Dearest family and friends,
I have not laughed this much in quite some time. Sister Watts is HYSTERICAL. And we have been an absolute train wreck getting settled in to the area- the poor Elders! I believe this is a great lesson for them in marriage prep: when a woman joins your team, things get crazy. :)
Okay, so we haven't been an absolute train wreck, but it was a long drive back from transfer meeting Wednesday night, so we got to bed at midnight and were super tired while we weekly planned with Elders on Thursday. Also, Sister Watts has been sick, so she has a nasty smoker voice and cough. When we met with Bishop Bell Thursday night (who is AMAZING and so kind and so excited for us to be in the ward), he recommended she try filtered cigarettes. So funny! :)
And then on Friday night, we managed to lock ourselves out of our car and our apartment at 8:30 pm. We laughed so hard about it. And then we had to knock on our neighbor's door and ask to borrow his phone (but hey, it gave us a chance to give him an invitation to the church open house we were having this Sunday!). Luckily, I'd written down some important numbers in my planner, so we were able to call the Elders, who then came and helped us call a locksmith (after climbing up to our second floor balcony to check if the screen door was locked- boys love an excuse to do something crazy). Since we're doing this "tender mercies" thing with the Book of Mormon, I decided to look at the bright side of the situation and see this as a lovely opportunity to invite not just our downstairs neighbor, but also the locksmith AND another neighbor who was out walking his dog to the Open House- even though it cost me a pretty penny to get the door unlocked. :) It was also a great opportunity to talk more with Sister Watts while we waited and get to know her.
Bio on Sister Watts:
from Logandale, Nevada
thinks turning the heat to 70 degrees is not hot enough (80 is good for her) :)
loves Disney
loves serving people
wants to be a nurse
is a huge nerd and loves all the nerdy things I love (Harry Potter, LOTR, Star Wars, Ender's Game...)
has been out 3 months and served on Martha's Vineyard (poor thing) ;)
is incredibly funny and lighthearted
doesn't act like she's been out 3 months- she's an incredible missionary!
Saturday, thanks to an incredible member family, Sister Caldwell-Andrews drove us to Providence for Sherri Newton and Trischin Denton's baptisms. I was so grateful we could be there! The best part was hearing Sherri's testimony at the end where she talked about the powerful Spirit she felt when she first prayed about the Book of Mormon and how that Spirit has continued to grow in her life as she has read and prayed daily and attended church. Sometimes when you're teaching people, it's hard to know if they really are feeling anything, so it was nice to hear her testimony and to hear that the Spirit really has been touching her heart. I just love Sherri and I am so happy for her and excited to see how the gospel continues to bless her life!
Sunday was great! Bishop Bell had us stand to be introduced in sacrament meeting and the ward members all turned to look at us and they were BEAMING. I felt so welcomed and loved! Sister Watts and I were also asked to bear our testimonies. I sharedMoroni 7:45-48 and talked about how one of the greatest blessings of serving as a missionary is feeling the smallest taste of the love our Heavenly Father feels for those we teach. I know that as we forget ourselves and focus on serving others, we are filled with this love and it helps us to better understand our Savior and our Heavenly Father. It makes us more like Them. What an incredible blessing it is to serve!
We also had a wonderful Open House last night with a hand full of non-members who showed up, including members' friends they brought. It was just incredible to watch the members walk around with their friends and basically teach them the missionary lessons right then and there. I was just floored. This ward is incredible!
We're off to go on a hike in the beautiful Connecticut countryside! Have a wonderful week and know that I love you all so very much! God is our loving Heavenly Father. He weeps with us and wants nothing more than our happiness. Our Savior lives. He loves us. There is nothing we face that He has not already gone through and conquered. As we turn to Him, He will heal us, especially as we do His work of salvation.
Much love,
Sister Wheeler Jr.
P.S. HAPPIEST BIRTHDAY to the most pernicious older brother ever, the one, the only, Josh Wheeler! :)
P.P.S. The email title is dedicated to our large grandma car, a 2012 Chevy Malibu, that is extremely hard to maneuver, thus we have christened it Narwal, the Brave. :)
No comments:
Post a Comment