Letter #42 01/13/14

Wow, what a week! Ok, so I think to make up for a slow week last week, Heavenly Father has blessed us with so much! It started off with us getting to teach Charles Wambolt! Although it was because his daughter "persuaded" him to do it, he made it very clear that this lesson was for him (his daughters get a bit chatty). So that was awesome to hear. We taught him about the Restoration and had some great discussions about it. Although he did not say that he knew for sure that Joseph Smith was a prophet, he explained that something must have happened with Jesus Christ as it is such a well known topic, and the same with Joseph Smith because so much has come from that. He was able to basically draw out the point that even though we weren't there for these two events in history, we can see the fruits of them and that's enough for him to believe that something happened and that he would pray about it. At the end, we knelt as Charles closed in a very heartfelt prayer. He didn't set up a follow-up appointment, but informed us he would ponder on the things we taught. He has the desire and that is huge!

Tuesday, I had another missionary leadership council (once a month) and we focused on the importance of the Book of Mormon. Although this is not the first time I've had training on the Book of Mormon while on my mission, it is so wonderful to have a reminder and I always learn something new. This time we focused on how the Book of Mormon can answer "Questions of the Soul". President Winder assigned each companionship a question and told us to find a scripture that would help answer/resolve the concern. There was a variety from "God doesn't care about me anymore" to "Should I marry him?" (we all laughed at that one). It was so neat though to see how really any question can be answered in the Book of Mormon. Truly this scripture was written for our day and time. These great men who recorded their experiences and revelations never even got to see the Book of Mormon put together as they passed down their recordings from generation to generation and it was preserved until our time so that nothing would be corrupted. How marvelous and special this is to our Heavenly Father and now for us! We also discussed "unity" and how as we incorporate it more as a mission, we will see more miracles occur. With our mission growing so quickly, it can be hard to feel united as a whole mission when we rarely see half of the missionaries, but as we keep focused on the same goal and purpose, "to invite others to come unto Christ", then we can feel the unity grow. I was able to reinforce this at Zone Meeting on Friday and it was really great to be able to share my testimony about unity and to discuss ideas of how we can all be more united. To put aside our pride and differences as we work together to help build the Kingdom of God.

Friday was amazing as Sister Maness and I went to work and saw miracles! There is a family that was referred to us that we have tried for a couple weeks now to contact, but not having an exact address, had troubles locating them. Finally, we we received and exact address and went to contact them. As we pulled up, Clair (the wife) opened her garage door - seeing an unfamiliar car and wanted to see who it was - and greeted us. At first, she seemed a little confused, not knowing who we were, but when we mentioned that we were the missionaries and that Brother Barfuss had thought we should come by to meet them, she softened a little bit and welcomed us inside. As we met inside, she asked if we wanted to talk (uh, yeah!), so we sat on her couch and visited for about 20 minutes. She is so sweet and shared much with us about her family and religious background. She grew up in a devout Catholic family, but the last few years had decided to stop going for personal disagreements. Her husband is not religious, but feels he can be one with God while out in nature. She respects him and doesn't force him to come with her, but they have made sure their two little girls know who God and Jesus Christ are. She grew up in California (woowoo!) and even spent summers in Hemet, where Sister Maness is from!, so that was a cool connection. She had heard of Mormons in CA, but as she moved out here to Idaho and was surrounded by so many more LDS families, she began to see more what we are about. She really was impressed with how put-together we seem to be about the family and being involved in the community. We explained that as missionaries (sisters), we spend 18 months of our life devoted to teach people about our religion and what LDS people believe. We asked her if she would be interested in learning more and she said yes! Oh we were so happy. Not much feels better than finding someone who wants to know more. She even asked if we had stuff we could leave with her to read (of course!). We are looking forward to going back. We met with Brenda later that evening and found her sick at home. The rest of her family has been sick and so she got the tail-end of it. Poor thing. Anyway, we were just chatting and then she started to bring up about baptism. Just a recap, she has had all the discussions before, but for various reasons has not been able to commit to baptism - though she wants to. She expressed to us that she really does, but being an only child and not having support from her family really concerns her. Sister Maness and I shared a few stories of family and friends we know that has joined the church alone and that their families may not have been supportive or understanding, but that over time as they saw it only made them a better person, they softened their hearts. She still is uneasy about it and so we have just been praying for her faith to increase her confidence and for her family's hearts to be softened. It will happen in the right time :)

Saturday, we got our transfer calls. It was kind of fun as we were together with our district (all the missionaries in our stake) for a meeting and so we sat around the table waiting "patiently" for the voicemail. SO...Sister Maness and I are staying another transfer together here in Star (guess this is my 6 month area :). It was a little bittersweet though, as we are having another set of sisters come into our stake and are taking the Star 2nd ward. So we are now just covering Beacon Light. I love both these wards so much and so it was really hard to say our goodbyes yesterday. Sister Maness and I were able to do a musical number of "I Know That My Redeemer Lives" (I accompanied her) and I'm grateful we were able to do that before we left the 2nd ward. I think why this is so hard for us is because we're still here in Star, still share the church building, and really are just serving across the street, so we'll still run into members from the 2nd ward but can't go see them like we could while serving in their wards. I have had a lot of close people in that ward and so it was hard to say goodbye, but I know that Sister Maness and I are needed in the Beacon Light ward for particular people so I'm excited to see the miracles that come from that this transfer. Yesterday, we said our goodbyes to the Bartholomew's and Miary. We cried so much with Miary. We were able to share our favorite scriptures with her and bear our testimonies and it was just a really special visit. I'm so grateful I was able to meet her and to learn so much from her! She is going to do marvelous things. 

Last night, Sister Maness and I were able to teach Hudson Sparks! It was great to finally get to do that, as it's been talked about for a while but never followed through. Hudson's dad explained how he had felt pushed growing up to go to church and ended up going inactive. But he knows that this church is true and wants his family to be a part of it, but he wants them to make that decision for themselves, not just because dad told them to. Hudson has actually had the discussions before, but it's been a while so it was good just to go over everything. We taught him the Restoration and we were really impressed with how attentive he was for a 9 year old boy (definitely good practice for when I have kids of my own!). It was neat to see his whole family come in and be involved. Although the struggle with coming to church, you can see that they all know it is true and the Spirit was able to testify of that. He gave a sweet and simple prayer at the end and felt good about everything that was talked about. I am excited to see him progress as well as his family as we strive to help him prepare for baptism and for his family to go to the temple together. 

Like I said earlier, this week has truly been amazing. I continue to learn so much. I continue to see the tender mercies of my Heavenly Father and how much He knows me and my struggles and blesses me based on my efforts. Sometimes we don't see those blessings or get our answers right away, but either way He is always there. I am excited for a new transfer and this time that we can really focus on one ward (crazy!) and continue in the "hastening of the work". This gospel is true. The Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus Christ and does have the answers to any question we might have, whether temporal or spiritual. Our Heavenly Father lives and knows each of us by name and is there for us. Remember that if you feel distanced from Him, it's not Him turning away from you, so check out what you're doing before assuming He's neglecting you. 

I love you all. Thank you for your prayers and letters. I feel so blessed with the wonderful family and friends that I have.

Love,

Sister Wightman

Photos 01/06/13

The Star District right after receiving transfer calls

saying goodbye to Miary

Sister Maness and I "partying it up" New Years Eve!

Sister Chen (we were on exchanges), Miary and I with our copies of the Book of Mormon in 3 different languages :)

Letter #41 01/06/14

Well hello there!

I hope everyone had a fun and safe New Years :) This year was a little different for me, for obvious reasons. Sister Maness and I spent the day doing some contacting and helping the Wambolt family get their house ready for the party that night. We then joined up at their house for a potluck dinner, socialized a bit and then had to be back at our home at 8pm. We got in our comfy pj's, popped some kettle popcorn and watched some church movies. We still had to be in bed by 10:30pm so we figured we could celebrate New York-style at 10pm, but...after our second movie, I looked at the clock and it was 10:04pm. I turned to Sister Maness and was like, "Welp, Happy New Years.". Haha. It was ok, it's just not a big deal while on the mission. That was also our last night of sweets (New Years resolution) so finished off our favorites and donated the rest to the party. Unfortunately, it's hard to control your diet on a mission, but desserts are one thing you can. This is my 4th time trying in on the mission, but with all the major candy holidays behind me, it is more realistic. We just have to figure out how long we're going to do it for haha. 

So this week, we have been really gung-ho on talking to everyone and not being afraid if people are going to be intersted or not. The Wambolt's are actually a part-member family (the husband is not a member) and last Sunday we decided we were going to invite him to take the discussions, however, after sharing a message, we hesitated because with his family surrounding him, we didn't want him to feel pressure and being doing it because they want him to. As we left, I just kept thinking, "we need to do it, we should've done it!". So we came by Monday night and were able to just talk to him a little more privately and ask him if we would be interested in learning more about the church. He expressed how he has been thinking about it, but not sure if he's ready (I think it's a commitment issue). But he said he'd let us know. So Friday, we popped by and his daughter was like "I got him to agree to one lesson!". Apparently he did something to upset her and she said the only way he could make up for it was to take one discussion. Not how we would have liked him to agree to it, BUT we are still grateful he is willing and we will be teaching him tonight. Fingers crossed that it will go and he will actually want to continue them for himself. He's a pilot so he's gone a lot and leaving tomorrow for half the month, but I think that will give him time to really ponder. 

We are still teaching Miary English and she is doing really well. We've been teaching her rooms so that she can communicate within the house, and so far she has mastered the kitchen and working on the bathroom. We were teaching her phrases to use and things like, "I need more toilet paper". It just so happened that she had run out of toilet paper in her bathroom, so when we came back downstairs, she turned to her daughter and said, "Give me more toilet paper!". Haha we were all laughing so hard. Eva was like, "No Mom, that's not nice" and so we went over how to ask politely. She is doing so good though and I know that Heavenly Father is blessing her with being able to retain so much. 

As I was saying earlier, we have been focusing on just talking to everyone and we've been trying to contact lots of people who have not been attending church in a long time and just seeing what they would like in their lives right now. It has been a bit disheartening as we've had a couple people say they don't want us there, or any contact from the church, or even their records removed. It makes me so sad to see how people have forgotten the truth that they once knew and that they close their hearts to those who are always willing to be there for them. But I have to remember that everyone has their agency and that it is better for them to choose when their are ready then feeling pressured or pushed. Yesterday, was just another one of those days, but just when I felt like I couldn't do it anymore, Heavenly Father reminded me that He is there and hears me. We were able to Brenda Gould again which it had been over a week since we had heard anything from her. She even told us that she attended sunday school and Relief Society (she normally only stays for Sacrament if she comes with her husband). The two wards we cover just switched times we were in the other ward during those hours. It brought me such joy though that she is still progressing on her own and still has that desire to learn more about our church. She's going to get baptized this year, I can feel it! And THEN, we went to our dinner appointment at the Haney's, who are members but the parents kind of struggle with being fully committed to the gospel. They invited their friends, the Sparks, over who are all members (though not active), except for their son Hudson (9 years old). We had visited with the Sparks before and they had said we could start teaching Hudson, but every time we've tried to follow up, they aren't home or it's not a good time. So this was great getting to visit with all of them. At the end as the Sparks were leaving, the husband told us we were welcome over anytime and that his family needed more spirituality (kind of in a joking way, but serious at the same time). We were so pumped! I know that there are people ready in this area and that they will either be placed in our paths or us in theirs. I have learned that I just need to keep trying every minute every day, and when it seems like nothing is happening, to just hold on because those miracles and tender mercies are just around the corner. 

I continue to learn so much every day of my mission. Just when I start to doubt or hesitate, Heavenly Father reminds me that He is there and that I have received many witnesses before. I know that my Heavenly Father lives and loves me and knows me. He is always there, we just have to turn to Him. I am grateful for these trials and hard times because I appreciate the blessings so much more. I know this gospel is true. I thank you all again for your love and support. I feel your prayers and you are in mine as well. Have a great week!

Love,

Lauren

photos 12/30/13

after opening all my gifts Christmas morning

With Brad after his temple session

Sister Maness and I singing "Silent Night"

Letter #40 12/30/13

Well, I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas! I really enjoyed talking with my family. So good to hear their voices :)

Christmas Eve we got to spend with some members. We went with the Atwoods over to the Wambolt's (a part-member family) and had a feast of a dinner! It was so fun to be around all these families and join in their family traditions. At the end, Sister Maness and I harmonized in Silent Night a Capella. There was a wonderful spirit in the room. Christmas, we went to about 5 families homes throughout the day, from breakfast to dinner. My favorite though was at the Moomey's. They had invited a mother and son who are refugees from the Congo. They are so sweet and it was very touching to listen to the mom share all that she's been through. She had never heard of our church and shared that she had gone to the Jehovah Witness church back in the Congo. The Moomey's are actually from the Bay Area and had a picture of the Oakland temple so I shared that with her and talked to her about temples. She asked if there was any in Africa and I told her how they had actually just announced one being built in the Congo! She seemed excited. We had a wonderful dinner and got to share with them American traditions. The next day, we got a call from Brother Moomey saying she wanted to have the missionaries come by. Although they are not in our area, I was so happy to hear that wanted to learn more! You never know the impact of what you say can have on others! Don't be afraid to open your mouth. 

The day after Christmas a special day for me as well. We got to go with Kelley Bartholomew's husband, Brad, to the Boise temple as he received his endowments. Normally we can only go to those that we taught and were baptized, but our mission president knew how much we had worked with him too to help him  get back into church. It reminded me a lot of when I first went to the temple and was truly a miracle day. His sister even shared that she never thought she'd see her brother in the temple. You just never know. We can't give up on those we love. Sister Archuleta got to come up too and so it was a fun little reunion. I am looking forward to going to Brad and Kelly's sealing in the Salt Lake temple next October! This is what the work is about. Bringing families to the temple!

I am so grateful for the gospel and I am grateful for the things I learn. As I prepare for the new year, I have been thinking about goals and what this life is all about. In Alma 34:32-33, we read about how this is our "time to prepare to meet God" and that we should "not procrastinate the day of our repentance". This truly is our time to prepare. Something that Sister Maness and I are working on, is setting a new years goal to better prepare ourselves spiritually. Whether it's having more personal prayers, studying your scriptures more diligently, attending the temple more often, or simply giving religion a shot and attending church more or for the first time. It is so important that we learn about our Heavenly Father and our Brother Jesus Christ and strengthen our relationship with them now. There is a quote that "the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, and the second best time is now"! Don't feel like it's too late to start or do better. The better time is now. A man shared about how he's been training to run a marathon for about 4 years and still has yet to even sign up for one. Although he knows he has failed on his goal of doing the marathon, he knows he has not failed completely because he still trains and so he has gotten faster every year and is still more prepared than the year before. Stay positive and know that even if you don't "succeed" this year, you are still better off than not having trying at all! Isn't that true in life every day?? I love that. We are not perfect and yet we can try every day to achieve that perfection. Think about what you'd like to improve or start on this year. 

I love you all and hope you have an amazing and safe New Years!

Love,

Sister Wightman

photos 12/23/13

Sister Maness, Bethany and I playing out in the snow

At Miary's baptism with Sister Maness and Miary's son-in-law

Letter #39 12/23/13

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you are all having a wonderful time with the festivities of the season and actually enjoying it :)

This week has been fun. Monday night, we went with a family (the Atwood's) caroling to some non-members and less-actives. Sister Atwood had made some treats and it was so fun to see these families faces light up as we sang Christmas music. It was pretty fun having little kids around with us too. Adds to the spirit ;)

We had a wonderful lesson with Mary Jo on Tuesday. The last couple of visits, we've had were definitely inspired. Both times, Sister Maness and I went in with a lesson plan on what we thought we could teach her, but as we sat down with Mary Jo and just listened to her and questions or comments she's had, we were guided by the Spirit to go in a different direction. One week we just simply read from the Book of Mormon with her and helped her how to relate the scriptures to her instead of just "reading". The next time, she said that really helped and has progressed her reading and understanding immensely. We felt prompted then to teach about prayer instead of doing more reading with her. It was definitely inspired as she shared how it was a struggle for her. Growing up Episcopalian, she already had prayer in her life, but feeling comfortable to do it out loud and with us is not in her comfort zone. She asked us to give her some goals and challenges (commitments) and so it was perfect that we could help her understand prayer and prepare herself to pray at the end of our next lesson. She came to church on Sunday, as she normally does, but even stayed for Gospel Principles and loved it! I think she is feeling more and more prepared and comfortable in her understanding of the gospel. 

Thursday, we had our Mission Christmas Devotional at the mission office. It was so much fun! We started off by watching "Ephraim's Rescue" which was a real treat since the only movies we're allowed to watch on the mission are ones the "church stamp" on it and that one doesn't (though it should haha). It was so good! Definitely teared up a lot. We then had a little talent show. I accompanied 2 sisters in some musical numbers (my companion and another sister). They sang an arrangement of "I Know That My Redeemer Lives" (efy version) and Sister Maness sang "Mary Did You Know". I set her up to that, but she has such a good voice, I told her she HAD to do it! Haha. I think she's looking for ways to get back at me. The other day she suggested to a girl that I could interpretive dance for her. Don't know where that one came from hahaha. I also accompanied our whole zone in "O Holy Night". It wasn't too bad. Haha. We then were spoiled with a feast of a roast and potatoes (of course), yummy salads and lots of desserts. It was a lot of fun. We ended with some words by our mission president and some gifts. One of them being a copy of the Book of Mormon and some marking pencils in which by May 2014 we are to finish and having different colored markings for the topics of "faith", "repentance", "baptism", "holy ghost" and "enduring to the end". I think that will be a neat study, just focusing on those principles and ordinances. I also took home lots of packages and letters, so thank you everyone for your Christmas love :)

Friday, it snowed. And I mean SNOWED. Around 3:30pm we were visiting wiht Kelley Bartholomew and she was telling us how it's supposed to snow between 5-11pm. Kid you not, 20 minutes later, we look outside and it is just a downpour of snow! We're all from California, so we ran out and took pictures. I'm sure people thought we looked silly. But hey, this is still kinda new/fun for us. We still went caroling with a couple that night and I think the snow helped because more people were home ;)

Saturday was Miary's baptism! It was beautiful. I was a little stressed as things were running a bit late (not in my control). One thing I am learning is how to be more patient and that I would be AWFUL as an event planner. When things don't go as planned, I get a little frenzied haha. BUT I continued to remind myself that it always works out, and it did. We had a great turnout, the entire Relief Society room was filled, and the Spirit was strong. The talks and the baptism were all done in Malagasy (as it was for Miary). Miary's daughter, Eva, and her granddaughter did a duet of "I Am A Child of God" and it was so sweet. At the end, Miary bore her testimony (as Eva translated) of how she has gotten to this point and the tender mercies that helped her even just days before to reassure that this is the right way. We have been starting to teach her English and helped her learn the last part of her testimony in English. However, she started to do it in Malagasy. We were like "nooooo" and her daughter said "english, Mom!". Haha. And she did. It was so awesome! Miary truly is a choice daughter of our Heavenly Father and I'm so excited for her to be sealed to her family in a year. She had her confirmation at church yesterday, which was also done in Malagasy, and I know no one minded that they couldn't understand because of the spirit. She has been so welcomed by the ward and it's incredible. As I pondered on this special woman, I thought of the scripture in Doctrine and Covenants 18:15-16 which says "15 And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one ^asoul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father!

 16 And now, if your joy will be great with one soul that you have brought unto me into the ^akingdom of my Father, how great will be your ^bjoy if you should bring many ^csouls unto me! ". I know that on this mission, for me I am that "one soul" and those that I have taught and seen baptized are the "many souls". I am so grateful for my mission!

We had a great turnout at church yesterday. We joke that it's out "Superbowl" Sunday as lots of people like to come for the Christmas program. The music and messages were great and we had so many less-actives and non-members come. Even ones we didn't even think would come! 

I am looking forward to talking to my family on Wednesday. I will be spending Christmas day with about 5 families! But it will be fun. Sister Maness and I were talking about how even though we're away from our families for the holidays, it isn't hard because we are so welcomed by so many other families. What a blessing. 

As I've shared lots of Christmas messages these last few weeks, I've been able to reflect on the true meaning of Christmas. I have learned that not only is it about Christ's birth, but about His atonement and His second coming. There would be no significance to Bethlehem without Gethsemane. He came here not just to be born the Son of God, but to fulfill His purpose and provide a way for us to return Home again. I am so grateful for my Savior and His great sacrifice. I am grateful for this time on Earth that I have to learn about Him and what His life means for me personally. He is  the Son of God, "Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace".

May you all have a Merry Christmas and feel the Savior's love as you spend time with your family. I love you all!

Love,

Sister Wightman