Dearest Family,
Sorry this letter is overdue..the library was closed yesterday.
Well transfers are tomorrow. AP Truman told us last week we were
getting Sister Yuen back and we were stoked! The tri-force was gonna be
back. To our dismay, that got changed. But me
and Sister B are still here tearin it up in Bartlett. Well we'd like
to think we're tearin it up. I think we are..it's a great area. It's
a blessing to have the temple so close-I got to go yesterday. Anyone
who is within 30 miles of the temple can go when
the departing missionaries go. It was great to be there. Everyone was
really happy. As I was there, I felt more than I have before how right
it was to be there. That it really is true. Then after that, we
played speed(the basketball one) with some other
missionaries. We played with them a few weeks ago, and I told the
elders that I used to beat the boys at speed but that was in the 8th
grade. Well that time I didn't do so hot cause every time someone would
get me out I would beg to stay in just a few more
times. They would usually let me. Then when I actually did make some
shots I would shout "yes! I'm still in!". Well I don't know what
happened between that day and yesterday because yesterday I was nailing
all my shots! Well, a lot of them. And I was beating
the boys sometimes. They were like "Sister Wilde, why are you shooting
so much better this time? Have you been doing missionary work lately
or just playing basketball?" I'm not sure what was happening, but it
rocked. I was just happy because you all know
how athletically inclined I am....:) It was fun.
We had a breakthrough lesson with Sam and Steve last night. Things
have been rough...Sam has been really sick. One day last week we went
to their house to teach, but soon found that their temporal needs were
more important to address at that time. It
is true that sometimes you have to help people temporally before they
can even begin to be open spiritually. The gospel isn't something you
can just throw in peoples' faces. It takes caring about someone enough
to learn who they are, what their needs are,
and in what way you need to teach them. Anyway, we spent 5
hours cleaning their house. It seems like everything has been falling
apart for them. But last night we walked in and there was a sense of
peace I hadn't felt there in a long time. The house was
straight, and they were all in a good mood. We began talking about
women in the Book of Mormon because Sam had asked to learn about them.
We talked of the mothers of the stripling warriors and how if they
hadn't taught them and prayed for them, they wouldn't
have been able to step up and defend their families. They knew it was
important to rely on God and follow their leaders with
exactness. We shared Alma 57:21 and I said that our mission president
promised us that when we were obedient with exactness, miracles
would happen. Sam said, "do you really believe that?" I was glad to
be able to say that I knew that because I have seen it. Living the
gospel of Jesus Christ will bring more blessings than anything else you
can find in this world. We then went around the
room and told miracles that we had seen that day. Everybody shared
one, and I could see Steve's eyes opening- in a spiritual sense. He
is really starting to understand. I said that my miracle was the peace
and love I felt in their home that night. Steve
said, "Really? You noticed that?" He could feel it too. It was like
finally they stopped long enough to feel the Holy Ghost. I could almost
see it calming them. They need it so badly. My love for that family
has grown so much. I am praying that our love for
them will continue to motivate them to make changes in their lives that
will allow God to broaden their perspectives.
During the lesson, Sam was saying that she has a hard time wrapping
her head around the prophet thing and the Book of Mormon. She said how
she was raised to think that the bible was end all be all-the only book
of scripture. Then Steve said, "hey can
I share my testimony?" He told Sam..."a few days ago Sister Wilde made
me read the Book of Mormon. I randomly opened the book and it fell to 2
Nephi 29. I read it and I was enlightened. It really hit the spot. It
talks about how these people said they already
had a bible and they didn't need another one." She opened it up and
read the entire chapter out loud. The entire chapter! She was like
"okay. I get it". She didn't say much, but I think that it made her
think. It was really cool to see how Steve had
received revelation through the Book of Mormon and then shared it with
Sam. He knows he needs to get baptized! He just doesn't want to stop
drinking beer.
On sunday, we got a new bishop in 2nd ward. It was a special
sacrament meeting. Bishop Sturgell served for 6 years, and while he
said he was relieved, he looked like he was about to cry. I could see
in his eyes the immense love he had gained for everyone
in the ward as he pleaded with them to keep the commandments. He
said simply, "happiness comes from keeping the commandments". His voice
had a quiet power and I could feel the Holy Ghost bringing that into my
heart. Our new bishop is Bishop Hale. He is
quite young and I imagine quite overwhelmed. He got up and just
started crying. He said although he didn't know how he was going to do
it, he knew it was right. Everyone could feel that it was. It was
testimony meeting after that, and many people commented
on how right it felt. God leads this church.
I realized the other day that it is now completely weird to
remember that I have a first name. My name is Sister Wilde, and I
really love that. It feels good to be a missionary. I think a lot of
times, we don't realize what we have. We don't realize
how much spiritual knowledge God has given us and that it needs to be
shared. Just like we become more grateful as we express gratitude, we
have more guidance and knowledge from the spirit when we share the
knowledge we have already been given.
Hey. Thanks to everyone who reads my letters- it pretty much makes
me feel like a million bucks. God lives even though we can't feel Him
all the time. He doesn't want us to be miserable. When we choose to be
as happy as we can, He helps us be more
happy. He's pretty cool.
I really do love you all. I'd be nothing without you.
love sister wilde
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