A new area...probably the last transfer???

Well well well, here we are at what could very possibly and very probably be my last transfer meeting of the mish. Sunday night we got the call that our dear sweet Sister Williams, was being booted out of Katy 1st ward. Soo rude. But guess where I have been sent. You guessed right. I am in another singles ward!! Woohoo!! Oh what joy besets my soul haha. It is not Traditions YSA ward, where I was serving last year, but I'm in Sam Houston 1st YSA with the APs. So funny. I think the Lord knows how nervous I am getting about the concept of me heading back into the real world of people my age, that He figures this might ease me back in slowly. I'll take it. Also on the ride down to transfer meeting this morning, Sister Flanery and I get a call from the APs extending the calling to be sister training leaders in our areas. What?!? How the heck am I supposed to sister training lead anybody when I feel like I am still brand new to this whole missionary thing? At the very least though, while it might kill me, I know that it will keep me focused which is such a blessing. I want to be all here for the time I have left, and I know that all of these changes will help me do that. God is good! 

So my new companions name is Sister Nielsen and she seems super sweet. We just barely met like an hour ago, but I can tell that we'll get along just fine. She's from Bluffdale, Utah and she has a fire for the work and a burning testimony to go with it. I can't wait to see what we can do together with the help of the Lord. Our new area is huge, but luckily, unlike in College Station, which was half the mission, we have a car this time, so we'll be just fine :]

Saying good bye to the good people of Katy was way hard, but I know that I will see them again. I mean, I have to, right? What good would it be to grow to love people so much just to never see them again. No way! That is not how it works. So I will be returning to this great state for sure, and whoever wants to meet all of the awesome people I have talked about over the past 15 months , can come with me. I know that there really is a great work to be done here and I'm excited to get to it!

So an update on the lovely Paris and the adorable Gavin. This past Saturday, we all woke up early (Paris, Sister Flanery and I) and we took a trip out to the temple for Paris's first time. I am just continually amazed by that girl. She is such a gem! She loved the temple and understood the purpose of it, and she is already making plans for when she will be able to receive her endowment in a year's time. That is more than I could have ever asked for. So then, we quickly drove back home, went to the church, set everything up, and watched as Gavin was baptized. It was so cool! The missionary who baptized his parents flew down from Kansas City and witnessed the baptism. It was such a special moment, and they are currently preparing to be sealed as a family this fall. I just feel so blessed to be able to witness stuff like this. Really though. Who could ask for more?

Well, my family, I love you all and I hope that this coming week is one full of miracles. I know it will be because there are miracles happening everyday.So really I should say that I pray that you all will be able to see those miracles and find joy in them. Have an awesome week!

Paz y bendiciones

Sister Williams

Chelsea Williams

Another day another dollar! Or should I say another week another 7 dollars? I'm going to stop now..

 

Anyways, Here we are the end of yet another transfer. Next week is the last week of transfer number 10. Hey remember when we all first embarked on this journey that I had like 1000 transfers to go and it was glorious. Well it's still glorious, I just wanted to reminisce for a second.

Moving on, this past week we had interviews with President Mortensen, and it was awesome! That man will do great things, I can just tell. He just has a real fire for the work and he is fresh right now, haha. I am so incredibly grateful that I had President Pingree for the first part/ majority of my mission because he was exactly what I needed at that time. But I am also very grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who new exactly what I would need for the last stretch. I know that with President Mortensen I will be able to leave my mission with no regrets because I worked hard until the end. Haha he is going to make sure of that. I love it! This work is far too important to get comfortable. If you're comfortable, you're doing something wrong and you should probably repent, haha. At least that's what I tell myself. I'm sure all of you are light years ahead of me. Luckily, I have plenty of time to continue "becoming", in the words of President Mortensen.

 

On a less upbeat note did y'all hear about the murder this past week? I'm sure you did, but if not, last week 6 out of 7 members of an LDS family were killed in their home in Spring Texas, which is about 30 minutes from where I'm at right now. They were supposed to go and pick up the missionaries serving in their ward, which turns out was Sister Myers, my last trainee, when the ex brother in law came over. Gahhhh! It just broke my heart when I heard. There is so much wickedness in the world that it can almost be overwhelming. But, on the other hand, there is also so much good. It is amazing to see what a tragedy can do to bring the best out of the human heart. It stinks that it takes pain and heartache, but at least we know it's there. And we also know that no matter how dark and bleak the world and future may look, right and good will always win. That's just the way it is. Romans 8:

 

31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?

 

35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

 

37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come

39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

No matter what comes we cannot be separated from the love and power of our Father in Heaven. That it so encouraging. All we need to do is find faith in Christ and to act, and once you've found that faith to not let it burn out. Do everything you can to nourish that little seed because I promise there will, if there hasn't already, come a time when that is all you will have and that is the only thing that can carry you.  So in the words of Elder Holland, "I know this work is God’s very truth, and I know that only at our peril would we allow doubt or devils to sway us from its path. Hope on. Journey on. Honestly acknowledge your questions and your concerns, but first and forever fan the flame of your faith, because all things are possible to them that believe. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen."

 

I love you all. Have a faith filled week ok?

 

-Love Sister Williams

"... Oh say does that star spangled banner yet waaaave, o'er the land of the freee and the home of the braaave!" (Please sing this quietly in your head)

 

Happy Fourth my dear family and friends!

 

K so can we just put things into perspective right quick? I don't even know if I wrote about the 4th of July last year, but the point is that I am celebrating the 4th of July again... in Texas. Shhawhaaat?!? How does that even happen. And to think that last Independence Day I was in my first transfer of missionary life. In the Woodlands... With my trainer.. and now I'm in Katy with 3 transfers to go. The past 2 weeks have been weird for me because it feels like I'm living in a parallel universe. Go with me if you will. Everything that happens in Katy, I imagine my self last year, where ever I was at the time, doing what I was doing then and it is super bizarre. I don't know if that made sense or not, but it was worth a try.

 

So let's just discuss real quick the activities of this 4th of July. Essentially it was like the best one I've ever had because A) our little brother and sister investigators (Hunter and Lexi) were baptized and they just radiated joy. They are seriously like the sweetest little kids ever and I love them dearly. B) We went to their "happy baptism" party afterwards for lunch and it was awesome because they made brisket (which is delicious cow meat) and potato salad and and marshmallow fruit yogurt dessert thingy, and homemade rolls and all sorts of other good stuff that just warms your heart, and then afterwards we were leaving and they had a giant bounce house in the shape of a pirate ship, and Hunter and Lexi were begging us to get on and we were uhhhh.... ehhhhh... mmmmmm.... OK! So we jumped on the jump house and all of the kids were so happy that they got the sister missionaries to jump and it was truly awesome. Then we went and did some missionary work, and then for dinner we went to the Bustos family's house, whom I love, and had hamburgers and hot dogs and cupcakes and then we went outside and did fireworks and it was so much fun. And their kids are not members and had always been a little hesitant around us, but they were laughing and joking with us and it was just a good experience for everyone. So in a nutshell, the 4th of July was a success.

 

So like I mentioned last week, we got a new mission president and we met him last Wednesday. He and his family seem really nice. They came from California and to sum them up they look like country club people. But, really nice country club people. Either way he served his mission in Puerto Rico so I like him :)  No, but in all seriousness I think they will be a wonderful addition to the mission. While I love the Pingrees with all of my heart and I will miss them, you could tell that, because they had truly given everything to magnify their calling, they were exhausted and ready to go home. I am just really happy and extremely grateful towards them for their service.

 

So on that note I would just like to share a quick spiritual thought. There was one time that we were having a training with President Pingree and he read from the Doctrine and Covenants in section 123: 12-17. It's kind of long, but it is a great scripture about being a disciple of Christ and serving in any capacity in His church. But the part I want to focus on is verse 13 that says, "Therefore, that we should waste and wear out our lives in bringing to light all the hidden things of darkness, wherein we know them; and they are truly manifest from heaven—" So he reads this part and then he stops and says, "So wait a minute, that can't be right. Does our Father in Heaven really want us to waste and wear our our lives in this work?" I think initially, to ourselves we all collectively thought no. Heavenly Father wouldn't really require that of us, but then he said "Yes. He really truly does, because, like the rest of those verses talk about, this is such an important work and it pertains to big things like the salvation of our brothers and sisters and therefore it something worth wearing our lives out in the pursuit of." At this point I think all of us were a little put out, because as a missionary and even just in other church callings you get tired. You get so incredibly tired and sometimes it truly does feel like you have worn out your life. But then he said something that comforting. At least it was to me. He said, " so if you ever feel like you are exhausted and just so tired that you truly feel like you have wasted away and worn out your life, you can know that you are doing your job and you are doing right. If you aren't tired, you're doing something wrong because this calling requires everything you have." Essentially I think that translates into serving with all your heart, might, mind and strength like we have been commanded to do many times before. So if you ever do feel a sens of tiredness that can come from gospel living and the call of discipleship, take heart because you are doing the will of the Lord and He, maybe even without you noticing it is strengthening you to carry on. So carry on ok? Ok. i love you all and I am forever grateful for you. Have a great week!

 

-Love Sister Williams

Hunter and Lexi...baptized on the 4th of July

lighting my first fireworks EVER!

No one can take our SPARKLE

So Patriotic!

Gospel Spreaders...Mouth of Witnesses...Sisters Williams and Flanery

President John Pingree, Sister Chelsea Williams, Sister Anne Pingree

June 30, 2014

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times....

Ok, I'll stop being dramatic, but this will be one of the most bitter sweet weeks of my life. We just got news that the Mortensen's have officially arrived in Houston and that the Pingrees are leaving tomorrow morning. Gahhhh!!! I just don't know how to feel because I seriously love the Pingrees with all of my heart, but I am slightly excited, but mostly just curious, to see what the Mortensen's will be like. The only thing is that I can't have both. Either the Pingrees stay and I never get to meet the Mortensen's, or the Mortensen's get here and the Pingrees leave. Fortunately and unfortunately this is not my decision to make and it has already been made. So we will officially meet the new mission presidency on Wednesday and then have pesonal interviews with them throughout the coming 2 weeks. It will be an interesting transfer for sure.

So in way of goodbyes, we were able to have a temple trip with President Pingree and his wife last week, and it was amazing. I have never been so happy and so sad in my life. It was a miraculous experience to see these beautiful people, that I have grown so close to, dressed in white standing in the house of the Lord, all of us united in our common love and belief in this everlasting gospel and the joy that we know it does bring. I couldn't help but picture my entire family standing in the temple and all of us expressing our great joy that we had all made it. I really did catch a glimpse of what heaven could be like and of what it would feel like and I know that nothing is ever worth losing the opportunity to have that expereince with those I love. I think that's one of the greatest blessings of the temple. We not only get to do ordinance work by proxy for those that cannot do it for themselves, but we also get to be reminded of why we labor so long and so hard in this life. We get to be reminded of what it feels like to be in the presence of our Father in Heaven and how once we get there it won't be a fleeting moment, but it will be for eternity. Ahh, so great. I can't wait, but I know I have to because there is still work to do.

Other than that, not much happened this past week. Our investigators, Hunter and Lexi Bradshaw, are getting baptized this Friday and I am so excited for them. Even though they are so young they have such understanding and a desire to live this gospel because they know it will make them happy. If only we were all like little kids (Mosiah 3:19). Anyways, we are still working on Monica and working with Paris. I know that once they understand and realize that this is the Lord's true church and that this is His gospel and plan of happiness, then everything else will fall into place. That's just the way it works (Alma 5:7-9).

Well, I love you family, and I hope that you have a wonderful week. See you soon!

-Love Sister Williams

June 23, 2014

Transfer week is officially over and boy was it a weird one!

 

It all started last friday. There was a minor incident while I was driving that resulted in me getting really dizzy and not being able to see and my companion having to take the wheel on a busy road. All very dramatic. So I'm currently not able to drive, and my companion has epilepsy, so she can't drive, so we informed president that changes needed to be made so that we wouldn't have to walk around in the suffocating heat. So on Monday I went to the doctor to figure out what was wrong, and on Tuesday mornining, the morning of tranfers, after transfer calls that stated that nothing was changing, we get a call from President saying that we were getting a third and that we needed to come and get her. Little did he know that we were currently carless, and unable to drive even if we had one, because we had walked out of our apartment that morning only to find that our car had been stolen.... by the tow truck. So we spent the entire morning trying to get our car back, for which we now have a large sum of money to pay, and came home to a bouncing baby girl named Sister Flanery weighing in at 120 pounds and a wee 62 inches. Even though she was unexpected, we love her and she is our happy little suprise. But it's not over yet. The plot thickens. So we're in our trio for 1 day and then on Thursday morning we get another call from President saying that there were two girls coming into the field so he had two trainers ready, but then unexpectedly one of the trainees got her visa to Hong Kong and left. So there was a sister who was companionless and we were the only trio in the mission, so he needed to take one of us. After much thought and like 5 minutes, he decided to take Sister Daniel. So she packed up her stuff that morning and she was gone by noon. So I am now currently in a companionship again with Sister Flanery, and it is bliss. We are just having so much fun. No worries though, we'll keep it as mature as possible.

 

A spiritual thing that happened this week is yesterday we were finally able to meet with our investigator Monica, after not seeing her for a very long time, and it was just divine providence. She's the one who died and was brought back to life a couple of weeks ago. She had been kind of putting the breaks on everything since the incident and we hadn't been able to get in contact with her, but we decided to just stop by yesterday and she happened to be sitting outside. It was so good. We talked to her about her dumb ex husband who is a druggie and abandoned her and her two kids with nothing and ran off with other women (plural) and about how hard that is and also about how the only thing that can heal her and her two kids is the gospel. It was pretty powerful and she agreed to let us come over and teach her the plan of salvation this week. Then when we were leaving she said that she felt like we came at the perfect time and that she knows this is something she needs. It was so cool! The spirit is the coolest thing in the whole world and like I've said before, the gospel is like the coolest thing as well. There is nothing it can't fix.

 

Well my dear family and friends. I love you all. I hope that you have a fun filled week and that you keep your eyes open for those unplanned opportunites to share the gospel. They are all around us and they are happening all of the time. I promise that if you pray to have eyes to see them, you will. Keep on keeping on and I'll see ya in 5!

 

-Love Sister Williams

June 16th, 2014

Hello Familia!

 

So this past week was hot. Remember last summer when all I would write about was the weather? Well, it's that time of year again and it is a... wonderful thing. The Mosquitos are out in full force and they are carrying all sorts of diseases. Hopefully, I won't contract any fun diseases such as malaria or west nile? Wouldn't that be fun? Haha, probably not. Anyways, transfer calls were made last night and it appears that Sister Daniel and I are staying put for 6 more weeks. Her last six weeks, I might add. How strange is that? She will be with her family in six weeks. Very, very strange. It's good though because there is a ton of work to do here in Katy. Lots of people to share the gospel with!

 

Well I don't have much to share this week except there is this mormon message you can look up on lds.org that is so great that all of you should watch. It's called "Because of Him" and it's about the Savior. It is so powerful! Wow! Also if y'all haven't seen any of the bible videos on lds.org you are missing out. Don't worry though, repentance is possible, haha. So go, repent, and watch some of those videos, or all all of them, if you want to :) Anyways, I just thought I'd share that . This week is going to be a week full of miracles because this is the Lord's work and the fact that we are even allowed to participate in it is a miracle in itself. I love you all and I hope that you have a wonderful week. See ya soon!

 

-Love Sister Williams

 

ps

 

I included the link below for your viewing convenience :)

 

http://easter.mormon.org/

June 9, 2014

Howdy!

Sorry I didn't write last week. I ran out of time. But don't worry, I will update you on the most important part of last week. So 2 weeks ago there was a tornado making it's way through our area (ya... what the heck? I was slightly uncomfortable with the idea haha) and because of the tornado, there was a huge rainstorm that came with it. As a result, there were a bunch of displaced turtles. So we're driving down the road and we see this thing in the middle of the road and it's a turtle trying to cross this busy street, but every time it sticks its head out another car speeds by and scares it so it puts it's head back in. It was so sad! So I tell Sister Daniel what I saw, kind of with pleading in my voice, and she says we can go back. So I quickly turn the car around and pull over and run out into the street and grab the poor little guy. We named him Philip. So then we drive to a nearby park with a lake and we set him free and we watch as he joyously runs off and plops into the water. It was really quite precious. So we thought that that was it. Then we're driving on the same road and what do we see? Another turtle. Well I would have felt so bad leaving that one, so we turned the car around again and we parked and ran to get it when we see another one run across the street. So I grab the little one that was close, and set it safely off to the side, and then I run out into the street to get the other one that we saw and there is actually 2 of them! So I wait until the cars stop speeding by (everyone is looking at me like I am crazy as I stand in the middle of the median) and then I grab the two turtles and run back to sister Daniel. We then grab the other little one and put them all in the car and take them to a safe spot and drop them off. It was crazy. I firmly believe though, that 4 little turtle prayers were answered that day and that God loves all of his creations.

Other than that, the only other thing exciting that happened was that we found out that one of investigators has a heart condition and has to have surgery this week. We weren't able to meet with her for a little while because she was busy and then she cancelled the appointment that we did have because she said she had been in the hospital. Turns out that her heart has like two valves or something (I'm not a doctor so don't judge me) and it causes her heart to beat twice as fast as a normal persons and 2 weeks ago it got up to 200 beats per minute and she died... they were able to revive her, but she didn't know that she had that condition until this happened. So fortunately she wasn't avoiding us and still wants to continue learning, but unfortunately we will have to wait a little while. Totally understandable.

So this past week wasn't nearly as eventful, but we did start teaching these two wonderful kids named Hunter and Lexi and they are just so stinking prepared. Lexi is 10 and Hunter is 11 and their Dad was inactive for a while and their mom isn't a member so they had to wait for their dad to get active again and their mom to giver permission, but now after waiting for a long time, they are all finally ready for them to be baptized and it is just so fun to teach them. They totally get it and understand what we are teaching and they are so willing to learn and discover and find out for themselves if the things we teach are true. So they will be baptized on July 4th and it will be wonderful.

So this is the last week of the transfer, and then Sister Daniel goes home in 6 weeks. So weird. That's going to be me sooner than I would like, but I know it will be wonderful to see everyone again. Also, just a little food for thought, our Heavenly Father wants nothing more than for us to have joy in this life and the next. That is His whole purpose (Moses 1:39). So, in order for us the attain that, He has given us ways to achieve that. Now, initially when we look at the Lord's way, we are sometimes prone to "counsel the Lord" and say that the things that he asks us to do couldn't possibly bring us happiness. I know. I have definitely done that. But the truth is that the Lord's way will always bring us a lasting joy, whereas man's way, while it may bring temporary satisfaction or relief or whatever it may be, will eventually lead us to misery, guilt, shame, and ultimately unhappiness (Helaman 13:38). Anyone who has given in to temptation knows that. I promise that if we are willing to experiment upon the word and exercise even no more than a desire to believe, and then act on that, we will have our faith validated and receive everlasting happiness (Alma 32:26-27, Mosiah 2:41). Anyways, that was what I studied and I know it to be true because I've tried both ways and the Lord's way is soooooooo much better haha. I love you all so much and, even more than that, I know that our heavenly Father loves you more than you can comprehend. I hope you all have a lovely week!

-Sister Williams

So this week was a pretty good one.

 

We were able to find new people to teach and I was able to get to know the ward members better. It already feels like I've been here for forever though. it's weird. It's really funny though. the ward in which I'm serving has like the epitome of a small southern town feel. Super nosey, super gossipy, everybody knows everything about everybody within seconds and everybody has a opinion. People get offended really easily, and they will love and feed strangers right off the bat just out of the goodness of their hearts. It's great. A little nerve wracking, but great. So we have a lot of potential investigators right now who I think will turn out to be just golden. Lots of prepared people for sure.

 

The different thing about this area is that while it was primarily tracting/ self finding based in my other areas in order to find people to teach, in this area, people are not very kind or receptive at all to us when we tract, but because the ward is so missionary minded we have plenty of people to teach. This is the first time that I've been able to see what a fully functioning missionary ward looks and feels like. It is pretty amazing. It really is such a testimony builder that the Lord knows the best way to do His work, and that is through the members and missionaries working together. Pretty cool stuff.

 

Anyways, we have zone conference tomorrow and our zone is meeting with non other than the Houston North 1 zone which was my old zone!!! I am so excited to see everyone down in Melbourne again. even though it's only been like 2 weeks, it feels like forever. It will be so great. Plus Zone conference is always great regardless, and this is our last one with President Pingree before him and his family go home. Seriously the saddest thing of my life. I know that the new mission President will be great, but I will always consider President Pingree to be my mission president. I guess we'll see though on July 1st.

 

Anyways, I love you all and I hope that you have a great week. Search the scriptures, ponder and pray and watch the mysteries of the Lord unfold to you! See ya!

 

-Love, Sister Williams

So this past week in Melbourne.....

So this past week in Melbourne has been just great. In fact it has been so great that it is making me so very sad for transfers which are next week.  If I could have one wish it would be that I would get to stay here in Melbourne with Sister Tau for just one more transfer.  I do not believe that that will happen, but I can dream right?  Plus you just never know. 

So some of the things that happened this week are that 1) Roshanda and her children came to church this Sunday and I almost cried because I was so happy.  It seems that every Saturday something happens that makes it so that she can't come to church on Sunday, and this Saturday was no different.  We called her on Saturday night to make sure that she would still be able to come and she said that she had gotten into an altercation with the husband of a nineteen year old girl who was living with Roshanda,  and because he was then taken to jail and all of this drama was happening, she was unable to take her kids clothes to the laundry and get it washed in time for church. Sister Tau and I were so frustrated because something literally happens every week. So we were trying to think of a solution and then we came up with the idea to go over to her house at 6:30 in the morning before church and get their clothes and wash them at our place and then bring them back, and that's what we did, and it worked!  Albeit, with 4 small children and her being a single mother, she was 2 hours late, she made it and it was wonderful, and she plans on making it every week from now on.  Praise! 

The other thing that happened was that Jackie had a baptismal date for next Saturday, and she was just so excited for it, but the deal was that she had to come to church for all three hours this Sunday and she couldn't relapse back into her drug habits. Well, Sunday at church she informed us that she was leaving early because she was tired and when we asked her why she was tired she informed us that "the devil had gotten a hold of her the night before and she had stayed up doing drugs”. I wasn't too surprised, but it was really sad. We haven't told her yet that we'll have to cancel her baptism, because I think that she still thinks she's getting baptized, but I know it's going to break her heart. These things just take time and prayer and commitment and I don't know if Jackie is ready for all of that yet, but the encouraging thing is that she is a lot closer and stronger than when I met her 6 months ago and I know that she will continue to improve, it just takes time.  It's all about using the strengthening and enabling power of the atonement. 

Lastly, we have a woman in the ward who we visit and she is just awesome.  She served a mission in Colombia 26 years ago and is still doing missionary work today.  One such example is that she is allowing her nephew to live with her and has been slowly but surely sharing the gospel with him. He has always been kind and polite to us, but he has never expressed an interest in taking the discussions. Well about 2 weeks ago she texted us informing us that he wanted to take the discussions and had been reading from the Book of Mormon. Well, we met with him on Saturday and taught him the restoration and he accepted the invitation to be baptized. His sister joined the church about 5 years ago, and he said one of the biggest reasons he knows that this church is true is because of the change he's seen in her. He’s excited to learn more and I know that this will be such a blessing in his life. Member missionary work!  Yay! 

Anyways, all is well in Melbourne and I love this place with all of my heart and will be sad to leave whenever that may be. I love you all and I can't wait to see your smiling faces again here soon. Have a great week! 

-Love, Sister Williams 

I don't know if I mentioned this, but I got into a slight accident in a car wash, and this is my triumphant return to "Bubbles" after being too ashamed to go back for a week.

Everything is bigger in Texas.

Greetings from the Houston Heights!

Happy Birthday Sister Tau!

Hermana Miller and I at the party!

Just me!

Our District! I love them!

Sister Tau turned 22 yesterday!

Success!

Tau and I at the top of apartment building

The kebap! Sooooo good!

tracting fun!

What we do after a long day of missionary work!

Yay! our Bubbles friends didn't laugh at us!

 

Family!

I didn't write last week... I know I am the worst. I'm sorry.  But I'm doing it now! Repentance is real! Alrighty, so these past two weeks have gone by at the speed of light and because of that I can't really remember what happened. I am so lame. Have no fear though! I do remember 2 things that have happened in the past two weeks. So for starters there's Jackie. Do y'all remember Jackie? She is the woman we've been teaching since I got in the area and whom the sisters have been teaching since like 4 months before that. So she's been in the mix for quite some time. A little while ago, like 2 transfers ago, we set a baptismal date for Jackie and when the time got near she totally flaked and disappeared for 2 weeks and by the time we found her again it was past her date. So we have been hesitant to set a date with her again, because she obviously wasn't ready. But, in the name of progression we set another date with her two weeks ago for April 26. Yes that is in fact this coming Saturday. So we made her a reading count down calendar that leads up to her baptism, and we've been trying to meet with her as much as possible to help her keep her commitments. so the whole time this has been going on she just kept saying that she would leave her getting baptized on the 26th in God's hands, so if I’m being completely honest I really did not have faith that she would get baptized on that date. But, she came to church on Sunday and while we were talking to her she just mentioned in passing that she had invited her family and friends to her baptism!!!! As in she is still planning on getting baptized! Unfortunately we don't think she is quite ready yet, so we pushed it back a week, but that is such good news! Ahhh, the changes that happen in people are amazing to watch.

The last experience is one that happened this past Saturday while we were on exchanges. So on Saturday I was with Sister Miller and Sister Tau was in the Spanish area with Hermana Coley. So we haven't been able to see Paula in a while because she takes care of her 85 year old mom and her mom's Alzheimer’s has gotten worse as of late, so she hasn't been able to go to church in a little while. Anyways so we went up to see her with the elders on Saturday and Paula ended up inviting us to a neighborhood party. We figured it would be a good finding opportunity so we went. Turns out, this party was put on by another church and we definitely stuck out, as Mormon Missionaries, from everyone else. Basically it was just this big neighborhood bash that they were doing to give back to the community. Everyone was super kind and welcoming to us, and except for like one guy, no one made a big deal about the fact that we obviously weren't a part of their church. Anyways, while we were at this shindig, I initially started pointing out the differences between our churches and there's. The biggest difference I could notice though was the music. It was super loud and because of that I tried not to listen, because I figured that it was something I didn't want to listen to anyways. But then Paula made us find a seat and sit down and listen. So, because we had no choice, we sat down and listened, and something great happened. As I sat and listened to this loud rock music and I watched the people jump around and dance and smile and have fun, I felt the spirit. I started listening to the words and the tune and watched how good it made these people and myself feel and I realized something. Just because we aren't from the same church and I know that there is more truth to be found, that does not make the truth that these people have found any less significant. I could see and understand how someone would want to be a part of something like this, whereas before I just couldn't understand why everyone wasn't a member of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. That doesn't mean that I want them to stay where they are at, because that would mean that the happiness they feel right now would stop right there, and our goal is eternal joy. Eternal feels good. But it just made me more understanding and I was grateful for that, and I know that that was a lesson I needed to learn in order to teach others with more understanding. Anyways that was that.

So I haven't sent pictures in a long time, but a good handful is coming this week. Yay! I hope y'all have a wonderful week and a happy Easter! I love you!

-Love Sister Williams