Monday, March 26, 2012 (email)
Hi ya!
Subject line: we keep getting dropped by people. Its frustrating, but its not the end of the world. We know they will come around soon, but we have to wait. I am at peace about the situations. I know how to handle it. Sister Nay had been really pushy with people recently, and they are pushing back, so this might clue her in to why I extend so much love for people and why I am content to go slower with people. I told her last night that I would rather move slower now, than too quickly, have them back out, and take many months if not years to come around again. I don't know if she agrees with me, but I made sure to share my opinion.
I had something I wrote in my Preach My Gospel a while back stand out to me: If the Savior walked into a room, you would PHYSICALLY feel his love. When I teach people, as a messenger of Christ, can they feel His love through me? They should.
So now my goal is to work on exuding love more. I'm not sure how to accomplish the task, but I'm going to try. I know that by serving them we will learn to love more, but they are stubborn and don't want help. Maybe I will be pushy about helping others, but then just love the Heck out of them. :) Do you think it will work?
This was the busiest week we have had in Cortez, and it was great! We got so much done. We picked up more new investigators than ever before since I've been here, taught a good number of lessons, and made lots of progress. The district leader was impressed, and the zone leaders were so impressed that they called to tell us about it! WOOT!!!!
This coming week we have 2 more days of training directly from the mission president. I am really excited about it, except that I have to drive 2 hours each direction, for 2 days, and do it after sleeping on the floor...Its fun, but its rough. :)
Here are my big things for the week: I blew my nose in an actual handkerchief! Surprisingly more exciting than I thought it would be. And I tried sauerkraut. (On a hot dog....and it was AWESOME!)
Love you lots!!!!
Sister Wilkins
Happy General Conference Weekend!! I'll be thinking about you all!
"Holland is my Hero!"
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Monday, March 19, 2012
Baptismal Dates...Satan must be around the corner
Monday, March 19, 2012 (email)
Good Morning Everyone!
I don't think I have any funny stories to talk about this week. We had a special 2 Day Zone training in Durango, Colorado on Tuesday and Wednesday. Its only an hour drive, but getting up at the crack of dawn and driving and then sitting all day, and driving again can take it out of you. We had the Monticello Sisters spend the night with us, and it was a fun couple of days. Sister Kost is serving in Monticello, so it was nice to have her back around.
On Tuesday Sister Nay and I volunteered to sing after lunch to bring the spirit back to our meeting. I was kind of nervous, and I had a cold, but it went really well. We added a verse on missionary work to hymn 219. I was really proud of myself that I just jumped up and did it!
We had interviews with President Jones, and it was a really nice experience. It was the best interview I have had with him. He could tell that I had progressed as a missionary, even if I couldn't. And he assured me that I was capable of training in the Lord's way. He gave me some tips on working with Sister Nay, and helping her to calm her passionate side. I felt reassured in my abilities, and ready to get to work.
The next day was more training..and I realized that I was a much better missionary than I had thought. I couldn't see how much I had changed until I had someone to compare myself to. For example, Sister Nay has a hard time teaching simply...which is something I struggled with for a LONG time. And I was able to see what I had implemented and taken out of my teaching to make things better. I felt so good about myself. I realized how far I had come and that I could keep up this momentum. I look forward to seeing my total progress...
Last week I mentioned Jamie. She has really touched our hearts. We taught her about the plan of Salvation, and set a baptismal date with her. Then we were able to get her and her family to come to a Child of Record Baptism on Saturday. She was very moved, and even more excited
about her baptism. We had a lesson at the church and talked about what they had seen and experienced. Her 12 year old nephew jumped in and said he wanted to be baptized too! WOAH.
Jamie is a smoker, and we tried an AWESOME stop smoking program with her. It is fool proof if you follow all of the rules. You can seriously be a non smoker with no cravings in 7 days.... Well.... she didn't follow the rules. We just found out about it this morning. We will keep moving forward with her. She wants to step down little by little with the smoking, so I guess we have to take it at her pace.
I have to get going. My companion is chomping at the bit again.
I love you all.
Sister Melinda Wilkins
Good Morning Everyone!
I don't think I have any funny stories to talk about this week. We had a special 2 Day Zone training in Durango, Colorado on Tuesday and Wednesday. Its only an hour drive, but getting up at the crack of dawn and driving and then sitting all day, and driving again can take it out of you. We had the Monticello Sisters spend the night with us, and it was a fun couple of days. Sister Kost is serving in Monticello, so it was nice to have her back around.
On Tuesday Sister Nay and I volunteered to sing after lunch to bring the spirit back to our meeting. I was kind of nervous, and I had a cold, but it went really well. We added a verse on missionary work to hymn 219. I was really proud of myself that I just jumped up and did it!
We had interviews with President Jones, and it was a really nice experience. It was the best interview I have had with him. He could tell that I had progressed as a missionary, even if I couldn't. And he assured me that I was capable of training in the Lord's way. He gave me some tips on working with Sister Nay, and helping her to calm her passionate side. I felt reassured in my abilities, and ready to get to work.
The next day was more training..and I realized that I was a much better missionary than I had thought. I couldn't see how much I had changed until I had someone to compare myself to. For example, Sister Nay has a hard time teaching simply...which is something I struggled with for a LONG time. And I was able to see what I had implemented and taken out of my teaching to make things better. I felt so good about myself. I realized how far I had come and that I could keep up this momentum. I look forward to seeing my total progress...
Last week I mentioned Jamie. She has really touched our hearts. We taught her about the plan of Salvation, and set a baptismal date with her. Then we were able to get her and her family to come to a Child of Record Baptism on Saturday. She was very moved, and even more excited
about her baptism. We had a lesson at the church and talked about what they had seen and experienced. Her 12 year old nephew jumped in and said he wanted to be baptized too! WOAH.
Jamie is a smoker, and we tried an AWESOME stop smoking program with her. It is fool proof if you follow all of the rules. You can seriously be a non smoker with no cravings in 7 days.... Well.... she didn't follow the rules. We just found out about it this morning. We will keep moving forward with her. She wants to step down little by little with the smoking, so I guess we have to take it at her pace.
I have to get going. My companion is chomping at the bit again.
I love you all.
Sister Melinda Wilkins
Monday, March 12, 2012
the Goat...
Monday, March 12, 2012 (email)
HELLO!!!!!!!
We got attacked by a goat last night. No Joke. We tried to contact a referral, and they had a goat. He is NOT nice. I have met him a couple times before trying to contact this woman. Well, yesterday he chased my companion around the car and she screamed and squawked as he ran behind her. Then he jumped on the hood of our Jeep and pranced around up there. My companion freaked out, jumped in the back seat as I yelled at the goat and got in the car. I eventually got him off and we drove off. It was definitely the BEST tracting story I have had yet!!!! I got a photo of it too!
Being a trainer is so much responsibility!!! But I think I can do it because I have the Lord on my side. Plus he wouldn't have given me the challenge if he didn't think I could do it.
My trainee is Sister Kathleen Nay. She is 22 and from Wisconsin. She is the most excited missionary I have ever met. She had so much energy! She wanted to literally run from place to place. But eventually her energy levels mellowed out and I was able to keep up. She has the most faith out of any missionary I have ever met! She believes that absolutely anything is possible... which it is... but she believes that it will all happen every day! I will not be the one to burst her bubble! I refuse to be a negative voice in her head. I don't even show her when I'm discouraged, because I want her to see all the positiveness of missionary work.
She did a couple semesters at BYU-I, but she has worked a long time to put herself on her mission. She is a determined little booger. She is such a hard worker and I am thrilled to work with her. She has huge potential to be one of the greatest missionaries this mission has ever seen. She HATES study time and planning... but I love those. I think it will even us out. If I can get her to like planning, studying, and keep her current fire, nothing will stop her!
We had a miserable experience this week. The woman we have been teaching, Linda, broke our hearts. On Monday before Sister Patrick left, we had an extremely spiritual lesson that had some of the most powerful promptings ever. We committed her to be baptized and met with her every day this week. She was the most prepared of any person I have ever met. Our dreams were dashed when she called Saturday night and canceled the appointment, all further appointments, and the baptism. She didn't have the support of her alcoholic husband and wouldn't move forward until they were on the same page. It was miserable.
But the work moves on. We do have a new gal, Jamie, who is about as amazing as they come! I will fill you in on her more later! I love you all. Happy Birthday Lauren!!
Love,
Sister Wilkins
HELLO!!!!!!!
We got attacked by a goat last night. No Joke. We tried to contact a referral, and they had a goat. He is NOT nice. I have met him a couple times before trying to contact this woman. Well, yesterday he chased my companion around the car and she screamed and squawked as he ran behind her. Then he jumped on the hood of our Jeep and pranced around up there. My companion freaked out, jumped in the back seat as I yelled at the goat and got in the car. I eventually got him off and we drove off. It was definitely the BEST tracting story I have had yet!!!! I got a photo of it too!
Being a trainer is so much responsibility!!! But I think I can do it because I have the Lord on my side. Plus he wouldn't have given me the challenge if he didn't think I could do it.
My trainee is Sister Kathleen Nay. She is 22 and from Wisconsin. She is the most excited missionary I have ever met. She had so much energy! She wanted to literally run from place to place. But eventually her energy levels mellowed out and I was able to keep up. She has the most faith out of any missionary I have ever met! She believes that absolutely anything is possible... which it is... but she believes that it will all happen every day! I will not be the one to burst her bubble! I refuse to be a negative voice in her head. I don't even show her when I'm discouraged, because I want her to see all the positiveness of missionary work.
She did a couple semesters at BYU-I, but she has worked a long time to put herself on her mission. She is a determined little booger. She is such a hard worker and I am thrilled to work with her. She has huge potential to be one of the greatest missionaries this mission has ever seen. She HATES study time and planning... but I love those. I think it will even us out. If I can get her to like planning, studying, and keep her current fire, nothing will stop her!
We had a miserable experience this week. The woman we have been teaching, Linda, broke our hearts. On Monday before Sister Patrick left, we had an extremely spiritual lesson that had some of the most powerful promptings ever. We committed her to be baptized and met with her every day this week. She was the most prepared of any person I have ever met. Our dreams were dashed when she called Saturday night and canceled the appointment, all further appointments, and the baptism. She didn't have the support of her alcoholic husband and wouldn't move forward until they were on the same page. It was miserable.
But the work moves on. We do have a new gal, Jamie, who is about as amazing as they come! I will fill you in on her more later! I love you all. Happy Birthday Lauren!!
Love,
Sister Wilkins
Monday, March 5, 2012
BIG NEWS!!!
Monday, March 5, 2012 (email)
Well, I'm having a baby!!!
Slow down your breathing, and imagine my face with a giant smirk.
Here's the story: This last Saturday was Transfer News night. Sister Patrick and I were not worried about anything because we felt like we were just now getting our feet under us. We felt like we finally knew how to work together, and that we had only been together one transfer... Around 2:00 pm the missionaries start texting each other asking if they know anything about transfers. President usually makes leadership and training calls around lunch on the day we get transfer news. People try to peice together as much info as they can before the official call later that night. We got all the texts and didn't have any info. We were told who was training, and thought, "whew! we are safe." We let our guard down. Bad plan. At three we were about to go tracting, and there was a call. I thought it was Shiprock. Nope. It was President!!!!
He asked if I would accept the call to train a new sister missionary!!!! Yes sir I will. "Do you have any questions? Do you think you can handle it?" "Well, with the Lord's help, can't I do
anything?" "Oh good sister, you do understand. I'm proud of you. I will see you Tuesday morning."
Sooooo....I'm training! Wow. Didn't expect that now. Maybe next transfer, but didn't see that coming. I'm not scared, just nervous. I feel at peace about the situation. I could worry and play the "What If" game", but that only fills me with doubt and fear, which is NOT from Heavenly Father. I will rely on him, and hopefully I can help "raise his daughter right."
Missionaries joke that your trainer is your parent. So my mother would be Sister Tsosie, and my Step Mother is Sister Thomas. ....With that in mind, I am going to be a Mom....hence, "I'm having a baby!" The REALLY cool thing is that Sister Tsosie goes home this week, so she gets to be a grandmother for 1 day of her mission (she has one day where she, my greenie and I are all serving here.)
Other cool news...Sister Patrick is going to SHIPROCK!!! Seriously. The crazy thing is that Sister Kesler is still there!!!! I hope Sister Kesler can help her to loosen up. She needs some more joy and silliness in her life.
Well, that's the best news I can come up with!! I love you all!
Have a great week!!!
Love,
Sister Wilkins
Well, I'm having a baby!!!
Slow down your breathing, and imagine my face with a giant smirk.
Here's the story: This last Saturday was Transfer News night. Sister Patrick and I were not worried about anything because we felt like we were just now getting our feet under us. We felt like we finally knew how to work together, and that we had only been together one transfer... Around 2:00 pm the missionaries start texting each other asking if they know anything about transfers. President usually makes leadership and training calls around lunch on the day we get transfer news. People try to peice together as much info as they can before the official call later that night. We got all the texts and didn't have any info. We were told who was training, and thought, "whew! we are safe." We let our guard down. Bad plan. At three we were about to go tracting, and there was a call. I thought it was Shiprock. Nope. It was President!!!!
He asked if I would accept the call to train a new sister missionary!!!! Yes sir I will. "Do you have any questions? Do you think you can handle it?" "Well, with the Lord's help, can't I do
anything?" "Oh good sister, you do understand. I'm proud of you. I will see you Tuesday morning."
Sooooo....I'm training! Wow. Didn't expect that now. Maybe next transfer, but didn't see that coming. I'm not scared, just nervous. I feel at peace about the situation. I could worry and play the "What If" game", but that only fills me with doubt and fear, which is NOT from Heavenly Father. I will rely on him, and hopefully I can help "raise his daughter right."
Missionaries joke that your trainer is your parent. So my mother would be Sister Tsosie, and my Step Mother is Sister Thomas. ....With that in mind, I am going to be a Mom....hence, "I'm having a baby!" The REALLY cool thing is that Sister Tsosie goes home this week, so she gets to be a grandmother for 1 day of her mission (she has one day where she, my greenie and I are all serving here.)
Other cool news...Sister Patrick is going to SHIPROCK!!! Seriously. The crazy thing is that Sister Kesler is still there!!!! I hope Sister Kesler can help her to loosen up. She needs some more joy and silliness in her life.
Well, that's the best news I can come up with!! I love you all!
Have a great week!!!
Love,
Sister Wilkins
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