Blog #56 04/28/14

It has been a great week full of service. I LOVE service! I love teaching, but I LOVE service. Do you get what I'm saying yet? Haha. The reasons for our service was not the greatest, but I felt really useful this week. 

We had a few members injured. One of them, Lucinda, broke her arm last weekend and so we made sure that she had meals sent to her and were able to clean her living room and kitchen so she didn't feel so cluttered while she sat around, not being able to do anything. We had another sister, Sister Jones, admitted into the hospital earlier this week with unsurety of the problem. It ended up being appendicitis. We were able to visit her a couple times this week and give her that company, sing some hymns and reassure her that she is being taken care of. She really appreciated it. And on Saturday, we had a few sisters from the ward come with us to help clean Lisa's house. Lisa is going into surgery today for a ruptured discus and will be out of commission for about 6 weeks and so we were able to clean and organize her house to be trip-free. It was fun to work with these sisters and see the relief on Lisa's face to know that her home was clean. We had some brethren from the ward give her a blessing last night as well, and I know that these things are all helping her see the support and love of this gospel that we all thrive from. She may not accept the gospel now, but at least her heart is softening. 

Tuesday night we were able to participate in a Humanitarian Activity with our Relief Society as we tied fleece blankets, sewed rice bags and filled them and collected hats for cancer patients. I'm sure my mom's jaw is going to drop, but I actually used the sewing machine to sew the rice bags! It's actually not that hard, unless you're trying to replace the thread haha. It was so much fun though and when it was all done, there was a whole wall filled of these completed projects. It's great to know we're helping in the community. 

Yesterday was a great day! Sister Worden and I had been asked to speak in Sacrament meeting (this was only my second time having to give a talk on my mission - usually missionaries do that a lot more) and it went well. We were on exchanges a couple times this week so I didn't really have a ton of time to work on my talk, but had it completed by yesterday morning. I spoke on learning to rely on the Spirit and Sister Worden talked about how with our religion we need to know it, live it and love it. It was great. What made it even better was that we had three of our investigators attend sacrament meeting a few members that aren't as active! We haven't had that happen for a few weeks now, so it made our day! I have been reminded a lot this week that patience and endurance is key in life. We have a lot of rejection and things go not as we'd like them to, but then we find someone who is ready or we have people show their interest and progression again and it truly makes all that rejection worth it, even if it's for one person. I know that that is something we will carry throughout the rest of this life. We do need to learn to trust in the Lord and when we have those hard times come, not question, "Why me?", but "What am I going to do about it?" or "What am I supposed to learn from this?".  This life is all about learning, and falling and getting back up and growing and learning some more. It never ends. But we don't have to do it alone :) One of my favorite scriptures is Proverbs 3:5-6 - Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

I love you all and hope you have a great week!

Love,

Sister Wightman

Photos 04/21/14

All of us missionaries that worked with Savannah and Devin

Working on the wood pile

Sister Willard and I "sitting on the job"

Letter #55 04/21/14

I hope everyone had a Hoppy Easter! My companion and I received lots of candy (yay....) so we still got to have a taste of the holiday (no pun intended, Mom). Tuesday, we had a leadership exchange where we received training on using planning and goal setting to see success. It was just what I needed. I continue to see that throughout my mission, where right when I'm feeling stuck in a rut, we have a training and it picks me up again. What I wanted to focus more on was making sure we were planning effectively, instead of just putting down names to see, but actually having a purpose for them. As well as checking back on our plans throughout the day and replanning if needed. We got to see lots of unplanned opportunities while on our exchange and even see people that we had been trying many times before but never seemed to catch at home. That evening we went to the Family History center and learned how to do indexing. I got an easy batch that was already typed so I didn't have to try to interpret old English cursive haha. It was fun, but more work than I thought. It's cool to see how much genealogy work can be for everyone, no matter where we are or how old we are. Friday to Saturday, Sister Worden and I were on exchanges again and I had Sister Willard with me in our area. We had a lot of fun and kept getting asked if we were actual sisters (I guess we look alike?). Saturday morning, we were asked by some elders to help do some service at a family's home, taking down a shed and moving some wood. I had no idea what we were in for! There were probably about 20 missionaries that ended up showing up and it was needed. There was so much wood and although we made a huge dent, we left after about 3 hours and there was still some more work to do. It was a lot of fun. I got to wear jeans (which it's been a while for that)! And definitely some missionary bonding time as we created assembly lines get the job done more efficiently. We were pretty dirty by the end, I'm pretty sure I had a dust mustache haha, but it was great. So my miracle of the week was a total tender mercy. I received a call on Thursday from the mission office that a girl I had taught back in August was finally getting baptized this Saturday! Sister Chen and I had taught Savannah and her little brother and had everything set up, but last minute, her mom decided to say no to letting it happen ( I think just to spite her ex-husband). It was so heart-breaking, especially to see this little 11 year-old not understand why she couldn't get baptized. They have gone through a few other missionaries since then and had more baptism dates set, just to fall through again. Thankfully, it finally happened. It was great to be reunited in my old area and to see this wonderful family. Both Savannah and Devin were baptized by their dad and confirmed members of the Church on Saturday. It was so special to be able to see them do this (grateful my mission is small enough that I can return to old areas) and to feel the great spirit there. You never know when your efforts will bloom, but it's all about the right time! Yesterday, we had a wonderful Easter service at church. Although none of our investigators were able to make it, we had lots of less-active members come and family members of others who are not members of the church. I think everyone really enjoyed it and if just felt like a big family was there together. I'm grateful for having two Easters on my mission as it's really helped me to understand the true meaning of this holiday and to understand the Atonement of Jesus Christ so much more. I am so grateful for His great sacrifice and what He has done for me and for you. He truly loves each and everyone of us and didn't have to go through all that He did, but He did so He could know how to help us. On the mission, I see so many situations that I was never exposed to before. It helps me to appreciate my life so much as well to realize how precious Christ's sacrifice is to know that He really can help these people. That is something I will never take for granted again. I love you all so much. And I hope you have a great rest of your week! Love, Sister Wightman

Because of Him

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

Photos 04/07/14

Our zone bowling on pday/Sister Roberson's bday

Sister Emmett, Sister Roberson and I before we were transferred

Sister Worden and I with the Olsen's (one of the mission office couples who are finishing their mission this week)

Letter #53 04/07/14

And the changes continue.... We had transfers today and I am staying here in Meridian and have a new companion (to the area), Sister Worden from Arizona. She is super sweet and I think we're gonna do awesome here together. She has been out for about 10 months and has just been called to be a Sister Training Leader as well, so I finally have my STL companion. That will definitely lighten my load a bit. I will miss my last two companions dearly. I learned so much from them and they became very dear friends. But as always, we must keep moving. My international mission continues as we received a referral this week for a man named Ali from Iran. He has been here for 13 years but still has a very thick accent and mainly speaks Farsi, Greek and Turkish (please keep in your prayers that we'll find a translator to help us!). He is very sweet and very ready for the gospel, so we're excited. He even told us he wants to come to church next week! Doing the invitations for us! Haha. This weekend we had the special privilege of watching General Conference, which is an opportunity we have twice a year to hear from our Prophet, Thomas S. Monson, as well as other church leaders. The talks are all inspired from God as you can tell as they are exactly what we need to hear today. I love them so much. It's like the Superbowl for us missionaries ;) I am so grateful to be a missionary at this time with such an emphasis on missionary work and helping bring all of God's children home. I really appreciated the focus on basic principles, which I know are topics we are attacked on a lot as member of the Church. It is so good to be reminded and strengthened in what we truly be and how our organization came to be. I know this gospel is true and I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the true church of Christ once again restored on the Earth. I know that Thomas S. Monson is a prophet of God and he does receive revelation for us so that we might be able to know how to endure this life and return to our Father in Heaven. I loved Elder Uchtdorf's talk on gratitude as many of you know big I am about that. Gratitude truly is a healer and helps us through our trials. It was really neat as we met with one of our investigators, Billie, Friday night and watched On the Lord's Errand (about President Monson's life). Afterwards we asked her how she felt about a living prophet on the earth today and she explained that when she first heard, it was hard for her to wrap her mind around, but now it makes sense to her that for God to communicates to His children through a prophet just like He did of old. I shared with her how cool it is that when we watch Conference we can receive answers and guidance personally, even though they talk to us as a whole. She said that that's how she feels about the Book of Mormon. As she's been reading from it more she sees her answers come through the scriptures and is truly loving it. I love her! I love seeing people receive that guidance and confirmation that what we are teaching is true, and that they find it for themselves and we're just the guides. So awesome! I love you all so much and am so grateful for you! Love, Sister Wightman