Photos 09/23/13

President and Sister Winder with Sister Archuleta and I

Sister Archuleta and I while out contacting

09/23/13 Letter #26

Well the weather is finally cooling down and it couldn't have been better timing. Sister Archuleta and I are walking more as we try to cut down on our car miles and be out more, hoping to have more opportunities. It's been fun feeling like we're walking out in the fields getting to talk with more people. 

This week has been special as we had Elder Martino from the General Authority of the Quorum of the 70 come on a mission tour. We had a special Zone Conference Wednesday, and then he spoke to us leaders (Zone Leaders, Sister Training Leaders and Assistants to the President) in a Missionary Leadership Council to help us focus on goals we can set to improve our work. It was truly inspired and I was so grateful for not only his encouragement, but his advice on how to actually accomplish those goals. What a wonderful opportunity it has been to hear from a General Authority. That evening he spoke at a fireside where we were able to bring those looking into the church, recent converts, and any one else who was interested in coming. It was great to hear Elder Martino and his wife share their conversion stories and to testify of the simple truths that this gospel teaches. We were able to bring Kelly, who we recently committed to baptism, and she really enjoyed it. It was wonderful too as I saw people that I had been teaching back in Meridian and to hear how much they are progressing too. I know I will not always see the fruits of my teachings, but that people will be able to come unto Christ in their right time. I actually will be able to attend a baptism this Saturday for a lady who Sister Chen and I had met and started teaching, but was out of our area. 

As Sister Archuleta and I seek to find people who might be interested in our message, we have been visiting a lot of families that are not all members of the church. In most of these families, those that are members are not active, but we are seeing miracles spark as they are seeing their families grow and desiring to have something to turn to to help raise their children. I have such a strong testimony of the right time. We all have our agency and so we can choose the paths we might take. We can't be forced into certain lifestyles, but when we are ready, it's so comforting to know that it is always there for us. As parents find their children asking questions that they once knew the answer to, they are reminded of where they can receive those answers. I am grateful to be able to remind these people of those truths that they once knew. 

Although there are many great faiths out there that hold fundamental truths, I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints holds the full truth that Christ taught when He was on the Earth. The Bible and the Book of Mormon together testify of Christ, of His gospel and of our Heavenly Father's Plan so that we might have that peace and direction that we need in our life. I am grateful to know that through the Priesthood, or the authority of God given to man to act in His name, blessings and ordinances are able to be performed so that we might be able to prepare ourselves to live with our Father in Heaven again. How wonderful is it that in just a couple weeks, we will be able to hear from President Thomas S. Monson who is the messenger of God today to lead and direct us, just as the prophets of old have done. This is such a witness of our Heavenly Father's love that not only did He lead and guide His people through prophets in ancient times, but that He would continue to bless us with prophets today. How else can we come to know what our Heavenly Father expects of us? He loves us so much. Every day, my testimony is confirmed. I know that this gospel is true. As I've prayed and challenged these truths, I have had the Holy Ghost testify to me of the truthfulness of the gospel and I CANNOT deny that witness! If you sincerely desire and are willing to do something about it, you will receive that confirmation that is so strong that you too will not be able to deny it nor your Heavenly Father's love for you. 

I love you all. I hope you can continue to reflect on what really matters in life. That is what is important. The little bumps will always smooth out, but we need remember what matters most and what we will be able to take with us in the next life.

Have a fantastic week!

Love,

Sister Wightman

09/16/13 Letter #25

Greetings from Stardom!

Well it has been quite an eventful week for a first week here in Star. The first few days were kind of taken up as we welcomed the new missionaries, went out tracting with them and received our new assignments. The tracting was fun since we don't really do that on our mission. This is my third time doing this activity with new missionaries but my first time getting to go to downtown Boise to do street-contacting. We got to talk to lots of interesting people and share messages of hope with them. It was such an eye-opener to see different life situations. The last person we got to talk to was a man named "Tiny" who was in a wheelchair. He explained to us that he got his nickname because he "takes big problems and makes them tiny"! So cute!

So Wednesday, I got to officially meet my new companion, Sister Archuleta (no, she doesn't know if she's related to David Archuleta). So get this, she's from ESCALON! For those of you who don't know where that is, it's right next to Modesto and also where my uncle and aunt live! This is my first American companion. It's sounds so funny as people ask where we're from and we chime in unison "California". She's great though. She is one of the new 19 year olds (my youngest companion) and full of fire and spunk. She's super funny, we're laughing ALL the time, and very bold. I think this is going to be a great companionship as I will sweeten people up and she'll lay it down ;) haha. 

We have been busy as we are getting to know the area, meeting leaders and members and looking for teaching and service opportunities. One family we met were the Smith's. Brother Smith joined the church about 9 years ago and chooses to kind of do his own thing. We were cracking up as we walked in and he was there drinking a glass of wine and "warning" us that he's a rebel. He's definitely got his own interpretations, but is still a fun man. He's going to teach us how to can this week, we'll help out weeding in his garden and along the way we'll be serving him some "humble pie" ;) He's great though and his family is super sweet. 

Sister Archuleta and I were able to teach our first lesson together yesterday to a lady named Kelly. She has met with the elders a couple times now and her husband is coming back to church. As we went in, we prepared to teach her about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and extend a baptismal invitation. The lesson went great and we could feel the Spirit very strong. Both opened up a lot to us and we were able to bear testimony of the things they've witnessed in their life. At the end Kelly accepted the baptismal invitation and I almost had a deja vu with her response to the date. We offered October 19th and she turned to her husband asking if he had told us. We inquired what she was talking about and she said that if her husband wouldn't be ready to baptize her, she'd want her father-in-law to do it and he just happens to be coming into town from California that very weekend! It reminded me so much of my first baptismal invitation with Holly back in Twin Falls. Once again the spirit was so strong and we were able to bear our testimony of the opportunity we have to receive personal revelation. That this is not our work but the Lord's and He is aware of all of us! What a wonderful way to start off the area. We're so excited to help her along the way. 

I feel that I am continually growing every day on my mission. Whether it's getting over shyness or learning to love everyone, no matter how little I've known them. I know that this Gospel is true and that's the only reason I'm able to do the things I'm doing. I can't do this alone. I have my Savior beside me every day to help me to fulfill His work. I am so grateful for the gospel in my life. I am grateful to have the knowledge that I do. This gospel is simple and it just makes sense. Life is tough, why make it harder by trying to get through it alone. Heavenly Father is there. We just need to turn to Him. 

I love you and all am continually grateful for you!

Love,

Sister Wightman

09/09/13 Letter #24

Helllloooo!

Well, new week, new transfer, new area, new companion! Today was our transfer day and I am now serving in the Star area, opening up a new area again and training a new sister. I will not get my new companion until Wednesday, so I am working with another sister until then. But it's exciting. It was hard to leave my last area. The people are so great and some I truly felt part of their family, but this is the mission. Constant change. Maybe one day I'll get used to it. Haha. 

Star, as far as I have heard is more rural and small compared to some of these city areas. But I'm excited...more farm fresh eggs and vegetables, yummmm! All I need are some cowboy boots ;)

Sister Chen and I were able to finish this transfer together with a baptism last Friday. Her name is Taylor and she just turned 11. Although her parents have not been as active in church, they really wanted her to have the gospel in her life so that she could have the standards necessary to help her with middle school, cheerleading, etc. Taylor is so sweet and seriously the smiliest person I've ever met! She's ALWAYS smiling!!! It was a beautiful baptism with a great turnout! She doesn't know too many people, but almost all the girls from the Primary were there and I think it really helped her and her family to know that they are loved and supported. That's one thing I love about this church, is that you may not know many people, but we are all family and you feel that connection because you know that you have the same beliefs. Taylor was confirmed yesterday and it was so great to see her become a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I loved hearing her say that after her baptism she just felt so clean and happy. 

I am so grateful for all the experiences and opportunities I am receiving here on my mission. In the last 6 months, I have seen myself grow so much. In the gospel, in maturity, in responsibility and in confidence. How blessed am I to be having the opportunity. The other day I was up at the mission office, picking up some things, and I visited with some of the elders that were getting ready to go home this past weekend. A feeling of sadness overcame me as I thought that I will have to go home at some point. I wish I could do this forever. And I know I can be a missionary for the rest of my life, but to have the separation from the world, so have my only focus and concerns be on this work and not school or work or money. I am so grateful to be "immune" to what is going on in the world because I'm sure it is still tragic. And although I still witness things that are tragic, I can at least try to bring hope and peace to those situations. 

I am grateful for this gospel. I am grateful for the things that I believe in because they are what give me peace and comfort and direction and purpose in my life. To know that I have a Father in Heaven who loves me, a Brother who is my Savior and suffered for me, a Heavenly Plan that prepares me to be with my Father and family again and for eternity, and to know that through my imperfections I can become perfected through Christ. We can receive the blessings from the gospel as we overcome fear with FAITH, pride with HUMILITY and sin with RIGHTEOUSNESS and REPENTANCE. This gospel IS true! It is simply beautiful and beautifully simple. And it is so worth it. I testify of that. And if you don't or you want to know, I would invite you to ask. Ask your Heavenly Father and He will let you know. Listen to those promptings and act on it. 

Thank you for your love and support!

Love,

Sister Wightman

Photos 09/04/13

Okinawa fries

Sister Chen and I at Boise Fry Company

Sister Chen and I at the Helen Keller Memorial Park in Downtown Boise

09/04/13 Letter #23

Hello!

I hope everyone had a nice Labor Day and got to relax a bit? That is actually the reason this blog is getting out a few days late since all the libraries were closed and then I had a leadership meeting that took up most of yesterday. 

Monday, Sister Chen and I got to spend a good chunk of the day with a couple of families in one of our wards and we biked what is called the "Green Belt" - a path that takes you through Boise. It was a perfect day, a little overcast so we weren't dying in the heat, but enjoyable. It was great to bike around and see more of Boise, as we usually just spend our p-days with the other missionaries playing volleyball or ultimate frisbree. We biked through BSU and got to see the blue turf from a distance and had lunch at the Boise Fry Company (famous for their variety of fries - didn't know there were so many!). Sister Chen and I shared some Okinawa fries, which were not only awesome because they tasted good, but also because they were purple ;)

Later Monday night, we were able to have a great experience as we felt prompted to visit one of our progressing investigators, Brittany. We didn't see her at church on Sunday and so we decided to visit, to find out that she has not been doing well, health-wise and was even in the ER the night before! We were able to share some spiritual messages with her and her family and were able to quickly get some brethren over to give her a priesthood blessing. This was a very spiritual experience as this was her first blessing and to even see her fiance so touched by the Spirit. He is less-active and is coming back, and I think hopes to be one day worthy to be able to provide for his family to give these blessings when needed. Later as we left, we received a text from Brittany expressing her gratitude for being there for her and it was just so comforting to us to know that we had been prompted and acted and allowed to work through Heavenly Father's hands. 

We have not had as much success lately as far as finding new people to teach, but we had a pretty neat experience last Friday as we went to meet the new neighbors in our culdasac (sp?). We brought over some spiced zucchini bread (provided from our host mom) and welcomed her into the neighborhood. She was so happy to meet us and informed us that if we had come a week ago when they first moved in, we wouldn't really have had much time to talk because she was ordering moving men around. But we were able to really enjoy a nice conversation getting to know each other. They are in the perfect neighborhood as there are a couple husbands who work for HP, as does her husband, and they love sailing (from Oregon) and across the street are some boating fanatics ;) We were able to explain where we are from and why we are here and she shared that she had some LDS friends back at home. We then asked her if she had found a church yet and she said that they were looking but had not had time to really look yet and were open. We invited her to come to our church and she appreciated the invitation. We never know what will come of these invitations, but nothing will happen if we don't open our mouths! Later that evening, we went to contact a family who's husband had been receiving the discussions a while ago, but for some reason had stopped. As we met up with the wife, she shared with us concerns of her husbands and we were able to soften her heart and well as help her to see that there is still a chance that her husband might accept the gospel, as long as we rely on Him and His timing. Our purpose is not to teach lessons, but to teach people and to invite them to come unto Christ. If they are ready, it will feel natural and comfortable to them. 

This week, I was reading in the new Ensign that just came out and fell in love with an article on Grace. I never had really been able to grasp what grace meant before, but this article made it so clear. Our Savior sacrificed His life to pay for our debt of sin. It has been already payed for! But we must continue to come unto Him to receive the blessings of His sacrifice. Grace was related to a mother paying for her son's piano lessons. He does not need to pay her back financially, but through his practice and effort, he is showing appreciation and love for her grace. Her sacrifice was to uplift his life and his practice allows him to achieve that and show gratitude. Heavenly Father knows we are not perfect, that is why He sent His son to sacrifice for us. But every day we must PRACTICE and try to better ourselves. The options are not Carnagy Hall or quit, but to practice and become perfected. We will all stand before our Heavenly Father one day and be judged for our works and desires and I want to make sure that as I do so, I will feel COMFORTABLE in His presence. To know I practiced and tried my best every day and that I took advantage of the Atonement to repent and be forgiven of my mistakes and to one day be perfected in Christ. How grateful I am for my Savior's love and sacrifice. How grateful I am for my every day training from the ancient and modern day scriptures. I know my Heavenly Father loves ME and continues to provide ways to show us that there's always a way, there's always another chance. He is the way and His gospel is our chance! Learn of Him and follow Him and you will be happy. I PROMISE you that. There is no greater joy than knowing who you are and knowing where you're going. It's never too late. If you don't know who you are or who Heavenly Father is, pray in faith to know these things for yourself. Ask specific question and He will give you specific answers. 

I love you all and feel your prayers. Thank you for that. 

Love,

Sister Wightman

08/26/13 Letter #22

Heeeelllloooo everyone :)

Well this has been another eventful week (I feel like I'm always saying that). It started off on exchanges as I got go to the east part of Meridian and work with another sister. These exchanges are great as I can get to see different parts of the mission and experience working with other sisters. I got to be with Sister Farley who is from Arizona and has been a member of the Church for just 2 years. Her example and spirit is so refreshing! We were able to teach some lessons and got to do contacting in some apartments that is very ethnically diverse. Where I am serving right now, it is dominantly Caucasian, so it was fun to visit with what seemed to be a lot of refugees from Congo, Jordan and NEPAL! I was so happy to see some Nepali people again and try to remember the words I had learned from the families down in Twin Falls. I definitely missed the diversity. 

Wednesday, while most of the missionaries in our mission were at a "new missionary training" meeting, a few of us were able to help out to the Boise Fair. This is an annual event that the missionaries have been able to help out with. We were able to push around some folks in wheelchairs from the Life Care Center in Boise. The lady I assisted is named Sally and is suffering from MS, but she is a hoot! She just wanted to see everything and has such a love for life and being positive. Every time I would say "Sally, are you ready?", she would always respond "I was BORN ready!". We had a great time. One of my favorite moments was when we went to see the animals and as we fed the goats, she just poured the seeds on her lap and let them eat right off of her. She loved it! Haha. It's nice to be around care-free people. We were able to be there with them for a few hours, so definitely got our workout and some sun for the day ;) (Hopefully I'll be able to put up pictures from it next week)

This week, Sister Chen and I focused a lot on contacting, and although we didn't have too much success, we still saw some miracles. Thursday was a weird day, both with events and the weather. It was kind of a stormy day, and although still muggy, it poured sporadically. There was a lady we had been trying to contact who just never seemed to be home (though apparently she never went anywhere) and as we went to try again, we found multiple notes on the door of concern, showing that other people were worried from not seeing her in a while too. And another sister we found drunk at her house and just seemed very depressed. Being women, Sister Chen and I just seemed to be thinking the worst in both these situations, but luckily, both worked out and are ok. It's always good to act on intuition, but also to try not to overreact over everything because sometimes it's not as bad as we think. 

We have had a little more success with some of our investigators lately as well. One of them is an older gentleman who we had finished teaching all the lessons but wasn't really willing to make any  commitments. Although we felt a little discouraged, we continued to check on him every now and then and have recently begun to read the Book of Mormon with him so that he can understand it. It has been wonderful as we all read through and break it down. We can see that he is understanding it better this way and is even reading quite a bit more than we ask him to read in between our lessons. He even attended church yesterday, which he has not in a while! 

I was reading this morning in the Alma 21 in the Book of Mormon and the message that stood out to me was that as we remain diligent in our efforts, the Lord provides a way and blesses us with success. Sometimes we can feel discouraged and that our efforts are not effective or that we are not progressing, but just as that saying goes, "if at first you don't succeed, try, try again". I have been feeling a little discouraged lately, but as I continue to just give it my all, I am seeing the blessings come. I think it's this whole concept of humbling ourselves before asking so that we can see His hand in our life and we can know the hard times to appreciate the good times. Even if the hard times seem more often than the good times, they are worth it! It works out. I can't tell you why or how it can happen, other than we have to rely on the Lord to make it happen. 

I am so grateful for the Book of Mormon that continues to teach me every day. The Lord is so mindful of me and seems to tell me just what I need to hear. Sometimes I don't realize that I'm looking for it, but then I am reminded that it is an answer to a previous prayer. He hears us. We just need to listen. Heavenly Father loves me and He loves YOU! We are all His children and so we need to continue to reach out to our brothers and sisters. Be patient with those around you and be patient with yourself. The good will always conquer the bad...just decide which way you want to go! Listen to the Spirit, He'll help you find those blessings you've been searching for.

I love you all so much and am grateful for your letters and prayers!

Have a FABULOUS week and when the days get tough...COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS!

Love,

Sister Wightman