Letter #54 04/14/14

This week we had a lot more teaching opportunities. One of the days we had 6 lessons (which sometimes that's all we get in a week!)! It's really helped Sister Worden and I learn to teach well together, quickly. We met with Ali and had a translator with us (tender mercy!), but we seemed to be on different pages. He seemed more interested in help learning English, while we were trying to explain that we are there to teach about Jesus and the restored gospel. Haha oh as much as I wanted to go international, I'm grateful I stayed state-side. Don't know how my patience would have been elsewhere. Anyways, he expressed how he wanted to come to church this Sunday so we figured we'd just see where it would go from there. We met with him Friday morning to give him a church tour so he could be familiar and understand more how we worship so that it wouldn't be so confusing on Sunday. Unfortunately, he did not show up to church yesterday. Not sure what happened, but hopefully we can try again this next week. If anything, it's been a good experience for us. 

Wednesday night we met with the young women in the ward (just the Mia Maids and Laurels: 14-18). The theme was of course missionary work. We decided to do a "day in the life of a sister missionary" relay. We layed out different sections and had them pair up into 2 teams. They had to complete a task, whether it was finding a country on the map (mission call), getting dressed into mission clothes, placing a Book of Mormon with an investigator (leader) or putting together a puzzle (nightly planning). They loved it! Sister Worden and I were impressed with how fun we could be! Haha. We ended with just an open panel where they could ask us any questions. It was great and we got awesome feedback after. I'm glad we got to bond with these young women and show them how fun missionary work can be. 

Billie is continuing to progress as we taught her about the Family Proclamation. We read through it with her and were able to discuss the church's view on the family relationship and what makes a successful marriage and family. She liked it as this is what drew her to learn more about the church in the first place. She is struggling with commitment, but everyone progresses in their own time and so we can't pressure her. 

Tracting is not encouraged as a main source for finding people in our mission because our areas are smaller and many people are already members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints so it's not as effective. However, our area is large enough that we can tract every once in a while. This is something I have not been comfortable with, probably mostly because I've barely done it and talking to people who are not expecting us can be scary. But Sister Worden and I decided we were going to tract 2 streets each week. It was neat as it started to become something we really enjoyed. Right now is a good time as we can share an Easter message with those we meet. We didn't have any success as far as anyone who was interested in learning more about our church, but we did get to talk to everyone who was home. One of them was a man named Joel. He just moved here a year or so ago. His wife is a Lutheran preacher and so he is Lutheran as well. But he was so respectful and willing to let us share about our church and a message. He asked us a few questions and even asked if he could come into our church. We of course shared that everyone is welcome and he could stop by if he wanted to. He lives right down the street from our church building so he sees it every day. Although he was not interested and content in his faith, I know that a seed was planted there and something could come out of it now or later down the road. I've just learned the importance of talking to everyone because we never know who's interested and unless we invite, they may never get the opportunity. 

I am so grateful for this Easter season to join with others in reflecting on our Savior's great sacrifice of the Atonement. I would not be here on a mission if it wasn't for His sacrifice. He suffered for each of us so that He would know how to help us through our trials and pains. He died for us so that we can all overcome death and be reunited with our families for all eternity. God loves us so He sent His Son so that we could be greatly blessed. It's so important that we each understand why His sacrifice is important to us personally. Because he sacrificed for us personally. I invite all of you to think of what the Savior means to you and how you can strengthen your relationship with Him. He is always there for us and we can and are strengthened through Him when we feel we have no strength left. 

I love you all and hope you have a Happy Easter!!!

Love,

Sister Wightman