Last Days of April

Hey y'all,

Well, April is pretty much over. Tomorrow starts my last transfer. Things are feeling pretty weird now. Oh, and Sister Johnson starts driving instead if me tomorrow, so that should be interesting. I'm going to miss driving! 😭

We pretty much spent this week in the car. 😐

Okay so, last Monday we had district p-day in Sulfer Well, and it actually went pretty good. A few days before on a district call the some of the elders were like "you sisters are buzz-kills" so out of spite for them I kicked their butts in volleyball. Then we had a waterbaloon fight and I barely missed some heads and nailed one in the gut. After that the elders have been a lot nicer and more respectful. 😁

Tuesday we drove out to Lexington for new missionary training. Lexington is chalk full of horse ranches. Everywhere you looked there were pastures and barns and horses. And boy were the horses beautiful! I did not like the traffic though, I'm glad I've never had to serve there... anyways, the training went good! I thought I was going to be eaten alive for all the things I'm doing wrong. But nope, it was a good pick me up, and a good reminder that none of the other trainers were perfect.

Wednesday we had our district council in Sulfer Well and district lunch so it felt like we were there forever. That night we had a Branch Easter activity and Sister Pearson, her daughter Teresa, and all her grandkids were there! It was so much fun! They got to talk to some members and the kids made more friends, perfect! In the activities they made the adults participate too, so I was running with eggs on a spoon and stuff. There was an hard boiled egg toss that we did, and I was doing pretty good, but then the egg hit my hand weird and broke. Then some people asked me what was wrong with my hand and I realized that the broken egg tried to shred up my fingers and I was bleeding! It wasn't a lot, but I was surprised it got me that good.

On Thursday we did some service for Lucy and Joe, they were formerly taught by missionaries a while ago. We got back into contact with them and we're helping them with projects here and there (they were the people with the chickens and the crazy garter snake). Thursday was mulch day. I have wanted a mulch day since the very beginning of my mission and someone finally let me have it. It was everything I dreamed it would be, and I got covered in dirt, it was the best 😊

We had a lesson with Sister Johnson, a member from the branch up in Columbia, and then we did some finding. We met this really nice man named Alan and had a good conversation with him about God and Easter, I think he could have some potential. As we walked around to try more people, there was this guy that walked past us as we walked up to a house that we just got a creepy feeling from and he asked us if we lived there. Who asks people that? He walked around the corner and we didn't know where he went, so we walked briskly back to the car and left. I was so mad that I wasn't someone that could intimidate someone like that. Nothing happened, and the Lord was definitely watching out for us and He let us know we were okay, but sometimes I just wish I had the look of a crazy woman so we wouldn't attract creepers. But if I looked like that then I guess it would repel everyone else as well...

Friday was so fun. All our appointments fell through and to top it off we got mug shots taken of us. Yup. We went to contact this lady that a member referred us to (because the lady is going through a lot right now and she thought it would be good for us to visit) but the lady ended up flipping out on us. She started saying how she thought she told us to never come back and blah blah is it even legal for us to be going around like this, so that made me think there were people trying to sell her stuff or something before, so I was like "ma'am we have never been here before and we're missionaries from.." and I said our church. And she was like "oh good so I'm going to turn them in, thank you, and oh so your name is Sister Wilcox, yeah I'm gonna need a picture of you" and it just kept going and I couldn't say anything. She was raving mad and nothing you say to someone that upset is going to get through to them. So she took our picture and we left. I don't know who she's going to turn us in to though. And my first name isn't "Sister" so good luck with that.... it's funnier now than it was at the time. We found out that the Jehovahs Witensses are in there ALL the time, and thats who she thought we were. It's so funny because even after we tell people what church we're from, they still think we're Jehovah's Witnesses.

I think I needed all the junk to hit the fan to make me realize I need to work on my charity. Charity is something that keeps getting brought up lately, and in that moment with that lady, I couldn't be angry at her. She must have been tired, going insane from all the JW's knocking her door, her baby is constantly in the hospital and she goes back and forth from Louisville and then work on top of it. So I couldn't really be mad. I mean, I was, but I had to talk myself down and realize that as unjust as that situation was, someone a lot greater than me had it a lot worse. And He knows what she's going through, and I had no right to be mad at her. She just didn't know, and that's okay.

Saturday was much better. We finished mulching for Lucy and Joe, and they told us that they would like to take the lessons again, so we're meeting with them tomorrow! We had a fantastic lesson with Mayra where we were able to give her a tour of the church and she got to meet one of our primary teachers, Alyssa, and hear about what the kids do in primary. Mayra wants to try to make it to second hour of church! That's better than no hour, so we're thrilled! We also had a lesson with Sister Pearson's kids about more of the commandments and they are still progressing towards baptism! So exciting!

Yesterday we had our Stake Conference, in E-town (more driving), which was really good! We saw many of our mission friends and got to hear some wonderful talks. When we got home Sister Johnson got hit with some weird vertigo thing I think and she couldn't move much or she would feel sick. I don't know what's going on, but it's happened a couple times. We'll have to call the mission nurse or someone.

So yeah, that was the week. I finished the book Saints. I loved it! I loved getting to see that the early saints were real people. Real in that they were flawed, sometimes they made bad choices, but I loved that. They are like us. They didn't know the Gospel perfectly and their faith was tried all the time and they struggled. Hard things happened, no different from today. Only, today we aren't pulling handcarts. Today there are different challenges. But if they could do it then, we can do it now. The church did not end with Joseph Smith because this is not his church, this is Christ's church. And though it may be small, it remains strong, rolling forth to all the nations, uniting us all as one people under God.

I love you all so much! Have a fabulous week!

With love,
Sister Wilcox ❤❤❤

Some of the pics are from last week 🤗

 

When You're Weeding Lavender and there's Tornadoes

Hi everyone,

Okay so, here's what happened this week:

Last Monday we fed some horses, like, random people's horses. It was so funny! Sister Johnson was in horse heaven! There was this cute little pony that just adored her and I got quite a few pictures ;)

On Tuesday we had to go on exchanges 😣😣 but it was actually fine. We exchanged at 9:30 in the morning, which we don't usually do that early in the morning, but we did. I got Sister Barnes (which is who I had last time). We tried to find this one referral we got, and his address was a hunter outpost thing by the lake... yup. Then we tracted this one street and it was chalk full of Baptists and Church of Christ. People were so nasty. I was like wow if you really follow Christ, then why would you treat people like this? This one lady, while holding a five month old baby, was totally bashing us. She was like, "tell me about the book of Mormon, what do you believe in?" But she would interrupt and interject and tell us some crazy crap she heard and told us what we believe in, and she was just sooo mean. Then she told us they don't believe in miracles... what are you holding in your arms lady? A baby! That's a flipping miracle! Then she had the gall to invite us to some Easter thing her church was doing. I don't understand why she would think we would want to go after all that. How inviting.

But anyways! We had an awesome dinner appointment with Jack and Renee, who are non members but love missionaries and the church. We had a good conversation with them, and I think it helped me better understand them and where they're coming from. Because Jack has been meeting with missionaries for 18 years, and that's craziness. I've been so confused, and now I'm less confused.

Then we had a wonderful lesson with the Wheeler family. They downloaded the gospel library app on their devices and they made sincere efforts to read the past week! They are amazing! Sister Wheeler was taking notes, and her husband was so engaged, and I think they really want to come to church! They won't be able to do this week because we have Stake Conference in E-town, but who knows maybe they will still want to go?

Wednesday we exchanged back and I got my sweet Sister Johnson back! She had such a good experience and she had some prayers answered, so I was super grateful for that. I was also grateful that I went down that crazy road with Sister Barnes and not Sister Johnson, so I guess there were tender mercies all around and I need to have a better attitude towards exchanges 😁

We had district council that day, then we went up to Columbia to have a new member lesson with Stephanie. It was a lot of driving that day! We were going a little crazy, but we made it.

On Thursday we pulled weeds with the Jensons in their lavender field, so you know I loved that! The French lavender didn't do so well because of how much it rained last year, so it was like finding gold if you found one that had signs of life. Well, anyways, Brother Jenson kept getting weather updates and apparently there was a tornado watch out and we had some temperamental  weather hit us the whole time we were in the fields. No tornado though, so that was good. I love that we were just like, whatever, could be a tornado, but we're weeding so it'll have to wait. They took us out to lunch too, because they are awesome people and I love them!

Sister Johnson felt really sick afterwards though, and I think it might have been due to allergies. We're still not quite sure what to do about that, so yeah. But she made it to our lesson with the Pearsons. We taught some of the commandments and the Word of Wisdom. Sweet tea is big in the south, but these kids were so ready to quit it after the lesson, it was amazing. They're just so willing, they're so ready. I'm so proud of them! And they've been doing really good this week with trying to stay away from it ;)

Friday we biked. Yes, I biked again, and it's been forever but I loved it. We biked in the worst rain of the week though 😅 it was okay. We saw this gal that Sister Young and I met a while ago, Lorena, and she let us right in and we taught her more about the book of Mormon and some of our basic beliefs. She has already started reading the Book of Mormon and is willing to take the lessons when school is out (she will have more time then). Her granddaughter Autumn stayed and listened while we talked, so that was cool, and she seemed like she was interested in what we had to share. So that was awesome! Then it dumped cold rain on us as we biked home cuz we were trying to make it on time to our dinner appointment 😐

On Saturday we had a lesson with Mayra. She actually read out of the book of Mormon! She wants to learn more. She had so many questions, and she questions her priest back in her church too! She's not quite ready for baptism yet, so we'll have to move her date, but she still wants to continue the lessons. She was afraid that we were going stop teaching her! She has some obstacles to overcome, but I think she is really sincere and is just pushing right along on her journey to find truth.

We sang a rendition of Precious Savior, Dear Redeemer for Sacrament meeting on Easter Sunday, that was stressful. Sister Johnson is a pro and played the piano (she learned how to play that song the night before) and sang. She was shaking so bad, but we did it! The Pearson's came again because they are fabulous!

The talks on the Atonement were wonderful. I really appreciated Sister Rodenbergs talk about how the Atonement has affected her life. She basically said that before she actually used the Atonement in her life, she was drowning in doubts, anxieties and fears. After someone helped her realize what the Atonement can do, she gave it all over to Him, because He already felt that for her, He knows her, and she didnt need to be carrying all of that around anymore. It's not that she doesn't have hard things happen anymore, she just chooses to put her faith in the fact that Christ can heal all things, and that she doesn't need to worry, it will all be okay. I loved that!

That talk really helped Sister Pearson. She met with President Rodenberg, and he was just so spirit led and answered the questions that have been eating away at her for weeks now. She came home from church "feeling a hundred pounds lighter" in her own words. Her experience really reinforced in me the need to go to church. Someone could fulfill your needs that very day, but you won't know if you don't go. You could find the relief that Sister Pearson felt. You could have answers to questions you couldn't put into words to ask. And also, our church leaders aren't perfect but they try, and they're there to help. They're called of God by inspiration. If you let them, they will help you. They love you, that is why they are there.

We also had an awesome lesson with Jennifer. She is trying to overcome an addiction so she can go to the temple. Well, she quit on Saturday, and she's determined to not turn back. We're going to support her as much as we are able through this, but I think the worst will be this first week and then she'll be okay. We watched some episodes of 12 Steps to Change, because they're awesome and I highly recommend watching them, even if you don't have an addiction.

I've come to appreciate how easy it is to tell that this is truly Christ's original church. This church accepts all, in whatever state you are in, in whatever trials are happening. Doesn't matter if you're broken, confused, angry, tired, or hanging on by the finest of threads. It doesn't matter how the world views you, and it doesn't matter what the world views are, you are welcome in Christ's church. That's one of the ways you can know for yourself if it's really His. He turns no one away, His church, built on His teachings, shouldn't either, and it doesn't. If you haven't felt that that is true, I'm sorry. But what I witnessed yesterday further testified to me that this IS His church, and we are to turn no one away.

Anyways, this upcoming week is going to be busy again. We have district p-day today in Sulfur Well, tomorrow we have new missionary training in Lexington, and the rest of the week is filling up with lessons and service! It's great! The end of April is coming up like a freight train!

I hope everyone had a happy Easter! Love y'all!

With love,
Sister Wilcox❤❤❤

When Coldplay Saves You

Hey y'all,

Another whirlwind of a week! If we keep this up I'll be home and have no idea how I got there!😅

It started off a bit rough, my little trainee was struggling. One night I wanted to show her the 12 Steps to Change videos, because they're awesome, and the first one talked about this guy with his addiction, and in it he shared how random lyrics from a song he heard, "lights will guide you home, and ignite your bones, and I will try to fix you" totally saved his life because he realized he was out of control and needed to seek help through Christ. Well anyways, we realized that was Coldplay (I haven't heard it in a bazillion years) and apparently that really helped Sister Johnson pull through that hard day. A little uplifting verse from a Coldplay song. You never know where your strength may come from, God sends it in weird ways.

We had a miracle. Last week I mentioned that we started teaching Sister Pearson's grandkids, they're doing awesome and Allie and Clay accepted baptismal dates! Anyways, their cousin Scarlett decided she wants to take the lessons with her cousins, which was crazy because Sister Johnson and I had just barley talked about how awesome it would be if she decided to come to the lessons too. And then she did! On Tuesday we had them all together and caught everyone up, Scarlett took notes and everyone participated, it was great!

On Wednesday we did the Zone Conference thing and on the way home I got to wave to some Amish people driving their buggie down the road (I got lost and went a different way, apparently it's Amish country wherever we were at).

Thursday we had a lesson with Mayra (she showed us how to spell her name) and it was more to see how she was feeling and share her thoughts and impressions (she watched General conference!). She asked us what she needs to do to prepare to be baptized, and that just made my day, she is just so prepared! We talked to her about that, and we mentioned the Word of Wisdom and she was like, "that's crazy that you bring that up because I used to love coffee, but 2 weeks ago I started getting massive migraines if I drank it. I can't drink it anymore." I mean, is that not being prepared or what?? She's still trying to find a compromise with her husband so she can come to our church, but we think she is very sincere in her desires and she will be able to find a way.

We got to plant flowers at the Isaacs house on Friday!!! I was so happy!!! The ground was super rocky, but then their son came around on his quad with a pickaxe, so that was awesome. I got to use a pickaxe  to plant flowers y'all. Brother Isaacs wife isn't a member, so I'm glad she felt comfortable reaching out to us for help. I haven't seen her since January!

Saturday we got to help this couple who had been formerly taught by missionaries. Lucy is sooo sweet and she just recently had a surgery and can't do much, but she really REALLY wants to, so she texted us and we came over. They are remodeling their house and trying to start a farm, so there's lots of work to do. We helped clear a spot for part of their garden. There was this crazy looking snake under a pallet that scared all of us half to death, then we came to find out it was just a flipping aggressive garter snake. He didn't look like a garter to me... so Lucy's husband Joe took care of him😁

They have chickens! Lots of them! And it was so funny cuz they didn't know they had an Ameraucauna in the mix and Lucy was like, "I was wondering where the heck the green eggs were coming from!" Oh it just made me miss my birds though!😢

That night we taught all of Sister Pearson's grandkids again and had dinner with them. They were all super excited to go to church the next day and it was just the best. I love that family!

Sunday happened, and there were a million people in that branch I swear. Sister Pearson and her grandkids came, so that made my day, then Lucy and her husband Joe came, Faun and her daughter came with brother Crenshaw, and the new family that we helped move, the Phillips, came too! We had a Linger Longer afterwards and everyone got to mingle and get to know one another! It was perfect! I've never had a busier Sunday! Sister Pearson's kids made all sorts of friends, and her eldest granddaughter, Kat, opened up to us a lot more and was able to feel more comfortable and accepted at church. There were miracles happening all over the place.

It didn't stop there though. Scarlett's mother Teresa, Sister Pearson's daughter, (who is not active but we love her to death and want her to be active) called us last night and said that Scarlett wanted to be baptized and that Scarlett wanted her to come to church with her next Sunday. Instead of saying "no" like we all expected, she said she would ponder on that. WHAT. She got all emotional over the phone, and we did too, and she told us how she just didn't feel worthy to come back. We just talked with her comforted her, encouraged her, and said goodnight.

We found out this morning that Teresa had actually read the scriptures we gave her to read, and she has started praying with Scarlett. I didn't think this would happen while I was here, I had no idea that God had really started working on Teresa. On Sister Pearson's whole family. Okay, I sort of had an idea but not to this extent! It has been incredible to watch this all unfold. I can't believe I'm here, and that I get to be in their lives for this short time, watching all these changes they're making. I just love God, He is so merciful and loving and man I could go on. His timing is PERFECT.

Sad news, Sister Hersey's sweet little kitty Frankie died on Saturday and she's been really sad about that. We visited her last night and we're going to help her plant some flowers around his grave this week. He was there for her when she was going through some real hard times, so that was pretty rough on her losing him. She needs some prayers of comfort y'all!

This upcoming week is also going to be crazy. We have exchanges tomorrow, I'm trying to be positive about that, and tons of lessons planned and service and I am just so excited! I love it when it's busy, even though that stresses me out!

Thank you for your prayers, they are being heard! Thank you for the love and support, it is definitely being felt! I love y'all SOOOO MUCH! Thank you for bearing with me each week and for giving me advice when I need it, I love it. Have a fabulous week! Enjoy Easter this next Sunday! Remember, Jesus loves you!❤❤❤

With love,
Sister Wilcox😘

 

 

Blurry Days

Hey y'all,

I just want to start off saying thank you to all those who have kept me and my companion in your prayers, and missionaries in general too. This work runs on prayers and we have truly seen miracles this week because of them.

Last p-day we had a little extra time at night to do some finding. I had a place in mind and we headed out to it. I missed the turn. I thought of another road to try and guess what? Totally missed that turn too! But I had this feeling to keep going down the road. Finally I felt like I needed to turn us around, and I saw an auto repair shop that I could use to do so. At the last second I decided to use the lot next to it. Then I realized that we pulled into a tri-plex parking lot, which I didn't know was a thing, and we decided to get out and check it out. The first door we knocked had no response. The second a lady came out, totally not interested, and tried to discourage us from knocking the last one. We did anyways. The door opened and we explained who we were and they let us in! We got to know this cute family, the Wheelers, and they accepted a Book of Mormon and wanted us to come back and teach a lesson! I'm amazed always at the different ways God works through us, and I'm so grateful that He led us to the Wheelers home in the last 2 hours of our day.

On Tuesday we went tracting in the morning/early afternoon and met some really nice people, but none that were real interested. On our way back to our car, these 2 big dogs started streaking after us across the field (a neighbor to that house had just warned us about them) and Sister Johnson grabbed my hand and started panicking. Well, I yelled at them. And they came to an abrupt, confused halt. I told them to go home. So they sat there, and then a car pulled up and the man in the car asked if the dogs were bothering us, and we said yes, so he went and kinda blocked them from us with his car and we yelled thank you and speedily walked away! Can't believe we didn't get torn up! God really protects his missionaries!

Later we were invited over to dinner at Sister Pearson's house. Sister Johnson before we got there was like, "we need to ask Sister Pearson if we can teach her grandkids!" And I was like oh my gosh you are SO RIGHT. So we asked, and Sister Pearson said she would talk to them about it. Her grandkids are her kids, she's raising them, and none of them have been baptized. Sister Pearson also enlisted our help with some gardening stuff they wanted done the next day.

Wednesday was great! We had a fantastic lesson with Myra, and she accepted a baptismal date!!! She never ceases to amaze me. She watched a movie on YouTube about the book of Mormon, and at first I was scared, but as she explained it, it talked about the Restoration and Jospeh Smith, and then went into the first book of Nephi. She loved it and said it made her appreciate the land we live in even more. It was so sweet! But the fact that she accepted a date really just blew my mind! We are ecstatic!

After Myra we helped Sister Pearson and her daughter Teresa separate seedlings and transplant some things for their vegetable garden, so you know that was right up my alley! Then we helped them catch a rogue chicken that refused to go back into the coop, and that was just a blast! Teresa was like, "they should use chicken chasing as a team-building exercise!" Then, Sister Pearson told us that she already talked to the kids and they wanted to take lessons from us! That was the best moment ever! And when we got home we saw that we received several messages from her, explaining that she has had so many promptings lately urging her to come back to church, and she wants to actually do it. It made me cry! We are so eager to help this family have the happiness that the Gospel brings, they have been through far too much, and it's time for them to have some peace and joy in their lives. Sister Pearson wants that so bad for her family! I'm just so happy!

Thursday we had our first lesson with the Wheeler family and oh my gosh that was so intense and spiritual, I had the spiritual sweats going on. Also, it was kinda hot in there. We taught the Plan of Salvation and drew it all out on a whiteboard in a way that the symbols would spell "love." Dolly caught on, she's the mom, and she thought that was the cutest thing ever. But she was like, "it IS love, it's God's plan!" She went on to explain that it didn't change what she believed, but she had never had it laid out so clearly before, she had never been able to really understand it. We told her that the reason why the picture was so clear, was because lost truths had been restored through the book of Mormon, and when we used the book of Mormon and the Bible, the picture is complete.

Her husband started giving different scenarios of people's lives and questioning what would happen to them, and it was so incredible to see how the Plan of Salvation answered all his questions. I could just point to different points on the board and explain, and it made me realize just how perfect God's plan is. His plan is for everyone, it helps everyone, and it gives us all the opportunity, if we choose, to return to Him. No matter how your life plays out. He gives us every chance we need to try again. Literally the only way you could fail is if you choose to fail, don't do that. Look at the wonderful plan our Heavenly Father has for us all and take courage, have hope, keep going.

On Friday we helped the Lusk family from our branch prep their house for paint. Sister Johnson and I covered windows in plastic and lined trim with tape. It reminded me of my house with all the painting we've done, and trim work, and tape, it was all too familiar! I loved It! Afterwards we had our first lesson with the Pearson children! They listened so good and participated, they are probably the most polite, well behaved kids I've ever met in my life. Sister Pearson had powerful insights and bore her testimony, it was wonderful! I'm so excited for them!

Saturday and Sunday was awesome because you know, General Conference happened! It felt so short, and the talks were so bold and powerful! I loved how all of them linked together, many shared the same scripture or quote, or touched on the topic the last speaker did, and I thought that that really shows how it was all done by the Spirit. None of them knew what the other would speak on, yet they all blended together. So cool! I'm sad it's already over! 😣

We have another busy week coming up with Zone Conference and interviews from our mission president, it's going to be crazy! I love busy though because it makes time fly by! Easter is just around the corner woohoo!

I hope you all received answers to your questions during conference, and I hope you felt the love that our prophet and his apostles have for all of us. I did. There's no way they could keep doing what they're doing if it didn't all run on the fact that they love God's children. I know this church is headed by Christ himself, I know President Nelson is led by Him, and the apostles are led by Him, the work is moving forward because of Him, this work only works because of HIM. This is no earthly church. I'm blessed every day to have a small part of gathering Gods children into His fold, as imperfectly as I do, and I look forward with anticipation to see what God will do next to further build His kingdom here on earth.

I love you all, I pray for you all, and I wish you a happy week until next Monday!

With love,
Sister Wilcox❤❤❤

 

 

Spring is Here!

Hey y'all,

This week was pretty normal, it wasn't too crazy. We had apartment inspections and we got an 'A'! I was freaking out about it but we did really good! I think it's mostly because our apartment is so new...

So the daffodils are dying, but everything else is waking up! The trees are blooming and turning over to leaves, and more flowers are popping up I'm just so excited! The corn fields around here start turning purple with the weeds that take over them, and it's so beautiful.

We had district council on Wednesday this week instead of Friday, so that was weird. And my new district is pretty strange, but they're okay. We went down to the sulfer well so the new people could try the well water (Sister Johnson wouldn't) and one of the elders, Elder Shelton, took 70 gulps of it. I think he regretted it, and it was right after lunch. Elders are funny.

We had an awesome lesson with Myra, she had a note pad and everything when we came by. She is so interested and has so many questions. Good questions. She hasn't brought up Supernatural once, and I could not be more grateful 😂😂 she wants to come to church, but she talked to her husband and he said he isn't ready to learn about another church, which was interesting. He is super nice and let's her have lessons with us, so maybe in the near future he'll come around??

We stopped by Heathers apartment again, the gal I met on exchanges, and she was home and told us that she has already read up to Mosiah! And we were like "you actually read it??" And she was like duh! Then we had to tell her that people usually don't actually read it! It was so funny cuz she was so surprised and confused as to why people would accept a book of Mormon and then not read it 😂😂😂 that's what I'm saying! We set up a return appointment for after spring break, cuz she's busy, but I'm excited! She said she felt the Spirit, and that's why she has kept reading.

There was a man we met (also on exchanges) named Kevin, and we felt like going by again. He was home, and he said he had been reading the Book of Mormon, but he started in the back. We asked how he has felt about it so far, and he said he doesn't agree with some things. He was reading in Mormon, which is exactly where I'm at right now, and we were able to explain more and expound the scriptures to him. We encouraged him to focus on the Spirit and how he feels while he reads, rather than focus on the intellectual aspect of scriptures. He likes to learn about other religions and try to find ways to piece them all together, but he doesn't really know what he's looking for. And that just makes me sad because he will be searching for a lifetime. If you want to know what is truth and what is not, you have got to ask God. He is the source of truth.

Well anyways, we got to help Sister Tucker feed all her animals the other day! Her friends cows had babies, so we fed all the cows hay and it was super fun. I tossed flakes of hay onto the bulls head. And you know what?! I touched the hay and I didn't get hives or have an allergic reaction! It was crazy! Then we helped her chase chickens into the henhouse and feed her goat. Guys I want a farm!

I had a moment of madness Friday morning. I woke up and turned the lamp on, and Sister Johnson turned over and so I asked her if she had any weird dreams, cuz that helps her wake up. We talked about our weird dreams, then she asked me what time it was, and I looked at my clock and it said it was 3 in the morning! What the heck?! Why did I wake up, I don't know. Why did I think it was time to get up? I don't knows!

Saturday we got a text from the Leitchfield elders and they told us that a family was moving from their ward to our branch and that they needed help, in like, 2 hours! It was crazy! We had to scramble to try and find people to come and it ended up just being us and brother Crenshaw, because he's awesome. They had a full U-haul truck, but it's okay. We got it all done. We're excited to have the new family of four, cuz our branch is so little!😅

Yesterday we visited a sister who lives way down at the bottom of our area, and it was pretty dark when we drove home. And on the way home, this little rabbit darted across the road at the wrong time and I totally hit him. Sister Johnson screamed and sat there in shock for a little bit, oops. I'm totally traumatizing my little trainee 😁

I found a cute Albert Einstein quote that I love! He says, "There are only 2 ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle." I think the latter leads to a much happier life ;)

General Conference is this week! I hope everybody is pumped!

I can't think of anything else, so I love y'all and I hope you enjoy this week!

With love,
Sister Wilcox❤❤❤

Trooping Through Training

Hey y'all

This week has been a whirlwind! I can't believe we made it to p-day!

So on Tuesday we made the long journey up to Louisville to the Eastern Parkway building to get to transfers. As soon as I got there I had to run into my meeting and I hugged Sister Young for the last time and I never saw her again after that 😢😢😢

The meeting was sooooo long and I was starting to feel so nervous and kinda sick. It was good, we got a little training, sort of, on how to be a trainer, but I'm really surprised (and scared) of how much trust they put in the trainers of just leaving it all up to us to help these new missionaries. Cuz I really feel like I remember nothing from that training. And also I know nothing about training... So yeah.

But anyways, I got my little trainee! Her name is Sister Johnson! She is the cutest ever! She is so chill and so funny OH MY GOSH she is hilarious! She is a firecracker too. Like, I don't feel like there's much she needs training on.

Our first full day together (Wednesday) we taught 3 lessons, and one of them was with a guy named Francisco that Sister Young and I have been trying to have a lesson with since January! He was suddenly able to meet, so we went! And Sister Johnson was awesome and totally taught the Restoration lesson 3 times perfectly! She even tracted, she did dang good. And we found a new solid person to teach named Myra, and she is totally fascinated with the book of Mormon and has already started reading it!!!!

Thursday and Friday Sister Johnson was super sick, so that was sad. We were going to have a lesson, but then it fell through, and Sister Johnson was dying the whole time we were waiting in the library for him. She had to take a nap. And she was a trooper and went to our dinner appointment and the lesson we had with a new member afterwards, and the next day went to our district meeting. I'm just so impressed with her. She doesn't even understand how amazing she is! She took the lead on the spiritual thought with the members! She has already greatly surpassed me from when I was in training... I was a brat 😁

Saturday was probably the best, cuz she was feeling better. We tracted most of the day and as we walked around she was like, "oh my gosh is this what an average day on the mission looks like?" And I was like yes ma'am! And then she kinda freaked out... I think the reality of serving a mission finally settled in her mind. I don't sugar coat things! She's fine now though. I think. Also, we met a guy who rides mules and he tried calling his mules for us to see them, but they wouldn't come. So that was sad.

Sunday Sister Johnson had to speak in sacrament meeting. Brother Jenson texted me WHILE I WAS IN THE MEETING TO GET MY COMP to ask her if she would speak on Sunday and I didn't even have her yet or know who she was!! Branches are so funny!!! But she did it, even though she was terrified! Then we had lunch at our branch presidents house and had an awesome lesson with Jennifer who is a recent convert! We were out trying someone else when we saw Jennifer walking her dogs, and she told us she was on her way to the tobacco store 😢 so we had kinda an intervention lesson thing out in the church parking lot and it was really good. Afterwards Sister Johnson was like "holy cow God really knows us individually!" Because what were the odds that we would see Jennifer at that time? God is good.

It's been beautiful all week long, but today is rainy and gross. But that's alright I guess we deserve a nasty day.

General Conference is coming up and I'm so excited! Spring is here! Easter is around the corner! Life is just so full of hope!

Well, I love you all! I appreciate y'all so much! Have a wonderful, beautiful week! Enjoy all the little things!

With love,
Sister Wilcox😘😘😘

 

Guess What They're Doing to Me

Hey y'all,

So, I've been having strange anxieties about transfers all week. Turns out, I had every reason for the anxiety. I'M TRAINING.

I get a brand new little missionary to train here in Campbellsville. Boy they caught me right at the end in my last 2 transfers! What in the world, I never thought I would train. I thought I was home free!😂

No I'm excited, really. It'll be fun. I'm just sad to be losing my sweet Sister Young. She's heading over to Carrollton Kentucky and she has to take over the area cuz both the sisters that were there are going home, so that's exciting! I'm a little stressed out about everything but I know it will all be okay!

What did I even do this week?

Last Monday I mentioned we were going to Kentucky Down Under for district p-day, and it was awesome! Probably the most interactive place with cool animals ever. We got to go in to the kangaroo enclosure and they would come up and eat out of your hands and nibble on the edges of your clothing, it was so cute! Some of the kangaroos had little joeys in their pouches! I befriended an emu, he was pretty chill. We also went through a little cave tour, and then watched some sheep dogs heard sheep.

This place was neat because it takes in animals from animal abuse situations. There's a lot of that here in Kentucky unfortunately. We were talking to one of the employees, who was holding a caimen at the time (like a tiny alligator), and she was telling us that some lady thought it would be a good idea to own things like a caimen or a serval cat (those things are big!), and it was just not a good idea at all. It was very sad. Also, the sheep they had were meat sheep I think, no shearing required. Well someone didn't want their sheep so they dropped her off down the road from Kentucky Down Under and she was just wandering around till they picked her up and took her in. She's a wool sheep, so she's the only high maintenance one outta the group 😂. Why do people think they can have animals if they don't want to be responsible for them?

We had dinner with Sister Pearson and her grandkids that night, and her daughter joined us and stayed to watch a video. We were delighted!

Tuesday through Wednesday we had exchanges, and that was stressful. I always feel like I'm under a microscope when we do those. It was also good though, and we found some people with potential and I had some good learning experiences. Plus we had a little adventure while trying to exchange back.

There was a sign that said "road closed" but it was like, off in the bushes. You know how they're usually blocking the road? A little more obvious and hindering? Yeah no, some dude put this sign in the ditch. We went down, and sure enough there was a road construction crew. Oops. Then my STL was like, "maybe there's a flagger, we could go around them." And I looked at the huge excavator swinging it's shovel across the road, no flagger, and thought, "thats a good way to die" so I turned around and we found a road that would get us to the exchange point. Well, it narrowed way down to a one lane road it seemed, then it suddenly turned into gravel. And there were huge pot holes that I thought the Malibu wasn't going to make it out of. The entire time I was like, "this is why we need a jeep!" But we made it, all is well.

On Thursday we got a call from Renee, a gal that has been on and off taught by missionaries because of her husband's (Jack) interest in the church, and she wanted to know if we could help clean her house for a showing (they're trying to sell the house), so we went! Jack just got out of the hospital from having fluid around his heart, it was pretty scary actually. So he wasn't allowed to help much. I think we did a good job, plus I think it was good for Renee for us to be there. We also tracted in a huge windstorm! My hair looked Crazy! But we found some cool people so it was worth it!

Friday we had district council and had dinner with Sister Pearson and her grandkids again, and this time her son and her daughter came! Her son didn't stay for long, but still we got to see him again. Her daughter stayed for another spiritual thought and seemed to be pretty engaged the whole time. I don't know, we might be seeing two members reactivated here over time. That would be awesome!

Saturday we found out around 8:30am about transfers. That's the earliest I think I've ever gotten a call from President Hughes. It was a tender mercy though, because we didn't have to freak out all day wondering what was gonna happen. So after the news we did service for a member in the branch. I have never seen so much dust in all my life, or so many Elvis things. This lady is obsessed with Elvis and even has a room dedicated to holding all of her Elvis stuff, it was crazy. She also goes to concerts and fairs where Elvis impersonators compete to be the best Elvis look alike. I was going a little bit insane while we were there.

We had two awesome lessons, one with Marie and the other with Ron and Madonna. We read some of our favorite scriptures to them and bore our testimonies, and it was a really sweet goodbye for Sister Young with them. Marie was like, "you'll never forget me, will ya? No one ever forgets me!" 😂😂 I love that lady!

Now Sunday was probably the craziest day I've ever had so far. We went to church, then went and saw Sister Hersey, then we helped Jennifer wash her dishes and cook lunch and ate lunch with her, then we sang at a grave dedication for Sister Sapps son, then we had dinner with the Fawbush's, then we said goodbye to the Veney fam. It was a lot of running around, but it was really good and it helped the day go by quickly. We sang 'O My Father' to the tune of 'Come Thou Fount' at the grave dedication, and we made a lot of people cry, so that was good!😁 It was a sweet little ceremony and I'm glad we got to be there.

Well, my companion is running all over the house with boxes and clothes, so I'm gonna have to go. We gotta mail some stuff in the post office, missionaries accumulate a lot of stuff!

My fate is sealed here in Campbellsville, this is my last area folks! I couldnt have asked for a better place to end my mission.

I hope y'all have a wonderful day and a wonderful week! Love you all!!!!

With love,
Sister Wilcox😘😘😘