Well, another transfer has come and gone and I'm sitting here with Sister Tau and we are just blown away... Did you catch that? SISTER TAU AND I ARE STAYING TOGETHER IN MELBOURNE!!!! Best news of my life. I love my sweet Sister Tau. We are hoping to see some miracles in the form of investigators gaining testimonies and acting on them this transfer. I really can't explain how blessed I have felt since coming to Melbourne. I really have gained such a love for the people here and I'm happy when they make good choices and they are happy, and you better believe I cry when they don't. I love them, and I know that that is a gift from Heavenly Father. Every now and then I get a glimpse of how he feels about one of his children and it is overwhelming.

It's positive in that you want to do everything you can to serve them, but at the same time, it hurts that much more when they don't choose to follow Him. A perfect example of this is the Fields family. We have been teaching the Fields since like my third or fourth day in Melbourne. It wasn't until recently that they actually agreed to actively investigate and find out for themselves if the things we teach them are true. We taught them a few Sundays in a row after that and things were going well, and then we didn't see them for about 2 weeks. Yesterday though, Carlos called and said we could come over at 5 and visit them. We were excited because we were going to teach them about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and its different components. That lesson is always great, because that's when you get to the part where you are inviting people to repent, or change, and when they actually do it, you can visibly see a light in there countenance. It is so wonderful. So yea, we were stoked. But when we got there, Carlos was acting a little weird. We made small talk and talked about our week and whatnot, and then out of nowhere he just starts in about how he knows that this isn't the true church and he goes on and explains about all of this anti Mormon stuff he found on the internet and how this is why the Mormon church isn't true.

Can I just say how much I hate being told what I believe? If you want to tell me about the things you learned and then ask if these are things we practice, or give us a chance to explain, then that is fine. In fact it is encouraged. But when I tell someone that what they read is not true or something they think we practice is false and they then proceed to tell me that I'm wrong and I should learn more about my religion and ask my "Elders" for the truth like it's some sort of conspiracy, that's when my patience wears thin. Luckily, I have learned enough self-control in these past 10 months to keep me from telling people just what I think of them at moments like that. It was heartbreaking. We have really come to love Carlos and Norma and love visiting them and getting to know their family, and it hurt to hear him say that the only reason we got farther in the lessons than the other elders they knew was because we were more persistent than the Elders... I would just like to say, when you spend hours and days and months of your life studying and praying and pleading with the Lord for someone and their happiness and their trials and their well-being, persistence is a natural result. But that persistence does not stem from wanting to get more members in our church, but it really truly comes from a deep love for these people.

The restored gospel of Jesus Christ has been the single most important blessing in my life and has brought me more joy than anything else in life. I share it because I know that it can do the same for anyone else who is willing enough not to harden their heart and to experiment upon the word (Alma 32). You had better believe that there is no way in Heaven or Earth that I would be out here in Texas of all places in either the burning heat or freezing rain getting door after door slammed in my face, getting ridiculed and yelled at and having creepy people whistle at me as I bike by in a skirt just to add numbers to the church.

On the other hand, all of that would be worth it, and is worth it, because I have come to understand the worth of souls and that even if through all of this, one person comes to the knowledge of the great plan of happiness our Father in Heaven has for us through the gospel of His son Jesus Christ, and takes the challenge to see if it could bless their lives and they do come to a knowledge that this is in fact the honest to goodness truth, then it was totally worth it. Going even further, even if not one person accepted the message in a year and a half that we are trying to share, it would still be worth it, because I can honestly say that I loved my brothers and sisters enough to give them an opportunity to learn more and I invited them to do so. It really just comes down to love. I love these people. I really do, and I know that what I feel for them is a very small portion of what our Heavenly Father feels for them, seeing as he gave his son to perform an incredible saving act that is incomprehensible to me. I also know that the hurt and disappointment I feel when this glad message is so flippantly rejected is also a small portion of what Heavenly Father feels, and yet he endures, and so will I. 

Anyways after that we rode up to a conference with some of our investigators, put on by a Young Single Adult ward, called "Why I believe", and there were awesome musical numbers and converts who shared their stories, and President Pingree spoke, and it was exactly what I needed. I love this work. It's hard and you cry more for others and yourself than you ever have, but at the same time I have felt more joy than I have ever felt as well. I KNOW this church is true. I know the Savior lives and that he is working right beside us with angels to bring about the salvation of his brothers and sisters. I know the Book of Mormon contains the fullness of the everlasting gospel and that what one has to do to come to that knowledge is to open it, read it and pray about it, and the Holy Ghost will do the rest. I know that Joseph Smith was an imperfect man who was called as a prophet of god to bring about the restoration of Christ's church here on the Earth. I know that because of Him and His sacrifice I know my Savior and Father in Heaven better than I ever could. I bear witness that these things are true in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. 

-Sister Williams 

Jontae and his mom

Sister Tau and I tracting

Weirdest thing I've ever seen

Sister Tau and I at Zone Conference

Sister Tau, Jontae and I

Sister Tau, Jontae and I

March 3, 2014

Hello Family!

I'm so sorry I didn't write last week. We were running late and volleyball was calling. I obviously have my priorities straight. But hey what can I say, I love volleyball. So these past couple of weeks have been AWESOME!!! So many miracles I can't think of them all. The ones that come to mind most readily though are we started teaching this family of a single mom and four kids and they accepted the invitation to be baptized, and so we're working on preparing them for that right now. Then we started teaching the Fields Family again, and things are going really well. We invited them to find out for themselves if the things that we are teaching are true and then be baptized, and they accepted. So hopefully everything turns our alright. I have faith that it will turn out exactly the way Heavenly Father wants it to. Lastly.... Jontae was baptized on Saturday! After 3 months of teaching him, he was finally baptized and it was a beautiful thing. The difference in him now from when we first met him is amazing. He always came to church in jeans and a t-shirt, after his baptism he came into the room wearing a white button up and slacks and a tie and he was glowing. We asked him how he felt and he said he was just so happy. His mom came to watch and she was crying because the spirit was so strong. The coolest thing though was after he was confirmed the next day in church, he received the Aaronic priesthood. Ahhh, I could have died. This is why we do it. Moments like these are few and far between, but when they do happen it makes all of the other stuff unimportant.

I walked away from the baptism that day reinvigorated and ready to do missionary work until the day I die, because it is so worth it. There is a scripture in the Doctrine and Covenants section 18 verses 15-16 that talks about that feeling. It says,

"15. And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father! 16. And now, if your joy will be great with one soul that you have brought unto me into the kingdom of my Father, how great will be your joy if you should bring many souls unto me!"

It is so incredibly true. The Lord doesn't need us. Don't you think he could do this work all on his own? He absolutely could. The thing is, seeing as one of the purposes of this life is to have joy, he wants us to experience and share in the joy that comes from helping another person come to the truthfulness and fullness of the gospel, and watching the miraculous change that naturally occurs as they live the gospel. There is no joy greater than that.

Another thought I had as all of this was going on was that, while baptism is good and great and essential, it is not the end goal. Our goal is not to get people baptized and then that's it. There is joy in that, but there is more joy to be had. The joy I am speaking of is the joy that comes from entering into one of the Lord's holy temples and having your work done there. Sacred promises and wonderful blessings are made in the temple. Families are sealed for time and all eternity in the temple. The presence of the Lord is not felt stronger in any other place than in a temple. Why wouldn't you do everything you can to able to enter in one of these houses? That's why we preach faith, repentance, baptism by someone holding the proper priesthood authority, receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands and enduring faithfully to the end, so that we and those we teach can enter into the temple and receive the blessings that are offered there.

A little while ago, a prominent LDS figure named Sheri Dew spoke at a stake conference here in Houston. One thing she said that really hit me was,

"it is incredibly shortsighted not to learn everything we can while we are in this life."

It is so true. We know that intelligence and knowledge are light and truth and we receive intelligence as we first learn about, prepare and do everything we can to make ourselves worthy, and then enter the temple. This brings true joy, I promise. We are going with Jontae in 2 weeks and I cannot wait. I know it will be a wonderful experience. Anyways, I love this gospel and I know it is true. I really do. There is nothing in life that can shake or take that testimony. Over and over again it has been reaffirmed to me and because of that I share it.

I love you all and wish you the best week.   See y'all soon!

-Sister Williams  

Feb 17, 2014

Happy Nine Months to Sister Huber and I

Sister Tau and I tracting

I guess it's time to meet companion number 8! 

So I am not training, but instead, I have the privilege of serving with Sister Tau! She is so great. We actually came out together so that's pretty cool. Sister Tau is from Tonga, but her family moved to New Zealand a few years ago and that's where she's been living. She has the cutest little accent and the sweetest spirit. There was no awkward getting to know you period, we were insta-friends from the start and we get along so well. It's pretty cool, since she's been in the area, we have had some amazing success. We set a baptismal date with Jontae that I'm pretty sure he will make it to, we officially started re-teaching this family that Sister Bonner and I found two transfers ago and committed them to read the Book of Mormon, we've found some new awesome investigators and the work just seems to be booming. It is a great feeling and time just seems to be going by so darn fast. This Saturday will be my 9 month/ half way mark. I cannot believe it's been that long seeing as I'm pretty sure I just left the MTC yesterday. But it is what it is I guess. I know we've been working hard this past week, because every night we have literally had to drag our tired bodies into our apartment and a few nights ago I'm pretty sure we were in danger of getting in a car accident because I was so tired while driving. All is well though we got home safely. We definitely have angels watching over us haha. 

So this week we started teaching a new investigator named Anita who seems like she could be golden. We taught her the Restoration and when we got to Joseph Smith's first vision she started crying. The spirit was so strong and she said that she felt such peace. That was def the spirit confirming the truthfulness of it unto her. After we asked her if she believed things to be true she said yes and so we then invited her to prepare to be baptized and she proceeded to tell us that she was baptized Catholic and her parents were Catholic and she planned to stay that way... Fortunately we hear variations of this statement all of the time so it didn't phase us haha. We just re-explained about the importance of proper priesthood authority and then asked if we could continue teaching her and she said yes. So we are going back on Tuesday and she committed to start reading from the Book of Mormon. I know that if she does that and prays she will come to know that baptism is what she needs to do and she will get a confirmation from the spirit of that truth. That's why the Book of Mormon is the Keystone of our religion. If the book isn't true, then everything goes with it, but on the flip side, if the book is true than every other claim stands. That's why we emphasize reading the Book of Mormon so much. It holds everything together. basically what I tell people is that, if they read and pray about the Book of Mormon and they find out it isn't true, then they have lost absolutely nothing. Maybe some time. But, if they read and pray and come to know of it's truthfulness. like millions of others already have, they have gained everything. Eternal life, the gift of the Holy Ghost, and eternal family, joy in this life and the next, a knowledge of our purpose in this life, answers to the questions of the soul pertaining to where we came from,why we'er here, where we'er going and so much more. To me, that is worth some time spent reading, pondering, and praying about a book that is meant to bless your life and strengthen your relationship with Jesu Christ and Heavenly Father. Anyways, it's been a great week and i know this one will be awesome as well. I love you all! See ya! 

-Sister Williams