Sister Wilson! You're almost home!

Here Is what Sister Wilson has been up to for the past few weeks!

Remember to email her and Write her! She would love to hear from you!

July 7th

So...I don't even know where to start for this week! SO much has happened! I'm just going to start with the most hilariously awkward situation of my life though.

So Hermana Ferrell and I were going through a list of less actives that we haven't met yet and made some calls to visit them! There was one girl that answered and was like "Yeah! We're home, so come on by!" But the directory said that only a man lived there. So we were a little confused, but went anyway. We went to a independent living retirement home and as we were walking up to the building, there were two people sitting on a bench outside. The girl was pretty young and the guy was super old. They greeted us and invited us to come with them to the little apartment. We were a little confused because they were holding hands. I just kinda figured that he had trouble walking or something. Boy, was I wrong. They sat us down and she proceeded to tell us about them. Turns out, she's 22 and he's 78. And they're IN LOVE. What?! Yep. You heard me right. She told us how it was "love at first sight" and all this stuff. I looked at my companion like "...what the freak do we do!?" And we kept hitting each other's hand to be like "SAY SOMETHING!" but there were seriously no words. NO WORDS, PEOPLE. They were like holding hands and being all lovey and whatever. Let me tell you what....hahahahahah I don't even know what else to say. Turns out they're BOTH members of the church. I asked them if they will be coming at all anytime soon and she said know because people are judgmental and uncomfortable (she then said she thinks the other women are jealous....?? I was like "Oh yes, honey, I'm sure that's exactly it.") with them sitting together. And they're living together in the retirement home. So...yep. When we left, we walked calmly into the car, and then DIED laughing. It was horrible. I feel so bad laughing at it. But...come on! As my district leader said: He qualified for AARP before she was even born!  Bless it. BLESS IT. BLESS IT BLESS IT BLESS IT.

Now, onto other things. 

We have had pretty powerful lessons this week! :) We met with our investigator, Jacky and talked to her about the Plan of Salvation! It was awesome. She gave us invitations to her quincenara this weekend. SO STOKED FOR THAT. Her dress is beautiful! We got to teach Des a lot too. She went out of town Thursday to yesterday though. Before she left we talked about the Word of Wisdom, and she accepted it instantly. She has a history of alcohol and she agreed with everything we said. I am so thankful for her and her example to us.

We have been visiting active members, too. It's so amazing sharing the Joseph Smith story with those who already have a testimony of it. The spirit is absolutely undeniable when I or Hermana Ferrell recite that first vision. It truly is the truth! I love it so much. I love it when they connect with it and when they feel the love of the Lord! It makes me want to cry. Haha! 

On the 4th, no one really invited us over...a few families...but that was it. Haha! We ended up going to the Lee's. Valeria told us she was getting ready for a baby shower for a cute little Mexican lady in our ward. She is going to POP any second. But anyway, we went over there, and they were working on the cakes! They wanted to use fondant but hadn't ever used it before. I WAS SO EXCITED. I told them I had used it before for some cakes I've made and they were like "Puede ayudarnos?!" And I was like "Claro que si!" It was SO nice to do that again.  It was so fun and I seriously have missed doing things like that! The cakes turned out ADORABLE. I'll post a picture of the three of us (Me, Hermana Ferrell, and Val) from the shower so you can see!

Yesterday at fast & testimony meeting, there were a lot of people expressing gratefulness for this country (especially the hispanic members). I couldn't help but go up there myself and express how much I know Heavenly Father loves me and my family, because He helped my grandparents leave their country for a better life. And now we have those freedoms! It was such a spiritual meeting! :) 

Anyway, I can't really think of anything else to say! But I know this church is true, y'all! This country is the chosen country for the Restoration. It's amazing how much the Lord set it all up so we could have the freedoms we do. I love reading about it in the Book Of Mormon. This place was chosen as the promised land long before George Washington or Columbus. :) Just like we were chosen to be here at this time long before we even came. ;) Share the message with others!



July 14

This is going to be pretty short because of other e-mails I had to write, but!

DES IS GETTING BAPTIZED THIS WEEKEND!

Party.

We're so excited! She is so ready. She's super nervous, but we're helping her feel ready! It's awesome. The ward I'm serving in is so great too. So many members have reached out to her. So that's probably the most exciting thing that's happening for us as of now!

We've been working so so SO hard (30 lessons this week...it's a big deal). A lot of it is with less actives in our area, and most of them are really struggling with their testimonies. It's a little worrysome and we are trying to figure out what best will help, but we don't plan on stopping!

We went to Jacky's sweet 15 too! I'll post a picture of us with her :) She is so cute. It was so funny because when we were leaving (we had curfew) all of these Mexican men were outside talking and one was like "Hermanas! Where are you going?" and I was like "Home?" and he said "Do you have a boyfriend??" and my companion was like "We're missionaries, so we don't date." and he said, "I didn't ask that. I asked if you had a boyfriend?" This guy was drunk. hahaha She said, "....no?" And I was like "Sorry! We gotta go!" and we booked it. Hahaha it was so ridiculous. Of course, that all happened in Spanish, so it was even funnier. Bless.

I have really been studying lately about the Abrahamic Covenant. In this months issue of the Ensign, there's an awesome talk by Elder Nelson about it! I was so amazed! I've learned so much. Also, I now have 134 days left. And I only know that because I did the math, and started reading Doctrine and Covenants backwards from my 138 day mark! :) I haven't read the whole book yet, so I'm super stoked about it! I'm learning SO much and taking SO many notes! Preaching the gospel is so important! The Book of Mormon is a sign of the second coming! Ah! It all just goes together! Love it.


July 21

I'm staying in Longmont. Haha! And Hermana Ferrell is too! So that's going to be sick. We're super excited for this transfer! It's going to be great. GUYS, I ONLY HAVE 3 TRANSFERS LEFT. THAT'S 18 WEEKS. WHAT?! ;LAJG;HARW;GHRWA;LKGTAW;RG. 

Okay, anyway.

DES GOT BAPTIZED ON SATURDAY! Best moment ever. It was amazing! She was so ready! And on Sunday when she received the Holy Ghost? Gah. The spirit was so strong in the Sacrament meeting! It was awesome. :) I love her so much! After her baptism, we were out trying to contact a few people, and she called us and was crying and just said, "I just want to thank you so much for this." And it just made me feel SO honored that Heavenly Father has trusted ME (a stubborn, full of faults, weirdo) to do this. To bring His children back to Him and to help them become what He has designed for them all along. My purpose is clear! To be a disciple of Jesus Christ at all times and in all things. And I will always ALWAYS strive for that so I can be worthy of the trust of all the people I've been helping during these 18 months.

Right now, we're really trying to work on putting together a sweet fireside for the Spanish group. We really feel that they need it and we're going to make it so so special for them. 

As far as other investigators are concerned, we have found a few new ones these past few weeks and we're starting to work with them a lot more too. Also, a little miracle happened yesterday! There is a less active woman we've been kinda visiting weekly named Pamela. She is from Peru and her husband, Bernardo is from Mexico. Bernardo is super nice but he says he doesn't believe in God and doesn't feel anything like we say we do. So he doesn't have too much interest, I guess. But he always sits in our lessons with Pamela and their little ones. Anyway, so yesterday, Pamela came to church! We saw her right before Relief Society started and we were like, "Pamela! Estamos muy emocionada a verle!" And she was like "Si si, y tengo algo a decir ustedes!" and we said, "...Que?" and she said, "Bernardo esta aqui tambien!" And we were like....".....QUE?!" and she said, "Si, el esta en nursery con los ninos!" And we were like WHAT NO WAY! Hahaha. So after church we saw him and he was all happy and such. It was pretty sweet. We're hoping that keeps happening! There's no way he can't feel the spirit if he keeps coming on Sundays

July 28th

Hey y'all! So this week has been a little slower since Des was baptized! But! She is doing great! :) She came yesterday and sat with us. It's so amazing seeing how quickly she's adapted to this new journey. I am so proud of her. :)

So we've been trying to work hard on this idea for the Spanish group! We called our mission president about it and had a meeting with the stake president yesterday morning! He is going to pray about it all this week and talk to the bishop of our ward and then go from there. So, there may be a chance we won't have it, but he told us to keep putting things together in the case it does happen! And instead of a general authority, we think he will speak. Which would be just fine! We've recruited all the members of our committee and are putting ideas together to present to them! So hopefully all of that will work out. It's been really stressful thinking about how stubborn these people are, but at the same time, I really want to give it all I got to bring them back.

 In other news...

We had a great lesson with some less actives we just LOVE, the Chicos, this week. We brought their home teacher with us. They seem to not fully understand the purpose of being sealed for eternity. Hermano Chico feels that all of us are one big family, so what's the point? And Hermana Chico feels that she's already right with God, so why go to the temple for endowments? (It's a little frustrating because this is one of the fundamentals of the gospel--to be together FOREVER. Not "until death do you part". Literally forever. And even moreso, why we have temples!) We tried to explain that there are more covenants and promises God has for us through those ordinances. And that this is a gospel of progression. Not just being baptized and being like, "Well, I did all I needed to!" PSYCH. Not true. They listened and it all seemed to open their minds a little bit. But, I still felt they weren't getting it. It was right when I thought that when the spirit took over and told me to tell Mekenna and Zach's story. I had never fully done that in Spanish before so I prayed while I was talking that I could get the point across. When I finished telling them all that had happened and that Zach was now working on receiving the priesthood and preparing to be sealed to his sweet wife so they could truly be together for all of eternity WITH their kids, Hermana Chico started crying. I bore my testimony that this is TRUE and that this is something Heavenly Father wants for them so they can receive the fulness of the blessings He has for them. They couldn't really argue that. We all sat there and then the subject changed a little bit. But the spirit was undeniable. So I thank Heavenly Father for that.

Anyway, that was a pretty cool experience. Mekenna and Zach will ALWAYS have a part of my heart. Always.

In my studies today, I was reading a talk by Elder Dennis E. Simmons entitled "But if Not...". It is all about faith. I even brought my big binder full of talks to the library so I could share this with you. Feel special. Haha.

 He says, "Faith is believing that although we do not understand all things, He does. Faith is knowing that although our power is limited, His is not. Faith in Jesus Christ consists of complete reliance on Him."  And then I was thinking about what complete reliance means. I won't lie to y'all, I am SO STRESSED about what's going to happen when I get home in November. It eats at me. Because I have many different roads I can take. And I'm scared, quite honestly. How will I have money for school? I'll only be home for a month before going to school, if that's what I end up doing. How can I pay for it? Should I just work? What in the world do I do? And then I thought about what complete reliance is. I'm serving my God. He will bless me. I need to remember that everything will work out. And it truly is in His hands. All I can do is continue to serve Him with all I got, and prayerfully consider these options I have. Later on in the talk, Elder Simmons says, "The Lord has given us agency, the right and the responsibility to decide. He tests us by allowing us to be challenged. He assures us that He will not suffer us to be tempted beyond our ability to withstand. But we must understand that great challenges make great men [or women ;)]. We don't seek tribulation, but if we respond in faith, the Lord strengthens us. The but if nots can become remarkable blessings."

And how true is that? It reminds me of the talk "That We Might Not...Shrink" by Elder David A. Bednar. Do we have the faith sufficient not to be healed? Or in my case, do I have the faith sufficient not to have my plans work out and go with what comes? IT FREAKS ME OUT. But I'm learning what faith truly means. It's truly and honestly having a knowledge that God will provide in all aspects of life. In hardships especially. That's when our faith is truly shown. So many things about this run through my mind as I think about it. But in all reality, it's not really my will, but His. 

Anyway, I could talk about this forever. I'm learning so much as a missionary and as the Lord's servant. I'm learning about myself, mostly. I feel so different from before my mission. I'm seeing things in new perspectives. 

I hope this e-mail has found you all well! I miss each of you very much and hope things are going good. Please continue to e-mail me your updates! It really makes my week to have e-mails when I get online. :)

Love you all!

Hermana Wilson

HAPPY EASTER FROM HERMANA WILSON

Here's how Sister Wilson has been doing for the past few weeks.


P.S. We're about to hit one year since she entered the MTC!

APRIL 7th, 2014





APRIL 14th, 2014

This week has been kinda crazy.

On Tuesday, we were doing service at Whispering Chase and received news that our new investigator's (Jodi) neice passed away. We were like, "not again!". Bah. So we got to her house and bless her heart....it doesn't get easier seeing people so sad. She was just sobbing and we held her. When she could finally speak, she just said desperately, "I just need to know she is okay and I'll see her again". It broke my heart. Mostly because so many people don't have the knowledge we do. We calmed her down and shared part of the Plan of Salvation with her. It eased her mind a lot. We've been really trying to be strong for everyone around us (3 investigators in mourning right now). It's kinda wearing us down a bit, but we know we are the ones that need to help them, so we're doing our best.

Tuesday night to Thursday night we were on exchanges! I'm not the biggest fan of them haha. But it's been fun. When I was in another area, the sister and I went tracting and got like 30 doors slammed in our face. It was THE BEST THING EVER. Ha. But we did place a Book of Mormon to an agnostic, so that was pretty cool!

On Friday we had dinner with miss Katie Bailey! I FREAKING LOVE THAT WOMAN. Seriously. Just thought I'd throw that in there.

Anywayyy, on Saturday we visited with Angela and her son Michael. Angela is from Mexico! So guess who has been LOVING speaking Spanish? Me. Haha it's so nice to use my language! We have such fun conversations. They go to the base here to the like, thrift store or something every few days and gave us SO many clothes. It was awesome.

On Sunday, Zach came to church again! He hasn't missed one Sunday yet. I'm so proud of him. We had dinner with the Bowlers last night, too. And they invited him to come! So it was so fun just talking and we laughed about SO much stuff hahaha. It was awesome. His little girl, Taylor, and their little girls were all singing Frozen songs and dancing around in their dresses. It was the most adorable thing ever. I filmed some of it. Haha.

Also, since yesterday was Fast & Testimony in Sacrament. I had this really strange feeling that I should bear my testimony in Spanish. We're in an English ward. Haha weirdness. Anyway, I told Sister Fillmore and she went up before me and was just like, "And now my companion is going to bear her testimony in Spanish...so if you don't understand her, that's why." And everyone laughed and I was like "OKAY, so I was sitting there and had the weirdest feeling to do it in Spanish! And then I just thought about how amazing our church is that you can go absolutely ANYWHERE in the world and the church is 100% the same. If that isn't a sign of the true church of Christ, I don't know what is." And then I proceeded to bear my testimony in Espanol! Legit.  It was so cool!

APRIL 21st, 2014

Hi Everyone!

I hope you all had a great week and weekend! We did SO much service at Whispering Chase. Bless them, they really rely on us for help! I am loving it. Maybe I'll be an event planner or something someday. ;)

We had a little lesson with Zach on Thursday. It was kinda last minute, but I really wanted to take the kids a little Easter basket. We got Taylor some cute fairy wings and some candy and such. When we walked in the house, her eyes got so big and she was so excited! Sister Miller (the Primary President in our ward) was already there and she said that the second we walked in and said, "Hi Taylor!" and were talking to her as we came up the stairs, Grayson immediately turned his head towards where the sound was coming from. He knows us. :) I love this family! They went up to Torrington for the weekend to be with family, so I'm sure they had fun!

We had a fun Easter weekend! The Green's spoil us so much! And got us little Easter baskets. We had an egg hunt, too. It was so fun! Two women in their 20's and two teenagers going crazy looking for eggs. Hahahaha! It was so fun. :) We took lots of pictures, too! I think Hannah will post them on Facebook soon. So you can see them! Hannah and Sister Fillmore sang a duet in sacrament meeting and it was beautiful!

After church, we went to Whispering Chase to visit a couple lovely old women who don't have family around. It's a big perk to do service there because we get to know the residents so well. One of the ladies we visited is a member, we took her a little Easter gift and had a great chat. She is so cute!  We also visited another lady that could be on the verge of going to a nursing home. She is so sweet and Sister Fillmore and I just love her. I told her we would come visit, and when we did, she was SO happy. She's a little slow in response when we talk to her, but the smile on her face was incredible to see when we walked in her apartment. :) We eat lunch with her a lot too since no one usually sits with her. I love her!

Anyway, that's really I have for now.  I hope you all had a wonderful Easter!! Remember the Savior and all he has done for us.

"He lives! All glory to His name! He lives! My Savior still the same! Oh, sweet, the joy this sentence gives. I know that my Redeemer lives!"

I'm sure this has spread like wildfire, but if you haven't seen it--watch this video!!

Because of Him

http://easter.mormon.org/?cid=HPTU041514694

She would love some mail!
Please check out her Facebook for her address.

The Past Few Weeks

Let's see how Sister Wilson has been doing this past month!

CHECK IT OUT!

Aug 20th

Hey y'all! 

Guess what?! I'M TRAINING A NEW MISSIONARY! Which means I'm a Mom! Frick, man. I'm so scared. Haha! I haven't even finished MY training yet! She came in from the MTC in Mexico yesterday! Transfer days are pretty cray-cray so we didn't get to e-mail then. Her name is Sister Luke! She is from Logan, Utah. She is a sweetheart! We seem to get along pretty well. Hopefully I don't corrupt her too much ;) Haha. It's funny, in the mission we have family trees, so Sister Seaborn is a Grandma! And Elder Gerber is her daddy. Baby Daddy! What up. Hahaha we have fun with it. :)

Most of my friends were transferred to different areas in the mission, so that was pretty lame. I may or may not have cried saying bye to them. But it's all good, I'll see them again soon! 

This past week was pretty crazy. We did a lot of service again, painting a shed at Habitat for Humanity! A friend of mine posted pictures for me on Facebook. Hopefully you all saw them! It was super fun. We painted a Cuban flag on it! Legit.

On Thursday night, we (Sister Seaborn and I) sang at a Relief Society social! They requested us. We would sing around the house and our Member we live with, Sister Fox, thinks we're good and announced it to the whole ward during fasting testimony meeting that we're "Beautiful singers" haha. So the R.S. president asked us to sing. It was nerveracking. But it was fun! Sister Seaborn plays the guitar so we sang Count On Me by Bruno Mars and Drops of Jupiter by Train. Classic, right? It was so cool! I think Sister Fox posted a video or two on facebook. I don't think I did very well on Count On Me, but I was satisfied with Drops of Jupiter. They all complimented us a lot. Haha I don't think I'm very good but it didn't go too badly! So that was...special.

We also helped bail some hay on Saturday! LEGIT. Dude it was so fun! Haha it was hard work, but lots of fun. Them things were heavy!

This week we're in a trio. Sister Fillmore's companion won't be here until next week, so it's nice to have someone that has trained before during the first week I train. I hope to learn a lot and be able to help Sister Luke. Pray for me, please. I really have no idea what I'm doing. Haha it's sad. I told her that we will learn a lot together this transfer! 

Anyway, that's my update for this week. I miss you all and love you lots!

Hermana Wilson

Aug. 26th

Hey guys!

So this past week was pretty crazy! Sister Fillmore, who is in the YSA ward for CSU, didn't get her new companion because Salt Lake screwed up some sister's schedules. So we were in a trio! So we basically were covering 2 wards this week. Busy stuff! It was fun hanging out with the CSU students though. I forgot how much I missed being in a student ward. The Zone Leaders are in that ward too, so we got to spend time with them. They're super cool! Elder Coates is from Concord, NC! And Elder Seawell is from Atlanta. So we all enjoy talking about the south and Bojangles, Cook-Out, Cheerwine (which, by the way, I WOULD not complain if someone sent me some...), and lightning bugs. Haha! They had a mustache party on Saturday, I'll attach a picture of the five of us with our awesome staches. 

Sister Luke seems to be adjusting well to being in the field. I totally understand how she feels! This is all overwhelming for sure. Haha. 

We met with a woman named Shirley on Saturday after we went to Habitat. Somehow we got her information, and she is actually in the Parkwood Ward's boundaries, but we went and saw her anyway. She was telling us about how her Mother has died and she hasn't been the same since. We shared a lesson on how God is our loving Heavenly Father and the message of the restoration of Christ's church. I could just TELL she was feeling the spirit. After the lesson, I asked her if I could give her a hug and she looked like she was about to cry. She told us we made her day perfect and she was so glad we came by. See, it's stuff like THAT that makes this worth it. I am going to contact the Parkwood missionaries to see if she went to church. She was a sweetheart.

We also all spoke in Sacrament meeting yesterday! Our Ward Mission Leader asked us if we would, and he was going to speak too. So since we have two sets of missionaries (and sister Fillmore) in our ward, all 5 of us spoke. Just like 3 minutes each. I talked about how you can't teach the gospel without love. And how all of us are examples to those around us and being a missionary, whether you have a name tag or not, is a responsibility of ours. We have the most precious message of happiness and love to share, so why don't we do it? Don't be scared, y'all. There's a scripture that says all you need to do is open your mouth and the Lord will fill it with what you should say. He did that for me when I spoke, because I definitely had no idea what I said when I got back to my seat in the congregation. Amazing.

I have set a lot of goals for myself this transfer. I'm going to do a lot better. Things have been crazy these past few weeks, but now that it's all dying down a bit, I feel like I can really focus and do my best. We're really focusing on ward unity, and Sister Luke and I are really focusing on the barrier between the English and Spanish sisters. Languages should not be the reason why we don't reach out to people. So I'm going to talk to the Relief Society President this week to discuss what we can do to bring the women together. I have a few ideas, so hopefully it'll all work out! I'm feeling very close to this ward, so I hope that they listen!

Anyway, that's really all I have to say today. We are going to a couple outlets in a little while. There's a Coach outlet. So we all know what this means. I'm gonna cry because I'm poor. But it's all good. Hahaha. And the Elders know that I've been waxing my eyebrows, so they're asking me to help them out with theirs. Bahaha, let the torture begin ;) 

I miss all of you! Know that Heavenly Father loves each of you very much. I know this for a fact. :)

Hermana WIlson

Sept. 3rd

Hey y'all!

So this past week was crazy good! Well, mostly!

Hermana Luke and I have been visiting people like crazy! Our Ward Council has been giving us names of people to stop by and see and w'ere doing it as much as we can! We're also doing a lot of projects and helping Habitat for Humanity finish a house! Legit. 

We had a trainers meeting on Friday. I got to see Sister Seaborn again! :) It was a loverly reunion with my Momma. And we also had a meeting with 2 transfer missionaries. So all of the mishies I came out with from the MTC were there. It was a nice MTC district reunion as well. :)

There are some AWESOME families in our ward that we're getting close to. The Enriquez family are going to the temple next month! Shanelle and Chris are getting their endowments done in a couple weeks. They had been trying to get to the temple for a while now, and for some reason the Bishopric just hadn't seen them yet. I said something during Ward Council last week and after that, they saw them that day! So they had their final temple recommend interview on Sunday night. I'm SO excited for them! Shanelle asked if I would be her escort, and I asked President Brown, but he told me that Elder Christensen wants us to focus more on sealings, so President Brown said I could go to their sealing in October if I'm still in CO. :) :) That would be AWESOME. They're amazing people. They have tattoos like all over them. Haha, Chris has sleeves and Shanelle has a half sleeve and tattoos on her legs too. It amazes me to see people make such awesome changes in their lives. I really hope I get to be there when they're sealed to their family. They have 5 kids.

We had dinner with another member last night, Sister Keesling. She is amazing. I kind of expressed some struggles I'm having with adequacy and feeling important in this work, and she started crying. We had a serious heart to heart. She helped me SO much. And when Sister Luke and I got home last night, she and I had a long talk too. I'm so thankful to have such support around me. 

Anyway, that's really all I have for now. Here is a picture from the meeting! Sister Seaborn, Me, and Sister Luke.  And yes, my skirt is a little big. (SCORE!)

Hermana Wilson

She's Still Alive!

Here are more letters from Sister Wilson :) and some pics too!

Hey guys!

Holy cow this week was pretty much INSANE. I don't even know what the heck to tell you.

Someone just sprayed cologne hardcore in here. Now I have a headache. Awesome!

ANYWAYS, sorry I'm really distracted today. So basically, we went on a lot of exchanges this week. Sister Seaborn's calling as Sister Training Leader is pretty insane. We went on 3 exchanges. So I had like 4 different companions this past week. It makes it a little difficult because it makes me senior companion and I have no idea what the heck to do. So it's been lots of service and calling people. Yayyy. I did get to be with Hermana Vargha on Friday (the sister that was with me at the MTC), so that was super fun.  We also have a new investigator, named Anai, and we are continuing with a young married couple, the Phelps, (cutest couple ever award!) and they are so solid but keep looking at the logical side more than the spiritual. So that's going to be fun.

We had dinner at the Phelps' home last night. Laura's family was in town, so it was a huge Mexican fiesta! We played some games and did kareoke with them. Haha it was really fun. Her family is all LDS, so we had a pretty big gospel discussion.It was very frustrating. Haha. They kept bringing up this ridiculously deep doctrine, like stuff that no one knows the answers to, that not even my brain could comprehend and confused me too, and it just kept confusing them more and more. I finally just stopped the conversation and was like, "Look. This stuff that we're talking about isn't really important right now. What YOU need to do, is continue to study the lessons you have been taught, read the Book of Mormon, because that is the most crucial, and keep coming to church. But the biggest thing I can tell you, is you have to pray about what you're learning. You can't know spiritual truths without praying about them and asking the source of everything: Heavenly Father. We can tell you it's true 'till we're blue in the face, but if you don't ask, you won't know for yourself." So hopefully that helped them in the midst of all the confusion. We decided that we're not going to try to teach them with family there anymore, because we'd start on one subject and it would turn completely into tenets and things that don't matter right now in their journey to finding the truth. BAH.

Anyway, :) hahaha. So apparently there's some psycho jihadist running around Fort Collins threatening the LDS and Catholic church. We got a voicemail about it from the AP's and we were like, "Bring it on." Haha but seriously, if anyone is worried, we're fine! We're on alert and keeping lookout for the dummy's car. It's like a white sedan with black spray paint on it...seriously? We're being safe, and we're almost always with some elders, or members, so we're not alone very much. It's all good! Prayers would be great, though. :)

Today we're going ice skating for P-Day! It should be fun. Hopefully. Haha! I'm loving it here and really enjoying the work. We're visiting a lot of people and we both bore our testimonies yesterday. Our ward is legit. I love them all so much! They're just wonderful. :)

Hey Y'all! Sorry the e-mail is later than usual. We did the Horsetooth hike again! It's our last P-Day all together. :( It makes me so sad! I'll be sure to post pictures with this one; it wasn't as cloudy as last time! Gorgeous view. And the Elders are such goobers...you'll see what I mean. It's crazy that our zone is this close and we're all really scared about transfers next week. Haha. We don't want to be separated!

Anyway, so we did lots of service this past week. We volunteered at a charity BBQ thing. It was super fun. Pretty much anything we do with the other missionaries is awesome. There were free snow-cones and insane beach volleyball. It was for people that are below the poverty line. It was so fun to see all the kids get their face painted and I helped Elders Tenorio and Gerber with the auction. It was hilarious. 

We also volunteered at Goodwill some. That's always fun too, we find such random stuff there! We've been trying to visit less actives/recent converts too, but since it's the last leg of summer, people are going out of town a lot. 

We did service at Habitat for Humanity as well! Haha that was so fun. We got to break glass on chandeliers they aren't going to sell. Stress reliever much? It's super fun. We got glass in our skin, but you know, it was great!

I don't really have much more to report than that; our ward is awesome. Sister Brink came up and asked me for help on knowing how it feels to be humble. I wasn't really sure how to answer, but I tried. Haha I told her I'd try to look into it. I'm not sure if being humble is a feeling...I don't think it is. I think it's just realizing we are nothing without Heavenly Father and our trials and experiences are meant to help us rely more on Him. I'm going to look into it more before I go too into it.

So anyway, P-Day today was super fun! I made Cuban food! Everyone loved it, of course. Duh. Haha, we all got up early to do the hike again and it was soooo much fun! We were all goofing off at the top, standing around this big table-like rock, and I was recording a video and told some of the Elders to tell me "leaving words" since we may not be in the same zone, and I got a "I've enjoyed every moment..." a "Will you write me?" and then Tenorio just goes, "Ay, we're gonna sacrifice a virgin..." It was hilarious. He wasn't paying attention, but we all died. But anyway! Here are some pictures, I'm sorry this update isn't as detailed as others, I'm pooped from the hike and cooking for everyone.

Out in the Mission Field!

There she is! Out in the C - O!

Our baby girl is growing up!

When she first arrived:

Hey y'all!

I am in Fort Collins! Kinda awesome that I'm in the town my mission is named after. We had a great flight to Denver and met President Brown. It was really fun. On our first day here we had a day-long training sesh. It was pretty long, but really exciting too. I got pretty overwhelmed. I don't do very well with change so it was an interesting day for me. And I had been up since 3AM and didn't get to bed until after 10 that night. So THAT was fun....not.

My trainer's name is Sister Seaborn. She is AWESOME. And from Alberta, Canada. So Canadian jokes are thrown around a lot. But then of course, so are Cuban ones. Haha. She has an incredible story on how she came to be on a mission. She's very admirable for the things she's been through and that she is still here. It's awesome! Both of us click really well and get along great. She laughs at me a lot, but then again, who doesn't? Haha. Yeah.

We are serving in the Terry Lake Ward. We had a meeting yesterday with the Ward Missionary Leader, Brother Briscoe. He should be sending you (Dad) a photo soon. He is very determined to get missionary work done in our ward! He has like 3 kids out right now on missions, I think. It's pretty awesome! We also met Sister Fox, who we will be living with. We are currently living in an empty house owned by Sister Fairbank, until we can move in to the Fox's home. Sister Fairbank is a sweetheart. And she has a huge dog, which of course I love. I miss my Goot.

We also met the Relief Society president, Sister Kahl. She and her family are very pro-active in trying to get less actives active again. We are going to be mostly focusing on less actives since there are so many in this ward. This is an English ward, but has a Spanish group. It seems that the Spanish members are kinda wishy-washy and need some strengthening. So we plan on really working with them. And asking them for help with our Spanish! Sister Seaborn is pretty fluent, (she's been out for 7 months) and says that if we practice talking with the Spanish sisters, I will get pretty familiar with how to speak and what not. So that will be great! I'm pretty nervous though.

Anyway, we also had dinner with the Parry's last night. They are a sweet little family. Sister Parry teaches at a bi-lingual elementary school and is very proactive in missionary work too. I think this is gonna be great! However, we have heard that the majority of the members here aren't missionary-minded at all. Well, that's gonna be changed by the time we're done with them!  You all know me pretty well, and they're gonna do it whether they like it or not.(Of course, they will like it once they figure out how to do it :)) I think the biggest reason why people don't fellowship others with the church is because they don't know how or where to start. So we will definitely be focusing on doing that too!

After one week:

This week has gone by SO slow. Just FYI.

But it's been great! Sister Seaborn and I met quite a few families and went to a ward activity as well. We are meeting some pretty awesome people. We went to visit some of the Hispanic members of our ward but no one was home! It was pretty lame. Haha, but now that we met most of them on Sunday, we'll know when to see them. 

I can tell the ward here is trying to be missionary minded. I can see they want to do it, maybe they just don't know how. I hope that when we get to meet with each of the families, we can help them better. I think Bishop Walton said that one of us will be speaking in Sacrament meeting about how to be a good member missionary. So hopefully that'll help too!

So on Saturday, Sister Seaborn had a major migraine and slept most of the morning. So I was like, super productive and did A LOT. I studied some Spanish, read in my Spanish Book of Mormon, watched the Restoration in Spanish, watched Finding Faith in Christ (which is SO good, I recommend it to EVERYONE to watch), cleaned the kitchen, made lunch, studied out of the training booklet, and made a help-sheet for when I have to give messages in members homes. I'm put on the spot a lot since I'm brand new haha so I made a chart with scriptures on different topics (faith, be of good comfort, prayer, obedience, etc.) so when I have to do the message at member's homes, I can just use that instead of trying to come up with something. Smart, I know. So I did all of that between like 9:30 and 12:30. Then Sister Seaborn woke up and we went and did some community service. We volunteered at Goodwill. It was pretty fun. I wasn't really looking forward to it, but it was actually fun! There were other Elders there and we made up a system to help the work move along faster. I got to practice my Spanish with Elder Calquin (who's going home this week, crazy!), who lived in Chile until he was 10! It's so comforting to have people willing to help and are so patient with me when I'm trying to communicate.

Sister Seaborn and I get along really well. We laugh a lot together, which is definitely needed. We are working hard, but having fun too. We've had a few hear to heart conversations and she's very mindful of me being new, so she's not too hard on me. She's helped with the adjustment really well. We are pretty good friends, I'd say. 

Yesterday was NUTS. We went to ward council in the morning, and then had Spanish Relief Society with the Hispanic group in the ward. I know the lesson was on tithing, and that's all I got! It was so hard for me to understand what's going on. They talk so fast and the words are like, slurred together so I can't differentiate what they're saying. (HELP!) and then we had Sunday School with the Hispanic group as well. Man, I have a lot of studying to do. We talked to a few sisters and they all said we can go to their houses and practice with her and that they'd help us become more fluent. Sister Seaborn is already really good. I just want to know it! Bah. It'll come with time. We haven't even really been using it since we're in an English ward. Towards the end of Sacrament meeting, the counselor that was conducting invited me and Hermana Seaborn up to tell the ward about ourselves and share our testimonies. I didn't really know what to say, but I guess I said what I needed to. Sister Seaborn really stressed that we can't do this work with out the members. WHICH IS SO TRUE. All of you should find someone and give their name to the missionaries. Just sayin'. After church (Sacrament meeting is last) at least 10 people or so came up to us and talked with us or gave us referrals. It was pretty sweet. 

Anyway, after church we went to the Bishop's house. His son is leaving for the Argentina MTC on Wednesday, so they had a BBQ party for his open house. It was fun. Hermana Seaborn found a guitar and knows how to play so we were jamming out a bit. Haha. After that, we went to the Barrow's for dinner. They are a sweet couple. They've been married for 10 years! You can just tell they love each other so much. It was nice to talk with them for a while. After that, we called the Parkwood Ward elders to help us move a bed (we're in the process of moving to another house) so we can put twin sized beds in there. And then we went back to the Fairbank's, packed up all our stuff, and moved! So now we're in a basement of a member's home. The basement is pretty much their grandkids play room, but there is a full bathroom and a bedroom that we're gonna be staying in. Her name is Sister Fox; her husband isn't a member and her family are all inactive. She is a wonderful lady. I'm really excited to spend time with her and get to know her family better.

Two weeks ago:

Whew! What a week!  

Things are really picking up. We did 15 lessons last week. And we visited a lot of people! I'm really enjoying getting to know everyone. And the Elders here are super fun too. Doing service with them is always great. I'm making friends! Y'all should be proud. ;)

We have been doing a lot of service. Volunteering at Goodwill and Habitat for Humanity. It's nice to get our hands dirty and help people out. I love doing Habitat because something always needs to be done. Last week, Elder Gerber, Elder Calquin, and Sister Seaborn and I organized this tile shed. It was insane. Well, Elder Calquin and I did most of it. Haha but it was just fun to do physical work. We went again on Saturday and pretty much our whole zone was there. We were breaking glass for them and clearing things out. It was so fun! Definitely one of my favorite parts as a missionary.

So there were two lessons that super stuck out to me this past week. (All of them were great, but these two hit me pretty good.) We had a dinner appointment with the Swensen family. They are so cute! Brother Swensen is a student at CSU and Sister Swensen is 6 months pregnant, and they have a 4 year old named Allen. He is precious. That kid is ridiculously smart. He knows the first 10 articles of faith by memory! Better than me. But anyway, we were doing our message, and I was in charge of it this time. So I shared my favorite scripture, D&C 61:36. "And now, verily I say unto you, and what I say unto one, I say unto all. Be of good cheer, little children. For I am in your midst, and I have not forsaken you."  Allen really wanted to help me read it to everyone, so he came over and I would say a few words and he'd repeat them. I don't know what it was, but it just really hit me. It reminded me of my kids at the YMCA and how important it is to be an example and teach them the gospel. The faith that children have amazes me. You all know that already, so I won't get too into it. I almost started tearing up when he was reading with me.

And now for the other lesson! It was on Saturday. There is a family here, the Enriquez family, and they were baptized a couple years ago, I think, and are less actives. Sister Enriquez randomly called us on Saturday to come over, so we did! She is hilarious. I love her already. They have 5 kids. We had a good time talking and getting to know them and then we were sharing a message! Sister Seaborn told me it was my turn to be in charge (oh goodness) and I was like, "AHHHH!" because I was nervous. Haha. I was going to just do my favorite scripture, but during the opening prayer, the word "Restoration" came to my mind. I was not prepared for a different lesson than the one I had been doing. So after the prayer, I took a minute or so going back and forth between the D&C scripture and the scripture of the first vision. I felt so prompted to do the first vision, so I was like, "Alright, help me out though, will ya?" and I started it. And it. was. AWESOME. Like holy cow! We talked about Joseph Smith and what he did for us as a church and it was so good! I told them I only had the first vision memorized in Spanish and that I'm working on it in English, and they said, "Just do it in Spanish! That's so cool!" So, I did. And it was incredible. The spirit was SO strong. I felt so good about it. Bah! It was just great.

Anyway, so since Sister Seaborn is the Sister Training Leader. We have to go on exchanges A LOT. Which means when someone new comes to our area for the day, I'm the senior companion. Which freaks me out. I'm not ready for that! Haha. But the first exchange last week went really well. We're going on 3 this week. I'm wondering if this is preparing me for something. I feel like it is. I'm scared. Hahaha. On the exchange last week, I was with Sister Passey. She came out from the MTC with me, so we're both new. We had about an hour of nothing really going on, so we went to the Stake Center parking lot to do some companionship studying. We found Sister Seaborns list of "Signs of the Second Coming" and HOLY COW. We spent over an hour on that thing! Y'all, this stuff is legit. We were reading scriptures and cross referencing like crazy. It was awesome. :) We both decided that it made both of us really want to be as faithful as we could on our missions and in our lives. 

Now, I'm gonna share a scripture I really like! It's from the Book of Mormon. It is Alma 32:21-22. Faith is not to have a perfect knowledge! We don't know what exactly is going to happen or what is in store for us. But if we have the faith that God will provide for us, He will! I am really learning to rely on Heavenly Father for a lot of things since I've been on a mission. Especially as far as my future is concerned. I can't be in control during this time in my life, and I have been kinda freaking out about it. Like where to go for school, if I'm getting married, etc. I can't do that! I'm learning to truly give it all to the Lord and just do the work. It'll all work out the way it needs to. I'm trying my best and I know He'll cover what I can't do. And that if I do this right and the best I can, He will bless me tremendously. I feel his support and comfort every day.

Last week: 

Whew! Holy man this past week went by so fast! I hope time keeps flying! So let's see, what happened this week...

We have been visiting people like crazy! I've really been thinking about my patriarchal blessing and I've read it a few times. It says that I will have the ability to see people as children of God and why they are special to Him. And I'm beginning to see how true that is! There have been a lot of times where we'd talk to people and I can just feel my heart soften towards them and it comes to my mind that they are a son or daughter of God. It throws me off a lot, actually. But I'm seeing myself be more Christlike because of it. 

We went on splits with a couple ward missionaries. I was with Sister Swenson, she's 25, married, has a 4 year old, and another one on the way! She's gonna pop any minute, I feel like. She's so little! We visited a member together and we worked pretty well together! She is a wonderful woman. We had a very deep discussion while we were driving around and like I said before, I could just see how special she is to Heavenly Father. These members we're working with are really trying, it seems. They're all very relieved to have sisters here (they say that one set of sisters is equivalent to 5 sets of Elders haha) and seem to be very receptive to us. So that's great!

We actually went to a funeral for an 18 month old on Friday. I know we went to Papa Ernie's funeral, but I don't remember much of it. The little boy passed in his sleep a few nights before. It was pretty emotional. Sister Seaborn and I were sitting with a bunch of Elders and we all teared up. It was so sad. The service was very heartfelt and also uplifting. I'm so grateful for the knowledge of the Gospel and the knowing that that little boys family WILL see him again. The Plan of Salvation is an amazing thing, let me tell you.

On Saturday we went to visit a member in the hospital. She was getting groceries out of her car and then got her 10 week old out too and fell and dropped him on the driveway. We found out Friday night and went to see her as soon as we could. The baby is fine, thank goodness. A couple Elders were there the night it happened and gave him a blessing. He's bruised up pretty good, but he is going to be fine! What a blessing. Seriously. We talked to his mother and she was being pretty hard on herself. It was an accident though, and we know she is a wonderful mother. Seriously, I've been taking notes watching her with her kids. She's incredible.

We also had Pioneer Day! Yes, they celebrate it here. Haha that's new. It was a stake activity so our whole zone was there. It was SO much fun. We all got facial hair face-painted on us. Haha it was pretty legit. It was fun seeing members of the stake all get together and talk about their heritage. There was one woman who is related to Elizabeth, from the movie 17 Miracles, that escaped her abusive husband and then found the jerky with the man in the wilderness. That was pretty sweet.

So TODAY. We hiked a MOUNTAIN. Horsetooth! It was SO ridiculous. It rained haha. It was super fun but man it was hard! Remember our hike at Mt. Zion's National Park? NOTHING on that. Seriously. I'm gonna be way sore tomorrow. At the very top you're legit rock climbing. But the view was AMAZING. Of course, I was kinda freaking out because I'm scared of free-falling/heights/falling off to my death. I felt so very accomplished and like I conquered something incredible when I got to the top. It was a great feeling. It was cloudy, so we were literally high enough to be in the clouds. A cloud came up over us and were like, in it. It was crazy. :) I'll attach a picture so you can see.

I know I've said it before, but I just LOVE my zone. All of us get along great and I'm so glad to have awesome people around me. Hermana Seaborn and I were the only sisters hiking today, with like 12-16 Elders. It was so fun. It rained, we got in a mud fight, you know, normal stuff like that. I'm glad to have opportunities to do things like that though. It's definitely needed!

Please write her at: 

Sister Yiselle Wilson

Colorado Fort Collins Mission 

5285 McWhinney Blvd

Suite 100

Loveland, CO 80538