July is ending...

Hi people!

I cannot even fathom the fact that it's pretty much August. And on that note, it's also raining today. I am still not used to the fact that it's summer and it can have rainstorms...

Sorry I'm late in the day- again! Sister Pankey and I got a phone call last night from our ward mission leaders wife, sister Wing, who just broke her elbow! She asked us if we could help her do her shopping today which of course we said yes! Her three little kids are adorable and so energetic! Also, Sam's Club is just like Costco! But yeah we just got home.

This week we did a lot more weeding which was awesome! One yard was just totally covered in vines and it was so therapeutic to rip it all out! We helped Sister Holly with her cute little veggie garden and I got to play with her 2 Boston terriers. I felt bad that I got them so riled up though because they sounded like they were having respiratory issues... 😨

I've gotten to know our ward better this week it feels like and I'm sort of getting into the flow of things. We're trying to get to know everyone and letting them get to know us. Sister Pankey is hysterical she just kinda finds a way in and goes for it!😂 There is this one family, the Patrick's, that the Spanish elders in our ward are a little salty about because of an encounter with brother Patrick. But we asked if we could do a family home evening lesson with them and they said yes, and we got to know all of them. Brother Patrick is totally cool! He likes landscaping and trimming trees, it was great! The elders are not happy!😆

We found some new people to teach this week so that was exciting! We got one referral person from the Missouri sisters, but as we've been talking to this gal Temyha, we found out she's stuck in Illinois! So that situation is a little weird and totally out of our control. She sounds like a nice gal though!

There are some serious rich rich RICH neighborhoods around here. Like, it's intimidating. We went looking for a member in this one area and I had no idea what we were getting into and all the sudden these monster houses were coming outta the woodworks and I cannot even understand how one manages a house like that even with maids. How. And why would you want to? If I had money like that I'd buy a homestead! 😁

Zone Conference was on Friday and it was the bomb! They always are, but I felt especially in tune with this one and I didn't get bored or day-dreamy or anything! It was really focused on becoming more like our Savior and developing Christlike characteristics that will allow us to become better missionaries. This was something sister Pankey and I have been trying to focus on more, mostly me though cuz I'm terrible at setting goals. She is all about the goals! It also focused on helping members understand ministering. I was super excited about this one because I'm excited about ministering in general plus we could help our members grow closer together! And by helping them with their ministering families, we were then encouraged to ask for help with ministering to those we are teaching. So everyone's involved, everyone is working as one, which is really what we're working towards because we are all one people. Heavenly Father's children.

There are highs and lows in every hour it seems. Life will hit you up with all kinds of nonsense. But it helps knowing who you are, where you came from, and where you're going. I know that we don't go through life alone. I know that we each have a plan of happiness. I know that if we give our all to the Lord, our lives will truly be happy and full of joy, so much so that it will drown out all the bad.

I love and miss you all so much! Thank you for your sweet emails of encouragement and powerful testimonies, they truly lift me though the week! I hope you all have a wondrous first week of August!

With love,
Sister Wilcox😘

Sorry most of the pics are blurry y'all

p.s. that adorable older gent with the vacuum is our beloved President Hughes

On Another Level of the Heat Index😥

Hey y'all!

Sister Pankey and I just got taken out to the mall by Sara and Leonard! Love them so so much oh my goshes! They really make missionaries feel loved! So yeah, that's why my emails are late!🤗

Another week in Indiana down! So I had NO IDEA how bad humidity could be, but Indiana has shown me the proper ways. We did some gardening for a member earlier this week and it was like, 7pm, and I was drowning in my own sweat. Not even kidding, it was ridiculous.

So adjusting to a car area is seriously weird. I'm used to planning all this time for biking but we don't have to do that anymore so there's all this time for finding people, which is great, but it's a lot! There are a ton of people in this area! I am so excited to seriously crack down and pound more pavement!

I've made sister Pankey bike quite a bit and I kinda feel bad but kinda not... We found a bikable road so heck yeah we're using it! It's been nice to be able to zoom around in a car though, especially when you're tired. I just feel like I'm not ready to let go of how I'm used to doing missionary work and I need to humble myself and be teachable because what I did before is not going to work here in Evansville! I swear all the trainings and studies I've had has been focused on "patience" and "humility" and I need to accept the change!

The end of this week was cool because we found one new person to teach, Jackie, who is so curious about the book of Mormon and then some guys from our ward brought their co-worker who wants to learn more about the gospel so we're teaching him too! His name is Gabe and he became interested because of the example his co-workers set, you never know who is watching you! So yeah, that was really awesome and I just feel so pumped to work hard and study hard.

We met this cool older couple whose son is a bishop (but they aren't members) and they have met with a lot of missionaries over the years! That's mostly because their grandkids keep sending missionaries after them!😂 When we showed up they were like, "who sent you this time?" And we told them nobody did, because we truly showed up simply because we wanted to. They are like dry Mormons. They know enough that they might as well be. They were super sweet though, and I really think there will be a time that they will accept the gospel. They came to church with their son yesterday, so it was cool to get to talk with them about church. We'll see where this goes!

This week I have noticed more that we are seriously on God's time. Everything works out the way it is meant to when you are willing to adapt to whatever changes happen, have patience with the monkey wrenches that get thrown in, and trust in God. We have been put in the right places at the right times simply because we saw that things weren't going to go according to plan and went with it anyway trusting that that was supposed to happen. It's been really cool, and humbling, because I don't know everything and this isn't my work! I wouldn't see any of the miracles I've seen if it all went the way I think it should.

I'm still learning the ropes and finding my rhythm, but I am so excited to be working in this new area with all these new people! Thank you for your love and prayers and emails! I appreciate it so much!

Have a fabulous week!

With love,
Sister Wilcox❤

I'm Not in Kentucky Anymore!

Hi everyone!

This week has kinda thrown me for a loop!

I got to see all my favorite people on transfers this last Tuesday! It's always fun to see everybody. There were 23 missionaries going home, so that was a little bizarre to see. I had to stay longer because our ride to Evansville wasn't leaving until after the new missionary introduction thing. It was way cool to hear the testimonies of the departing missionaries, but it was so weird knowing their mission was over. Just like that. I didn't like it! I took lots of notes and said lots of goodbyes! The only good thing about technology is it spreads the good word and it helps you keep in touch with your loved ones😉

I had to give up Sister Mitchell, we said goodbye a million times and i had a hard time getting it into my head that she wasn't my companion anymore. She's been so good to me! But my new companion is Sister Pankey. She is a convert to the church from Catholicism and her story is fire! I love it!!! She is a doll and she totally keeps me sane because once again, I have no idea what I'm doing! We are also co-companions cuz she and I came out the same time!

Indiana is an hour behind Kentucky, so that's different. I'm 2ish hours away from Louisville, which I still can't believe I'm not in Louisville anymore... My new address is: 524 Normandy Drive Evansville, Indiana 47715 and the apartment is huge! I don't know what to do with half of it! A lot of sisters have spent their last transfer here, so there's a lot of junk to go through because they leave so much behind!

I wanted to bike on Wednesday so we biked! We drove the car to a neighborhood and did some finding. It's weird having a car when I've been on a bike for 6 months. I have to relearn how to be a missionary it feels like. My tan lines are gonna disappear too!😢

We got to do lots of service this week which is always the best, lots of dishes and moving things. The members here are crazy but super awesome! Most of them are converts to the church as well! They have amazing stories!

I am in the same district as my trainer, Sister Wilcox! It was so good to see her again and she is still in her baby area! How crazy is that! I still can't get over it obviously because I keep bringing it up!😆 I didn't realize how much I missed her, but I did and now I don't have to!

I am learning the ways of this giant new area and I'm excited to gain new knowledge and skills! I trust that Heavenly Father sent me here for a reason, and I am going to find it! I love you all so much and I have a blessed week!

Sorry I don't have a ton of pictures!🤗

With love,
Sister Wilcox😘

Goodbye pic with Mary Helen
Last pic with sister Mitchell
This car that shouldn't be driveable...
Sister Pankey and I after biking!

Well

Hi folks!

So the biggest thing on my list of priorities right now is to tell y'all that WOODHAVEN IS NO LONGER A SISTERS AREA! 😭😭😭

Sister Mitchell and I are both getting kicked out! She's going to Carollton Kentucky, and I'm going to Evansville Indiana. When President calls, you know something big went down. When he called us Saturday we were like oh no no no! We weren't expecting both of us to go! So it's been a little emotional lately. We've been saying goodbye to our ward and our people since then and trying to lack and clean and email! 😣 sorry if this gets a little crazy!

We did lots of tracting of course. The weather was super bleeding hot and everyone who opened their door was like, "what are you doing out in this?" It was great, we got handed lots of waterbottles!😉

We went to the ward 4th of July breakfast and brother Hunter flipped this ginormous pancake on his skillet because I may or may not have jokingly suggested it??😅 it worked though and I totally got a video! It was fun, and brother Spainhower brought homing pigeons and talked about all the service animals used in the wars. It was pretty cool. The kids got to write notes to put on the birds. I want one.

That day was really hot too, in the 100's plus humidity. We met this older gent who was basically a dry Mormon. He believed everything we believed, and knew that Joseph Smith and Brigham Young were called of God. We read the promise Moroni gives at the end of the book of Mormon where he tells us to ask of God if the book is not true, and he was blown away with how powerful it was he Las like, "I gotta remember that one!" But when we offered him the book he politely declined and said he was, "waiting for a sign from God" ...okay. He was really nice though and it was a fun conversation. We did go to two barbeques and the food was fantastic!

Okay so now here's this madness- we've been tracting in the same neighborhood for a while and we lock our bikes to stop signs and whatever. On Friday we visited this less active member (who lives down in this area) for like, 15 minutes max? We tucked our bikes between the house and her car, out of the way, and when we came back out they were gone! Our bikes were jacked! At first we were like, "for reals?" but then reality hit that yes for realsies somebody stole our crappy bikes. Whoo. Actually a member told us that with how "antique" the bikes were they probably got quite a bit of money for them. I'm thinking someone's been eyeballing them all week and waiting for us to be stupid and not lock our bikes!🙃

We walked up the main road and called the Gibson's, who rescued us, and then some other people and finally the AP's came in tow with new bikes. These are some nice bikes let me tell you! Mines purple again! We aren't really sad about losing our old ones anymore! However, we're both going to car areas, so there goes that....

Actually I'm really excited y'all I hope I don't sound disappointed! I was just surprised I wasn't staying here longer, and this area has only had sisters for 6 months. It hasn't had any for YEARS. So it's bitter-sweet for us and hard to say goodbye, and the ward is a little shocked but everything is working out the way it's supposed to! The elders will take over and they will be awesome and Indiana will be awesome!

This is the mission life, being called and moved to wherever the Lord needs us. I've tried to focus more on trusting in the Lord this week. He knows best always, and he sees things that I don't. He knows me so much better than I know myself. This week has been so much easier than it would have been without that knowledge! Miracles have happened, and I can see the divine design in the simple things. Missions are such a huge blessing! By coming out of myself and serving, I have learned more than I ever could have on my own!

I love you all and I'm scrambling today so sorry if I miss emails!😬 have a fabulous week! Remember you are a child of God! Stand tall!

With love,
Sister Wilcox

Oh and last week's picture with the feet in it, that was sister Mitchell's feet. Sorry I forgot to say so, I can't get that dark!😆

And that sunset seriously looked like the second coming!

 

 

Dante's Inferno

Hey y'all!

As the title implies, I feel like I'm biking through layers of hell. But that's just typical Kentucky! It'll be so bleeding hot and then start trying to drown me here in a sec! I prefer that to being burned alive though... also I'm going to the zoo today so my emails will probably be no bueno! So I'm saying sorry ahead of time!🤐

Well, not a whole lot of craziness happened this week. We did a TON of tracting again and it's not as successful as it has been. We're switching up the game the upcoming week to reach out to more less actives, because obviously we are meant to be doing something else!

We met this cute older gal and her grandkids while out tracting. At first she wasn't interested, but then she offered us some water. Of course we accepted and we ended up telling her all about what we do and she wanted her grandkids to meet us. They need a lot of prayers right now because she and her husband are pretty much raising their grandkids and they aren't in great health. She wanted us to continue stopping by and sharing what we know with her and her family. She's not investigating, but I'm glad we were able to offer her some peace and bring the spirit into her home.😊

We got our bikes back back on Saturday! I didn't realize how soft my bike seat was until I had to ride around on that other guy for a week and a half! The little things in life make all the difference! However, I felt like I could go much faster on the purple bike...

Mary Helen bore her testimony yesterday and it was the most beautiful thing! She's a brand new member and she just walked right on up there with her papers! Sister Mitchell and I cried like babies and we ran up to give her a hug. She is exactly why we are out here. She was so ready to hear the gospel that it didn't even matter if we were imperfect teachers. It didn't matter if I said the right thing or not. It wasn't about us, it was about her and her need to come back to faith, and Heavenly Father was going to make that happen. She came to us at a time when we were feeling pretty low and confused. And she felt the same way. We helped each other. Heavenly Father knew what we needed, and I am so thankful for the opportunity I had to help Mary Helen along her path in whatever way I was able.

This week has left me contemplating who I really want to be. The mission can change you, if you let it and if you want to, and I definitely wanted to. I still want to. There is so much to work on and learn, we never stop learning new things! It's wonderful that you can always strengthen your testimony, you can always receive revelation from the scriptures, our capacity to grow is infinite. We are children of God and our progression is eternal. Don't doubt yourself, don't think you have limits, you can do anything even if you just have faith the size of a mustard seed. In Moroni ch. 7 verse 33 it reads:

"And Christ hath said: If ye will have faith in me ye shall have power to do whatsoever thing is expedient in me."

I love you all so very much and I love getting your emails and your encouragement. I feel your prayers working miracles around me everyday and I want to thank you for that from the bottom of my heart!❤ Have a wonderful week and have an awesome 4th of July! This land is the land of promise and it is a land of freedom. We have this wonderful gospel and the right to share that gospel because this nation is free. Please pray for our leaders and our soldiers who try their best, they desperately need it!

With love,
Sister Wilcox😘

Sorry there aren't a ton of pictures this week! I'm slackin!