2 Weeks!

Hey everybody!

Happy Memorial Day!

I'm sitting at a branch pool party emailing, and it's so weird to think I could be swimming in 2 weeks! What?!

This week was such a blur. We had to drive to Sulfer Well on Tuesday because we were having interviews with our mission president. This is the last one I'll be having, outside of the mission home at least. I cried because it was so crazy to realize that. I remember my first interview with him, it was so long ago! I remember not even thinking about what my last interview would be like because it was so far away and I just had it, last week!

Wednesday we talked to a member, for longer than I would like to admit, about Elvis Presley. She LOVES Elvis and she goes to Elvis impersonator shows in Tennessee, that's how crazy about him she is. She has scrap books full of him and so many things in her house are Elvis themed, it's a little overwhelming. But you know what, that's probably how crazy I come across about chickens and plants, so I can't judge nobody.

Thursday came around and Sister Johnson was totally knocked out. She got hit with some kind of illness and nearly puked a couple times. So she layed around on medication while I gutted the apartment. I threw out so much stuff, missionaries leave so much garbage, I hate it! I got rid of so many clothes too, I have no wardrobe now!

Friday was crazy. We went and tried to find this new family that I've never heard of and they don't come to church, who apparently moved into our ward, but they weren't home so that was sad. Then we went and visited some less active members and then we got a text from another member who needed help laying 1200 sq feet of sod.... so we went on over there and laid down sod for 3 hours. It was the most satisfying yard work I've ever done in my life AND we got to be with my favorite members of the branch. Y'all, if God told me I needed to move to Kentucky for whatever reason, I would move to Campbellsville because I love this branch!

Oh my gosh, speaking of the branch, we have had so many people showing up to the church wanting things. Random people. Who we've watched stalk the building looking for open doors. People around here walk up to churches asking for money and stuff. Its kinda scary. But luckily everytime a random person walks up, the branch president or some of the council members have been there to take care of things.

Anyways, Saturday was crazy too. We got to go to the temple with Allie, Kat and Clay to watch Allie and Clay do baptisms for the dead!!! It was wonderful! I totally cried. As Allie went under, I saw how unending this work is. When one person is converted, it doesn't just affect the one person, it sets off a domino affect for many many more people. Allie and Clay set souls free that day. Those people they were baptized for were directly affected by Allie and Clay's own decision to get baptized. This work is not a solo mission. It isn't just about you. The best convert you will have is yourself, but you affect the lives of everyone around you as you share the Gospel in the way you live your life. You can make change happen. You can change lives. You can turn darkness into light and save a drowning soul. We are the lower lights, we guide the lost sailors to shore. We are holding up the lanterns full of the light of Christ. People will be drawn to us.

There will be those who will try to put you out, or tell you that what you are doing is meaningless, but it's just Satan. They don't know it, but they are really working for him. And that's sad, but true. Don't let Satan win. He is so not worth it. The fight to get back to our home is worth all the blood, sweat, and tears that will and have already been shed in our mortal lives. It IS possible to make it back to God, He has given us all the tools we need in order to do so. It's up to us to use them. So yeah, that's what I was thinking of in the temple with those 2 sweet siblings, God's work is miracle work, and its never ending. Don't ever let anyone tell you that miracles no longer exist. If men have faith, then there will be miracles. 2 Nephi 27:23~

"For behold, I am God; and I am a God of miracles; and I will show unto the world that I am the same yesterday, today, and forever; and I work not among the children of men save it be according to their faith."

I had someone ask me this today, "Do you feel ready to end your mission?" And this is what I responded with, and I felt like sharing it:

I do and I don't. I go through moments where I'm like, "man, how come I haven't improved here?" or, "how come I haven't been working more effectively the rest of my  mission? Shouldn't I already know what I'm doing? Shouldn't I be better at this?" But then my dad's advice pops into my head when he said that "you still don't know what you're doing even at the end of your mission." I have worked differently in each area with each companion because that's what I've needed to do. I'm doing things differently now because that's what the area needs. Could I do better? Of course. Do I still have problems being the most effective missionary? Yes. The rest of my life is going to be me constantly trying to get better at being a disciple of Christ, because I'm still not there yet. But I think all the negative thoughts are just Satan trying to make me feel like a failure. Because then the Spirit brings to my mind all of the people I've met and been able to help, and all of the things I was able to do. And I realize that I'm not a failure, I just served a mission in my own imperfect way and tried my best. I'm still trying.

I'm not a perfect missionary, but God has worked with me regardless of that fact for this past year and a half. He is so merciful, and so forgiving, it's incredible.

So yeah, that was the week. This next week is going to be crazy too. I'm trying to get everything in order so Sister Johnson has everything she needs when I leave. I'm freaking out, but it's all good. I love you all, enjoy this day remembering those you love! Have a fabulous week!

With love,
Sister Wilcox 😘

Three Weeks 'Till I Expire

Hey y'all,

Not much has happened this week.

From Tuesday to Wednesday we had exchanges. This time I got to go to Bardstown with Sister Barnes, that was really nice! She told me I better be prepared to bike and I was so excited for this. Both of us spent quite some time in bike areas, so it was a lot of fun to bike around with someone comfortable on a bike. I actually miss biking through town y'all! It was taken from me too soon!

While exchanges was fun for me, Sister Johnson had a very different experience. Let me just say that I am so grateful that Heavenly Father let me have one last good exchange! I never have to do one ever again and I am SO RELIEVED.

We have been doing a lot more finding this week, so that's been a blast of course. You get to meet all kinds of interesting souls out there. One gal we met was super open and told us she was looking for a religion, but she was visiting her parents home and actually lives in Louisville! Kinda sad, but then we got her hooked up with the YSA sisters up there and they have already been able to talk to her!

The best part of the week was Friday when we got to drive up to Louisville to hear from Elder Stansfield of the Seventy. He was awesome. He said we (the missionaries) need to enjoy the conversation more. Oftentimes when we meet people we just run through the typical missionary contact approach and that seldom ever works. I have been fighting that my whole mission. The best contacts I have ever had with people was when I nerded out with them about Batman or gardening or chickens, or talked about favorite bands and cartoons. When they saw that we were real people behind the nametag, they were no longer scared of us and we could actually share a message with them. It's harder to treat someone like they aren't human if you are walking and talking like any other normal person. Yes, we represent Christ and yes, we have a purpose behind everything we do, but that doesn't mean we can't be ourselves. The Lord needs us to be ourselves, to be His servants in our own unique way. That's the only way we can actually bring people unto Christ.

I think missionaries de-humanize themselves too. It's easy to be numb to everything. There's so much pressure, everything is so repetitive, and it feels like we're expected to do everything perfectly- even though we're not, and for some that can cause them to become "robotic." A hard working, diligent and obedient missionary does not equal being a robot, but a missionary that is doing all those things out of fear or out of obligation loses all purpose behind why they are on a mission. Sometimes I have felt the robot come out in me, but this last Mission Tour we had helped me realize what I was doing, and to knock it off. Honestly, I started being afraid of talking to people again. I hate feeling like I have an agenda behind every contact. And after that tour I felt new again, like I remembered how to talk to people, like I could find the joy in missionary work again.

Also, when it's a missionaries' last Zone Conference you get asked to bear your testimony. I thought, for some reason, that I would get out of it since a Seventy was coming and it wasn't a normal Zone Conference. Nope! I was wrong! Nearly all my girls that came out with me were up there with me and it was the most surreal experience ever. All I could do was cry. I can't believe I'm leaving Kentucky in 3 weeks.

So yeah, that was great. Saturday we just seemed to be in the right places at the right times. We tried to find this one guy named Scott, but his house looked kinda abandoned. We asked his neighbors, they looked like they were having a family reunion or something, and they said that no one lived there anymore. So then we explained who we were, and one of the ladies wanted us to pray with her. Her daughter had returned home after years of not seeing one another, so we prayed with them and thanked God for answering their prayers. It was so sweet and it was so crazy that we met them all when we did.

After that, we went to this other place to try and meet this gal named Lori who the sisters had taught a little bit before. We met some of her family, but when she pulled up she ran right inside. So, that was weird. However, her dad came and talked to us for a good long while and turns out he knows the Fawbush's from our branch! We had a great conversation with him, and he opened right up. We didn't get to talk to Lori, but we got to know her family better so I'll take it 😁

Sunday was a good day, we sang with the youth at the Linger Longer after the meetings which was so much fun! We were legit! We had a bass, guitar and ukelele. On top of that we found out that the Pearson's all got their temple recommends and they are planning on going this Saturday and we got permission to go with them!!!! I am so excited!!!

Anyways, I feel so scatter brained today, so hopefully this email makes sense! I love you all! Enjoy the rest of May! It's ending soon! To all y'all in school, you'll be free soon, hang in there!

With love,
Sister Wilcox ❤❤❤

 

 

What Happened this Week?

Hey y'all,

I'm going to be honest, I can't remember a whole lot from what we did this week. It's all a blur in my brain. I'll try my best though.

Last Monday we had the Sulfer Well elders come to town because Elder Gibbons needed to do Allie and Clay's Baptismal interviews, so that of course was a blast! We taught their last lesson beforehand and then they were all set. They did well, though in Allie's interview they got a little sidetracked and talked about Captain America for a bit. Not sure how that correlated with baptism, but whatever.

Tuesday was crazy because we needed to fill out the rest of Allie and Clay's membership forms, so we ran out to Sister Pearson's and called the elders and got all their info in (the elders forgot the papers on Monday ). After that we went and had a lesson with Lucy and Joe on the Plan of Salvation. We went more in depth than we typically do, but I think they needed it. Afterwards they both said that that lesson has never made that much sense before. They have been taught by several sets of elders, so they have been through that lesson a few times, but I guess this time was different! Maybe this is the time they will get baptized! 

After Joe and Lucy we hustled over to see Mayra who said she could meet later in the day and it all worked out. She has been more on the fence, we're worried we may have to stop teaching her soon. But that is okay, maybe it's just not the right time for her to accept the Gospel.

Wednesday was weird. We had to do weekly planning that day because our district council had been moved to Thursday. The planning went longer than it usually does, and afterwards we planned to clean the font. The baptismal font was a little cobwebby and dusty (sad!) so it needed to be done. But we got their and got in the building, and Sister Johnson had this awful feeling. I didn't feel anything, though I wasn't in the greatest of moods so that probably didn't help, so I didn't want to discount her anxieties. I went around and checked all the doors and found one on the far side unlocked. We did not like that and she kept feeling like we needed to leave so we hustled on outta there! 

Instead we went out to try some people and felt prompted to go talk to Jack and Renee, so we did. They got a new German Shepherd pup and we came just in time to help them wrangle her into her little harness. She was cute! We always have good discussions with Jack and Renee, and we keep inviting them and seeing how they're doing. One of these days all these lessons and invites and missionaries are gonna get these people to realize they need to make a move. That's what I hope anyways. You never know when something will come around to cause a change of heart. 

Thursday we had district council and the Zone Leaders were there. They're a bunch a goof balls (in a good way). Also I caught a lizard! It was in the gym and the elders were being spastic trying to get it outside. I didn't want him to get stepped on, so I scooped him up and tossed him out the door! He was wiggly. After our meeting we went to clean the font finally with the Karrens. We felt safer with the Karrens there. All went well, Elder Karren showed us how to turn everything on so we were good to go! That night we had dinner with the Kotter family which was a first for me! They have had a crazy time since Sister Kotter had her baby 4 months ago, so I'm not holding it against them that they hadn't invited us over! I think she was worried we did?? 

Oh, they also invited the new family over, the Adams, who then invited us to come with them to visit their neighbors right off the bat! So that was cool. We go to see them tonight, we'll see how things go.

Friday I can't really remember what happened other than we helped Lucy and Joe plant a vegetable garden and we finished the horse stalls for Sister Tucker. Her mare is BIG and pregnant right now. Like, now you can actually tell. She is due here in a couple weeks, I can't wait to see the baby!!!

Saturday was the baptism!!! We got there bright and early to fill the font and set things up. The Sulfer Well elders came to practice a musical number for it, then people started showing up and everything went great! Sister Young got to call in to see the baptism and it was just so awesome! I can't believe Allie and Clay are new members now it's so crazy! 

That night we got to see Sister Hersey and she made us some real Nepalese food! It was sooo good! Oh my gosh. But when we got home, poor Sister Johnson had a food overload and puked. It was sad. She's better now. 

Sunday was Allie and Clay's confirmation, and Mothers day! Got to talk to my mom, and I'll talk to her again today! Sister Johnson and I also taught the Young Women's class because none of the teachers showed up so... yeah. It was kinda cool using Come Follow Me,  I haven't really looked at how the lesson plans are laid out and I liked how it's really just up to you and the people in class to discuss the topics and learn from one another. 

We ate with Sister Pearson and her family that afternoon. We had smoked duck, and it was actually pretty darn good. Then we went and visited Jennifer who is officially off smoking! Woohoo!!!! She just needs to keep going and then she can go through the temple!

Today we made earrings out of clay with a member. It was actually really therapeutic, and they were pretty easy and fun to make, so I might look into doing that back home? Could be fun?

This upcoming week we have exchanges tomorrow (I get to bike in Bardstown!) and on Friday we have a mission tour up in Louisville! Carly is going to be there because she's driving the sisters from Evansville to the tour, so I get to see her again!!!! I'm so excited!!! 

The weeks are counting down fast! I already feel like everything is blurring together and it's madness! It's crazy how I could never see myself serving a mission, and here I am sitting at the end of one, wondering how God convinced me to do this, grateful that he has helped me through this, and pondering on how this journey will affect the rest of my life. This has been one wild adventure, everytime I look back I think holy cow how did I do that?! Truth is, I didn't. He did. I'm just along for the ride, to be the tool in His hands, being lifted by Him every step of the way. The work doesn't work without Him, because it's His work.

I love all y'all, have a fabulous week, and Happy belated Mother's Day to all the lovely mommas out there!

With love,

Sister Wilcox

Ticks and Blisters

Hey y'all,

I'm just going to jump right in to this email, here's what happened this week:

Tuesday was like a road trip day. We got a referral, Randa, and she lives out way past the Pearson's (who are already out in the middle of no where). She has 14 Chihuahuas. Yup. Very sweet lady, and she agreed to have a lesson this next Tuesday, so we will see how that goes. After we met Randa we realized that we were real close to this member that neither of us had met yet. We dropped by and she was just getting home from grocery shopping. And guess what? She lives on a homestead! It was the best thing ever! She has a whole flock of muscovy ducks, chickens, and sheep! Her house is an old Amish house, and her husband is Irish! She gave us duck eggs!

Later that day we had our first lesson with Lucy and Joe. We wanted to have a better understanding of what they remembered from previous lessons with missionaries, it was a good discussion. Joe has a lot of questions, so we're excited to continue teaching them!

Wednesday was crazy. We had district council, but we had to drive there this time because the Karrens' grandkids were in town so they couldn't take us to Sulfer Well. Also, it was only Sister Johnson's second day driving... it was a little scary. She's not used to country roads, but she's gotten a lot better! Anyways so we drove all the way out there, then afterwards we had district lunch at a Mexican restaurant. After that we went to a members house to do some service. She wanted us to muck out horse stalls, which I have no problem doing, only these stalls had not been cleaned since January- which was when Sister Young and I did them. I had to use a pickaxe y'all, you shouldn't have to use a pickaxe! I got blisters like you wouldn't believe!

After that, we went to the Jensons for a Young men- young women activity where they were pulling weeds and mulching to earn money for camps and stuff. The Pearson's were supposed to be there, but something came up. So we did more service and I was covered in dirt, but it was great! We got to talk to the youth more and we got to light some grass on fire. Also, Brother Jensons son moved his p day to that day and we got to talk to him for a bit when he Skyped in, which was weird and cool. He's serving in Guatemala and comes home right after I do!

We were dead tired Wednesday. And Thursday. Oh! And I had 2 ticks on my ankles! They were tiny! They weren't as bad as I thought they would be, but I just hope that I don't get a disease from them! 😅 It is tick season people, we cannot go anywhere without people telling us to watch out for them. Apparently they fall from trees into your hair too. Yay.

Thursday happened, and I can't remember what happened so, yikes. Sorry!

We saw Sister Hersey on Friday! We haven't seen her in forever because she has been so under the weather with all the allergens in the air. It was so good to see her. She's still on the fence as far as church is concerned, but she's warmed up a lot. I hope she keeps trying and keeps going.

We had a good lesson with Allie and Clay that night, they only have one left before their baptism! We are scrambling around trying to get everything organized for this Saturday. They're being baptized this Saturday! I can't belive it! And how quickly time has flown! They have their baptismal interviews tonight and one more lesson and then that's it! This is craziness! We are so excited for them! Thank you for any prayers said in their behalf, they have really come a long way and they are so ready!

On Saturday we did service for Lucy and Joe. They're getting little things done around the house, and the more they do, the better they feel and more focused they seem. So that's been good. We wiped down cabinets for them, and Lucy had LATINO MUSIC playing in the background!!!! And it was the good stuff!!! I tried not to enjoy it too much, but it didn't work 😂

In the afternoon we went out to try people and we went to see Marie again. I haven't seen that lady in a while! But she was home and we got to catch up with her and invite her to church. Two of her neighbors popped in while we were there and it was so cool getting to know them and having Marie introduce us as the missionaries, it was much easier than meeting these people on our own! We don't know what will come of it, but if they have questions, they have a friend who knows quite a lot about what we do and maybe one day they will wan t to find out more? ;)

In the evening we had a lesson with Francisco. Baseball season is over, so he had time to meet. He's graduating though, and leaving for Florida soon, so that was sad to hear, but he still wants to meet with missionaries in Florida, so that was cool. We read some of the book of Mormon with him, but he was afraid to read in English because he thinks he reads poorly. Sister Johnson and I offered to read in Spanish to make him feel more comfortable. After that he wasn't bashful about reading in English, cuz he heard how bad I was in Spanish! 😂😂

While we were reading the Book of Mormon in these two languages, I had such a strong confirmation in my heart that this message is for all people everywhere. The testimony of Jesus Christ and the fullness of the gospel found in the book of Mormon is meant to be shared with everyone. It's not for one nation. It's not in one single language. Christ is the Savior of all. His teachings are for all. The happiness found in living His gospel, is for all. And I just thought that was beautiful. How unifying. When the world finally has peace, it will be because every being on the face of the earth will have a knowledge of and a testimony in Christ and His love for them. I truly believe that. So pass on the good word!

One last thing. I stalked a guy in Wal-Mart today because he was wearing an Oregon Ducks sweater and had Oregon plates on his car. Am I creepy? Yes. We did eventually meet him, and he is from Eugene! It made my day! So much so that I forgot to give him our card!!!😅

Well, that's all I got folks! I love ya! Have a blessed week! Hope y'all got to watch Derby, cuz I didn't!

With love,
Sister Wilcox ❤

Some of the photos are old, and I can't remember if I already sent them 😁