It is definitely winter here now as our car is iced over every morning, the pond in our backyard is almost ice-skating worthy, and we constantly are seeing our breath in the air. Grateful for pea coats and boots ;)
It has been a great week. We have begun teaching a sister from Madagascar. She only speaks Malagasy and her daughter and son-in-law are able to translate for us. She just moved here a month ago to live with her daughter and has a desire to be baptized. That's what we like to hear! She is so sweet and already has such a strong testimony. It is such a testimony builder to me and helps me to really slow down and appreciate the simple things. We were supposed to teach her last night, but had to reschedule for tonight and hope to extend a baptismal invitation. I love all these international experiences I am getting!
Wednesday, we got to take Kelly to the Family History center in Eagle and help her get started on doing her family's work. She is the first member of the Church in her family and has not had anyone do any genealogy work yet so she is starting from scratch, but the people at the FHC were so helpful and she found 3 family members! I have grown such an appreciation for family history work. Not only is it fun to find about our ancestors and where they come from, but to be able to do temple work for them, to link those bonds and give them the opportunity to accept the gospel so our families can be eternal. Familysearch.org is such a wonderful site and continues to show all the great resources our church has, holding one the largest genealogical database in the world! I'm excited to go back and help Kelly find more. My companion is still trying to figure out if she's indeed related to David Archuleta.
Thursday I had a trainers meeting at the mission office that was for all senior companions. We discussed how we can be more effective in finding those "elect" that are prepared to receive the gospel. There was an emphasis on talking to everyone and using things like Family History to connect to people as most people want to know more about their family. It was definitely inspired. We then got to go on exchanges and I was with Sister Houseman, back in my last area in Meridian! I guess my work is just not finished there cuz they keep sending me back haha. It was so fun though to work with Sister Houseman (she was companions with Sister Chen after I was) and to see people I had worked with before. We tried applying the things we had been taught, but had pretty much no success during the day as everyone wasn't at home. I got to see Erika again and although I keep in touch with her weekly through email, it was great to see her face and hear how she is doing as she continues to progress in the gospel. That night, we had the privilege of having our mission president's wife, Sister Winder, go out with us. We contacted a couple of families. The first were the Johnson's, who claim they're active, but don't go to church. The husband is a lieutenant and his wife is a nurse, so I'm sure their crazy schedules play a factor. It was perfect timing as they were packing up to head down to Utah for Thanksgiving week. They took the time though to have us come in and get to know them, hear Brother Johnson's conversion story and then share a message. As we left, Brother Johnson shook my hand and thanked us for our visit and message as it set the tune for their trip. That's the first time missionaries have been able to make full contact in at least 6 months with that family. We then went to see the Curries who always made us fresh homemade bread. It was great to see them again and to see how much their son has improved as he is recovering from some health issues. We talked about the Prodigal son and discussed the different views, from the son who left and the son who stayed and remained obedient. Although we may go on different paths, Heavenly Father continues to bless us and be there for us, whether we've always had it or we are coming back to it. I was so grateful to have Sister Winder with us. I thought it might be scary/more pressure, but she was just another part of our companionship.
Saturday, I got to teach Sister Archuleta the things that I had learned in the training, and then we set goals and took it to action. We decided we were going to talk to everyone we saw. It can be hard, being in a car, but we wanted to allow for extra time so if we saw someone we could pull over and talk to them. We have actually been short on our miles for our car so we had Kelly drive us around. It was fun for her to get to see what we do. It was amazing. Everyone we tried to see, we saw! And we even had an opportunity to talk to someone that wasn't part of our planned contacting. He was a neighbor of a sister we were trying to visit and was unloading his car full of groceries. We offered to help and as we walked with him, he began to share about his beliefs and how we have different religious views. I was a little nervous as the conversation began (I'm grateful we're not really a tracting mission because these situations are not my favorite) and I didn't want it to become a competition. He asked for clarification on what we believed about the Godhead and how the Atonement works and where we will go after this life. We were able to bear our testimony of the Plan of Salvation and share some scriptures in the Bible that showed why we believed these things. He wasn't convinced, but I knew that as long as I was bearing my testimony, I was doing my part and he had his agency to take or leave it. In the end, he appreciated our help in taking in the groceries and we went on our way. Successful? Some may say no, but I know that I was able to at least testify of what I knew was true :) We had the most success that day than we've had probably since we've been serving in this area (almost 3 months)!
Yesterday, we got to perform our musical number again in the other ward and also in the ward choir. It is so fun to use our musical talents. In the Beacon Light ward there was a guy who was giving his mission homecoming talk. He had just gotten back from Brazil. He did a great job, but then at the end, he did something unexpected. He had Sister Archuleta and I go up to the podium with him and talked to the congregation about what our responsibilities are and we can't do it on our own, and then he had the whole congregation stand up and said that we are all part of the God's Army and that we are all a part of this work. It was so powerful! I think everyone was moved.
Transfers are coming up this next week, and although I am nervous to hear what happens, I'm also at peace that I will be where the Lord needs me. I don't think I'm done here in Star, but I'm grateful for all the experiences I've had here and the people I've met. I know I've made a difference as I've shared my testimony and served the people here. This is a GREAT area!
Thank you for all your love. I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving and enjoy these times with your family and loved ones!
Love,
Sister Wightman
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