for the music as well! We've been listening to it pretty much any chance we get. It also came on Tuesday if that helps at all with timing for the next time you send something. Congrats to Maddie on making the basketball team!! Way to go! Were there a lot of girls that tried out this year? I know that when I was there the numbers were pretty low. You'll have to let me know how the games go and how the new coach is. Hopefully she'll be able to do great things with the program. MeKenna told me that she was going to help coach and I'm super jealous. Maybe there will be a spot for me when I get back :)

 This week has been pretty good! We've done an incredible amount of finding which has been kind of hard but you can't teach lessons if you don't have anyone to teach. We have a lot of appointments set up for this next week and I'm just praying that they will hold. It's much more fun when your days of finding are broken up with lessons :) I'm getting more comfortable with talking to people and things are starting to get easier. It can still be intimidating but when you think of why you are out talking to people it makes it a lot easier. We taught Georgette twice this week and she is doing really well. She isn't considered "progressing" yet because she hasn't come to church but hopefully that will change next week. We also taught Nathan and Samuel, our two recents converts this week. Samuel is a 60 ish year old man from Brazil. He's really cool and funny and is doing pretty good. We taught him the plan of salvation specifically about what comes after this life. His partner passed away about a year ago and he's been having some questions about it. He understood it really well and is happy that she'll be able to learn about the gospel there. Nathan is 34 and was baptized about two months ago. He actually just got out of prison a few weeks ago for fines so we've been helping him get back on track. He loves the gospel and is trying really hard. We started the smoking program with him this week but we'll see if he does it. This is my second time starting it with him but he did it before he got baptized and I know that he can do it again. Tonight we are teaching Jeremy. He has been investigating for a while but hasn't been able to properly progress because of his job. He works every weekend and can't get time off to come to church. We are going to teach him about the Holy Ghost and how we can learn to recognize it. This is something that he's been struggling with for a while and I think that if we can help him feel it and recognize it then things will start to progress. I'm excited to see what happens!

   Miracle of the week. We received a media referral this week and went to check it out and contact her. Unfortunately she wasn't there but her aunt was and we got her number to give her a call. We had a little bit of time before we had to head off to our next lesson so we decided to do some tracting in the area. A lot of people weren't home and every one that we did manage to talk to wasn't interested. Finally we were coming to the end of the street and we had a couple more minutes. We knocked on the door and no one came. We knocked again, "once for their salvation, twice for ours", and no answer. We started to walk away and then the door opened. In the doorway was this big black man. We hurried back and began talking to him. As we spoke we found out that his name was Owen and that even though he hadn't been to his church in a while he was still very religious. We told him where our church was and he said that he wanted to come. Sweet! We asked him if we could get his number so we could give him a reminder call but he just shook his head and said, "I'll be there." We tried to set up a time to meet him later in the day on Sunday but he just interrupted and said again, "Don't worry, I'll be there."  We said okay and left. We got to church and we couldn't see him. Our sacrament meeting is last over here and we thought that maybe he would just come to that part. After relief society, Elder Beckstead came in and said, "Guess who's here? Owen!" He came! He was about thirty minutes late but he was able to sit in for a little bit of priesthood. We talked to him for a little bit in the hall and he said that he really enjoyed the lesson. Our next meeting was gospel principles and we had a lesson about Heavenly Father. It was cool because another member of our ward brought his girlfriend too so we had two non-members in the lesson. After the lesson we went into sacrament meeting. He was a little bit confused when we sustained someone but he seemed alright with it after we explained it to him :) The talks were really good and it looked like he was really enjoying it. Sacrament meeting ended and because we weren't able to do this before, we gave him a tour of the church. He was soakin' it up! We tried to set up an appointment for this week but he said he was super busy. We were kind of bummed about that but he said that he is planning on coming back next week and that he will try to bring his family with him. He was such a blessing! I'm grateful for these little moments where everything seems worth it. When you talk and talk and talk to people and then one person finally decides to accept it. I'm grateful for tender mercies :)

  Well I hope everything is going well for you! It sounds like you guys are staying plenty busy and enjoying life. Thank you for your continuous support and love. It been a little bit tough having a companion that is going home so soon but I'm grateful for the time that I have ahead of me. I absolutely love being a missionary! I've learned so much already and I'm excited to learn more. I know that this church is true. It was restored through the prophet Joseph Smith, and Thomas S. Monson has been called of God to lead us today. The Atonement of Jesus Christ is real. I've been learning to rely on it more and it has given me so much strength. I can't do everything on my own and I'm not supposed to. I know that as we continuously rely on Him that we will be able to handle the challenges that we face everyday. The gospel is so amazing! Thank you for your examples and for everything that you do. Keep up the good work! Talk to you next week!

Love,

Sister Wilde

Challenge: read something out of preach my gospel :) 

New Companion! - November 10, 2014

Hey family!

  So this week has been kind of crazy! I have a new companion! Sister Rasmusson ended up getting transferred this past week so I'm on number two. Her name is Sister Appleby and she is from Brisban, Australia! This is actually her last transfer on her mission so I'll be killing her off. She's super cool and is an amazing missionary. We get along really well and I know that we will be having a lot of fun and success this next transfer. This past week has already been really different! We have had some really long days of finding but it has been so rewarding. We have a bunch of appointments this upcoming week and I'm excited to be teaching lessons more regularly.

  One of the coolest experiences I've had so far on my mission happened this week! We had talked to a family while we were finding in Dudley and we set up an appointment for Friday. They had two kids, were super cool, and we felt like they were pretty golden. Friday came and we headed off to their house. They live in Dudley so we had to take a bus and walk for about fifteen minutes to get there. Normally we will talk to people on our way but we were a little bit behind schedule so we didn't. We finally got to Vinny and Natalie's house but when we knocked on the door they weren't there. So frustrating! So we turned around to walk away and Sister Appleby got out the phone to make a phone call. While she was waiting she told me to talk to the lady that was walking up the street towards us. It totally took me by surprise and really stressed me out! I couldn't go do it by myself! But of course, because I'm a good missionary, I did it anyways :) I crossed the street and began talking to her. Her name was Claire and she was just coming from work. I told her a little bit about who we were and what we did and began asking her a little bit about her religious background. She said that she was Catholic, is now Christian, but isn't really practicing it at the moment. Then Sister Appleby came over and they got to talking about how we had already walked by her, how she knew that we were going to stop and talk to her, and that there was something different about us. When we asked her if it was the skirts and badges she laughed but shook her head no. She said that there was just something "different" about us and that she new that she needed to talk to us. That was so cool! We kept talking with her and found out that she was actually going through a really tough time at the moment. Her mom is is hospital and isn't responding well to the help that she has been trying to give her, she had a traumatic experience when she was younger and was still suffering from it, and she didn't feel like God was helping her out. Sister Appleby starting talking to her about how God does love her and that he wants to speak with her. She started to cry and the spirit was so strong. We asked her if there was another time that we could meet with her but unfortunately she said no. She said that she didn't want to burden us with her problems and that she felt like she needed to work on herself first. We kept trying but she just said that it wasn't the right time for her. So we gave her a Book of Mormon and invited her to read and pray about it. She willingly accepted and told us that she would email us and let us know. We said a prayer with her and then said goodbye. We walked away and after a minute or two we just looked at each other amazed and what just happened.

  I'm sorry if that didn't really make sense! I'm awful at telling stories. But it was so cool because even though she didn't accept it at that time, I know that she will at some point. She was and is so prepared for the gospel! Everything happens according to the Lord's timing. I know that Vinny and Natalie weren't there for a reason. At first I wished they would have just said no so that we didn't have to take a trip all the way out there. But I realized that we needed to so that we could meet Claire. She was an absolute miracle!

  Missionary work is so amazing and I'm realizing it more and more everyday. I'm so grateful for this opportunity that I have to share the gospel with people. Some days are hard, and it can be a little bit scary, but I'm grateful for experiences and people like Claire that make you want to keep going and work even harder. I absolutely love it!

  Thank you for all of your prayers and support! I hope that everything is going well for you and that you are finding opportunities to share the gospel :) I love you all! Talk to you next week!

Love,

Sister Wilde

End of First Transfer! Happy Birthday Dad!! - November 3, 2014

Hey Family,

  First of all, happy birthday dad!! And happy birthday to Millie on the 23rd! Sorry I missed it last email. But it sounds like you guys had a great Halloween! The costumes look awesome!! I can't believe that it was that warm! Apparently it was the warmest Halloween that England has ever had so something must be going on. It's been really nice this past week and I don't know how I feel about winter coming. I think I already told you but we had to go in early on Friday. We had district call-ins though and shared some scary stories. It was a lot of fun!

  Mom and Dad, I'm so excited for you and for your new calling! You guys will be awesome! And I have complete faith that you will do amazing things for the upcoming stake youth conference. What an amazing opportunity! What other things will you guys be doing? Do you work with other YSA advisors from other wards? I'm excited to hear more about it!

   Holy moly I still can't believe that Carley is getting married. I'm guessing they've decided on a date by now? :) And Janalee is already married! Crazy! Sometimes I feel like life is going to be the same when I get home but every week I'm reminded that it's not. Does Sister Smith get home this month? I can't believe that Megan Aston is home already. I remember talking to her mom and she still had about three months left. It's crazy how fast time can go by!

   This week has been really good! We had three lessons with Georgette and she is progressing really well. On Thursday I extended the invitation to be baptized! My first time! She thought that the date that we extended was too soon and that she needs more time. She said that they are given six months before they are baptized into the Baptist church to learn everything. We told her that we could go at her own pace and that she doesn't have to know everything to be baptized. She seemed okay with that and still wants to learn more. Unfortunately she wasn't able to come to church yesterday because she watches the children at her church and wasn't able to get anyone to cover for her. Hopefully she'll be able to make it next week! We are planning on having a couple lessons this week with her as well as with Cheezie. I'll be sure to let you know how many sisters he has and where his name came from :)

   It's transfer week! I'm pretty sure I'm going to be staying so I'm not that worried about things. We think that Elder Davis (stourbridge) will be the only one getting transferred from our district but I guess you never really know. Next transfer will bring more change because Sister Reidhead (stourbridge) will be going home and Sister Rasmusson will most likely leave as well. Today we are having district p-day! We are playing chairball at the chapel and I'm super excited. Last week we went bowling with Sarah, Becky, Spencer, and the Elders. It was so much fun! Nice to see that I still got it :) Well I hope that everything is going well for you guys! Mom those pictures are awesome and I'm super jealous, Maddie, Mitch, and Vivi I don't know why you guys are dressed up but you look super rad, and Dad you're looking mighty fine in that scarf. I love you all and I am so grateful for all that you do! I'm so grateful for your examples and for the people that you are. I'm so blessed! I hope you have a great week! Talk to you soon!

Love,

Sister Wilde

                                                                                                           

New Investigator! - October 27, 2014

Hey family!

  It's so good to hear that everything is going well at home. Mom, I had no idea that you were going to Florida! That's awesome! I wish I could be soakin' up some sun right now. The sun hardly ever shines and even when it does, it's still cold because of the wind. I don't really mind it but I can see how it can get really gloomy over here. It's funny, whenever we make a comment about how cold it's getting, someone always makes sure to tell us that it's going to get worse. Awesome.

  Those pictures of Canada were awesome! I'm glad to see Mitch wearing his socks and sandals and Maddie that sure is a nice hoodie you've got on :) But you guys look so grown up!! It's crazy! You guys will have to let me know how Sadie's goes and if you do anything fun on Halloween. Can you believe that October is almost over?! I guess that things can get a little bit sketchy over here on Halloween so we have to be in our flats by 6. Hopefully we can get a little bit of candy and have our own little celebration.

   So our new investigator is Georgette! Our lesson went pretty well on Tuesday and we have another lesson with her tomorrow. She accepted the message of the restoration very well and I think that she will continue to want to know more. She shared with us how she would normally never stop and talk to someone on the street but that when Sister Burch and Sister Rasmusson approached her for some reason she felt like she should.  It definitely strengthened my testimony that Heavenly Father really is preparing people. It can be hard when 9 out of 10 people turn you away but when that one person listens it changes everything. We also were able to contact one of our potentials and he is really interested and wants to come to church. His name is Thankgod but I guess people call him Cheezie. Haha! I don't know but he's awesome! We are hoping to meet up with him this week so I'll let you know how that goes.

  Sister Rasmusson and I had talks in church yesterday and I think that they went pretty well. Bishop wanted us to speak with one of our recent converts so we spoke with Samuel. We were supposed to help him with it but he said that he wanted to surprise us and did it all by himself. He did a really good job! He's been struggling a little bit and it was good to see him happy and healthy.

  I can't believe that Jenny is home!! That went by so slow and so fast at the same time! Right now time is going by so slow for me. I'm always asking other missionaries how long they've been out and they all tell me that even though it doesn't feel like it, it will go by so quickly. I'm sure that once things pick up and I'm used to the swing of things that I'll feel the same way.

  Thank you for your support and prayers! I love being a missionary and I know that I couldn't do it without you. I've learned so much already and I know that this is something that will bless my life forever. I love you all and I'll talk to you next week!

Love,

Sister Wilde

Chairball! - October 20, 2014

Hey Family!

 It's good to hear that you guys have had such a wonderful time on your trip! Did you buy the usual Kinder surprise? Luckily they have them everywhere over here so I wasn't too disappointed that I wasn't able to go with :) How are grandma and grandpa doing? Ah the Prince of Wales. No point in doing your hair really. One proper gust and it's all over!  Lately it's been pretty windy over here and I hate it so much. The cold has been on and off but it makes it so much worse when it's blowing. I finally got a winter coat today but we'll see if I end up keeping it. You know how indecisive I can be. Holy champion bowler mom!! Now I see where I get it from :) haha just kidding. That's so awesome though that you guys were able to make it up there and have a good time. I love hearing about all of your adventures and look forward to it every week!

  Things are going pretty good here in Woodsetton. The week was slow but we had some other things going on. On Thursday we were able to help Sister Brannon paint her living room. Normally people don't give us a lot of opportunities to serve so it was fun to finally be able to help someone.On Friday we had our follow-up training at the mission home. It was awesome! I was able to see Sister Silsby as well as the other missionaries I was with at the MTC. Everyone seems to be doing really well! At the beginning we split up and the new missionaries talked about the things that we were learning and what we were experiencing. Then everyone came back together and we talked about how to make our study more effective. One of the things he talked about was likening it unto ourselves. As an example, he had us flip to the first page of the restoration in Preach My Gospel where it talks about God being our loving Heavenly Father. We read over it once, and then we read over it again but replaced the word we with I and me. It was so powerful! It was something that I had read over dozens of times but when I likened it unto myself, it was a completely different experience. Kind of obvious but it was still really cool. Tomorrow we are teaching a lady named Georgette. I haven't met her yet, they talked to her during our workover with the STLs, but I'm really excited! I haven't had a "first" lesson yet and I'm stoked to finally have one. Hopefully things will go really well and she'll want to learn more :) Tonight we have FHE with the recent converts and some members. We have somewhat of a lesson planned so hopefully it will go alright. Afterwards we usually play chairball, a.k.a the best game ever. YOU GUYS HAVE TO PLAY IT. Everyone has a chair and you usually sit in a circle on the outside of the gym. Then you have a futbol and you kick it at each others chair. If your chair gets hit you are out. But, you can throw the ball while sitting down and get other people out. Preferably the person that got you out because it's revenge. It might not sound very fun but it is. Carson, you'll have to ask Ryan and Cameron if they have played and see what they think. This Wednesday we have zone meeting and I would be really excited except I have to give the purpose. It's not a big deal but I don't like doing things in front of people and I get really nervous. Hopefully I don't mess up! Other than that I'm really excited and can't wait to see the other missionaries again.

  I'm sorry I haven't sent very exciting pictures! I'm awful at taking them. Mom, I was planning on sending you some of the flat but it hasn't been very clean so I figured I should probably wait :) I promise I'll send you some more. I haven't figured out dropbox yet but I'm going to try it again. I hope you all have a fantastic week! I'll try to write things down as they happen so I can write more exciting emails. Keep up the good work! You guys are AMAZING. I love you all!! Thank you for everything! Talk to you soon!

Love,

Sister Wilde

       

One Month Down! - October 13, 2014

Dear Family,

   It's so good to hear from you! I love getting the scoop about all of the good and crazy things that are going on in your lives. Happy birthday to Carter and Vivi! That's so awesome that he had a brown bear birthday party :) Is he walking yet? And Eleanor has teeth?! What is going on? You guys aren't supposed to be changing while I'm away! I'm sorry to hear that the termites continued to get worse for Jesse and Heidi. Did they move to a place in the same area or are they somewhere completely new? Congrats to Matt on his first test! That's awesome that things are going well in school as well as in the area for them. Good luck to Trevor on his interviews! I'm so excited for them and anxious to hear where they will end up!

   Yesterday was the primary program for the Woodsetton ward too. The primary was tiny but they were so cute and they did such a good job. I'm so grateful for primary kids and for the sweet spirits that they have.  It strengthened my testimony and I know that the Lord has a special love for the young children. We had an investigator come to church! Her name is Charly and she came with her 3 year old son Connor. She is definitely a miracle. When we were on exchanges, Sister Rasmusson and Sister Eldredge were here in Sedgley. They decided to go out GQing and while they were out talking to people they came across a lady who was very drunk. She was walking out in front of cars and busses and they had to keep pulling her off of the road. Most of the people around them just kept on walking by but Charly was there and helped them out. That was two weeks ago. On Wednesday we were out walking and we ran into her again. We started talking with her and being the good missionaries that we are, we started talking to her about why we were there :) She told us that she was Catholic and that she hadn't been to church in a while. We told her that our church was held on Sunday and since her son Connor was there with her we mentioned that there were things for children as well. She turned to him and said, "What do you say Connor, do you want to go to church on Sunday?" She pretty much invited herself to church! It was awesome! Unfortunately she didn't stay for very long. She came early so we could give her a tour of the chapel and at 10 we went out to meet her mom who was bringing her other son Anthony. We talked about how the primary would be doing a special program in the third hour and when she found out that Anthony wouldn't be coming she decided that they would come back then. But she never did! We are going to try to meet with her this week and actually begin teaching her. It was kind of a bummer but I'm grateful that we were able to meet her again and that she was able to come for a little bit.

   I had my first Sunday roast yesterday! There was Yorkshire pudding and it was really good! The food is a little bit different here but for the most part things are pretty much the same. I'm definitely not complaining. We also had chips (fries) on bread while at a members house this week. Definitely going to eat that more often. I'm jealous that I wasn't able to partake of that German goodness but hopefully you'll be able to make it for me sometime :)

   Things are going pretty good! We did some contacting in Dudley this week and have a few people to contact. Hopefully they will still be interested and that we'll be able to set up a time to meet with them. We do have one investigator though that they were teaching before I got here and he isn't really progressing. We are meeting with him tonight and hopefully we'll be able to figure out what he needs. The work is busy but I love it! The beginning was a little bit tough for me but things are picking up. Even though we aren't having a whole lot of success, I know that the Lord is preparing people to hear the gospel. I love being a missionary and I love this gospel! Thank you for your support!! I love you all!! Talk to you next week!

Love,

Sister Wilde

Second Most Wonderful Time of the Year! - October 6, 2014

Hello Family!

   What an amazing weekend! I'm so grateful for General Conference and for the chance that we have to hear from a living prophet. It was kind of weird to hear them talk about missionaries while being a missionary but it was definitely a cool experience. 88,000 missionaries! That is so incredible! I feel so blessed to have this opportunity to have a part in this amazing work. Unfortunately we weren't able to see the last session of conference. We watched the women's broadcast as well as the first session, and then yesterday we saw the afternoon and morning sessions. It was weird watching them so late in the day and not being in my pjs on the couch but it was so cool to be with other missionaries and members. There was definitely a special spirit there. I agree with Dad that the talks were very direct and simple. I felt like some of the main themes were that we need to be more obedient, understand the sacrament, have a firm faith in the prophet and the restoration, apply the teachings of Christ, and use His atonement daily. I know that is the only way that we can have true happiness. I feel like as the world around us is getting more complicated, the way that we need to live our lives is more simple. By following the example and teachings of Christ we will be able to withstand the temptations that are all around us. I'm so grateful for general conference and for a living prophet today. I know that he speaks for the Lord and that if we sustain him whole-heartedly and follow his counsel that we will be blessed.

   Last Thursday I was able to go on splits with Sister Burch in Harborne She is so awesome! I was able to talk to her about how I was feeling, my worries and struggles, and it was nice knowing that things do get better and that someone else has gone through the same things as me. It was just what I needed. We had plans to meet with a few new investigators but we got flogged on every single one so we GQed a little bit and stopped by some members houses. It was a lot of fun and I'm excited to have that opportunity again.

   Congrats Jesse on your race!! That is so awesome! It sounds like except football, it was a great weekend for everyone. How is the weather? It's rained a few more times since my last email, and today feels like the first day of winter. It's really windy and has been raining all morning. I finally busted out the boots, scarf, and gloves and honestly I'm pretty stoked about it. I haven't had to GQ in it though so that will probably change. Our flat is starting to get cold and I am frequently turning heaters on and off as I go from room to room. Thank you mom for the tights! They have been lifesavers! I haven't had the chance to buy a winter coat yet but we're planning on going shopping today. It kind of weird using pounds but it's becoming pretty normal. Driving on the other side of the road, however, has not. Round-a-bouts are terrifying and the roads are so small and jam packed with cars. The lady that we drove home with last night was crazy and I thought that I was going to throw up! There aren't really any rules and people just do what they want. I'm really starting to miss America. I haven't bought a bike yet because we have access to the bus. I'm sure that I will need one eventually though so hopefully I can keep enough money to do that. My clothes have worked out pretty well although there is definitely a bunch of stuff that I could have left home. We do have a grocery store right by us but it is a little more expensive so we go to an Aldi about ten minutes away. I actually really enjoy riding the bus so I don't mind going places.

   I can't beleive that it is already October!  I will hit my one month mark!! There have definitely been long days but I can already tell that the time will go by so fast. We still aren't having a ton of success but we have some people that we can contact so hopefully things will start to pick up. Once again thank you for all of your prayers and support! I know that I say that a lot but I know that I couldn't do it without you. I know that this church is true. I'm grateful that I have this opportunityto be a missionary to share the gospel with the people here in England. I know that this is where I'm supposed to be and that the Lord has a specific plan for me. I love you all! Keep up the good work! Talk to you soon!

Love,

Sister Wilde

Finally in the field!! - Sept. 29,2014

                                      My first fish & chips!

Hey Family!

   I'm so sorry that I didn't get an email out to you last Wednesday. That morning was pretty crazy and I didn't end up having enough time. We left the MTC around 6:15 and it was about a two and a half hour bus ride to the mission home. We were met by other missionaries and President and Sister Rasmussen. They are amazing! They have so much love for the missionaries and I'm excited to be able to get to know them more. Mom I got that letter from you with MaKell's letter. Thank you so much! You make me cry every time but it was great to hear from you :) 

   While I was talking to one of the missionaries and he asked if I knew a Braden Wilde. He said he was from Orem and when I looked at his name tag it said Elder Harris. It was Megan Harris little brother!! He's been out for 18 months and he remembers when we ate spaghetti at his house with weird utensils. Crazy!  He and his companion did a lot of our training that day and it was fun to kind of know someone. They gave us lunch and then we had a meeting with our potential trainers. While we were sitting there I knew that Sister Rasmusson was going to be my trainer. She's really cool and we've been having fun together. The work definitely hasn't been easy but hopefully we'll be able to find more people to teach soon. We only have one investigator right now so most of our time is spent GQing. (Golden Question/ street contacting) We do that as well as knocking doors. Most of the time people just brush us off but every once in a while someone will listen and it gives us that little boost to keep going. Hopefully we'll find someone soon.

   The first night that I got here we went and worked out with some of the members. Brother Bat is trying to be a fitness trainer so he is doing sort of a trial run I guess with the ward. It kicked my butt! I was sore for two days and it made walking around a lot less fun. But I totally needed it because the chocolate here is amazing and I've already eaten way to much. Hopefully I can send you some! There are four sisters and four elders in our district and they are all wonderful. Sister Francis from the MTC is will us and it's been great to be able to still work with her. We had our first lesson with Samuel on Saturday. He is a recent convert and was baptized about two months ago. We talked to him about general conference and about a living prophet. He's seems really excited and is anxious to watch it!

   The picture wall looks so good mom! I'm right where I should be, front and center :) Jk but I'm glad that it turned out so well. It sounds like the temple dedication was awesome! I'm sad that I couldn't see it but I'm glad that we were able to go through it before I left. We were lucky to go through the Preston Temple one last time before we left and I know that the temple is so sacred and special. I'm so grateful that we have with them and I can't wait to go again when I get back. That's crazy that there's been that much rain! It's rained once the whole time I've been here. What the heck. But it is getting colder so I'll definitely be needing to get that winter coat. Maddie and Vivi look so good! HOT DANG! I love seeing all of those pictures and others so please keep sending em this way.

   Thank you for all of your prayers! It's so humbling to get on to email and see that there are so many people praying for you and thinking of you. You're love is felt! I'm sorry I'm not the best at emailing but hopefully as I get into a routine things will get a bit more organized. I love you all! Talk to you next week!

Cheers

Sister Wilde

Here is my new address:

Flat 4

Malthouse Court

Tipton Street

Dudley

DY3 1HY

                                  

                                  

                                       Dudley Row Houses

                                                                                                                    

Arrival at the Mission Home - Sept. 24, 2014

Hinckley Zone - September 11, 2014

Letter from Pres & Sis Edwards - Preston MTC

 

ENGLAND MISSIONARY TRAINING CENTRE

Temple Way, Hartwood Green, Chorley,

Lancashire, PR6 7EQ, England                                       

                               September 19, 2014

Dear Brother and Sister Wilde,

Your daughter will be departing the England Missionary Training Centre on Wednesday morning, September 24.  We want you to know how much we have enjoyed having her with us. 

Sister Wilde is a fine young woman and we are grateful for the opportunity we have had to work with her on a daily basis.  She is well-prepared for her mission and she continues each day to grow spiritually.  She is developing good teaching skills and is excited about the work.  She is ready for full time service in the England Birmingham Mission.

We love this young woman and are grateful to you for all you have done to prepare her for this wonderful time in her life.  Your love and continued support are important to her success.   Letters from home are always greatly anticipated and appreciated.  Please address all future mail to:

England Birmingham Mission

187 Penns Lane

West Midlands

Sutton Coldfield

England  B76 1JU

United Kingdom

May you and your family be blessed as she continues to serve our Heavenly Father.

Sincerely,

President and Sister Edwards

President and Sister Edwards

Week 1 - September 17, 2014

Hey Family!

I can't believe that it's already been one week! No doubt it's been the longest week of my life but it's also been really good. I think it's safe to say that my experience has been a little bit like Dad's but I know that if it was any easier I wouldn't be learning as much as I have.

The Northfield 1st ward eh?! That's so crazy! Also crazy that Brother Smith is the new bishop and that Dad isn't. I was kind of disappointed that I would be gone just the week before he would be released but I'm excited for him and for what's to come. Nursery maybe? Ha ha, definitely let me know! Thank you for the letters that you gave me! I have been struggling a bit and they were just what I needed to give me that extra boost. My companion's name is Sister Silsby. She is from the southern part of England and she is awesome! We get along really well and have had a lot of fun. We haven't had the best times teaching but I think that we're finally starting to figure things out. Hopefully only good things are ahead of us. The MTC here is really small compared to the one in Provo but it's been really nice because we've been able to get to know everyone really well. In our room there are six of us: Sister Silsby, Francis, Wilkinson, McKinnon, Pascua Duzon, and myself. It's pretty much a party. Just kidding. But it really has been a blessing that we have become so close. It's really sad that we aren't all going to the same place. The presidency and their wives are amazing and I feel really blessed to be in such an amazing place. The food has been pretty good, although they've been nice to us Americans and haven't thrown anything too crazy at us. It's weird to think that I'll be out on the streets of Birmingham in another week but we had the chance to go to an Asda store (Wal-mart) today and being out in the "real world" made me really excited.

Thank you for all of the love, support and prayers!! I seriously have the greatest family and friends in the whole world. I know that this church is true and that Christ is my Savior. I have come to feel of His love even more while I've been here and I'm grateful that I have this opportunity to represent Him. I love you guys and can't wait to hear more from you next week!

Cheers!

Sister Wilde

                             

Preston, England MTC - September 11, 2014

Hey Family!

I made it! The flights went well and now I'm just getting settled into the MTC. It's absolutely amazing here! The landscape is incredible and everyone is so kind and helpful. There was about ten of us that flew together from Atlanta and we all got along reall well so the long trip was really fun. It's kind of a bummer though because the sister that I have really gotten to know and get along with is going to the Scotland/Ireland mission so I'll only see her for 12 more days. It's crazy to me how short our time is here, but I'm excited and ready to dive in. I hope things are going well for you! Thank you for all of your love and support. It is definitely felt! I love you all and will talk to you next week!

Love,

Sister Wilde