Mother's Day

Well again, Happy Mother's Day to all the beautiful women out there! I was so happy to be able to talk to my parents and brother last night. It was great to be able to see their beautiful faces (Yes, Kurt, even yours haha) and hear that all is well at the home front. I'm grateful that we get to talk to our families twice a year, but that it's no more so I can stay focused :)

The work is going great out here. I am loving my new companion, Sister Hamilton. She is a fireball and full of energy. She is a prime example of being lovingly bold! She can tell those that we're teaching that they need to get their act together and have so much potential, and they're like "yeah, yeah I do!". If I were to say that, they'd probably stop letting us meet with them. Haha.

We have been able to witness great miracles this week and have been able to invite a few more people to be baptized. We had an incredible experience with one. Holly was a referral from the ward who is dating a member in the West Stake. She was introduced to the gospel through him showing her the "Come Follow Me" program and wanted to know more. We taught her the first two lessons and they went well. She is a very educated woman and it makes things easier to teach her but she also likes to make sure she knows for herself these things are true (which is perfect!). We were planning on teaching her lesson three and inviting her to be baptized and as we confirmed the appointment with the fellowshipper who's house we teach at, he informed us that the boyfriend had suggested we invite her to be baptized that night. We were excited to hear that we were all on the same page and prayed about a date to commit her to. May 25th and June 1st were the two dates in mind and we felt comfortable with either one so we went in going for May 25th. As we taught her the Gospel of  Jesus Christ she continued to take in everything we taught and then we gave her the hard invitation. She seemed a little hesitant, surprised that we would be asking her so soon but we discussed why it's important and why we think she's ready. We invited her again and Sister Hamilton suggested the date June 1st. Though surprised that she said June 1st instead of May 25th, I felt good about it too. We looked at Holly and she had this look of bewilderment on her face and turned to her boyfriend asking, "Did you tell them?". We asked what she was talking about and she said that they had news for us. They had recently gotten engaged and had talked about her getting baptized the same day as their wedding which was set for...JUNE 1st! What a tender mercy! The Spirit was SO strong and we all were just beaming. It's amazing how the Spirit can truly guide us and teach through us IF we open our mouths!

We've been sending those that we are teaching and some church members spiritual thoughts each day and it's great finding uplifting thoughts and finding simple but powerful quotes that can motivate us throughout our days.

Life is not easy. Temptations and trials are at our hands at every corner, but if we keep our faith in the Lord strong and rely on Him to help us, we can conquer anything. Faith is an ACTION word and so we can't just say we know, but we also must DO! Pray and then ACT on what answer you receive, read and then ACT on what is taught. If we have a sincere heart (desire) and real intent (willing to act), the truth can be revealed to us. I am so grateful to know that as I do all that I can do, He will provide the rest! The Gospel is still true and together the Bible and Book of Mormon help testify of that!

Keep smiling everyone :)

Love,
Sister Wightman