2 For 1

Oh hey! Tori here. Today you get the pleasure of reading not one, but two of Debs' emails! Enjoy :) (PS 39 days til she gets home, but who's counting?)

Email from last week (March 11, 2013):

 

LIFE IS SO EXCITING!!!! So, guess what?! We are getting 30 more missionaries this Thursday!!! 30!!!!! Isn't that so cool!!!!??? And only 8 missionaries or so are going home. The Lord truly is hastening his work! And I am going to be training one of the Hermanas coming!!! She is going to be waiting for her Visa to go through so we arent sure how long we will have her, but either way I am really excited to train!! Even though it is a little stressful- I know the Lord will help me!

 

I have to tell you a really cute story! So, we went over to see Tami and Mat this week (Mat is an investigator) ANYWAYS, we were over there visiting Tami because Mat was at work. She said that she "caught" Mat the other day reading the Book of Mormon is the hallway to the kids rooms.... she said, " I came around the corner and saw Mat, I said, 'What are you doing?' and he, while shoving the thing he was doing underneath him said 'Nothing!' Then she said, 'Are you reading the Book of Mormon?' He said, 'yeah..... I just didnt want you to know....'" haha!!! SO CUTE!!! He is loving reading the Book of Mormon!! It is so awesome! But this wasnt the only story I wanted to share with you.... The other one happened on Friday while we were just visiting Tami and I was talking to her son, Michael. Michael was looking at the Book of Mormon and just openned up to a random page and started reading... then he asked me, "Is this Alma guy from Texas?" "What?!" I responded. He read in Alma 60:19-20:

 

19 Or is it that YE have neglected us because YE are in the heart of our country and YE are ^asurrounded by security, that YE do not cause food to be sent unto us, and also men to strengthen our armies?

20 Have YE forgotten the commandments of the Lord your God? Yea, have YE forgotten the captivity of our fathers? Have YE forgotten the many times we have been delivered out of the hands of our enemies?

He was thinking like: YE-HAW!!! hahah! such a cutie!! He is 9.

 

We had really good lesson with Raz this week. He has a lot of things still to work through just because of the way he was raised. He is an awesome guy though with really good intetions. His prayers are so sincere and we both feel like he is coming a long so well. Especially since he doesnt really know if God is there, BUT he has a testimony of Jesus Christ. He doesn't seem to really doubt Christ. It is just a very interesting and faith growing experience to teach him. He just blows our minds!! I will have to send you a picture of him soon.

 

We have been going through our Branch directory this past week and finding all these part-member families! They are all such great people. We have found that so many of them are related to active people in the Branch or are still in contact with people in the Branch.  There are so many of them that know that the Church is true and just don't want to make changes. I know that our lives really are happier when we found them on the teachings of Jesus Christ. Not only that, but also going to Church is so very, very important! That is how we renew our baptismal covenant. That is how we "always have  His Spirit to be with us".

 

I know that this Church is Christ's Church. I know that the Book of Mormon is Another Testament of Jesus Christ! I know that this work is God's work! I know that Jesus Christ lives!!! I love you all!!! I hope you have a great day!!!!!!!!

 

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

--

Con Amor, 

Hermana Wadsworth 

 

Email from this week (March 18, 2013):

Have I told you how much I LOVE LOVE being a missionary!?!??! It is the most exciting thing EVER!!! You get to meet people, help them build their faith in the Lord and also help them make covenants with Him. It is just the greatest!!!

 

So, we are now the Tres Hermanas!!!!!! Hermana Smith is so awesome! Brand new from the MTC and just ready and willing to hit the pavement running! She is so awesome! She is from Brigham City, UT and is just a joy to be around. She has an incredible memory! And her Spanish is definitely better then mine was... and she was only in the MTC for 6 weeks instead of the 9 that I had. The Lord really is hastening His work. She is a Visa waiter right now, she is called to the Argentina Mission. Apparently that is happening a lot now since there are so many missionaries going out, getting Visa are taking longer. I really don't understand why, but either way, I am excited that Hermana Smith is here. :)

This past week we had an AMAZING lesson with Liz! I don't know if I have told you about her, but she is just eating up everything that we put down. The Plan of Salvation is so real! I know that with all my heart. This life is not all! We are all children of God and He loves all of us. He created this earth for us and so that we can return to live with Him. He provided for us His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ to come into the earth to redeem us from the Fall. We can repent from our sins! And not only can we repent, but also whenever we are having a hard time in our lives we can pray to Heavenly Father in the name of Jesus Christ and we receive strength to overcome. I don't really understand how it all works, but I know it does because I have prayed and have been enabled! It is because of Jesus Christ that this is made possible.

 

Raz is doing good... he still has his set backs and we are trying to help him with them. The biggest thing is Joseph Smith, he thinks that Joseph Smith wrote the Book of Mormon... He didn't write it- he TRANSLATED it by the power of God! When you read the Book of Mormon, you feel the Spirit. Just like when you read the Bible you feel the Spirit. They are both the word of God! AH! OK, I will get off of my high horse now. I just know the Book of Mormon is true because I have read it and prayed about it and I received an answer by the Holy Ghost. And you can too!!! Pray with real intent... meaning, be willing to act on the answer that God gives you and you will receive it! I promise that!

 

I love this work! I know this is the Lord's work!!! I hope everyone who has the opportunity to go on a mission will go!!! This is the best time of my life!!! I love Hermana Stroud and Hermana Smith so much! They are both extraordinary women and missionaries! I am learning so much from both of them. I love the people here in Mount Pleasant! They are so great!!!! OH!!!! MAN! I wish I could send you pictures.... next week! But this past Tuesday and Wednesday we went to the Temple! Best ever!! I love the Temple so much!!! I WILL send you pictures next week! Have a great week!!!!

 

XOXOXOXOOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO
--

Con Amor, 

Hermana Wadsworth 

 

 

FAAAAACT

You guys my sister is awesome! I am so anxious for her to be home. I hope you enjoy her emails as much as I do! PS 52 days until she gets home!!!!!

Hello Family!!!

Did you know that the birthplace of John Wayne is in Winterset, IA?! I didn't know that till I was in Winterset this past weekend!! SO COOL!!! I didn't get to go to his home because the Lord's work is more important than that. BUT I did still take a picture of the street sign... haha! OH and that picture of the snow coming off the roof... SCARY!!! Haha! We did NOT walk under that....

Anyways- this week was so good! Have I told you how much I love my companion?! She is so awesome!! I will tell you some reasons why in a minute after I tell you what happened. So we have been working a lot with the members here! We have been serving them any chance we get. Well, this past week it has snowed a lot here so we thought of a list of members to go see and to shovel their sidewalks. So the happy little Arizona and Texas missionaries went on their happy way serving and having little lessons with our members and less-actives. It went really well and we found a lot of success in it. Towards the end of the night my left hand was a little achy, but not too bad. Well, I went to bed that night and at 3am I woke up in SO MUCH PAIN!! My whole left arm hurt and my back was throbbing... I laid back in bed and went to sleep. That morning we called the nurse and long story short, we had to stay in. I felt so foolish. I did not like it because that day we had some AWESOME plans to go and see some less-actives and members.... But Hermana Stroud was just awesome to me that day. She just served me all that she could and she made some cookies that we ended up giving to all of the Elders in our District. She is just so awesome!!

I just have to say, again. I AM SO EXCITED FOR WILL!!! And I am SO EXCITED for Justin!! We are all going to speak Spanish and just have a blast! And I feel like ya'll will be able to help me with my Spanish too because it is still a struggle for me. I do really good when I test myself on paper, but speaking not so good. I can understand good, but I am a little awkward of a speaker. Haha! Hermana Stroud and I speak it as much as we can too which has helped a LOT!

http://www.mormonchannel.org/have-i-done-any-good 

You have got to watch this music video! President Jergensen shared it with us on Friday and it is BOMB.COM worthy for sure!! I love it! It makes me so excited to do service for others! I think everyone should add this song to their iPods... haha! It is that awesome! :)

I love being a missionary and really helping others come to Christ. It is such a privilege! We went to Des Moines this past weekend for exchanges with the Sisters there and we went to visit this family. The dad's mother is dying of bone cancer and we could feel the heaviness that father was feeling because he was driving back and forth to help out his mom as best as he could. I was able to bear my testimony about the Atonement of Jesus Christ to that man. It was so cool to hear of his faith in Christ and about how he knows that he doesn't have to go through this trial alone.

I am so very thankful for a loving Savior who really does help us through the hard times as well as the easy times. I feel as humans we feel like "I just have to be tough and get through this". Why?! Why did Christ come here?! So "he could know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities" (Alma 7:11) He did what he did so he could help us! We dont have to do it alone! I know that to be true! I know that the Book of Mormon is true! I know that God speaks to us today through His chosen prophet, Thomas S. Monson.

I love you all!!! I hope you have a great week!!! XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

-- 

Con Amor,

Hermana Wadsworth