I can't think of anything fun or clever for a header, so yeah

Hey y'all!

This week was crazy! I feel like I'm going to say that every week but oh well. This week was gorgeous and mild and I loved it! The upcoming week is going to be HOT and I'm scared!😣

Tuesday we didn't have a whole lot of success and it was getting Sister Mitchell down. The people we had return appointments for either didn't answer the door or made other plans, so that was fun! My poor companion was not loving the wall we'd hit and she was being pretty hard on herself. For whatever reason, this area, before it was split, was seeing miracles come out of the woodworks. After our territory was cut in half we didn't have hardly anyone to teach and basically we had to start from scratch. I'm used to this kind of thing, but Sister Mitchell got very depressed and stressed that we weren't finding people everyday. We did get to visit a cute elderly single sister and we got keep her company for a while. I love visiting less actives and single sisters because it lets them know they still matter, I always leave feeling a little lighter and happier.

Wednesday was our zone conference that we didn't find out about till the day before, but we made it! We received some awesome training on prioritizing our planning and helping people gain a testimony of the Book of Mormon, it was awesome! President Hughes said that this mission will prepare us for the mission that is the rest of our lives, (if I said that right) so that really made me think about the person I want to be when I leave Kentucky. I know that's not for a long time, but it made me think! Also, we got a referral from a member which was flipping awesome!

There was a lizard loose in the chapel, apparently there are a lot of reptiles that run around here. One of our part member families has a box turtle problem. BOX TURTLES! 😲 That's not a problem, that's a blessing! I will get pictures of them I promise!

After the conference Sister Mitchell got a blessing from our DL Elder Gibbons and our old DL Elder Johnson. She felt a little better afterwards, but then the ride home was crazy! We were with the Hermanas and everything was fine, we got a little lost at first, then this thing fell off the semi in front of us and popped our front right tire! The hub-cap flew off too. We pulled into a gas station and got some help an hour or so later. Also, I planted some hyacinths for an older lady in our ward, in my dress... I tied it back so it's all good! I have mad skills😬.

Thursday was full of biking and finding! Lot's of it. We went to our dinner appointment with the Ball family and I love them so much!!! They're so good to us! Sister Ball had some words of wisdom for Sister Mitchell and all was well, until we got a text from a member in our ward. He sent a 3 page text ranting about us not living up to missionary standards and how we put his family in the back seat, and he was going to call President Hughes, among other things.

Earlier that morning we had a mix up with appointments with the new referral we received and the ranting member's wife (who is not a member and isn't progressing at all in the lessons, not that that's an excuse I guess...😐). His wife said it was ok if we rescheduled and we went about the day. That sort of thing happens all the time, we wish it didn't, but it does. That's life.

Anyways, this totally freaks out my companion and it was the straw that broke the camel's back. She was already struggling with a whole bunch of other things and this didn't help at all. She thought it was all her fault too. This was all while still at dinner, which was a good thing because Sister Ball was AMAZING and helped Sister Mitchell feel better about the situation. She sent a very meek and lowly text back, meanwhile I was wishing this delusional man had actually called president. That would have been fun. The next morning he texted back and said all was forgiven... so that was awesome!🙃 Apparently he does this sort of thing to missionaries and members so at least we're not the only ones.

Friday we got to meet with our referral Mary Helen, who is the most prepared investigator I've met so far. She is this cute old lady in a nursing home and she was introduced to the gospel by a member in the same nursing home, Brother Kessler. You can have a good influence on anyone, no matter the age! It was a miracle for us and exactly what we needed after the crazy week we'd been having.

Saturday we met another prepared investigator, Jennifer, who is already so humble and really wants to feel peace in her life. She came to church this Sunday and it was all just so wonderful! I am so grateful that the weekend was the light at the end of the tunnel! And that Heavenly Father really does bless us if we endure faithfully.

We biked a bazillion miles on Sunday. Sister Mitchell said she's never had to do that on a Sunday until I came around, I guess I'm cursed😁. But it was awesome and I hurt everywhere! Should have taken pictures of the hills we climbed😥.

I love y'all so much! I'm grateful for all the prayers and the encouragement, you've blessed me simply by being a part of my life. Thank You!

With love,
Sister Wilcox😚

I did a lot of navigating this week, so that was fun.
Elders replacing tires
The speck on the road is me, I left my companion...
The muddy pic is the aftermath of my tumble into the ditch.

Woodhaven

Holy cows,

I never thought that I would fall in love with an area, but it happened! Woodhaven is the dream! It's still part of the city but far enough out that it doesn't feel super busy. It almost has a country feel, and it's so beautiful over here. We do bike over the freeway every other day, so I still get reminded where we're actually at. Oh and there's this giant hill we bike down sometimes and you go so fast your eyes start tearing up! It's awesome and probably super dangerous!😅

We bike all day every day which is just the best! I'm sore all the time but my legs actually have muscles in them now! 😆My companion, Sister Mitchell, does planning differently and we go out in the morning, come back, and go out again and it's great because I don't have a chance to talk myself out of anything!😉 We do finding all day, and we visit people and teach and we're busy all the time. I love it!😊 I've never been this content and self motivated on the mission, I'm so grateful, and prayers are definitely being answered!

It's been nice all week except for today. Today it's raining pretty darn good with an awesome wind factor to add to the madness. But everything is so green and lush, the trees are blooming and the flowers are opening up, a girl can't complain! I got sunburnt this week in the dumbest places. Only half of my foot is gonna be tan while the rest will still be this blinding whiteness. Also, I fell in a ditch.

We were going to turn onto this one main road, and there's a ton of traffic, so we were about to go when Sister Mitchell stopped again and I stopped but on kind of an awkward rise and lost my balance and fell into a ditch. I was laughing so hard because it was the only ditch full of mud and of course I fell into that one! I had mud and blood all down my leg cuz I kinda hit a cement chunk... but there were some members close by and they got me fixed up. Their daughter Delany insisted on bandaging my leg (even though it was just a couple scratches), so the rest of the day I biked around with a pink camo bandaids and a patch of gauze on my leg. I should have taken a picuture but I forgot!😣

I keep forgetting to tell y'all about my fun little discovery the Saturday before transfers. So I had a rash appear on my wrist where I always wore my watch. I thought it was chafing so I stopped wearing it for a while. Well this rash got on my fingers and my other hand, and it would get agitated and itchy when we'd bike. Finally I looked it up in our medical book because I was worried it might be something worse than I thought and transfers were coming up. Turns out I had scabies. They're these awesome little bloodsucking mites that you can get from just about anywhere, it doesn't matter how clean you are. I had to go to the clinic and get some medicinal cream and Sister Wilcox Sr and I washed EVERYTHING. It was a great last Saturday in Hurstbourne...😐😬

I'm in animal heaven! Everyone has a pet of some kind. I've seen so many bull dogs, pit bulls (Sister Mitchell had one of those charge at her yesterday😨),pitt mixes, german sheperds, beagles, and we saw a great Dane the other day. A lot of people around here also have chickens in their backyards which blows my brain because I thought you couldn't have any in an urban area... every now and again I'll hear a rooster crowing and I just love these crazy people! I saw cows for the first time in a while too!😀

So people here are mostly baptist, catholic, roman catholic, pentacost, lutherin, seven day adventists, south east Christian or Christian of some sort. It's so much more fun to meet someone outside of those, because that's not as common and people outside of those parameters are usually more open minded. Meeting an atheist or an agnostic or a pagan is always stretching because we're all so used to Bible loving people. I love it because we get challenged differently and we have to teach based on what they understand.

The other day we met a wiccan dude for the first time and he actually wants to meet with us. Sister Mitchell was concerned about what we're even gonna teach this guy, because he believes in goddesses of the sun and moon and nature stuff. But while he was talking, he mentioned that he liked "feeling" the energy around him. When we were leaving I thought, "this guy would really like the Holy Spirit" and Sister Mitchell was like, "yessss!" So when we meet him next that's what we're talking about. I don't know how solid he'll be, but I'm excited!

Also, we met this really sweet man outside his home on Tuesday or Wednesday, I think. He was open to meeting with us again and we asked if we could say a prayer with him. He started crying during the prayer, and it was the cutest thing! I love these people!

Sister Mitchell is very in tune with the spirit and she just goes for the first prompting she gets and it's great! Earlier this week we were in a neighborhood trying to get a hold of a former investigator. We were about to leave when she suddenly felt like we needed to stay. She said that someone there needed us. So we walked slowly down the street knocking doors we felt the slightest inclination to go to. Then at the very end we reached the home of an old man who lost his wife 2 years ago. We talked with him for a long time, and he wasn't interested in the Church, but he got a little emotional when he told us he was grateful we decided to stop and talk to him. Heavenly Father is aware of all of us and our needs, whether your in the Church or not. We're here to uplift those around us and be tools in the Lord's hands as much as we are here to bring others to the gospel.

I actually have another thing on that. Sister Wilcox Sr and I were out later than usual one night when we ffan into this hobo-hiker guy named Walter. He was cool and he believed in being a good person and all that. He wasn't too fond of big churches, but we testified to him that the Church of Jesus Christ was restored once more and gave him our card. We then parted ways and didn't think much of it. Well three weeks later, Sister Wilcox tells me that Walter called and wanted to come to church! He said there was something different in our eyes and he wanted to know what. It was just soooooo cool!

I got to go to the Temple this week too because a mother and son were finally getting their endowments. It was such a neat experience, and they were so full of joy. They both have had such a rough life and now they finally get to have peace. I'm so grateful we have temples so close!

We had Thunder over Louisville on Saturday,  but missionaries aren't aloud to go. That's ok though we have a lot to do😎. Plus everybody gets drunk and then they drive around and it wouldn't be good for us to be out there in all that... Derby is coming up so that'll be insane. There should be a ton of people around though so that could be fun!

I miss my old ward and my companion, but it's so much fun here and my new ward is just as amazing! Plus, I'm still in the same Stake and building😄! My companion and I relate on so many levels yet differ enough to keep each other motivated. And we're working basically new area because our area has been split up. Our ward has 2 elder companionships now and us! How crazy is that?!

Our zone did a zone fast this last Sunday and Sister Mitchell and I made it to 6:30pm! And on bikes! Fasting with a purpose is so powerful. This new transfer is going to be amazing and I can't wait to see what happens!

I'm currently sitting on the floor in a onesie I found enjoying the luxury of having a washer & dryer IN the apartment. Life is good. That's all I can think of, I love you all tons!😘

I will send pictures eventually! I'm trying to get a hold of them all from Sister Wilcox Sr!

With love,
Sister Wilcox❤💕❤

Sorry this is short y'all

Hi,

Not much has happened this week, except transfers and Stake Conference where we had Elder Johnson and Elder Costa speak to us! It was awesome! And Tim went with us and got to hear the first half before he had to go to work. Love that guy!😊

Anyways, I'm being transferred to Woodhaven, which isn't very far from where I'm at now and it's still a bike area. I already know my new companion because she was in our old district! This is going to be so fun! Except I'm leaving my trainer and getting kicked off the nest. Hopefully I know how to fly! Just kidding, I know everything will be just fine.😁

It keeps snowing here, seriously. I don't even know what's going on right now anymore. There's flowers everywhere covered in snow, how awesome. People still get their yard work done though!😂

We had some 80 degree weather earlier this week and we were able to do some rad tracting out in some far places. I loved it! Got to talk to all kinds of peoples and see our referrals.

I love all of you so much and I pray for y'all everyday. Keep being awesome and pressing forward in faith. I know you will be blessed for it!

With Tons of Love,
Sister Wilcox😘

Sister Wilcox and the Twister at Starbucks

Hey y'all!

Last week we got permission to email on Tuesday (and I already told you this, I think?) because of the whole moving fiasco on Monday. So Sister Wilcox and I took the bus to Starbucks to leech off their wifi. During the ride, we noticed that the driver kept warning people about a storm coming. We get to Starbucks and realize we missed like, 20 calls and texts from our district leader and our fellow sister missionaries. They all warned of a tornado in the red zone approaching and we were all instructed to stay in. Well, Sis Wicox Sr was freaking out and was super upset we had left. She was all like, "we're gonna die in Starbucks!" Meanwhile, I'm sitting there emailing everyone and watching the weather like it's a movie. It was the most entertaining thing, but no tornado touched down.

Also, it literally just hit me that I'm coming up on twelve weeks out on the mission, which doesn't seem very long but it FEELS long! Not to mention transfer calls are this Saturday, so the gang is getting split up! The only one happy about this is Elder Brady cuz he's been here 6 months and wants out (we all know he secretly loves Jeffersontown).

We got into a very gentle bible bash with some lady named Helen in a coul-de-sac up the street. She's really nice, but she really only wanted to prove us wrong honestly. She's baptist said we don't believe in the same Jesus cuz they have the whole trinity thing going on, it was just weird. And all of her "facts" were coming from anti-mormon crap and I just don't understand why people go to those sources to learn about the church?? It wasn't terrible though, I learned that I need more cross references to the bible...

We had exchanges this week and I "took over the area." It was the scariest thing ever. I figured out the bus system so we could ride over to a referral, who wasn't home, then we tracted the area and it was just weird to be the one fully taking the lead. Then we had a lesson that night with Tim and I had to lead that... it was just weird for me! But still good and I learned a lot about myself I think. I found out I'm more motivated than I thought, which is good!

Anyways, kinda freaking out still about transfers! I don't know what'll happen! 😨

Oh, and Sis Wilcox Sr is sick again and I had to say a prayer for her because I felt like I should. She wanted to go out and I felt it was a bad idea, she's lost her voice pretty much too, and so after the prayer she felt nauseous and had pain in her chest from the congestion... so she took a nap! It was all good.

I can't remember if I'm missing anything.

I love y'all so much and I hope you have a fantastic week!

With Love,
Sister Wilcox❤❤❤

This Week Was Wack

Hello from the south!

It's not really the south, but the culture is! Sorry this is coming out so late, we helped a disabled gal and her daughter move to their new apartment for 8 hours yesterday. The movers that were supposed to do the job refused to help her move because of her packing methods, which was totes and baskets basically. We pretty much helped them pack, then move stuff. They aren't even entirely moved yet! It was just us and the elders and Brother Casper from our ward. I got hit on by the 13 year old daughter, never thought I'd experience that. We aren't supposed to do service on p-days either, but this was one of those times where somebody really needed help. That's how we got permission to email today.

Anyways, this week was awesome cuz I puked on Tuesday and spent the rest of the week trying to come back from that while still doing normal missionary things. We totally got taken care of by the members this week though, like it's just been incredible. All you members out there want to be those families or couples or cool old people that the missionaries just adore! Take them in, and talk to them even if they're weird. We're all weird, especially the people who don't think they're weird!😆

Seriously though. We had a lesson over at the Finder's home with Tim where he got to meet Bishop. Sister Jones came running over with Sprite and crackers when she found out I was sick. The Walpoles with their two cute little boys and their busy lives help us all the time, and Sister Walpole went with us to another lesson with Tim this week and shared her sweet testimony (and Tim prayed for us for the first time since we've started teaching him, and I know it's because of the Spirit that was there that Sister Walpole brought). Brother Harding had us and two of our investigators over for Saturday morning session, even though his family was in Utah and he could have had the house to himself (plus he always helps us in a pinch😉). The Ciarlante's feed missionaries all the time and they invited us over for both Sunday sessions of Conference. And the Caspers are just heaven sent! Brother Casper helped us all day long to move, and I think he hurt his back too! Afterwards he had us over for dinner and it was like, 8 o'clock! I know this was long, but you wanna be those kind of people and families that can be relied upon, I want to be like that! Y'all already are, but I just wanted to emphasize the gratitude and respect I have for members like these.

I've really come to appreciate the unique perspective a mission life gives. I get to talk to people from all backgrounds, from all sorts of religions and cultures, and I get to share the gospel with them. I've heard so many stories about people's lives being changed because of Jesus Christ, not always Mormons either. People deal with so much sorrow and confusion, and it's amazing to me how anybody could believe they can get by without God.

I was just reading in Ether where he talks about the promises God made to the people who would dwell in these lands (the Americas, which is called the promised land in the Book of Mormon). Those who live here will be blessed so long as the people remember God and live righteously, obeying the commandments. This is talked about in the other books as well, but it struck me more profoundly this time because then I read about the utter destruction of the Jaredites later on in the book. The entire continent was covered with these people, millions of them. But they turned their backs on God and the teachings of Christ and they hated and cursed his name, and for that they were cursed until they went extinct. The same thing happened to the Nephites. They were given the same promise, and they forgot God and were destroyed.

I guess what I'm saying is that we have the same promise. Are we not living in the Promised Land, the only truly free country here on earth? This is God's country! We are going to be held accountable just like the Nephites and the Jaredites were. Christ's Church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, is spreading across the globe like wildfire. There are temples all over the world so that families can be sealed for eternity and those who have already passed on can have the opportunity to accept the gospel. We as latter day saints have a job to do, and that's to bring others unto Christ. We have all been called to be laborers. We are all converts and we must continually be converted to the Lord. In Alma chapter 5 it reads:

62. I speak by way of command unto you that belong to the church; and unto those who do not belong to the church I speak by way of invitation, saying: Come and be baptized unto repentance, that ye also may be partakers of the fruit of the tree of life.

We just had an awesome General Conference. Use those notes and follow the words of the apostles and our prophet! I am so excited for Ministering! It sounds so much like just being a missionary! It'll be fun!

I know this is said over and over, but read your scriptures, say your prayers, go to church, use the Atonement. I'm not perfect, nobody is or was except for the Savior, but I know that by doing these simple things you will find greater happiness and a love for the gospel. This world is crazy and tumultuous, but there is peace in Christ. I love you all so very much and He loves you even more!

Happy Easter!

With Love, 

Sister Wilcox😘😘😘😘

I Am Not Immune!

Hey everybody,

This week has been another week of nasty coughing, except now I'm a part of it! Yay! I started with a sore throat, and now I have the cough & congestion where my ears feel like they need to pop all the time. It hasn't been debilitating though. 

It started snowing on Tuesday and we were totally biking blind! We had went to visit one of our sick investigators (who is an absolute doll face and I love her!) and when we got out it already snowed a few inches. What the heck?? It was super dangerous too cuz we couldn't see and neither could the cars, so yeah that was sketchy. We were gonna try biking to our dinner appointment, but she ended up being like, "aw heck no!" And she came and got us, Sis Marks is amazing. 

We walked through the giant piles of snow to our district meeting and that was fun because I was the only one wearing good snow boots! Then the rest of the day we couldn't do anything because everything was shut down due to the weather. Plus we were dying of mucus... 

Thursday was interesting because we got to do our service, but then the elderly couple that came with us took us out to a restaurant called "Cracker Barrel", and it was awesome, but we were there way too long! But the place was so cool and I don't think I've ever seen one in Oregon? Later our investigator Tim planned a dinner and a lesson at his place with the elders. He is the sweetest man ever and we are totally gonna get him baptized! We talked about the Word of Wisdom with him, and while he's stubborn, I have total faith in him that he will overcome.

I don't remember what happened the rest of the week, in order anyways. We got to meet with our part member family guy, David and have a lesson with him and his friend Adrian finally! Sis Wilcox Sr and I had exchanges with our new STL, Sis Rogers. She is fantastic and she gave me an awesome study on the commandments! And I met this crazy lady, Sis McGuire, who absolutely loves animals and has major road rage.

I gotta tell y'all about her. She is from California (and honestly drives better than everybody over here), anyways she told us this story about how she chased down a litterer. She was about to walk into Blockbuster with her friend when some punk threw his entire bag of McDonald's crap at her feet driving by. So she grabs the bag and her friend, jumps in the car, and runs every single red light till she caught up to this dude and pulled up beside him by a light. Then she rolls down her window (and the guy did too thinking she wanted to talk to him) and she goes "I think you dropped something!!!" And threw it right through his open window and drove off like a madwoman. It's the greatest thing told in her voice with her crazy little hand gestures! I laughed so hard it hurt!

Well I love you! I hope everyone is happy and doing well! 

With love, 

Sister Wilcox

Spring is Coming

Hi Family!🤓

So currently Sister Wilcox Sr and I are in the hermanas apartment helping our Hermana wax her legs. She hasn't shaved since December... apparently I'm really good at ripping off the strips unexpectedly.

Anyway, this week has been an interesting one. Sis Wilcox has been sick pretty much this entire week and has gotten herelf dependent on herbal teas. The J-Town elders are enablers because they bought her some. Last transfer we got a new set of hermanas, so now our building has 4 sets of sisters running around. I'm not the youngest missionary out here anymore! Woo! No it's weird. I'm mostly weirded out by that.😨

Tuesday we weren't going to go out at all but we got a plea from a less active, Sis Holloway, to walk her beagle Willow. We haven't had hardly any contact with this gal after trying several times to meet up with her, so we headed out despite my companion's lethargy. We walked her dog for about 2 hours before getting back. Sis Wilcox and I then took like a 3 hour nap.😴

On Wedenesday we had our zone conferenece that lasted for 8 hours. I developed a pinched nerve or something in my shoulder by the end of the first half and my companion was soffocating herself trying to hold in the coughs... the training was awesome though! I learned how to plan better and how I need to be more bold. There was this cool sister who told us that we are like the iron rod guiding people to the tree of life. We need to be firm and straight up with people about our purpose and what we are out here to do so that there is no questioning where it is they are going or what is at the end. I really needed to hear that and since then, I have been less afraid of talking with people. I've actually, a couple times, been the one going up to people and chatting it up! The Lord is a worker of miracles everyone! You just need a little faith and trust! 😉

That wasn't all though. We went and did our Dare to Care service and afterwards went back to the church for Pie Day. Pie Day is apparently a thing on March 14th because the date reads 3/14, like 3.14... yeah that went over my head until someone explained it to me yesterday😒. Oh man. We helped clean up afterwards and there was all this leftover pie, so Sis Wilcox was suddenly like, "I know what to do with this!" She convinced Elder Johnson to join her in her little scheme and they each took a pie, went outside, and smashed eachothers faces into the pies! I barely got it on camera! My companion keeps surprising me, and boy she hit him good!😂

Thursday was produce day at the Jeffersonian church, but the produce truck was 2 hous late (big surprise there😐), but we got to do some odd jobs though and met this really adorable old man from Moscow named Gregory. He told us how, growing up in Russia, they were told there was no God and religion wasn't allowed, but he always believed there was a higher power. We totally got his number and contact info! And he waved us goodbye and told us to be safe biking with his little accent. SO CUTE!

Friday night we got our investigator Tim to come to dinner with us and a member family, the Browns, and it was awesome! He came all dressed up and he got along with them so well. We all bore our testimonies at the end of the lesson, and Tim did too! He told us that he needs to come to church, and we were like YEAH! Then he told us that his boss is having him come in at 10am instead 8 for work. We have been prayng about this forever! AND he agreed to come for half an hour on Sunday! I love him so much!

Saturday was a bust, but we shamrock attacked one of our sick investigators and got a member family in on it. Then she totally posted it ON FACEBOOK and it was just adorable!

Sunday was flipping awesome! Tim came! He said he was able to get to work on time which was exactly what we promised him if he took a leap of faith by coming to church! Sooooo coooool! We also got our other guy, David, to come who's from a part member family and he stayed for second hour. He's like, already a member, but not... he knows so much already he just needs to be baptized!

After church we got called by our referral Julia who immediatley drove over and picked us up so we could help her clean her house. I washed a mountain of dishes and Sis Wilcox dusted and vaccumed and stuff. Her marital situation is rough, so we'll see how this all goes. She became an investigator though, so that was cool. I just hope we can help her.

Next we visited our man Kuria who's been sick this whole time and then got in a car wreck! He has a fractured rib, so we offered him a blessing of healing and he was like, "yes please!' Two sweet guys from our Louisville 2nd ward came and we taught him a bit about what blessings are and what priesthood authority is. This man though, was like, "please bless my children, they're having a rough time and it hurts me more than my rib." He just amazes me. This man turns outward instead of inward. He couldn't even be angry with the crazy lady who hit him either!

We visited our favorite lady Kim on our way over to a missionary farewell party to check on her. Then we talked to a few cool guys and got a return apointment with a dude named Randy. He rapped for us. The party was great and a bunch of missionaries came to wish Livi (the cute gal leaving for her mission) good luck and stuff. She's going to Redlands California, Spanish speaking.

Sorry this is so bleeding long! It's just that I actually remembered everything that happened this week and I feel so much more optimistic and happy. Not gonna lie, I think the naps helped! Also, the suns coming out, the daffodils and hyacinths are blooming and I just feel so much better about everything right now. Prayers are being answered!

Thank you all for bearing with me in this email, hopefully it was entertaining and not boring!😶 Thank you for your love and prayers! I love you all so much and I pray for y'all all the time! God loves you!

With buckets of love,
Sister Wilcox Jr ❤❤❤