Week 73: Does the Lord really want to speak to you?....YES!!

Hello!

I realized since I have only 7 more of these to write I should try to make each weekly from now on a good one!! 😁

So, this week was pretty crazy (literally every week..). We had zone conference on Tuesday, then on Wednesday I got super sick with some bug that's going around (I honestly haven't felt that sick since I went to Bolivia my junior year and thought I was going to die.. it wasn't quite that bad, but close!! The Sister we live with caught it and is hospitalized right now 😬 But we're both doing a lot better so don't worry 😁😉).

Anyways, after lots of rest I was feeling well enough to still have our last exchanges of the transfer with the Sisters up in McCall! And, lucky for us, it also happened to be the time of year when the winter festival was happening up there! So, we got to walk on the frozen McCall lake, see the ice sculptures for their annual ice sculpture contest that the businesses all participate in, and even watch a part of their small Mardi Gras parade, haha. It was so fun! And, we got to be with some awesome Sisters, too, so win-win! 😁

We finally got home Saturday night (it was a double exchange b/c we did both companionahips back to back so 3 days 😴) then went to church yesterday and had a full day of lessons scheduled for after it! Sadly, however, the bug that's going around knocked out half of those appointments, then another 1/4 forgot and had to reschedule, so we ended up with just some good contacting time and a lesson with a teenage girl named Victoria that we've been teaching.

Victoria has been coming to church for over a year now and has had a lot of spiritual experiences that have helped her to know that God is there and that He loves her, but she still has a hard time sometimes believing it. So sometimes our lessons are super spiritual and amazing, and other times she struggles more- as I think all of us go through in our paths of seeking and finding answers and guidance for our lives!

But this week was such a good week for her! We had texted her earlier in the week to follow up with her daily prayers (which she has been so good at doing!) and she shared some awesome experiences she's had before with praying. Then, as it was on her mind, she noticed an experience that she shared with a friend of hers that same day, where she prayed and saw a little miracle work before their eyes! (They got pulled over and her friend said a prayer that she wouldn't get a ticket, then she didn't.. Victoria was so impressed, haha- always be an example of the believers guys!).

So, as we talked last night about receiving our own revelation for our lives, the Spirit was strong as the Jensen family (literally the best friendshipping missionary-minded family ever!!) bore their testimonies of how God always wants to talk to us and we just need to listen.

We read a bit of Enos 1 (because the Lord's word is always so powerful!) and pulled up an excerpt from President Nelson's talk in April 2018 GC called "Revelation for the Church, Revelation for our Lives" and we all were edified together as we learned from the Spirit how God does want to answer us. He does want to guide us. Because He loves us.

And He loves you! 😊

In his talk, President Nelson asks us, "Does God ready want to speak to you?" he then pauses, and after a moment he smiles and answers emphatically for us, "Yes!"

I know that this is true! Our Father in Heaven is very aware of each one of us. Our trials, our worries, our circumstances and our weaknesses.

He wants to help us, and He always loves us. He knows EVERYTHING about us, and He still loves us more than we can comprehend. And I'm eternally grateful for that. 😊

I love you all (though not as much at He does 😉)- have a great week!

Sister Wilcox

✌

Pics:

McCall.... So. Much. Snow.

Week 72: 8 Weeks Left!

We had Shane Littlefield come from Salt Lake to our mission this past week and his goal was to help inspire us in setting inspired goals that, as we work to achieve them, will help us to be made more effective instruments in the Lord's hands.

So, after his and President and Sister Sorensens' inspiring trainings, we went home and applied what had been talked about.. Although I've seen so many miracles everyday throughout my mission, every week literally feels like it's somehow even better than the last as the Lord provides us with new opportunities to meet and to help and to lift others around us that He puts in our path! It's amazing!

So, we set a goal to find 2 new people to teach this week, and spent the whole week working to set up appointments with a few different families that have been on our radar that have a lot of potential and interest, but just have crazy things happen every time we set up an appointment so we haven't been able to teach them yet (story of every missionary's life, right?). So Sunday comes around and it's the last day that we have to start teaching someone to reach this goal that we felt inspired to set. All of our appointments fell through and no one came to church (☹) because everyone's getting sick right now and things were not looking too good. But, we had one appointment left for the day and as we knocked on the door no one came to answer it and we thought no one was home and they had forgotten (not too uncommon, sadly).

But, after we knocked again the dad answered and we were able to have a really good visit getting to know this sweet family where the dad grew up a member and the mom and their four sons are all not members of the church but love the programs we have and are all wanting to learn more about it! They asked us to give them that "push" to be more involved in going to church and making it more of a center of their lives!

It was a great day and we reached the goal Heavenly Father inspired us to set as we worked towards helping His children find Him by simply trusting His plan and never giving up. And that is sometimes the hardest thing to do! But I know that the Lord doesn't give us any commandments that He doesn't help us to keep- He tells us who we can be, and then He leads us as we slowly walk the path to get there because He loves us.

We are His work and His glory. Our eternal life with Him. 💛😊

Never forget that and never give up.

And always remember that He is a God of miracles and He works in our lives according to our faith.

Love you guys!

Sister Wilcox

Pictures:

-temple trip round 2 with the district (we got to go through it for real this time 😁)

-our dinner made us kiss their moose "for tradition".... 😂

-last-last week's mission conference (you can play "where's waldo" if you want lol)

-some longhorns.. they were watching us so intensely 😅 cute bb

Week 71: Alma 6:5-6

Hello everyone!

Sorry it's been longer than usual since my last email- our pday was changed to today b/c we had another trip at the Meridian temple! But then, a live endowment was happening and the session got too full so they kicked us (the missionaries) to the next session but by the time we got the permission from our MP to do the not-noon-session we missed it and had left. So, we sat in the temple for two hours, but didn't actually go through the temple.. Next time!

Anyways, this week was literally so cool.

So this transfer my comp and I are part of a small group called "The Mission Commitee" and basically that means it's our job (along with the other companionships in this group) to help motivate and unify the mission and solve any arising problems that we see happening around us. So, together with the AP's, we decided the mission needed to focus most on seeing miracles right now, and a big part of that is recognizing the miracles already happening so much around us!

So we sent out a text inviting all missionaries to fast together as a mission this past Sunday to see miracles happen this week in "finding one more" (referring to new people being taught), and within that first night it was great and a few miracles were posted to the INM FB page, and it was cool!

Then, Monday comes along and it's pday for most of the mission, but not for our district (as you can see from this email coming today lol). So, being a day we don't have any regular set appointments, Sister Frandsen and I spent the entire day visiting former and potential investigators that have been sitting on our list for a while now that we just have never had enough time between teaching appointments to visit yet. And the Lord definitely knew that this was the day we needed to contact them! Every person we tried was home and answered the door and we got to meet with them and by the time we went home that night we had 11 return appointments set for the rest of the week (which, if they all become new investigators, would beat our PR of 9 new people that glorious week in Baker a while back 😁)!

It was just such a testimony builder to me that the Lord knows us, He knows everyone around us, and He constantly inspires us in so many different ways- sometimes so small we don't even recognize it! But as we are willing to sacrifice, to show Him our faith and the desire we have to be made instruments in His hands and to have our eyes opened to His miracles He will show us His wondrous works!

God is so good. 😊💛

Fasting and mighty prayer work miracles according to our faith, as our faith allows the Lord to work miracles in our life.

Needless to say, the FB page now has a lot of miracles posted onto it and the Idaho Nampa Mission will live on to be a legendary time of miraculous missionary stories for those who served here 😁👍.. because yes- the rumors you've heard are true- we are becoming the Idaho Boise Mission in July when the currently existing IBM gets divided in half and we take over their largest city (Boise), their name, and half of their missionaries.

But it's all in the Lord's will! He knows what He's doing. 😉 And we aren't actually changing at all other than just growing. 😊👍

Anyways, I invite you all to look for miracles this week, and I promise you will always find them. You are never alone and you will find that God is in even the smallest details of your life because He Loves You.

And I love you too. 😊💛

Email you again soon!

Sister Wilcox

P.S. Pics are of exchanges and the temple and all of my favorite peeps at the mission conference we got to have to discuss the mission changes! It was a good day to see everyone I love in one place! 😍😊

 

 

Week 70: Happy New Year!!!

Dec 31, 2018 at 1:16 PM

This week was awesome!!

Aaron Brown, a boy we were teaching in Fruitland, got baptized this week and it was the sweetest thing I've seen in a long time! I love him so much and getting to know him and being a part of the process of seeing him change and grow has been such a blessing. He has such a sweet spirit and all of the missionaries that were a part of teaching him over the past year or so definitely felt that this Saturday when he finally was able to be baptized!

We also have been feeling the member support so much these past few weeks as we always have places to go for the holidays and are well taken care of AND have been receiving referral after referral from members asking for us to visit with or teach their friends that they've been able to share their testimonies of the restored gospel with!!

We literally have trouble finding time to teach them all.. nice problem to have! 😉🤷‍♀️😊👍

We also got to give talks yesterday in Letha ward.. not my fav, but it was on conversion, and if there's one thing I can talk about for forever it's the Book of Mormon !😊💛

So, all in all, it was a great week!!

If there's anyone who's been on your mind who could use the gospel in their life, reach out to the Missionaries serving near you. Get to know them, invite them over, and help this great work move along! 😊

As you do so,  you're life will be filled with joy- I promise. 😉

Love you all,

Sister Wilcox

Week 69: Love You All!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

This week was awesome and next week is going to be even better. Keep lighting the world! Love you all and I hope you have a Happy Christmas full of family, fun, and love.

Hopefully I'll have more time next week, sorry..

Love you!

Sister Wilcox

Pics:

Christmas

Emmett

And we try, but aren't artists 🤷‍♀️😁