August 20, 2012

Hola Familia!

 

So, I am finally getting "the Boot" i will be transferred this week to a new area. I am having very mixed emotions about it, but i know that it is for the best. I had a great last Sunday with the branch too! This past week just was a really good one! We went to the Fair, moved apartments, found a couple really cool new investigators, learned a lot, ate a really good salad from the Marketplace... life was really good this week. :)

 

I am really sad to be leaving Des Moines though... I have been here forever and have come to love the people so much! I guess that is what happens, you leave the people at home you love to come on a mission, then you meet new people- love them! and then you have to leave. Good thing I will be coming back to visit the BEST MISSION IN THE WORLD!!! (which is Des Moines, Iowa for those of you who need clarification)

 

Holy cow! The fair was so fun! Everyone in our Zone was there including some other Zones AND President and Sister Jergensen were there too (my mission President) It was really fun! We enjoyed a really long corn dog, a deep fried snickers bar (SOOO YUMMY-PS) and a deep fried hot dog rapped in bacon. hahaha!!! Hermana Baird and I didnt eat for the rest of the day and went on a nice little jog the next day.HAHA! We also saw a lot of the animals. Hermana Baird got her horse fix... well, kind of, she said she really misses riding them. :) Anyways, it was a blast!

 

So, here is something that I have had on my mind a LOT this week! One of our new investigators is from Cuba. And if you know anything about Cuba, you know that they are a Communism country. Well, he was telling us how the people in Cuba have no idea really who Jesus Christ is. They cant read the Bible and if you hand out any kind of material about Jesus Christ, you get thrown into prison (which happened to him). When we introduced the Book of Mormon to him, he just kept saying, " I have never heard of this Book." We both testified that it really is what it says it is, Another Testament of Jesus Christ. He just ate it all up. We read the Introduction with him and he was just in awe about it all. He just had such a firm grip on the Book of Mormon and just thanked us over and over again about sharing this knowledge that we have with him. We both bore testimony again to the truthfulness to the Book of Mormon and that is why we invite everyone to read it and then to pray about it so that they can receive this witness for themselves. Because that is how we gained our testimony and knowledge of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon.  Then, we invited him to offer the closing prayer. In the back of all of the pamphlets that we hand out there is a little explanation of how we pray. He read it over, and than began his prayer. It was the most simple, heartfelt prayer i think i have ever heard in my life. Then, he ended the prayer and looked at us and said, "I have never prayed before, not like that", we asked him how it felt and he said, "Magnificent, beautiful,... i dont have many words to describe how i feel right now" WOW! Hermana Baird and i after that lesson were just blown away! That was worth it! Even if we didnt teach anyone else in our entire mission, that would make our missions worth it!

 

How many of us really are thankful for the religious freedom in which we have?! How many of us read the Book of Mormon as the BEST Book, the BEST gift that the Lord has given us?! How many of us really pray with all our heart for the people we love and for the things in which we need?! I know that i have not been as grateful for the freedoms in which we have, especially religious freedom. Or about reading the Book of Mormon with a thankful heart that we have another Testament of Jesus Christ and the reality of His Atonement. I need to change the way I pray to my Heavenly Father with all my heart. My life has been changed in so many ways through my experiences I have had here in Des Moines! There are so many people who are starving for the truth! So many amazing people here in Des Moines and in Iowa! I love being a missionary so much! It makes me so happy!

 

I know that Jesus Christ lives! I know that God is our loving Heavenly Father, who loves us so much! I know that the Book of Mormon is true.  I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Later-day Saints is the Lords Church, and that it was restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith and that we have a living Prophet, Thomas S. Monson who leads and guides the Lords Church on earth today! I know that the Plan of Salvation is real and that it is made possible through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I know that Families are Forever! I love you all! Thank you for your letters and all the prayers and support in which i feel. I hope you all have a great week! Dont forget that you have a missionary that LOVES YOU in Iowa!!!! :)

 

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Love, Hermana Wadsworth

August 13, 2012

Hola Familia!!

 

It is a beautiful morning here in Des Moines. It is a little over-cast with a slight chance of showers. It is about 65 degrees outside which is just perfect weather to bust out the cardigan and we are getting ready to head to the State Fair with our Zone! (expect pictures next week!) This week has been CRAZY! Hermana Baird and I have been busy finding new investigators, packing, visiting less-actives, going to dinner AND lunch appointments(so much food...), and getting up every morning at 6 to go running. This past week seemed to fly by faster than the others. It is really sad cause i want time to slow down just a little more so that I can soak up more time with the Des Moines 5th Branch! I love the people here SO MUCH!!! It is going to be hard to leave, but I know that I will love the people in my next area too. I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY!!!! I cannot imagine my life being any different right now. So, this morning Hermana Baird and I were talking about this and how we cannot imagine anything else. Well, we came to the conclusion that even on the hardest days/times of our mission, we think we are doing more good on those hard days than on our best days at home. I feel like it is so true! Because even days that all of our appointments fall through, the work of the Lord still moves forward and we know that we have planted a little seed in the hearts of the people here. It is awesome! I love being the Lords servant, even if I am only planting seeds, it is worth it!

 

So, last Wednesday we had Zone Meeting and it was so bright and sunny and the weather was perfect. Well, Hermana Baird and I went to a library to do our language study (which was an hour) Well, by the time we got out, we saw these HUGE STORM CLOUDS ROLLING IN! And we were going to an appointment and it was only like a 5 minute drive away... by the time we got there, the clouds were over us and it started POURING DOWN!!!! Like really bad! We were soaked by the time we got to our appointment only to find out that his wife wasn't home so we left... well, we saw her pull up while we were leaving and we called her and she said that we can come over the next day. So, we drove around the corner and the Tornado sirens went off!!!! So scary! haha! We ended up going back to their house and teaching them a lesson till the storm stopped. (by the way, there was no tornado, just tornado like winds)  There is the crazy story for the day. :)

 

This past week has been a great one! It is crazy to see the difference between people's priorities. We were out finding people to teach and we met this guy who was going to school and playing soccer and everything like that. He said that he didnt really have time to pray or to do anything church related because he was just so busy! It was really sad to hear because I know that when we put God first in our lives that everything goes better. Our days really are better! Well, right after talking to him, we found a family that were all outside working on their roof. We started talking to this guy, his name is JR and he just got out of being in prison for like 3 years.  He said that the most important thing to him is his family and his relationship with God. We have a follow-up appointment with him. :) He was really cool!

 

Anyways, I sure do love all of you! I love getting you letters and hearing how life is going. HAPPY BIRTHDAY LOLLIE-POP!!!

 

I know that this Church is true! I know that Jesus Christ is the Savior and Redeemer of the word! I know that Heavenly Father loves us so very much and He wants us to be happy and successful in this life, that is why He gave us commandments. I know that families are forever!

 

I love you all! XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

 

Love, Hermana Wadsworth

August 6, 2012

BUENOS DIAS!!!

OH HOW SWEET THIS WORK IS!!! I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY!!!! IT IS THE BEST THING I HAVE EVER DONE IN MY LIFE!!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE IT SO MUCH!!! EVERY MINUTE!!!!  Ok, I hope that you can really feel my excitement that i have for this work. I really, really REALLY love being a missionary! This morning, I woke up on cloud 15 just super-duper happy to be a missionary! I have felt this way for a while, but today i feel like i am bursting at the seams!

 

This past week was a good one. We are looking for a new apartment because the 1st ward is getting 2 sets of missionaries and our apartment is in 1st area so we are getting the boot. Which is ok because we dont really work around where we live. We are looking for a more central location.  So, hopefully by today or tomorrow we will know for sure which apartment we are going to move to....

 

Ok, so on Saturday, we had a service project with all of our district to go help out at the Iowa games... YAY! Saturday was running and cycling which is good because like 2ish weeks ago, we did service for the Iowa game and we kept score for basketball from 7:30 in the morning to 8:30 at night with about 5 mins breaks in between each one... I am ok to not do that again... haha! But aways, so we were outside and all of a sudden, all of these clouds started rolling in... and they were greenish (which is sign for a Tornado!!) It was POURING RAIN SO BAD! I was DRENCHED!!! And since we are obedient, crazy missionaries, i backed out our car... which means I was even more drenched. HAHAH! It was so fun through... afterwards, it was scary at first cause we thought it was a tornado. Mer! It was nothing.

 

So, last night, we had such a great lesson with some former investigators! The Spirit was so strong and Hermana Baird and I just left that lesson on cloud 20! Since I am a really slow typer, I cannot write the whole staroy, but i will write a part of it that I think will really help everyone who reads my emails. Jose and Carolina are their names, they have 3 beautiful girls! Jose, after the lesson was over for the most part he said "I cannot change..." We then asked him. "Jose, do you believe in Jesus Christ?" He said, "Yes!"  Then Hermana Baird and I bore testimony that we really can change, we can become better people through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. We can pray and ask for help to change and He will help us. I know that this is true with all of my heart! I have seen it in the life of my family, in the life of others and in my own life! No matter what we have done, Jesus Christ still invites us to "Come unto Him". He loves us so very much! He desires for our happiness more than anything.

 

I know that this Church is true! I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God sent to us so that we will know that Jesus really is the Christ, what greater than out of the mouth of two or three witnesses?! :)

 

I love you all! Have a great week! XOXOXOXOX

 

Love, Hermana Wadsworth

July 23, 2012

Oooppss... HOLA!

 

Mi Familia- 

MAN! I cannot get over how good looking my family is! Mom, thank you for the pics at Will's Birthday, they made me happy! ALSO I loved seeing the pic of Michelle with Ted, Rex, Wally, Tim, Jared, Kristen, and  Mitch. It warmed my heart to see my friends too! haha! what a treat! MICHELLE- you are so lucky that you get to go on a mission, it is seriously the greatest thing ever! AND you are going to LOOOVVVEEE the MTC! I sure did! The Spirit is so strong there, i love it!

 

This past week seemed to fly by faster than the last. I know that I mention this every letter, but it really does. I feel like I just wrote you all a letter like yesterday. Is time flying by for anyone else?! I might just be super cray-cray! Anyways, I sure do love you all! Thank you for all your letters and pictures, I am going to be writing you all back ASAP! I promise.

 

Well, this past week was definitely a stretching week for me. I am not sure if I have mentioned this in the past, but I have not gone finding a lot on my mission (that is when you go door to door) and I am really rusty at it. This past week we had to stop teaching a lot of our investigators because they were just not progressing, not reading the Book of Mormon, nothing! It is really sad because we know that through the Book of Mormon we can come to know our Savior more and that the same church that Christ established when He was on the earth has been restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith. The Book of Mormon really is the keystone to our religion, if you take the Book of Mormon away we have no religion. Anyways, we we had to go finding and it is hard for me for some reason, to go up to a perfect stranger and talk to them. HAHA! I was so good at that when I was at home, why should now be any different?! Well, thankfully Hermana Baird has done her share of finding and she helped me a lot. It was really cool. We set goals of how many people we felt we could find in the looted time that we had to find! And guess what?! We hit our goal of finding people and also giving our Books of Mormon. We met this really cool guy that was working on his car outside. We both bore testimony of how the Gospel of Jesus Christ blesses families. He said that he didn't want to listen to anything that we say until he talks to his family about it. We then were able to bare testimony of how important that is, to have goals and to work together with your family toward the same goal. We gave him a Book of Mormon and invited him to read it with his family. He accepted the invitation and in the next week, Hermana Baird  and I will go back to their home and hopefully, teach their family about the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ!  I have such a testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and that it truly does bless our families.

 

I have been learning a lot about myself through teaching others. It has been such a blessing to be a missionary and to be able to teach and testify of the Savior and His atonement. He has changed my life and He has changed the lives of the people I have taught and I know that He can change your life too. All He asks for is a "broken heart and a contrite spirit". Turn to Him!

 

I know that this Church is true. I know that we truly can be changed through the Atonement of Jesus Christ! I know that He loves us! I know that God loves us perfectly and that He provided a way to return to live with Him again, which is through His Son! I love you all! And I pray for you daily!

 

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Con Amor,

Hermana Wadsworth

July 16, 2012

HOLA FAMILIA!

 

Well, another week has gone by super-duper fast! Hermana Draney went home to Wyoming and Hermana Baird and I are still here in Des Moines! This past week was a good one. Hermana Draney, bless her heart, got sick on Monday night and we were in the apartment all day on Tuesday as well. I learned a lot in those couple days. I love Hermana Draney and Hermana Baird so much! They are both such great missionaries! We had appointments that we had to cancel but it was so cool to see the people in our branch reach out to us in love. Hermana Gomez, who is the new Relief Society President, came over to our apartment and dropped off fruit for Hermana Baird and I so that we wont get sick and then some pills for Hermana Draney to take. It was such a tender mercy of the Lord! Hermana Draney was such an AMAZING missionary and I learned a lot from her. But you know what,  Hermana Baird and I are ready and determined to take what we learned from this past transfer and to "thrust in our sickles with ALL our might" and to bring others unto Christ.

 

There is a lady that we visit basically every week that we just love to pieces! She has been through a lot in her life and it almost brings you to tears. She has been taken advantage of because of her wealth and she has been walked all over by her children. Well, Hermana Baird and I went to her little apartment to visit her the other day and she asked us if we believe in miracles. We told her absolutely we do! She then went on to tell us that she doesnt believe in them. It was really sad to hear all of her reasons why she doesn't believe in them and that she thinks that God just doesnt care about her at all- which is not true! She said that every time she is feeling sad- someone from the Church would call her. She also said that when we started coming to visit her it was like two Angels walking in to her apartment. I found this quote from Elder Jeffrey R. Holland that I absolutely love about the love of God, it says, "The thing that God enjoys most about being God is the thrill of being merciful, especially to those who don't expect it and often feel they don't deserve it". I know that is true. I have seen it in my own life and in the lives of others. One day i was having a really bad day and I was feeling alone and do you know that happened?! Hermana Draney took me to the park and we blew bubbles! I felt not only that she loved me, but also that God loved me and He was showing me His love through another person. I hope and pray that every single one of us can always remember that when we have a thought to call or text someone, that we act on it! Because it is a prompting from the Holy Ghost and you could be acting as the hand of the Lord in that moment and you will be an answer to prayer. Also, for those who are the ones that feel like they are alone, I want you to know that you are never alone! That is what is so beautiful and perfect about that Atonement, "that because Jesus walked such a long, lonely path utterly alone, we dont have to do so" (also by Elder Holland) http://www.lds.org/pages/mormon-messages?lang=eng#none-were-with-him 

 

I feel so very blessed to be part of this great work in bringing others to Christ! I am so very humbled to be a servant of our Lord. I know that the Book of Mormon is true! I have been learning so much about the love of God and I know that one of the ways that He shows us His love is by calling Prophets to lead and guide us through these times. I know that President Thomas S. Monson is the God's Prophet on the earth today and that this is His Church! I love you all! I hope you have a great week!

 

Dios Les Bendiga!

 

Con Amor,

Hermana Wadsworth

July 30, 2012

Hello My Wonderful Family!

 

So, I have some really cool experiences and blessings that happened this past week which I am super excited to share with ya'll!

 

The week started our like every other, P-day: cleaning, writing letters, shopping, emailing.... etc. We had a few appointments that fell through that night, which was really sad! But since we are missionaries, we have a back-up plan for everything. Our back-up plan this day was to go heart attack our members. We had a couple this last week that our Branch President said that we should just go over to their house and just give them some extra support. So, off we went heart-attacking. :) We went to one families house to heart attack them, I will just say that the mothers name is Sarai. And we did a couple other familias too.

 

The next day, Martes (Tuesday) we went finding and found some pretty awesome potentials, and set up some appointments. Well, Hermana Sarai called us not too long later. She said "Hermanas, I need you help! Will you please come over tonight to help me?!" We told her we would. When we got their she was making cards to sent to her sister in Guadamala. See, her mom just past away about a month ago and wanted to make cards to send to everyone that helped out with the funeral and stuff since she was not able to go back. So, we helped her, but we didnt finish it all in one night... we took cards home to start helping out. This reminded me a lot about all of our friends and family that helped out the week before Dad's funeral. I pondered a lot about this and I felt so humbled to be helping Hermana Sarai with everything because I know what she was feeling and everything. We shared some stories about what happened after both of our parents died and WOW! It was such an amazing experience for me. Words cannot even describe it!

 

Then Miercoles we had an AMAZING lesson with an investigator, her name is Yessimar! She is such an amazing person and has such a strong desire to follow what the Lord wants. It is really sweet to be teaching her and hopefully next week we will start teaching her and her husband.  Well, that night we went back to see Hermana Sarai and she shared with us some stories from her mission in El Salvador! She is hilarious! She said that she really didnt want to gain weight when she was on her mission and that everyone in El Salvador LOVES to make bread and give it to them.... well, she would take a piece of bread and put it in her bag... and then when they would ask if she wanted more she would just say, "no thank you, that was great! Thank you so much!" HAHA! And then she would feed it to all of the dogs that just roam the streets of El Salvador.

 

Ok, now, Jueves (Thursday) we had an awesome district meeting! One of the Elders gave a training about the Plan of Salvation and it wasnt anything extravagant, but I just felt so much peace about hearing the words that Elder Bailey was talking about "Where do we come from? Why are we here? Where do we go after this life?"  I am so very, very grateful to a wonderful Father in Heaven, that has answered these questions for us! That there is a plan for us! That we can live with our families forever through the covenants, or promises, that we make to Him! He really does want us to have joy in this life! I know that that is true! So, that night, we went over to Diana's house (she is a member) and we had dinner. While we were talking we just started talking about Nauvoo and how our mission President said that if we can find a member to go with, we can use our p-day time to go to the Pageant. WELL- Diana said that she was planning on going Saturday with her family! And she invited us to come! Long story short, we got the OK to go! So, today I will not be writing any other letters than this one because we went to Nauvoo. AND! GUESS WHAT?!?!?!?!? I GOT TO GO DO A SESSION AT THE TEMPLE!!!!! It was such a HUGE blesssing! I just know that the Lord loves me and that He blessed us with the opportunity to go.

 

Saturday was a lot of fun! We left Des Moines at about 11 and then got to Nauvoo at about 2:30 just in time for the Temple session! Then, we did some really fun activities like stilts, they had wagon races stuff... it was just a blast! The boys had a lot of fun! And they said that they are going to go back next year too and rent a little cabin and do all the of things around Nauvoo.  It was just by far such a cool experience. The Pageant was really cool, I really liked it a lot. And so did Diana's husband, he is not a member, but he said that he felt the Spirit really strong! It was seriously such a cool time! I loved it! We didnt get home that night until 3... and we still had to get up at 630. Was it worth it?! ABSOLUTELY!!! So, small sacrifice is that I cant write anyone until next week. :) I sure do love you all!

 

I am so glad that yesterday was a good day for everyone! I just couldnt help but think about the Savior yesterday and that since because He lives, we will all live again! I know that this Church is true and that it is the only true Church on the earth today and that we are lead and guided by a Prophet of God. I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God and that we really can "come closer to Him by abiding by its precepts then by any other book." just like it says in the introduction of the Book of Mormon. I know the Book of Mormon is true because I have asked God if it is true, and who else better to ask then the giver of all truth!? I know that Heavenly Father loves us and that He wants us to be successful in this life and that He has  provided a way through sending His Son, Jesus Christ to the earth to Atone for our sins and to break the chains of death.

 

I love you all so very much! I hope you have a great week! XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

 

Love, Hermana Wadsworth