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