Monday, October 28, 2013

A September picture...

Sister Jacobsen and I in the Mini Van

Abuelita forgot to add this picture way back in September. She's sorry!

The stars at night, are big and bright.... deep in the heart of Texas!

Cuddling with the AP

A huge black widow that was HUGE!

After the baptism.

I love these people!

Jeremiah and Kaylee

Missionaries in Black!

Take me for a ride in a big blue tractor.

The whole crew.

Zone Conference with President Pingree

Alrighty! So this past week was good and bad all at the same time. To start off with the "bad". I am not exactly sure if we were wearing "kick me" signs on our backs or what, but for some reason everyone thought it was open season on the sister missionaries. We were getting judged left and right all week! Apparently, according to other missionaries who have been out longer, this is pretty normal. at first I was pretty annoyed. I felt like we were doing our job, teaching regularly and trying our best to fulfill our purpose, and people were just finding every reason to let us know that we were doing things wrong. Not gonna lie, it hurt. But after the frustration wore off I really thought about it and I realized that it was a tender mercy. Every now and then we can get really comfortable and think we're all hot and awesome, and then the Lord "gently" reminds us to be humble. Even though it can be frustrating, I am always super grateful when that happens because it pushes me to be better. So this week I really am going to strive to "try a little harder to be a little better" and to be more humble while doing it!

Now to talk about the good! Jeremiah was baptized this past Saturday and confirmed as a member if the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints on Sunday. It was such an amazing experience. The Elders also had a baptism scheduled for that day so we decided to just combine the two. Everyone was a little worried about how it would turn out, but it turned out to be one of the most spiritual experiences. Being at a baptism for one person is amazing. Being at a baptism for two people is absolutely breathtaking. The spirit was so strong and my heart was so full. Jeremiah asked me to speak and while I was standing at the pulpit I was able to look out at the large crowd that had come to support Jeremiah and Kaylee and everyone's faces were just glowing and it was so cool! It's little things like that that really strengthen my testimony. It really blows my mind on a regular basis that people actually listen to what we have to say and that people actually get baptized. But I know the reason that that is, is because the message we have to share is true and it brings so much joy that people can't help but be drawn to it. Pretty amazing. Anyways, This week is going to rock. I can feel it already. I love you so much and I hope you have an amazing week!

Love, Sister Williams

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

old post from while I was not able to get into her blog (newest one is below with all the pictures):
October 7, 2013

Happy Missionary Christmas!!!!!!!!!!!

General Conference. Nuff said. If you didn't get the opportunity to watch General Conference this past weekend you must go to www.lds.org immediately and watch it. All 8 hours of it because it will blow yo mind! But, seriously though, this past weekend was a dream being able to sit at the feet of prophets and apostles through the electronic media and receive the Lord's counsel. What an amazing opportunity we have, and the best part is that it happens twice a year and in 6 months time we will get to do this again. Gen Con on the mish really is like Christmas haha. This is the first time that I've been able to watch without having to worry about tests or homework or any other distractions. So cool. Anyways, There has been a change in the transfer schedule and we now receive news about transfers on Sunday evening. So the verdict is that I'm staying in College Station and Sis. Jacobsen and I get to stay companions. Thank goodness! I could really use the stability right now haha. Being with her will be the longest I've ever had a companion out of 5... Also we were able to set a baptismal date with one of our investigators this past week. His name is Jeremiah and he is so great. Hopefully, as we continue to teach him, he will be able to learn, progress, and grow in the gospel and ultimately be baptized in the next coming weeks.

So I just want to share my favorite parts of Conference. 1) President Henry B. Eyring's talk on the family. Wow! What a great message. My absolute favorite thing that I got from that was that we have all been given the families that we have here on earth because Heavenly Father trusts us to love them no matter what. To love them as he would if he were here. What a great responsibility and such a sacred trust. Regardless of what the members of our families do, or the choices that they make, whether they are aligned with our personal beliefs and opinions or not, we have been given the sacred responsibility and opportunity to love them unconditionally. This can be so hard when offenses have been made and promises are broken and people fall short of our expectations, but through the enabling power of the atonement and through our own personal repentance, we can be strengthened in order to become more like our Savior and obtain the pure love of Christ, or charity, for the members of our families. What a blessing! I am far far far far far far far far from perfect in this respect, but I know that with the help of my Savior, he can turn this weaknesss of mine into a strength. 2) Elder D. Todd Christofferson's talk on women and their role. As women we have such a great responsibility to keep ourselves clean and pure in order to be influences for good to those around us. That too can be so hard in this world where so many virtuous qualities and practices have become "old fashioned". Thank goodness again for the Atonement! It can be pretty discouraging to fall short of such high standards again and again, but we can always look to the Savior and use the incredible gift that he has given us to be made clean and strengthen us to start again. I love this gospel so much and while at times it is so hard to have this message rejected, I know that as we keep sharing it lives will be touched and hearts can and will be changed. These are promises that we have been given by a loving Father in Heaven who wants nothing more than for all of his children to return to live with him again. I really do hope you all take the time to listen to at least one of the talks that were given this past weekend. I promise you won't regret it! Have a wonderful week and I'll write again soon :)

Love, Sister Williams

Chelsea Williams

Sep 30

to me

Hola!

So it's been a while since I've updated and a lot has happened since then. To start off with some very good news, it is finally starting to cool down! Oh my gosh I could die of happiness. Not that I don't love that blazing Texas sun, but it is definitely nice to have a break from it. So Sister Santistevan and I have been living it up out here in College Station. What a great place. It really is hard for me to think about the idea of going back to a family ward. YSA's are just so much fun and so much fun to teach! But, some sad-ish news is that Sister Santistevan went home on Monday. She had been out in the field for 3 weeks and realized that she needed to go home and marry her boyfriend. It was way sad because we had become really good friends, but I know everything will be alright. In her place though, I got Sister Jacobsen as my new comp. I absolutely love Sister Jacobsen. She is such a fun companion and we get along really well, and best of all she's been out for 15 months! Yay! I can finally relax and let her take things from here. Haha I'm just joking, but it really is nice to have a companion who knows what she is doing though. But, transfers are next week so we'll see what happens! To further my joy, AMY WAS BAPTIZED THIS PAST SATURDAY!!!!! Ahhhh! I was so happy I could have died and gone to heaven. She is such a gem. Amy is the girl we started teaching about a month ago, who came up to us in church and wanted to receive the discussions. It has been such a blessing getting to know her and teaching her about the gospel, and the best part is that this is just the beginning for her. That's the cool thing about baptism, it isn't the end game, it is merely the gate to endless joy and other blessings.

So now that that's happened, the focus is getting our 6 other investigators to the waters of baptism. They are all such sweet people whom I've come to love dearly and I hope and pray they will be able to see what a blessing this gospel really is, and choose to take that next important step of baptism. As for now though, we are continuing to find and teach and pray. Always pray. Oh ya! Something else that happened was that Marge the Mini Van died on Saturday. It was so sad. The elders were leaving the baptism and it was raining torrentially outside, and they didn't realize that the road had flooded, and they drove poor Marge into a lake where she proceeded to drown. They tried their best to revive her, but she didn't make it. There have been some good times in Marge and we will miss her dearly. She was loyal, kind and true, but I know that she is in a better place now, away from silly missionaries who blast Christmas music in September. Anyways, now they are waiting on getting a truck. We'll see how that goes. I love you all with all of my heart and I miss you so stinking much! I love my mission more than words can describe and even more than all of that I love my Heavenly Father, my Savior and this gospel. There is no way in heck that I would be out here away from ya'll and regularly sweaty if I didn't know this gospel was truer than true. That's why I share it. Because it's true, and it's not just for a select few, but it is for everyone, and while I may not be able to get it to everyone, I aim to get it to as may people as I possibly can. Have a wonderful week and know that I keep ya'll in my prayers regularly. Talk to ya next week!

-Sister Williams

p.s. The reason I opened with Hola is because I'm trying to get fluent asap so President Pingree will transfer me to the Spanish program. When I suggested it to him the first time he just laughed. We'll shall see :)

October 21, 2013

LOOK!

Amy's baptism.

Blue Bell Ice Cream Factory.

Poor little baby calf.

Sister Santistevan in my laundry bag haha. Dork

Howdy!

So it is going on the second week of having Sister Myers, and let me tell you, there is never a dull moment. She is a hoot! But, seriously though I just laugh all of the time. She says the craziest things but is one of the sweetest girls at the same time. I really am so grateful that she is in our companionship. So I started realizing a couple days ago that I think I am changing, which is always a good thing haha. While I have loved being on a mission from the start, as a missionary you still struggle with missing your family and friends and having to do hard things everyday. But, I think I have finally gotten to a point where I am just completely content with being where I am. I love it here. I love College Station, I love my companions, I love the people here and I love the other missionaries who I get to serve around. At this point in time, there is nowhere I would rather be than here. I am so grateful for that! It definitely makes being away from home a lot easier. This doesn't mean I don't love y'all, because I do! I think I'm just trying to say that I am just very happy.

Anyways, this weekend is Jeremiah's baptism and we are all so excited. Seriously, Jeremiah was heaven sent. He grew up with a friend who was LDS, but never looked into it or anything, but judging by how his lessons went, I think he just needed someone to invite him. He is the perfect definition of an "honest truth seeker". So prepared and willing to listen to the message of the restoration and Heavenly Father's plan for us. I am so happy for him that he is going to be able to take that next step of drawing closer to our Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ, by making a sacred covenant with him through baptism. He is seriously such a testimony builder to me of missionary work and the power of a simple invite. In President Eyring's talk from General Conference I really gained some good insight. He said that Heavenly Father has a plan for each and everyone of us to make it back to him. The Plan of Salvation is a general plan that encompasses all of us, but he has a plan for each of us individually. That is such a comforting thought to know that we have a heavenly being guiding our lives, who is in the details of our lives, working to get us back home to him. I know that the way he works is though other people. As we listen for those promptings from the Holy Ghost and strive to follow them, we will be the means of helping someone on there journey in this life, make it back to Heavenly Father and our Savior Jesus Christ. What a responsibility, and what a blessing to know that the Lord trusts us so much with his children. We are his hands here on Earth. Anyways, as always I am so grateful for all of your love and support, and I hope y'all have a wonderful wonderful week. See ya!