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

 

April 7, 2014

Whaaaaaaatttt!!!

Can you believe that General Conference has happened again? For those of you who don't know what that is, it is a worldwide broadcast that happens every six months in April and October, where the General Authorities from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, including the Prophet and apostles, address the church in 2 day period. It is always a wonderful experience and this past weekend was true to form. If you didn't get a chance to see it you can go to www.lds.org and watch it. Also the talks will be posted on that same sight to read or print and study. I can't wait!

I learned a ton, and I know I'll learn even more as I go back over my notes and go over the thoughts and impressions I received during it. I can say that loving those around you was a huge emphasis, at least it seemed that way to me. But, the thing I wanted to write about today was prayer. I loved Henry B. Eyring's talk, the first councilor of the quorum of the 12 apostles, about how when we make righteous decisions and choose to live the gospel of Jesus Christ, we are justifying the hope of our righteous ancestors. I thought that was so cool. It just goes to show that the Lord answers every prayer in His own way and in His own time. We may not understand right then and there where He is going with things, but we will. It's all about perspective. There was one talk and the woman speaking said, "prayer doesn't change God's will, it changes me." That really is what it's all about. In the bible dictionary it says that most problems arise from forgetting the parent-child relationship we have with Heavenly Father, and forgetting the true nature of prayer. Prayer isn't about changing the will of God, but about securing for ourselves blessings that God already has in store for us. So much frustration and heartache could be avoided if we could just learn to develop a relationship of trust with our Father in Heaven, and trust that every prayer we have will be answered in a way that is better than we ever could have come up with on our own. The purpose of prayer, the whole reason why Heavenly Father doesn't just give us everything we need without us asking, because He already knows every one of our needs and wants desires, is to cause change. To help us develop patience and faith and trust and love and gratitude. To help us develop every Christ-like attribute necessary to return to live with Him again. As we hit our knees in humility and plead with the Lord for those things that we need, and then wait patiently and trust in the Lord and exercise enough humility to say that He really does know best, we can then sit peacefully while we wait and watch the Lord's hand as He works in our lives for our good and the good of our families. It is a comforting thought that the most powerful being in the universe wants us to be happy and is working alongside of us to ensure that we attain eternal life and eternal joy. Amazing. And the promise is, that regardless of what trials we may face in this life, if we make and keep sacred covenants with the Lord and are faithful to those through diligent prayer and scripture study, no blessing will be withheld. No blessing. He wants to bless us we just have to ask, act, and receive.

I hope that makes sense. Anyways, I loved conference and I hope if you didn't watch it, that you will. Have a wonderful week and love one another. It should be easy, you all are lovely people. See ya soon!

-Sister Williams

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