Dusty Snow

Hey y'all,

Right now I am currently en route to the Louisville Temple!!! Woohoo! It's 4 degrees, there's snow everywhere, and we're following a snow plow... but it's great!

Okay the snow is more like powder, and it just gets blown around, so I don't know why there is a snow plow. But whatever.

This week we called Francisco and he was sooo cool! He's just a real busy guy (he's in college after all) and he wants to meet with us but he doesn't want us driving all the way to Columbia if something comes up for him. Isn't he sweet? I just want to meet him!

Wednesday was pretty cool cuz we had this impression that we needed to call Renee. So we did. She was fine, and we chatted for a bit, then hung up. She called five minutes later to ask us if she could make dinner for a family who just had a baby in the branch, and we were like heck yes you can and we got her in touch with the people she needed contact with and she is just a rockstar! She's basically a member! Our Relief Society President was like, "who is this lady??"

Whilst this was happening, we were following Sister Young's prompting to go get hot chocolate... I've been told by her previous companions that when she feels the need to go get food, always go get food. Stuff happens. We looked around and there was nobody out, so that was disappointing. Then on the drive back we saw a young man walking and Sister Young was like, "we have to talk to him!!!" So I whipped the car around and we walked up to him and talked for a bit. He wasn't religious at all, but he was open to us and he accepted our card. We don't know what will come of it, but it was such a neat experience. Sister Young explained later that she had seen that same guy the day before and felt prompted to talk to him, but didn't. She felt awful and prayed for a second chance. Well, she got the second chance! I am reminded everyday how merciful and forgiving our Heavenly Father is. He gives us second chances, and thirds and fourths and fifths and so on.

Well now it's one degree. Yay.

I met a ginormous brindle sheep dog. He was supposed to be white, but he s brindle colored! He was so cool looking and so sweet!

We went into this one house and this guy was like, "sorry y'all but I hope you don't mind I just smoked a joint" and then it hit me, and cigarette smoke on top of it and they didn't open windows or nothing. I felt so sick. It made me so sad because they were such sweet people, and they even met with missionaries for a while a few years back, but I could not breathe in there and felt like I couldn't say what I wanted to say (or think properly). I hate drugs and cigarettes and alcohol, I hate what they do to people. It just makes me even more grateful for the word of wisdom, and for the council and revelation from modern day prophets!

We've been doing work at an archive center that has family records from all the surrounding counties around Campbellsville, it's been really cool. It makes me want to be better about my own family history and finding ancestors. Yesterday we met with a member to talk about her family (cuz we can't keep them all straight) and the entire time I was like Cain need to be doing this!" She had stories written down from her grandparents and notebooks full of pictures and memories, it was awesome!

Sunday was fun! Nothing went the way we planned! I loved it! We saw one of the gals we were teaching out in her yard with a metal detector, so we walked up and she invited us in and we had a really good discussion with her! Then we visited the mother of an inactive member and she was so kind to us, and she told us where we could find her daughter! Then we went and found her daughter (who is awesome, she just works a lot) and we ended up giving her husband a book of Mormon! So the day went better than what we planned 😁

I can't remember anything else, but the week was good! It's nice and sunny right now and the snow is beautiful! Kentucky drivers don't like snow though, it's pretty funny actually. It's negative one!

Well, wish me luck. I'm gonna try to survive this weather! Y'all have a blessed week!

With love,
Sister Wilcox❤❤❤


P.S. WE FOUND A HERD OF LITTLE PONIES!!!

Lo Siento!

Hey y'all!

We had district p-day today so I had like, zero time to email!

As a district we went bowling and I actually did pretty good! We went out to eat and then played this board game called "Unstable Unicorns" and it was so much fun! Our district actually likes eachother, so just hanging out was a blast. We had Zone Conference this week and we were together nearly the entire time, everybody else was sitting with buddies or something, but not us! Zone Conference itself was good too. It felt very short though.

So we have this thing in our car that tracks where we go and yells at us if we speed or stop too suddenly. It's called "Tiwi" and I hates it. Well guess what i got to do? It kept falling off the windshield and onto the dash and giving me "aggressive drivings" so President Hughes told me I could unplug it... I'm driving around with NO ONE TO TELL ME WHAT TO DO! HAHAHAHAHA!!!! I don't know how to get it fixed yet, so yeah. Oh well.

We found a lot of really cute families that are part member families, and I'm so excited to get to know them and work with them! Kita msst the Karrens and she had one of her boys receive a blessing because he was very sick, so that was cool! Her actually letting other people into her home was a huge step!

There was one house we were trying to find out in the boonies, and we found it, but there was a Doberman patrolling the property. Well, we prayed, got outta the car, and ended up befriending the said Doberman. She was real sweet, just super scary at first. It's the power of prayer I tell you!

We stopped by the house of this couple that have labelled themselves as "dry Mormons" and they let us in and invited us to dinner! It was so crazy! We have been trying to figure out what to do for them and we just show up and boom, invited right in. It was awesome.

Also, it snowed yesterday and there was a sheet of ice under everything, so church got cancelled and we couldn't go anywhere.... So we did nothing! It was weird! I don't know if I liked it or not. As a missionary you always feel like there's SOMETHING productive to do, but I just didn't.

I can't remember if there was anything else that happened. So, I love you all, y'all are amazing and just keep going! Never quit, never surrender, never forget that you are loved. Anyways, bye!

I'll send pictures next week, sorry!

With love,
Sister Wilcox❤❤❤

Chicken Nut Bread

Hey y'all

So,

On Tuesday we helped the Senior couple in our ward, the Karrens, move in next door to us. We live in a cute little duplex, and now we have cute little neighbors! We moved the couches and the bed and the washer dryer, everything made it over alright. We went to an interesting lesson with Kita where she told us she really wanted to finish the book of Mormon, so we just read the nook of Mormon with her and talked about it to make sure she understood it. It was kinda cool how eager she is to read and know what it means.

Well then the Karrens found out that the washer and dryer were supposed to stay at the other apartment... and they asked if we could hitch a trailer to our Malibu. They weren't serious, but for a second there I was starting to think I'd have to drive around with a trailer on our mission car.

Oh and we finally got a hold of this person the previous sisters taught and she's this super cute old lady named Marie! She lives right behind the church, like, basically in the church parking lot. I'm excited to get to know her more!

Wednesday was district council- with our mission president and his wife. He wasn't doing interviews or anything, just sitting in on the trainings. Scary! Actually it wasn't scary and it was super cute because my mission president is just a doll and he had comments like a regular missionary and I just love him and Sister Hughes! I always over think things! Oh, and we road trip with the Karrens out there cuz it's a 40 minute drive or so to Sulfer Wells, and we don't have the miles for that. We have gotten to know the Karrens more and more and I'm just so grateful to be living next to them now. It's like having another set of grandparents 😢

So Thursday came rolling around and I remembered we were having exchanges and I was not excited, not gonna lie. Exchanges used to be really exciting, but now I just don't want to leave my area or my companion, nope. That's probably why they do them, so we don't forget how to interact with other sisters...

Anyways, we got to do service in the morning before exchanges with Sister Tucker! She needed help putting up chicken wire! Heck yeah thats my jam. Got to use wire cutters and a hammer. Thats the life right there. She has the cutest little chicks because they're like, half fluffy silkies mixed with welsummers and barred rocks, they're so darn cute and fun!

Then we went on the prettiest drive to exchanges because we're actually on elevation sort of and as we were driving down the trees parted and you could see vast farmland and barnes and cows and it was really nice to be up high for a sec and get a view like that. I keep forgetting that hills and mountains are a thing.

I went to Bardstown with Sister Reynolds, a sister I came out with, and we went out and tried by some people. Then we just tracted. My tights at one point decided they no longer wanted to be on me so they started falling off while we were walking around, so I took them off in the car. And it was freezing outside! Oh well. Sister Reynolds had my back though, their apartment was two seconds away and she let me borrow some tights.

We talked to some interesting people, we had a really nice dinner with a cute older couple from the ward and then we went home. Then I realized that Sister Wilcox Sr served in Bardstown as her last area. She had left notes in her cute handwriting all over the place, and some of her clothes were still there. It was a little tender mercy for me in a way I guess. I've been in her very first area, and I've been in her very last area. Though it was only on exchanges, it was still very cool to me.

However, Bardstown is the "Bourbon capitol of the world" and they make sure to put that EVERYWHERE. They have these massive distilleries that are white at first, then over time they start turning black... they're just scary looking and everything smells like beer. Gross. We met a guy who had a real nice Impala with a shattered rear windshield. You know how he shattered it? By blasting the heat on while it's real real cold outside. The hot and the cold shattered the glass. Crazy.

Sorry, that sounds sarcastic, I don't mean it sarcastically I'm just really impressed that his car had such a good heating system.

Oh, and exchanges were fine. Like I said before, I over think things.

On Friday we had a lesson with Faun! I hadn't met Faun until then because of the holidays. I kept hearing from other missionaries about how awesome she is, then I didn't get to actually meet her till the middle of the transfer. That's alright though! Better late than never! She really is a doll, and she has already learned so much. Now its up to her whether she will continue to take the missionary lessons or what. She is married to a member who hadn't been to church since he was 18. He came back himself, with a little encouragement from his wife! Now she is investigating! You never know how you will be nudged into action!

Saturday the Jehovah's witnesses came back to share their scripture, and afterwards Sister Young was like, "next week we're sharing a scripture!" But with more attitude than I can type. 😂 They asked if they could come back again, and I don't know where they plan on going with this, but maybe they'll feel something from us as we answer their questions? You never know.

We helped Jennifer tidy up her house more (she's a recent convert) and we scoped out her flooded garage. It floods a lot here. It's so fun! Then we thought we were gonna be late to our dinner appointment cuz it's in another time zone, but we ended up being 2 hours early. So with that time we learned how to make peanut brittle, and we tracted this neighborhood full of Catholics. I was actually very grateful to have those 2 hours because I thought we weren't going to have any time to do more missionary work, but then boom! 2 hours! The Lord gives us what we ask for, in the most unexpected ways.

Yesterday we did more running around trying to find people. In church we had a member from the stake presidency come in and give a talk about goals. I tried to keep from internally screaming (because this is all missionaries talk about) but then Sister Young was like, "it's the beginning of the year, of course they're all about goals right now!" Ohhhhh. I'm such a brat. It's a good thing I have Sister Young! Goals are great, don't get me wrong. I'm terrible at them, but I know their worth.

Well this email turned into a book, and I thought I didn't have much to write about!

So the title of this email comes from a post I happened to see whilst trying to find someone, and it's for those who have amazing accents. It's Dexter from Dexters Laboratory, and he's talking about his friend who has asthma. But Netflix subtitles couldn't understand what he was saying so instead of saying, "sometimes she cannot breathe" it said, "sometimes chicken nut bread" and I just about keeled over when I read that and I thought maybe y'all would enjoy that. I did! 😂😂

I love y'all! Have a fabulous week!

With love,
Sister Wilcox❤❤❤

Kentucky is so flat. Good thing it's pretty. Sorry for the lack of pictures!

Mud, Horses, Fireworks, Definitely Kentucky

Hello lovely People!

It's 2019 y'all! How crazy is that? Well this week has been full of interesting things.

For new years eve we were invited over to the Fawbush home to hang out and watch fireworks. Sister Fawbush told us some wonderful news that we're not allowed to tell anyone yet, but it's wonderful! God really knows our hearts, but he always does everything in his own timing. If we're patient then the answer will be all the more sweeter 😊 also, Brother Fawbysh lit off some HUGE fireworks in their driveway. Right next to their house. And it was windy. But it was still so cool and I was only slightly worried for our lives😅

On new years day we went way out in the boonies to visit some people. There was one sister who no one hardly visits cuz she's so darn far out,  so we tried stopping by. Well it had rained for days and when I pulled up the driveway to park, the front tires just barely rolled off the gravel and I had this feeling that that was not going to be good. It wasn't the right house, there was a sweet old man named Norman instead who kept patting me on the shoulder and giving me side hugs. But he was cute and real old so it was okay. He showed us where the right house was, he wasn't interested either, but still super nice, so we got in the car. Guess what? Bad feeling confirmed! We was very very stuck and the tires just kept spinning. Norman came back and said there was a guy across the street with a tow truck, what are the odds?? So we got towed outta there and met all these kind people, but we didn't get a chance to talk to them about the gospel cuz as soon as they came, they went back to work! We're gonna take them cookies and see if we can't talk to them more!

When we found the sister, she told us that she had just run out of water from some spring they use? So we offered to help her "fetch" some water. They have this other huge piece of property and on it that have natural spring water coming out of a rock! And it was down this slippery slope! We hauled water up and down, it was actually fun! Can't believe she does that on her own! No bueno!

On Wednesday we did service for a sweet sister in the ward, who basically has a farm! She and her friends have 3 cows, 2 horses, 2 alpacas, 1 goat, a couple dogs and cats, and a bunch of chickens. We got to muck out horse stalls! It was the best day ever, and not as bad as I thought it was going to be...

Actually, we visited a lot of farms this week. Everybody lives on farms! I love it!

I drank out of a sulfer well after district council on Thursday, that was nasty. But now I can say I've done it. Yay.

Also, we had a couple Jehovah's witnesses knock on our door the other morning, and that was interesting! They were nice though! They asked if they could come back, and we said sure? They know we're missionaries, so I wonder if they'll actually come back...

I've really felt off lately, and I've been trying to figure out why. As I've been reading the scriptures and talking with other people, I've basically been told that I need to be more specific in my prayers. I need to ask God for things. I feel weird asking for things, but really he wants us to. It shows our faith and trust in him that we believe he will answer.

So this missionary started showing a little more faith and trust and let Heavenly Father know what her struggles have been, what her worries are currently, and basically asked what she can do.

Well he answered through my branch President. We had a meeting with him and our senior missionary couple yesterday and as he talked with us and worked with us, he gave me new ideas, a fresh perspective, validation for what we have already been trying to do, and it was exactly what I needed. Heavenly Father will answer your prayers if you simply ask. You'd think I would have that down by now!😂

We just left Firestone 30 minutes ago, because we popped a tire last night! We were trying to get in contact with some people and we ran over a "metal roofing screw" or nail or whatever. That's what they told us. Air started coming out pretty fast, but we got the car home. Elder Karren came out to change it to the donut this morning and we finally got it all fixed up. The receptionist there was very kind, and was very familiar with missionaries! It was so cool! Everything happens for a reason, popped tires and all!

I hope 2019 has been good to y'all so far, love ya!

With love,
Sister Wilcox😘