Week 73: Tender Mercies

October 14, 2014

Dearest family and friends,

It's been a week of miracles in Cromwell! (What's new?) Since we've been looking for tender mercies as we've been reading the Book of Mormon, I feel like it's become so much more natural to notice them in my life. I love it!

One of my favorites was meeting Abdel this week. We met him in the park as he was pushing his napping daughter in a stroller. It turns out he is from Morocco, so he speaks French and I was able to communicate with him and set up a return appointment for the next morning. He is a semi-active Muslim, but he said he likes to look for truth everywhere. The lesson we had was just amazing. I feel like we left the world for an hour and had an incredibly important conversation with him. He speaks English well, so Sister Watts was able to teach with me, but she said that through the whole lesson, even when she couldn't understand some of what was being said, the Spirit was so powerful and strong. He agreed to read the Book of Mormon and I am praying we will get to meet with him again. Even if we don't, it was a huge blessing to be able to meet with him and it has built my testimony so much.

Tender mercies include: meeting him, being able to communicate in my broken and poorly conjugated French, Nat sending me a French "Preach My Gospel" and a French dictionary so I could study for Adrien when I was in Amherst, and Nat sending a French Book of Mormon that we were able to give Abdel, learning that his English teacher in Morocco was Mormon and now lives in Utah.

Another tender mercy happened when we were on a walk with one of our recent converts who is really struggling. Sister Watts was way ahead of me with the member, so I was a little on my own (don't worry, still sight and sound, people! :)), and as I looked out into the beautiful woods, I pondered and imagined how our loving Heavenly Father and our Savior, Jesus Christ, appeared to a young boy less than 200 years ago in very similar New England woods. And the Spirit bore witness to me that it was true. That it really happened. It was such a blessing to feel such a powerful and sweet Spirit. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. And I know that the gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored to the earth through him. I am so grateful for that knowledge and testimony. And I pray that the Spirit can use my poorly typed words to convey the depth and the power of this testimony I am building. What an incredible evidence of our Heavenly Father's love that He not only gave His Only Begotten Son for us, but that They have called prophets again and through them have given us everything we need to return home to Them. No words are sufficient, but I am so grateful.

Other tender mercies include:

-Being able to teach a great Family Home Evening to a part-member family. The Spirit was strong and we were so grateful to spend time with them.

-Finding out that a struggling YSA who we visited has taken the challenge of making tender mercies and scriptures she knows are truth (Elder Andersen) after we talked to her last week.

-The problem we often have in Cromwell where you prepare a lesson for a member family about member missionary work, and then their non-member friend comes to dinner unexpectedly. :)

-Being able to go to the temple yesterday. I was able to get some wonderful feelings of peace and reassurance there. There is nothing on this earth to match the peace in the temple.

I need advice, family and friends. We have wanted to invite families in our ward to prayerfully set a date by which it find someone to be taught in their home and we tried with one family. They were very willing to do so, but they have tried before and have never had it work, so they felt pretty down about it. How can I help raise their faith?! I feel like I'm still trying to build my testimony of this principle, but prophets and apostles have promised us that it will work. (see  Elder Ballard's talk in 1984) I want to make this a pattern of faith that I follow for the rest of my life! Has anyone else tried it? What are your thoughts and advice?

I love you all so very much and am so grateful for all you do for me! This gospel is true! :)
Much love,
Sister Wheeler

Week 72: CONFERENCE!

October 6, 2014

Dearest family and friends,

First of all, HAPPY BIRTHDAY LIANDRA! I hope you have an AWESOME birthday this week and that you enjoy hanging out in BOSTON! I am jealous! You will love it!

Big news! Remember Alex? He's the Cape Verdian kid that Sister Patterson and I miraculously ran into in Amherst and started teaching. His mom has recently been in on the lessons and has been very supportive and now Alex is getting baptized at the end of this month! I am so excited! He is such an honest seeker of truth and he is so sincere and loves his family so much! I can't wait for them to one day have the same happiness I have in knowing that they have been sealed together for eternity!

We had another missionary birthday here in Cromwell. I redeemed myself. :) Actually, it was a team effort. Sister Watts and I made Elder Terry the best breakfast ever and this time, we made sure we had oil for the pans! (And thankfully Ruth, after we helped clean her garage last week, gave us better pans and some cool ceramic serving dishes so we could actually make a presentable breakfast!) The best part was when we were walking into the front door of the Elders apartment complex and Sister Watts tripped over the doorway and almost biffed it with the ceramic dish full of the breakfast. We were laughing so hard when we knocked on the Elders door to sing Happy Birthday. Pretty sure they think we're always laughing maniacally... It might be true. :)

I think one of the greatest lessons I learned this week came from a visit we made with our Relief Society President, Sister Spencer. We went to visit a less-active woman who just moved in and who is really struggling. She spent most of the visit talking about all of the terrible things that have happened to her in her life (and they were some DIFFICULT things). Sister Spencer listened patiently and compassionately and at the end, suggested a few things for the woman, including a Priesthood blessing, which she was happy to accept. It's always just magic when you take a member to a lesson. Seriously. Most of the time, I just feel like the facilitator. :) But on the drive back, Sister Spencer talked about how she herself had experienced every. single. one. of the things that less-active woman had experienced. And she said, "But what's the difference in us? While she has turned from God asking, 'Why me?!', I have turned to God and said, 'Teach me.'" It was powerful. And I felt like such a spiritual infant next to my sister who has gone through so much and has grown so gloriously.

And Conference... SO GOOD! If you didn't get to listen, CATCH UP! I received so many answers to questions and prayers and feel so uplifted and ready to change and progress! I think one of my favorite talks was when Elder Andersen challenged the youth to strenghten their testimonies of Joseph Smith by marking scriptures in the Book of Mormon that they knew were true. I tried it out Sunday morning and was so uplifted! A couple verses I feel strongly about are:

2 Nephi 2:27
"Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself."

Mosiah 2:41
"And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it."

I saw both of those in action this week. Everything God commands us to do is for our benefit and HAPPINESS! Satan wants us to disobey so that we become miserable like himself. He tempts us to do so by turning away from God, forgetting to do the small and simple things that build our relationship with Him, getting caught up in addictions and habits that limit our ability to choose. He works really hard! Which is why we must work even harder to continually strengthen our relationship with our Savior by obeying His commandments. All He and our Heavenly Father want is for us to be happy! And they have given us everything that is expedient.

Our Savior lives! This is His church and gospel that was restored through a true prophet and continues to be led by a living prophet. And in it we find the greatest the peace as we access his Atonement through restored Priesthood power. How grateful I am!

Love you all!
Love,
Sister Wheeler Jr.

Pictures:

Elder Terry is so happy with his amazing breakfast!

And Jord, that tree beats any Canadian trees, just sayin'! :)

Week 71: Happy Birthday to Sister Watts!

September 29, 2014

Dearest family and friends,

It's been another hysterical and spiritually uplifting week. Dad asked if it's illegal to have this much fun on a mission. It might be... it just might be... :)

I'm actually sending you my original email. I will be sending a watered-down version to everyone else, just so they don't think I'm totally goofing off! :)

Hysterical stories first:

It was Sister Watts' birthday on Saturday and I happened to wake up an hour early, so I quickly made her a card and attempted to make her a pancake. The only problem is we didn't have any butter or vegetable oil or pan spray, so I had nothing to grease the pan with... and we didn't actually have a griddle or pan, just a saucepan. So I tried the first one... and it burned directly onto the pan. So I grabbed our second saucepan and thought I could try using honey to grease the pan. The result was a caramelized pan and lumpy/strange pancake. I put a candle in it, brought it to Sister Watts while I sang "Happy Birthday" and then immediately said, "Don't eat that pancake." We had a good laugh about it. :)

We spent the morning and afternoon of Sister Watts' birthday helping a non-member, Ruth, clear out her dad's house and get it ready for a tag sale (that's right- in New England it's not a "yard sale" or "garage sale"). Hysterical parts of the afternoon involved Sister Watts and I trying to pick out a random gift for Elder Terry's birthday next week and Sister Watts kicking me in the kidneys "accidentally". But on a spiritual note, we LOVED interacting with Ruth. She is friends with about half a dozen members in the ward and I think all of them are waiting for someone else to invite Ruth to learn more. (#diffusionofresponsibility) She invited us for dinner, so I think things will continue to progress with her. She's the sweetest! She actually reminded me a lot of Mom.

Speaking of Mom, remember how she always chops you across the jugular when you're driving with her and you make a snarky comment? I've been doing that with Sister Watts and on Saturday, somehow I missed and basically punched her in the face. We laughed till we cried! We were both so shocked and I felt terrible that I'd punched her on her birthday. I guess it's payback for her earlier kidney kick.

One last funny and then I promise I'll get spiritual: Sister Watts loves to sleep in onesies, so this morning we thought we'd prank the Elders, so we put onesies on over our dresses and when we picked them up to go email, their faces were priceless. They stopped dead in their tracks and Elder Paiva actually didn't recognize us. I think we thought it was funnier than they did- we laughed till we cried (again!). I actually felt a little like puking I was laughing so hard.

So yes, Dad... I think it might be illegal to have this much fun. :)

Waxing spiritual:

Victor, I love that you mentioned "Going About Doing Good". Sister Watts and I were actually asked to train our district on that part of Preach My Gospel this Friday. Sister Watts didn't want to sit around and talk about it for half an hour, so we decided to briefly discuss the principle and then we told everyone, "Alright, you have 20 minutes! Go out and find someone to serve!" and we ran out of the room. It was epic. :) And successful! I felt like my eyes were opened to thinking more like the Savior would think. I felt like I suddenly had a radar for who was in need of help or assistance. That is exactly how He lived. He didn't get caught up on running to and from appointments- He was always keenly aware of who needed help along his way. One set of missionaries came back and had actually gotten a phone number of a woman who said they could come back the next day to rake her yard. Success! :)

We had another baptism this weekend! Zahra, our cute Iranian investigator, was baptized by her brother Nick. She has the deepest testimony of Jesus Christ- you can just feel it. And the strongest desire to follow Him. She has been waiting since the 1990s to be able to come to the U.S. and be baptized. That is my whole lifetime. It was so humbling to realize that. And to realize how dangerous it is for others to be Christians in other countries. It made me stop and consider my own conversion: would I risk my life to follow Jesus Christ? Zahra wore a beautiful white head wrap with her jumpsuit for modesty and she looked celestial. After she was baptized, we helped her into the dressing room and she kissed our hands and then looked up to heaven and offered a prayer of gratitude. So humbling for me. The most powerful part was when our wonderful Relief Society President got up to welcome Zahra to the Relief Society. She was so overcome with the Spirit that she got down on her knees in front of Zahra, took Zahra's hands, and could only say,"You are my sister." It was powerful and it was all she needed to say. The Spirit taught us the rest.

And the Women's Conference right after the baptism!!! Am I just a missionary or was that meeting incredibly spiritual?! I was so overwhelmed by the Spirit in that meeting and I don't have words to express how I felt. It was supernal (as all those General Authorities like to say). If you didn't get a chance to watch it, WATCH IT! I felt my testimony of our Savior deepen. I know He lives. He knows us perfectly and through Him, we truly can become our real and happiest selves. We can reach our Heavenly Father's potential for us. How grateful I am for His infinite, atoning sacrifice that makes it possible and how grateful I am for His restored gospel that enables us to access the strengthening power of His Atonement through sacred covenants and temple ordinances. We are so blessed!

Love you all so very much! Thank you for your continued love and support! Have a beautiful week!

Love,
Sister Wheeler Jr.

Week 70: Busy bees

September 22, 2014

Dearest family and friends,

Correction on last week’s email title: I thought I was so clever with my play on words to describe both the beginning and the width of our chubby car, Narwal, but I discovered shortly after leaving the library that “girth” was the word I was looking for. #witfail :)

More importantly and speaking of clever wordsmiths, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO VICTOR MONREAL!!! Thank you for being such a wonderful addition to our family! You are so fun and easy to be with. You just have a way of making everyone feel so comfortable.  I look forward to discussing literature and watching SYTYCD with you again soon! Thanks for taking such great care of Nat, Fiona, and Odette! Love you, Victor!

This week has been great! And life with Sister Watts continues to be nothing short of hysterical. Pretty sure the Elders think we’re crazy. :)

Highlights include:

Saturday, we went to help clean up the yard of an inactive family and it was a riot. I just love serving people! It feels so good to just forget about your worries and focus on lifting the burdens of others. The funniest part was when Sister Watts went sprinting past me freaking out about bees. I laughed pretty hard because she’d been freaking out about any bees that flew past us this week, so I just thought she was over-reacting again. But after a few minutes, the Spirit said to me, “You’d better go check on your companion.” I went inside the house to find that she had actually been swarmed by bees and stung EVERYWHERE. Thankfully, she didn’t have a reaction or anything and I think she was acting WAY too tough, because she wanted to just keep working. The two of us cleaned the inside of the house while her stings calmed down. She reminds me of Natalie in that “Spider Saves Christmas”/hard-worker way. And she also laughs like Nat, so it’s that much funnier. :) It’s so interesting how different companions have reminded me of different people in my life. Anyway, I feel bad for laughing at her, but we’ve laughed a lot about it since. It was right out of a movie the way she was surrounded by a swarm and running from them! Once again, we provide plenty of entertainment for our Elders. :)

Another highlight on Saturday evening: We were on our way to an appointment in New Britain and we'd just talked to a pretty promising potential investigator on the street and given him a Book of Mormon, so we were on a high. Then we drove past a little family out for a walk and I was like, "Sister Watts, we can't just drive past that family! We have to stop and talk to them!" But we couldn't find a parking spot soon enough, so by the time we did, we were sure they'd either gone inside somewhere or walked way ahead of us. We were sprinting around a side of a building, hoping they were on the other side, and when we spotted them coming around the corner, we slowed down and tried to play it cool. But when we got to them, we were panting and Sister Watts blew our cover and was like, "We just wanted to talk to you!" :) We breathlessly shared a bit of the Restoration with them and gave them a copy of the Book of Mormon. The mom, Shayla, seemed open and gave us her phone number (her husband, Jose, was SO not interested). But, hopefully we can get something going with them! Whether or not we do, it still feels SO good to share the gospel with others! You can feel the Spirit so strongly and you know that Heavenly Father approves and is thankful for your efforts. :)

We also had a great visit with the Relief Society President and for two hours she talked to us about the people she's concerned about and wants us to help. It was AWESOME. We feel so needed and used in this ward. It is the BEST!

Also another funny story: We are teaching Zahra, an Iranian woman who only speaks Pharsee, and this Sunday was the first time she stayed for 2nd and 3rd hour. Her brother usually sits with her and translates, but he had to be in an interview and then Priesthood meeting, so during Gospel Principles, Sister Watts and I basically played Pictionary and Charades with her to explain the lesson on Eternal Marriage. It was so funny! Pretty sure she thinks we're crazy, too, but we think she appreciated it. :)

It has been so incredible to teach with Sister Watts and feel her powerful testimony of the Savior. The Spirit has been so strong as we've talked about Him together and pondered on His Atonement. I know He lives and I know that through Him, we can be made clean and spotless and return home to our Heavenly Father. What an incredible tender mercy that is. The Book of Mormon testifies of that on almost every page. It was been so beautiful to look for and notice how often those tender mercies are referenced. It truly is Another Testament of Jesus Christ. Do all you can to look for those as you study and I promise a sweet Spirit will come more fully into your life and you will have a stronger desire to help others come unto Christ. It is such a blessing to be able to do so!

I love you all so very much! Have a wonderful week.

Love,

Sister Wheeler Jr.

P.S. Attached are photos that will show you 1. The hilarity of Sister Watts and 2. THE BEAUTIFUL FALL COLORS THAT ARE EXPLODING! I gasp every time we start driving somewhere!

P.P.S. I am SO excited about Lerma, Mom and Dad! What a huge tender mercy!

Week 69: The Berth of Narwal, the Brave

September 15, 2014

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. :)

Week 68: Surprise!

September 8, 2014

Dearest family and friends,

This is going to be a quick email, but the biggest news is: I'M GETTING TRANSFERRED!!! What in the world?! I was not expecting this! Especially since President Packard told both Sister Patterson and I that she would be leaving. But, true to form, President received different revelation when it came down to it. :) We are both being honorably released as Sister Training Leaders and I will be shotgunning into Cromwell, Connecticut with Sister Watts (a different Sister Watts, funny enough!). She's coming from Martha's Vineyard and has been out 2-3 transfers. We won't totally be alone- there are already Elders there and they already have us all moved in. :) I'm excited to work on a team with Elders again! And it sounds like the ward is excited to have us. President said they've been begging for Sisters for a year. :) And the work there is on FIRE! Sister Patterson will be training a brand new missionary here in Amherst and she is so excited. It will be just perfect for her! She has such a wonderful handle on the work here and has a great relationship with the members and investigators. And she will be the kindest trainer. I am excited for her to have the opportunity to train! So, we'll be heading to transfers on Wednesday where I'll say goodbye to Mama Hollan! :( I will miss her! 

It has been an absolutely incredible week. I have had some very sacred experiences that have solidified my testimony of the Restored gospel. One experience included going to the temple to do baptisms with my favorite Julie Dexter! The Spirit of peace there was overwhelming and as I reflected on the way home, I thought, "How could this be anything but true? Only a true prophet could have brought such power back to the earth." I know that Joseph Smith is the prophet of the Restoration. This is the Restored gospel and church of Jesus Christ. I know that our Savior lives and that his Atonement has power to change us, heal us, comfort us, and bring us home to our Heavenly Father. How grateful I am for Him, for sacred ordinances and covenants that allow us to be re-connected with our loving Heavenly Father, and for the Spirit that witnesses so powerfully of these truths.

I love you all so very much! Have a beautiful week!

Much love,

Sister Wheeler Jr.

Week 67: Return of the students... and the humidity?!

September 1, 2014

Dearest family and friends,

Happy Birthday to Ladriel this week!!! I can't believe you'll be in Young Women's now! Stop growing up so fast! :)

It's interesting how I've been in college towns for all of my mission. I guess it makes the environment a bit more familiar to me since the school cycle is what I've been doing my entire life. Slower summers and then the excitement and energy that comes with the start of the school year. It's nice! Especially when I don't have to stress about homework. :) #notrubbingitin #okmaybealittle

So yes, the town population has shot up exponentially in the last week or so. And for some reason the humidity we've been without all summer is deciding to show it's sticky face. :P But, we had fun on Saturday volunteering to help students move into the UMASS dorms. Serving a mission has helped me to better appreciate the wonderful feeling you get from just serving others. It's nice to not have anything to worry about (homework, finances, etc) and to be able to focus entirely on what someone else needs. It's way more fulfilling than fussing about your own worries. :)

We're excited about the return of the students in conjunction with the Joseph Smith fireside President Packard will be presenting at our chapel on the 13th. We're just down the street from UMASS and we've got some great advertising plans and we're just excited for the event to create more low-lying fruit. The ward members seem to be excited to have something they can invite their friends and co-workers to, especially when they've been asking them questions about the church.

In investigator news, we haven't been able to meet with Adrien. Every appointment we had this week fell through. Satan is the worst. And he told us he had a ride to church, but didn't show up. And when we called, he said he was still planning to come to dinner and a lesson at a member's house Sunday night. But he totally stood us all up. We are planning to stop by for a bit of a DTR tonight. Hopefully it's just a culture thing, but we will see!

In better investigator news, we had a wonderful lesson with Alex last night. Our ward missionaries, the Youngs, returned to town and they were willing and ready to come. (I LOVE MEMBERS!) Sister Patterson and I have been worried about Alex all week because his conversion is going so well and because of how things went poorly with his sister Melany after she showed a similarly strong testimony, so we decided to fast on Sunday. I am so grateful for that commandment. I have gained a much better testimony of it on my mission. It is a privilege to show the Lord our faith and earnest desires by coupling fasting with prayer, especially in behalf of others. Please continue to pray for Alex! We invited him to be baptized on November 8th and he was open to it! There's a lot to do before we get there and I know that the opposition will be greater the closer we get, so please remember him in your prayers. He is such an honest seeker of truth and a GOOD kid! It is such a miracle that we met him in the parking lot in July. It is so fun to see the Lord's hand in this work! And so humbling!

I also got a letter from my dearest Caty this week! TOTALLY made my day! I love that girl so much and am so proud of her!

In P-day news, true to form, I schooled Sasha, Kat, and Sister Patterson at TTR last week (although Sister Patterson did VERY well for her first solo game). Today we're headed to see some beautiful old sights in Leverett with a member and I'm excited to have some time to photograph this beautiful area. (Did I mention the leaves are ALREADY turning?!)

I love you all so very much! This is the truly the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. What a blessing it is to have it in our lives and to bring others closer to Christ by sharing it. I know that our Savior lives and that He loves us! I am so grateful for the way my testimony of Him is deepening as I serve. It is such an incredible blessing! Do all that you can to draw closer to Him- there is nothing more rewarding.

Much love!

Sister Wheeler Jr.