Shiprock never gets rain... not!! (email)

August 22, 2011
Hi everyone! So this last week was really great and really terrible at the same time.

It has been miserably hot, but we have our lovely truck to keep us cool. We rarely go tracting because we have lots of appointments and it takes forever to drive there. We go from cool car to warmer houses and back to the cold car. nice. ...until we realized we were short on miles for the month, and started walking everywhere. less work got done, we looked horendous from the heat, and it was back breaking with a 20 lb bag.

we had 2 really productive days, and had 2 people commit to baptism (which is a big deal because in the last 6 months there have only been 2 baptisms). we currently have 6 people with dates set! its absolutely amazing. ...but...Sis. Tsosie and I may be letting it get to our heads because we had some really unproductive days. and we skipped companionship study to do service. service is good, but heavenly father definitely let us know he wanted us studying. we changed things around and life is looking up now.

I feel more confident with my teaching and ability to listen to the spirit. Sis. Ts is surprised how bold I already am. She is courageous with the things she says, and she thought it would take me a while, but I jumped in feet first. Yesterday we went to visit an investigator and got to her door at the exact same moment as some other crazy missionaries. They just wanted to bible bash and it was miserable. We felt as if the spirit was being sucked from our beings. You know what a fish looks like trying to breath out of water...that was us, gasping for the spirit. I was able to keep calm, ignore the desire to haul off and hit them, and calmly dismissed them. Sis. Ts was really impressed. Woot. 2 spirit points for me.

As for the subject line, we were told it NEVER rains in shiprock. if it does, it is just a sprinkle. We walked to the store and saw a "sand storm" coming and were thankful to go inside. when we came out we thought we missed it. nope. we got out of the parking lot and started home. oh, its only a couple drops and a couple blocks. nope. down pour and 1 whole mile of mud. did we have arms to hold everything? nope. so we walked in the rain, for a mile home (this was also one of the days we didn't study long enough, so we got the picture pretty quickly)

I included pictures from the MTC. Katy andrews always told me about her family "surfing" on the ironing board and I couldn't resist. Then sis. Laneir and her new shirt (we liked the secret identity). Me and sis. Lanier (she went to atlanta. she was my best friend there). My last photo with sis. kost. our district with my favorite teacher. our messy back seat from the truck (yes that is an ax...we chop wood for people). then of me soaked and a mess from our rain disaster. you should put these up on the blog.

love you lots!!!

I'm Here - email

August 15, 2011

Hello everyone!! Well, I'm sorry it took over a week to contact you. We missed P day in the field by 1 day, so its been a while. I'm here! I'm in New Mexico! Drum Roll Please......I'm in Shiprock, NM. (which is about an hour west of Farmington). The Farmington Mission should be called the Navajo Nation Mission, but that probably isn't the most politically correct name. Shiprock is Reservation through and through. We are the ONLY sis. on a res, but to keep us safe, we have elders who also serve in the ward (the boundaries are huge!!!) blessing number 1: the elders are the district leader, and my favorite elder from my mtc district! elder munns. They are going to be great.

As for the area, things are slow. not the work being slow, but the people. no one drives fast, talks fast, walks fast, or even moves quickly. I'm going to certainly learn patience.

When we left the MTC and got to the airport, the E's got their feathers ruffled because I wasn't going to sit around and wait for them to unload the luggage. I jumped into the cargo hold, and started throwing bags out to them. they protested, but never did anything about it. yes, I am here to work, and I'm too stubborn to wait for any of you! We got picked up by the Mission pres. and his wife. Pres. Jones reminds me of Uncle Allen (its been a while since I've seen him in person, but I think there are definite similarities) and his wife is just like my boss April from Brick Oven. I love them already. The mission home is in a golf course development and is AMAZING!! and that's coming from me, the interior designer! It was beautiful. I found out they don't have sisters in Ramah, but they do have them in Gallup. They put me out on the res, which means we have a TRUCK!!!! actually, most missionaries here have trucks. big beasty things. LOVE IT!!!! Pres. Jones says we have the best fleat of cars in the world.

I met my companion, Sis. Tsosie (so-see) who has been in shiprock since january. she is navajo herself, and really get's us in with the people. We went to walmart in farmington, and bought food for a month. litterally. the cart was heaping ovetr the top. we only go into town once a month. there is a store like Smith's, but its expensive. We started right away with appointments. We have 3 bap dates from before I got here, but alot of our work is reactivation. Our ward has 1400 members!!! but only 150 come to church. oye. most of the older members were in the lamanite placement program. it gets me kinda upset because these people were baptized and had amazing experiences, but they didn't go to church when they came back to live on the res. ugh! ...see, i need to work on patience!

WE had an amazing experience with a recent convert, Lisa. I love her with all my heart. She came on exchanges with us, and we were going to read the BoM with her for a couple min and stayed for 2 hours. she told us about going to do bap for the dead for the first time and it reminded her of some dreams she had had. she proceeded to tell us about her dreams and sis. tsosie and i gaped at one another. This woman has seen the inside of the temple. she has looked in the mirrors. she has seen her family in white. it was amazing! we gushed our excitement as she told us about her dream, and we explained what we could about the temple. oh, she is just awesome.!!

we also had a service project where we drove an hour out with the elders to put plaster up on a less active member's house. when we got there it wasn't stucco, but cement. it didn't work so swell to get it to stay with the rocks, so I had the idea to sift them out. that worked, but it was still cement. to make matters worse, we had to use our hands...so the cement sucked the water out of our hands, and it started to eat the skin. i rubbed them raw and then got the rocks in it. they are a mess!

well, I'm running out of time! if you want to send any letters or packages, send them to the mission office address. I'm not allowed to give out our po box. if you send a package, send it priority so that the office can forward it to me. otherwise it sits in the office until someone drives out here to the middle of nowhere.

love you all

Sis. Wilkins (the new white missionary)

Arrived at the mission home

President Jones sent a letter and this photo reporting that Sister Wilkins arrived. We hope to hear from her soon.

Photos

Proof, it's real.

MTC companions.


Sisters in her MTC district.

Week 2 (email)

Hello Everyone!! well, week 2 feels just like week one. LONG days. Short weeks. I really got in the groove of everything. My companion, Sis. Kost (who's going to Farmington) and I have really figured out how we teach best. I have finally figured out how to teach simply. The elders make fun of me constantly for being too complicated. They keep mentioning the KISS Formula: Keep It Simple Stupid!!! Ok. ok. its coming. I just have to constantly think how I would teach Della about the different topics.

Personal study time is one of my favorite parts of the day: Its just me and doctrine and covenants. There are so many inspiring scriptures about missionary work, holding out, and enduring with joy and singing praises. My companion and I have been memorizing all sorts of scriptures, lesson parts, and missionary mottos. We are really starting to feel confident in ourselves. Our disaster appointment from the first week has become a great testimony builder for us. We have really struggled to connect with Radleigh but this week he finally believes in God and said a BEAUTIFUL prayer. We came out and cried we were so happy (we also think this hard skinned investigator was trying not to cry!! woot!)

It feels like I've been here forever, and yet no time at all. We ship out on Monday at o' dark hundred. We are supposed to report to the travel office at 4am. We have a flight from Salt

Lake to Phoenix at 7:10 and then from Phoenix to Durango, Co at 11:50. It will be a long drive from Durango to Farmington. As for getting everything to fit, I hope I can do it. I think I will disperse the weight better than when I came to the MTC, and I'll ship a box of medicine and office supplies to the Mission Home and hopefully pick them up when I get there. My family made fun of me for having so much stuff, but when the Elders or Sisters in my district need something, they come right to me. I've already fixed a couple elder's clothing and had all the supplies sisters could need. As for clothes, I thought I had too much, but I have the least out of all the sisters in my apartment!! seriously! I don't know how they are going to get everything to fit.

The food is still good, but as much as I thought I was restricting myself, I wasn't. I can tell clothing is tighter. ugh. I'm working on it....like by going to the gym and running my body into the ground. I've been really working on flexibility and distance, and I feel pretty good about where I'm at.

Love you all!

Sis. Wilkins

Letter written July 27, 2011

Hello family!

I love and feel at home (and I haven't been here long enough to have cabin fever.) I do like my teachers. I have three. Sister Dunn, Bother Reid, and Brother Wanket. Sister Dunn is great because she has a feminine touch. Brother Reid gives a good dose of reality, and Brother Wanket is the big brother of one of my yearbook boys (the skater kid.) Small world!

We use Preach My Gospel constantly. As well as some new workshops and notebooks that are a pilot program. I was prepared in maturity, but NOT prepared concerning studying Preach My Gospel. I'm trying to catch up, but its not coming as quickly as the Elders.

My companion is Sister (Daphnie) Kost (pronounced cost.) She's from Lancaster, Pennsylvania. She's pretty quiet, but I'm breaking her in. We are starting to really bond in friendship. We went to the temple this morning and she hadn't been since her own endowment. I helped her along the way and I had a surge of love. We are starting to learn how to teach with the spirit, which is the key to all teaching and learning.

My district is AWESOME. There are 12 of us. Two sisters and four elders going to Farmington and two sisters and four elders going to Atlanta. It is amazing to be with them. We know how to work hard, but also to play and laugh hard.

Right now at the MTC, they have almost record breaking numbers. There were 400 0f us who came last week, which brought the total up to around 2600. Today's numbers will bring us closer to 3000.

We went to the temple (like I said before) and I couldn't believe how much I had missed it. It really is a part of who I am. I thank you mom and dad for making it a priority and teaching us its importance.

My P-day is Wednesday. You feel like you'll have oodles of time, but you don't.

Two nights back we woke up at 2:15 by the loudest fire alarm I've ever heard! We ran from the building and sat outside for 20 minutes. They don't know why it went off, but it sure wasn't planned. Obviously there were some rather sleepy sisters, but for some reason I was wide-eyed and bushy-tailed. It must have been my training at the Tanner building.

I've seen tons of people. Mike, Brian Thacker, Cami Bingham (she lives across the hall), Wes Smith, and a couple of sisters from my singles ward.

Thank you for adding me to your prayers. As often as I play The Glad Game and look for reasons to smile, I need all the help I can get.

I love you all! Lots of kisses, hugs and spanks!

Love, Sister Wilkins

Hello from the MTC (email)

Hello everyone! I can't believe it has been a whole week. The days all seem to mesh into one, except I've had a couple clothing changes. Two minutes after I stepped out of the car on Wednesday I ran into my first friend. Mike came out from his teaching shift and said hello. That was a nice transition between the old life and missionary life. It is still tough tuning out memories and old activities. I'm really trying to turn my heart to the work.

My companion's name is Sis. Kost. She's from Pennsylvania. She is rather quiet, but I'm breaking her in. :) We are getting along really well, despite our very different backgrounds. We are rooming with 3 other sisters. 2 going to Atlanta, Georgia. 1 to Denmark. I have really bonded with Sis. Lanier, who's going to Atlanta. She is just like me but 4 years older and really into athletics. I am totally in love with her. Sis. Moore is going to Denmark. She's a solo sister but so full of spunk its like she's 2 sisters.

My first teaching experience was an absolute disaster!!! (you all know me and how I like to tell stories, but this is NOT exaggerated.) My companion and I came back practically crying. The investigator (our teacher) did not believe in God and was rather hostile. It was a mess. Since then there have been some discouraging encounters, but for the most part we have continued to improve and learn how to listen to the spirit. Yesterday was the best lesson we have ever given. We fell in love with our less active member immediately. Everything just flowed well: we understood each other's teaching habits, we testified, but the best part of all was that we both felt the spirit tell us specific things to say to this woman, and we were able to follow the promptings and change the countenance of our sweet member.

As for the missionary schedule and rules, I have no real problems with it. My poor companion has to wait for me in the bathroom constantly, but that's the worst that it gets. The other companionship is really struggling. Sis. Lanier companion has no speed, no volume, is homesick, and sadly, hardly any courage. Her personality is really clashing with Sister L's get up and go attitude. We are all trying to help them along.

We LOVE our district. Half of us are going to Farmington and the other half is going to Atlanta. There are only 4 of us Sisters, and 8 Elders. Some of them are power couples and the others are just plain funny. We do a lot of laughing, which we need to keep from going crazy.

Love you all! I'll email next week!

Sis. Wilkins

I can't figure out to send photos to save my life...we'll see what I can do next week.