That Which We Persist in Doing - April 13, 2015

Hey Family!

 I'm so jealous that you guys went to Arches National Park! It looks like it was so much fun! But don't worry I'm still lovin it out here :) I can't believe that it's that time of year again. There was a group of us missionaries talking about "this time last year" and it was really weird to think that this time last year I was waiting for my mission call to arrive! Holy moly! It's weird to what will be going on this time next year.. :) Thank you so much for the package! It's safe to say that I was pleasantly surprised to see those girl scout cookies in there. You guys are the best!!

 So this week has been oober busy. It was fantastic!

·  On Tuesday we had interviews with President. It was so good! I love talking with him and getting his advice. It's weird to think that it could possibly be the last interview that I have with him. 

·  DA with the Smith's. They are a GCHQ family and they lived in Canada before moving here to England. They are the best! We had steak burritos with the ranch from Cafe Rio. I was in heaven. 

·  Zone meeting on Thursday! It was really good. We received training on helping our investigators keep commitments by teaching them about revelation through personal prayer, revelation through scripture study, and revelation through church attendance. 

·  Exchanges to Harborne! I went with Sister Stone and it was the best! I swear we must have known in the pre-earth life or something. It's weird! We just get along so well and basically know what each other is thinking all the time. We were able to teach a few lessons, bq a little bit, and have fun while we worked. I really hope that we'll be able to be companions one day :)

·  Beth. She is the coolest! We street contacted her on Wednesday but she couldn't talk for very long because she had to go to work. We set up a time to meet on Friday at 9.30 at the park and she was totally there! We hadn't been able to get in touch with her to confirm and honestly most people flog us so I wasn't too confident. So we taught her a basic restoration and gave her a Book of Mormon. We invited her to pray at the end of the lesson and she was just like, "sure why not. I'll give it a try." She said she can't come to church this week because of work but next week she should be good. She is coming to FHE tonight and we're seeing her again on Wednesday. Beth is the basically best :) 

·  Michael. He is from Poland and speaks very little English. So that's part of our deal; we'll teach him English and he learns about the gospel :) It's a different experience teaching someone that you can't communicate with but he's super solid and I know that the Spirit will be able to make up for the things that lack. 

  This morning we came to the church and played some rugby and some American football. It was so much fun! We also played some lightning and other basketball games. It was great to be able to have that ball in my hands and shoot around for a little bit :) It's been way too long! The subject line comes from that quote that Matt always had hanging up in his room. (I think that this is it) "That which we persist in doing become easier. Not that the task itself has become easier, but that our ability to perform it has improved." This has been going through my mind a lot lately. It's been really frustrating, because as you've probably noticed, we/I haven't been having a lot of success. It's hard not to compare myself to other missionaries and all the success that they seem to be having. But this week things started to get better :) We started teaching some really cool people and we are starting to see things progress. I know that it's not always going to be easy and that things aren't always going to go like we planned, but trusting in the Lord also means trusting in His timing. 

 I hope you guys have a great week! Don't forget the things that you learned from General Conference and keep being the amazing people that you are. talk to you next week! 

love,

Sister Wilde

Happy Easter! - April 6, 2015

Hey Fam,

What an amazing weekend! I'm so grateful for General Conference and for the guidance and counsel that we are able to receive. It is such a special opportunity to hear from our prophet and to receive personal revelation. I know that Heavenly Father has heard my prayers and I'm grateful for the personal instruction that I have been given. Unfortunately, because of the time difference, we weren't able to see the Sunday afternoon session but I should be able to download it soon so I'm pretty excited to see that one as well :) Also, because it is only shown in a few locations, we were able to watch it with other missionaries in our zone and in the Gloucester zone. This meant that I got to see my MTC companion Sister Silsby! It was so fun to see her and catch up on things. I remember those two weeks in the MTC so well and I'm excited to be serving around her again!

 So this week has basically been the bomb.com. It was a pretty long week but the work is going really well. We kind of had a "challenge week" as a district and I have a solid testimony of setting goals and accountability. We set a goal to get 5 new investigators per team and we totally got it! It's been probably one of the best weeks for finding that I've had on my mission so far. The video was really helpful and a lot of our investigators came from it. Pretty cool! It's going to be really nice when we get our mini ipads in May.. :) So one of our new investigators is named Julia. She is originally from Russia but decided to come out here and study for a semester. The first lesson we had with her was pretty difficult. She has absolutely no belief in God and really has no desire to. So why is she meeting with us? haha I've asked myself that same question. She says that she just wants to learn about what we believe and what we teach. So we've just been going through the lessons with her and doing just that. We gave her a Book of Mormon to read and she's been reading it! She doesn't like to talk about them afterwards, but as long as she's reading it I don't really mind. Hopefully she'll start to open her mind and heart a little bit and allow herself to feel the spirit. Onesun is another one of our investigators. His name was Bradley something but he just recently changed it to Onesun Beingnow. haha he's a little bit interesting but he came to General Conference! So great! He said that he really enjoyed it and liked "how sincere the Mormons are." He says he doesn't have a religion or any specific belief, but he likes to think about it. I'm excited to start teaching him :) 

 This week should also be really good! We have interviews with President Rasmussen tomorrow, zone meeting on Thursday, and exchanges probably next week. Oh exciting news!! They announced today who our new mission president is going to be!! Crazy! It is President and Sister Leppard and they are from Surrey, England. I think it's going to be so weird to have a different Mission President but I'm excited for it as well. 

 I hope you all had a great Easter weekend! I'm so grateful for my Saviour Jesus Christ and for the Atonement and Resurrection. I'm grateful that He loved me enough to take upon Himself my sins and provide a way for me to live with my family forever. Saturday morning of conference was so powerful and I'm so grateful for the God's plan of happiness for us. I'm so grateful for the family that I have been given and for gospel centered home that I was able to grow up in. Thank you so much mom and dad for your powerful testimonies and for your continuous examples. I know that this church is true and that Heavenly Father really does love us so much. He desires nothing else but for us to choose to follow His Son and to return to live with Him again. "But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed." ( Mosiah 14:5) I know that my Redeemer lives! 

 I love you all! I hope you have a great week! Talk to you soon!

Love,

Sister Wilde

   

  

Because He Lives! - March 30, 2015

Hey Family! 

 

 It's so good to hear that everything is going well! I didn't know that Mary and the girls were coming out to Utah, that should be a lot of fun :) And congrats to Vivi and the Young Women! Way to be! Things are going pretty good for us here. The weather wasn't as nice to us as it was last week but there are still good days. Elders Shaw and Elsholz were able to have a baptismal service on Saturday for Ping and Jaime Zhang and it was the first one that I have seen on my mission. Pretty amazing! The spirit was so strong and it was so inspiring to see someone taking those first steps to following the Saviour. Hopefully good things are in the future and we'll be holding another service soon :)

 I'm so excited for this weekend! I love this time of year and I'm grateful for the opportunity it gives us to reflect on the Atonement and Resurrection of our Saviour, Jesus Christ. In Mathew 28:6 it says "He is not here: for he is risen." That is our unique message to the world. Not only did he take upon himself the sins of the world and complete the Atonement, but three days later he overcame the bonds of physical death and was resurrected. I don't know if you guys have seen it yet, if not I'm sure you've heard about it, but the church has put out a video called Because He Lives. It is so good! Since Saturday and for the rest of this week that is what we are focusing on. We have been walking around with our portable DVD player showing this video to people and it has brought on many amazing and interesting experiences. One of them was with a lady name Liyang Ma. We were walking around the promenade talking to people when we saw her sitting on a bench. I love it when people are sitting on benches; they can't go anywhere :) But we started to talk to here and found out that she is originally from China but come to Cheltenham often because of work. We talked for a little bit and she began telling us about her family and how that is what makes her the happiest. So we sat down next to her and began teaching her about the Plan of Salvation. We went through the pamphlet with her and then tied it in with the video. We then were able to bear witness to her that because Jesus Christ lives, we have the opportunity to live with our families forever. It was such a powerful moment. She agreed that it would be nice but unfortunately she said that she wasn't ready to accept anything yet. We were able to get her contact information though and commited her to pray that night to know if the what we said was true. Hopefully we'll be able to get in touch with her and teach her again soon. 

highlights/funny moments:

1.     Canadian border patrol. We went to institute this week with a less active and afterwards ended up speaking to the brother of a former investigator. He said that he was from somewhere in Africa, but he sounded EXACTLY like the guy from that video. I was dying! It was pretty great. 

2.     Six fingered man. I went in to the bike shop to get some lights and while we were looking at the selection one of the workers came over to help us out. I didn't see him and first but when I turned around I didn't a serious double take. It was the six fingered man from Princess Bride! Or his doppleganger?(sp?) I don't know but it was pretty weird. 

3.     Dinner at the Narulas. They are a family from America and they are pretty cool. We had pulled pork sandwiches, with Sweet Baby Ray's barbeque sauce, and A&W rootbeer. I was in heaven! And then for dessert we had chocolate cake with mint oreos and reeses peanut butter cups from America. Probably one of my favourite meals I've had so far on my mission :)

 Well that's about it for the week! A lot of investigators are out of town for holiday so we have been doing a lot of finding. Hopefully we'll be able to get in contact with them this week or the next and start teaching them again. 
 Thank you so much for all that you do for me! I'm so grateful for your support and for the prayers that are offered on my behalf. I hope you have a great rest of your week, and I'll talk to you soon!

Love,

Sister Wilde

Week 2 in Chelt - March 23, 2015

Hey family!!

 The days are just going by and I can't believe how fast the time is going. I don't like it! haha. But it's good to hear that everything is going well! Congrats to Vivi on her basketball tournament! She kicked my butt in speed when I was home so it doesn't suprise me that she's doing good at all :) 

 This week has been really good! I am absolutely IN LOVE with Cheltenham. The weather has been amazing, the trees are starting to bloom, and an epidemic of happiness has swept over the people of England. Have you ever heard of S.A.D? Maybe Sandra remembers it. It's seasonal something disorder and basically people get cranky when the weather is bad. Super happy that we are on the tail end of that :) The only down side to the warm weather is the unatural amounts of perspiration. It's disgusting. Especially when you are biking. I've definitely learned not to care too much about what I look like :)

  We've had a pretty big week of finding but we are also teacing some pretty cool people!

1.     Gareth is a uni student. There a couple of different campuses around here and it's awesome. He is studying literature and is oober smart. He's not really sure what he's looking for but he wants to know more. He read the chapter that we gave him last time but said that he didn't really "feel it". Prayer requests that he will be able to feel the spirit while he reads. 

2.     Christian is.. interesting. He is an older man who is very much involved with charities and humanitarian work. He wonders why God would allow such things to happen to His children. Probably one of the most common questions that we are asked. He actually starting rolling up a cigarette in front of us during our lesson! He said, "don't worry, I'm not going to smoke it in front of you." haha um what?

3.     Ben & Joel. They are currently in an internship to become leaders(?) in their Trinity church. They are very knowledgeable about the Bible and like to find fault in the Book of Mormon. I wasn't there the first time that they taught them and apparently they just opened up the Books side by side and began comparing them. Pretty intense! They aren't necessarily seeking but they still want learn more about our church. So hopefully in due time we'll get em :)

4.     Vicki is a mom who works at a spa. She's been investigating for a long time and knows the church is true but can't be baptized because she is living with her partner. They do have plans to be married but not until August. And she doesn't want to bring it up to him because she does't want him to think that she just wants to be married so she can get baptized. Kind of a crazy situation but we know that Heavenly Father will provide a way. Please pray for Vicki. 

  Overall, it was a pretty rad week! The members are constantly inviting us over for dinner, my legs are gettin big, and my testimony of this gospel and my love and gratitude for my Saviour is growing and growing. It's taken me a little bit of time, but I think that I finally realized this week that I don't have to be a perfect missionary. I don't have to know the answer to every question, or always say the right thing at the right time. I just have to be doing my best and giving Him my all. Even when it's hard. In Ether we read, "And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them." I have weaknesses. I always will. But I know that as I rely on my Saviour that He will help me to make those weak things become strong. 

  I love you all!! Thank you for your continued support and for your amazing examples. I hope you have a great week! Talk to you soon!

Love,

Sister Wilde

Chafing in Cheltenham - Mar. 16, 2015

Hey Family!!

 Guess what?! I got transferred! It's a little bit weird being somewhere else but change is fun. I am now serving in Cheltenham which is the southern part of our mission. It is amazing! It is a pretty posh area so very different from Dudley. Everyone is dressed really nicely, the houses are insane, and the cars are incredible. This week was especially crazy because it was horse racing week. There was drunk people everywhere! At all hours of the day! We had to change our schedule around a little bit because of it but this week should go back to normal. The ward here is awesome! There are around 200 members and about half of them are from America. It's pretty great :) Most of them work for the U.S government and they go on three year tours to different parts of the world. Pretty cool! Also, guess who my new companion is? Sister Lee!! She's the one from Elder McFarland's mission. I was flippin' out when I found out that we would be serving together. How crazy is that?! It is a little bit difficult because she doesn't speak English very well and I have to explain things again or talk slower but so far it's been pretty good. 

  Cheltenham is also a biking area. At first I was pretty excited because I had been wanting to bike for a long time. I've changed my mind. haha. I am SO sore!! I got my bike from Sister Eldredge who just went home, and it ended up being in worse shape than I thought. The back tire wobbled and the brakes didn't work. So the Elders helped us out and we took it to a shop. Everything seemed to be going okay so we didn't worry too much about it. Then, when we were riding to church yesterday, I looked down at my wheel and saw that it was completely flat and that the tube was coming out! So long story short, Mom do you think you could transfer some money in to my account so I can buy a new bike? :) 

   So here are the pictures of my foot you've been waiting for. They really aren't that bad but just a little bit gross. My foot is completely healed and everything is great so no worries there :)

 I'm sorry that this email is so short! We don't have a lot of people that we are working with so this week is going to be full of finding. Wehoo! I'm excited to get things going here and hopefully have some success. Apparently the sisters here haven't had a baptism since about a year ago, so Sister Lee and I are setting goals and are ready to work. I know that there are people here who are ready to accept the gospel and I am grateful for this opportunity I have to serve here. 

  Thank you guys for all of your love, prayers, and support!! I promise I'll be better and writing more interesting things; stuff about our investigators, the area, and the things that I am learning. I hope you have a great week!! I love you!!

Love, 

Sister Wilde

6 Months!! - March 9, 2015

Hey Family!

 I can't believe that it will be 6 months this week! It has gone so quickly!! I think about when I first got here and where I am now and I'm so grateful for all of the experiences that heavenly Father has blessed me with. It makes me sad to think about leaving this place, I don't know for sure if I'll even be going, but I'm excited to see what's going to happen!  For my bodies sake I hope it's a biking area.. ;)

 This week has been pretty slow. Sister Sorensen has had a cold for a good part of the week and she woke up with conjuctivitis (sp?) in her eye. Not a fun way to end the transfer! But we've gotten her some ointment and she is doing better :) The weather is also starting to get better and the flowers are beginning to bloom. It is a beautiful sight! 

 So I have been telling you about most of my experiences here in Woodsetton but there is one that I have been waiting to tell you about. It happened back in December but it was kind of intense and I didn't want to worry you Mom. But it's been a couple of months and everything is good. Does this sound suspicious? Good :) Well I'm going to tell you. (Also I've been wanting to use this as an intro for quite some time so just bear with me) So this is a story all about how my life got twisted upside down so I'd like to take a minute and just sit right, and tell you how I cut my foot on a mirror :) One morning after exercise, I went upstairs to get in the shower. This was when Sister Urbani was with us and her bed was between the other two, leaving very little room to get to the bathroom. By the dresser was an old broken mirror with lots of sharp edges. I went to step in between the beds and the next thing I knew my foot was in a lot of pain. I looked down and saw that my foot was bleeding. I panicked a little bit but didn't think that much of it. I hobbled into the bathroom and realized that my cut was a lot worse. I didn't know what to do so I just called for help. Apparently my companions didn't think that much of it or were confused because it took them a couple of minutes to come up. By the time they came up, there was a large puddle of blood beneath my foot and it was aching really bad. I put my foot in the tub and washed it with the shower head. It was way bad!! We called Sister Rasmussen and she told us that we needed to go to the A&E (emergency room). So we called up a member, at 7:30 in the morning, and they took me to the hospital. They took me back and told me that because of the flap of skin they wouldn't be able to do stitches. So they cleaned me up and put some steri-strips on and called it good. It was pretty hard to walk on and hurt pretty bad but healed pretty quickly. Now I have a nice scar on the outside of my left foot :) 

  Well now you know! Whew! Glad I finally got it off my chest :) I'll attach some of the photos with this email, viewer discretion advised, and then I'll put some of the ones from our p-day in the city on drop box.  But I hope you guys have a wonderful week! This church is true, the book is blue! I love you all! Talk to you next week!!

Love, 

Sister Wilde

March 2, 2015

Hey Fam!

 It was so good to hear from you! Sounds like things are busier than ever :) Things have been pretty busy here as well. We were able to have a lot more success with finding and our teaching pool is starting to get bigger. This is week five of our transfer and it makes me kind of sad to think that I may not be teaching a lot of this people anymore. But it also makes me want to find so many more people so that Sister Sorensen and whomever her new companion is will be overwhelmed with how many teaching appointments they have. That's the goal anyways :)

 So here are some of the highlights!!

· Exchanges with Sister Stone! It was soo much fun. Sister Stone is from Southern Utah and has been out for 9 months. She is a BEAST! We had a solid six hours of finding and it was incredible. We had set some really high goals for ourselves during planning the night before and were trying our absolute hardest to accomplish them. We were so blessed!! Sister Stone and I were able to find 19 potentials and teach 5 other lessons on the street. One of them being with our new investigator Lee G.t! He is the coolest! We had a lesson with him this week and when were teaching him about Joseph Smith he told us that he knew that it was true. It was amazing! He has a lot of questions and a few ideas of his own, but he has such a tender heart and I can already see the spirit working with him. Also, he is obsessed with Elvis Presley. You might even be able to find some of his videos on youtube...

· Phil. He is a media referral that we got last week. We stopped by his house to give him the Book of Mormon that he requested but he wasn't home. The number that we had didn't have the right amount of numbers so we wrote him a little note on a pass-along card and gave him our number. Due to past experiences I was pretty certain that we'd just have to plan another time next week to stop by because no one ever gives us a call. As you can pretty well guess, he called!! He was so nervous and is really shy, but he was so nice and wanted to see us as soon as we could. Unfortunately our member cancelled on us last minute and we were only able to stop on his doorstep.  While we were talking to him he said, "So do you want to set up another time to meet or do you want me to come to one of your services?" Sister Sorensen and I smiled and each other and said, "Both." :)

    It has been a pretty great week! We worked really hard, were as obedient as we could be, and Heavenly Father blessed us because of it. Unfortunately this week started off pretty rough when we found out that Jeremy wasn't going to be able to change his shift and that he was still going to have to work Sundays. It was horrible. I was so confused and I didn't understand why Heavenly Father would make him wait this long, have this opportunity come up, and then not allow it to happen. But as I prayed for peace and understanding I had an overwhelming feeling come over me and I could feel the love that my Heavenly Father had for me as well as for Jeremy. And even though I still don't know how it's going to happen, I know that I can trust that everything is going to turn out the way that it is supposed to. 

  Thank you for all of your prayers and support!! I love you all and hope you have a great week!!

Love,

Sister Wilde