Guess Who Is Home?!?!

Welcome Home Sister Wilson!!!!

 

 

 

February 4

IT'S A SNOW DAY! Snow here in Missouri really bothers me. EVERYTHING shuts down. This is not me being dramatic; that's what really happens. School was cancelled yesterday because of leftover 'ice' from a storm Saturday and everything started shutting down for a storm that was suppose to roll in at 6am this morning. It came in around 7:30 but it's not bad. Just get in the 4 wheel drive and everything will be all right. Geez... us Utahn's know how to do it right. I love Missouri, though. It is a great place. And, we weren't going to do much today anyway. We are slightly bummed that our plans to go to a Chinese Buffet have been foiled a bit.... We'll get there, though. Take out tomorrow....?

Life has been good! We are working hard and striving our best to be diligent and "all in." The most momentous event of the week was the invitation we received to attend ward council. HUGE! I don't know that missionaries have ever been invited to go in LS2. We had a lot of cancelled appointments and other regular 'missionary' stuff going on but we feel like we accomplished a lot. Just yesterday we taught 3 lessons; which is great for a Monday and little time in our area. We had the opportunity to eat with the Warnick family. Our dinner message consisted of everyone sharing their favorite scripture. It was a really neat experience; wish we'd thought of sooner.

Chinese New Year on Friday was a huge success. We were concerned because there was a freezing rain that was horrible to drive in but the turn out was great. S. Weng did an amazing job organizing and making sure everyone had fun. My job was to laminate (with contact paper) the book marks people were making. Mom, I would have made you proud. Unfortuneately, due to the weather, we were grounded Saturday morning but we were still able to go on shift at the VC Saturday night.

I really don't have too much to say about the week; just normal missionary finding and teaching stuff. I would like to leave you with my testimony, though. I want you to all know how grateful I am for the experiences I have had as a missionary. I know they have helped me to learn and grow more than I ever thought possible. I know WITHOUT A DOUBT that my Savior lives. That He loves me. That He has great plans in store for me. I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God translated by a prophet with God's help. I know that we are lead and guided by a prophet today. I know that our families are the most important social unit in time and all of eternity and that as we draw closer to the Savior individually our families will be stronger. I know this gospel is true. I know it is for us here on the earth today; to help us to grow and become who our Savior wants us to be. Two years ago I never wanted to be a missionary. Never wanted to leave home to travel in the great unknown. But the eternal perspective and knowledge that I have gained in the last 18 months is something that I will never forget. These experiences have helped me to become who I am; have helped me to grow closer to my Father and Savior; and helped me to be firm in the knowledge that I will never forsake this gospel. I love each of you so much and am so grateful for all your love, support, and prayers. Stay strong. Share the gospel. Pray for good weather. I LOVE YOU!!!

Sister Cristin Wilson

Janyary 28

Hello to my favorite people! I love you all so much and am so grateful for all you do for me! It's been a crazy fast week. Not a lot new has gone on but here's a little recap of the week...

Tuesday-we visited Ashley (a less active member). She is great! She has an adorable son, Keppler. Ashley is always real open and willing to let us in. We had a great half hour conversation with her about why she has strayed from the gospel path. One of the great things about being a 'veteran' missionary is the ability to be super bold with people. We'll stop by in the next week or so to see how she's doing.

Wednesday-INTERVIEWS! We had about 3.5 hours of interviews and spent the rest of the day at the visitor center. I love being with President and Sister Keyes; they always make me feel better about myself and the things that I am doing/have done as a missionary. Our evening shift was with the Godfrey's... It was our last one with them; they returned home from their mission on Friday. They will be missed but I look forward to getting to know the new couple; the Melin's from... Montana...maybe?

Thursday-we did our weekly planning and had lunch with S. Vance from the ward. It was really great! She made a version of tater tot casserole that I hadn't had before. She is a an amazing person. She has lots of friends from Utah so she told me when she visits we'll have to go out for lunch sometime.

Friday--our full proselyting day. We tried to find a lot of people but didn't have much success, we were out during the middle of the day. But we did get to have a great dinner with the Morby family and then we had a lesson with Shayla. Shayla has concerns about being baptized but she is still excited to go to church and learn more about what we believe. She is a great kid; I love getting to know her.

Saturday-we served at the V.C. in the morning and then visited the Resch family. They are a Vietnamese family who likes to talk. They are great, though! We had dinner with the Tonga family--LOVE THEM! They are super cute and are fantastic missionaries. We met with Kaila and Bruce that night. Kaila is a member of the church but Bruce is not. I am so grateful to be able to work with and know them. They are amazing people.

Sunday-is still my favorite day. I absolutely love church. We got to eat dinner with the Bishop's family and then we needed to be back at the V.C. Our Sundays are pretty full and don't leave any time to be out in our area proselyting.

Monday-was kind of a bummer day. S. Harward wasn't feeling well so we left her at the VC to get some rest. S. Weng and I went to the area but both of our appointments cancelled. Such is the life of a missionary. It all worked out, though. We got to have a lesson with a less active member and meet 2 unknown families. We considered it a successful day.

And here I am again. It's been a good week. I am so grateful to be able to serve with all the wonderful people that I do. I know that each of these Elders and Sisters that I have come into contact with has greatly blessed and influenced my life. I know that I have been doing exactly what my Heavenly Father needs me to do. I know that He is always there, guiding us to become better. I know that I have a Savior who lived and died and lives again so that I can have the opportunity of being with my family for eternity. I know that I have the greatest family in the world. I love you all. Stay strong. Share the gospel!

Love you!

Sister Wilson

January 14

(Don't know how this ended up here... We're at the Federal Reserve!)

Hello to all my favorite family!!! I hope you are all doing well, staying warm, and having a 'normal' week. Life in Missouri is going great! We have passed the awful cold weather and are now sitting in the 30's and 40's. Yesterday it even got to the mid 50's. Who knew the mid-west could have such amazing weather? And some not so amazing weather. Great place, this Missouri. As you may have noticed.... I am writing a bit later today. This morning the Godfrey's (a senior couple that serves at the VC) took the 3 of us to the Crown Center in Kansas City. It was so much fun! Honestly, it's the only touristy thing I have done my entire mission. We went to the Union Station and the Federal Building. We were going to go to the Hallmark museum but they were closed. We also got to see an Orchid cave. Man! I didn't realize how much there is to see in KC! I can't wait to bring you all back here on vacation one day; there really is a lot to do! Everything we did today was free (except for lunch) which is even better. For lunch the Godfrey's took us to Fritz's. It's a restaurant where you order the food by phone then a train car brings it to you and it's lowered down a ..... something. Don't know. The point is that the train brought us our food; super cool. And quick. And yummy. Definitely a must see!

Ok... To our week. Our pday ended late last week because we had a conference call with President Keyes and the assistants. It was a really great training. Wednesday we had the opportunity to attend district meeting. Always a great experience. I love the Elders that we have the pleasure of serving around... There aren't any other Sisters in our zone so... Gotta love the Elders. Let me see... Thursday we planned for the week. Always a great experience. Friday was our full proselyting day. We taught 5 lessons which is fantastic! We met with Shayla, our 11 year old investigator. She is on date to be baptized on February 1st; YEAH! Saturday we were on exchanges; Sister Liu joined Sister Weng and I for the day. That night we had an Asian dinner with Kaila and Bruce-love that family. Sunday is still my favorite day-I love church!

The visitor center has been pretty slow as of late. Like... No-one-came-in-during-our-6-hour-shift-yesterday-slow. I do appreciate the extra study time we have as I do have a Book of Mormon to finish but... I miss giving presentations, too. The Godfrey's are leaving the mission next week so we spent some time writing them a departure song--We can only study for so long!

Life is good! I love sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. I love knowing that I am making a difference in the lives of people around me. I love that I get to exemplify my Savior in such amazing ways each and every day. I am so grateful for the opportunity to learn and grow and do better. I know that I am doing exactly what my Heavenly Father needs me to do. I know that He has a plan for each and every one of us. I know that this gospel is true. I know Christ is my Savior and Redeemer.

I love each of you and am so grateful for your continued support. I LOVE YOU LOTS!!! Stay strong!

Love,

Sister Wilson

 

At the Union Station

 

 Orchids grown in a cave!!!

 

January 7

2014?! Really? Another year has come and gone. We had a zone training this week where we had the opportunity to reflect on the things that we had accomplished in the past year. Man! I have experienced so much growth and learning this year, it's crazy!

We have had a good week. We were not able to be in our area as much as we wanted to but we still felt that we accomplished a lot. Last week we rang in the new year at 10pm on December 31; it was great. I was dead asleep to the fireworks and chaos that apparently happened at midnight. It was fun. I am so grateful for the sisters I have the opportunity to live and serve with. They are so great! And there are only 5 of us which, I am sure, cuts down on the drama that could be present.

Wednesday was a slow day at the VC. Don't think we had many guests come in. And those that did show up came right at shift change; they always seem to do that. Come in right when we need to be on our way out the door. It's all good, though, everything worked out. We had dinner with a new family in the ward then went to visit some potential investigators but didn't have much success. It started to snow during dinner, which didn't bother me, but when the snow started freezing to the windshield wipers I made an executive decision and drove back to Independence. Better safe than sorry, right? Thursday was another slow day at the VC but I love the extra study time I get. I'm trying to finish the Book of Mormon by the beginning of next month. I am SO close! It's been a fun exercise for me; I have learned so much! We got to have dinner with a couple of ward missionaries from Wisconsin; they are really fun. Fed us lots of chicken pot pie.

Friday we had our zone training. I always love being with the other missionaries but it's kind of weird being the only sisters in the zone. AND we don't even live inside our zone; we are in this weird limbo state where we really don't get the opportunity to know everyone because we have a different pday and are so far disconnected. It's all right, though. I've spent half my mission in the Kansas City Stake and I LOVE it! It's a great place to be. After a somewhat rushed lunch/study session we met with Saul and Karina. They are our Spanish speaking investigators. I don't really know what happened during the lesson, our member team up spoke (in Spanish) with them basically the entire time. Interesting experience. We had dinner with the Lencioni's who just got sealed about a week and a half ago. SO COOL! They are a solid couple and are just amazing. I am so grateful for the opportunity to know and love all of them.

Saturday S. Weng and I had the opportunity to attend the temple. It was a much needed reprieve for the both of us. (Don't worry, S. Harward went on exchanges for the day.) I always love being in the temple and am so grateful for the peace and comfort I always feel while I am there. I learn something new every time I go and always feel rejuvenated until the next time I can go. After our session, which went long, the Godfrey's took us to lunch at the Corner Cafe in Liberty. I love the Godfrey's so much! They have been here for basically my entire mission; they leave at the end of the month, though. It'll be bittersweet to see them go.

Saturday night it snowed pretty good but we braved the half hour drive to church. The roads were pretty slick but this expert Utah driver handled it like a pro... That said, I miss 4 wheel drive! We didn't get time to be at a member's home for dinner because we met with Bishop after church then had to drive back to the VC to be on shift. But we did have good conversations with our ward mission leader and the bishop so we felt it was a successful day. It was good to be at the VC, too. Away from the -25 degree weather that was blowing around outside. YUCK! No fun at all!

I think that's about all the events for the week. It went by fast. I'm doing great. I love being a missionary. I love being surrounded by the spirit 24/7/365 and making a difference in people's lives. I am so grateful for the challenges and trials I face that help me to learn and grow and become better. I know that I am doing exactly what my Heavenly Father needs me to do right now. I know that He lives and wants each one of us to strive to become more like our Savior every day. I know that as we do those little things (ie: pray, read the scriptures, pray) that everything else will fall into place for the big things to be easier to handle. I love each and every one of you and am so grateful for the influences you have been in my life. I couldn't be a stellar missionary without your love and support. I love you all! Keep on keepin' on. Stay strong. Share the gospel. I LOVE YOU!

Sister Wilson

P.S. Internet went down...sorry no pics!

 

December 31

Another year has come and gone! My goodness... I think this is the fastest year ever! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and have great plans to ring in the new year. Sister Forbush (a housemate) has amazing plans to ring in the new year at 10pm so we can make our 10:30 curfew.... Party it up as missionaries!

We had a great Christmas! Christmas Eve we spent with Bishop Thompson and his family. They had BBQ take-out so it was very reminiscent of home. After we stuffed ourselves silly we had a program put on by his family. Each of the kids performed a musical selection and we watched a Mormon Message and sang songs and read the Nativity. It was great night. His family gave us Kansas City Chief shirts for which I was very grateful; I didn't want to buy my own! They wanted us to have something to remember Kansas City by.

Christmas morning we had breakfast at the VC with all the other Sisters, senior couples, office staff, facilities management personnel, and President and Sister Keyes. We (sister missionaries) acted out the Nativty for everyone and had a sing along. President Keyes read a book that he had written. It was a really fun morning. When we were done we quickly drove to the Perry's home where we opened presents with them. It was really fun. Each member of their family had gotten us a gift. Super sweet of them and a great way to spend the morning. While S. Harward skyped her family S. Weng and I got to know the Perry's better. For lunch we headed back to our house and ate what we had available--mostly sugary stuff. I didn't eat really well because a member family was suppose to send dinner kind of early. We were at the VC by 3pm. It was a really slow night. All the Sisters took turns skyping. Best part of the day! I loved seeing those of you I could and am sad I missed the rest of you. I got a little personal study done then got distracted by the brain teasers the Godfrey's had brought for us. (Only day they'd do that--it was incredibly slow--2 people in 6 hours). [Oh, yeah! Someone try to find the game IZZI for me, k?] Time flew by and before I realized it I was starving but we couldn't get a hold of our members. We sent texts and left voicemails. Around 8:30pm we heard from them... THEY FORGOT! So, yeah... My Christmas dinner consisted of tamales leftover from another ward. Yum! The family that was supposed to feed us redeemed themselves on Sunday night. However... We will probably never let them live it down.

It was a good day. The rest of the week we worked hard to find those who were prepared to hear the gospel. We did our best but it was a slow week. We had a great day at church on Sunday and had a good day yesterday. Heavenly Father is really blessing us for our efforts. I'm really grateful for this opportunity to be a missionary. I know I needed to wait until later to go. It's been a blessing in my life that I definitely needed now. I'm grateful to be at the VC. Not only because it is warm inside but also because of the things I am learning here and the people I get to meet. Yesterday, S. Harward and I got to take 2 young men on a presentation. Neither one of them was a member of the church. We had a great discussion with them and planted a huge seed. They didn't leave their info with us but I know that one day they will read the Book of Mormon we gave them and have a desire to learn more.

This gospel is true! Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer. He loves each and everyone of us. He knows who we are and what we need to accomplish and overcome the things set before us. I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. I know President Monson is a prophet sent to lead and guide us. I know that our family is so great and such a wonderful blessing to me--and each of us! I love you all and so grateful for each of you. You have all blessed my life in countless ways! I LOVE YOU!!

Sister Wilson

 

 

1--Christmas chaos

2--Our Christmas nativity

3--Fun!

 

 

December 24

MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE!!! I hope you all are having a good day and remembering the Spirit of Christ today. Since I will be talking with a lot of you tomorrow this isn't going to be real long.

I wanted to take a minute this Christmas season to bear my testimony of the Savior. I had to do this on 14 December at a Christmas program us Sisters put on at the VC.... In fact, I think I've even got it on DVD. I'm sure you are all so excited to see that, huh?

Anyway, I've been thinking a lot lately about the song "Mary, Did you Know?" At sing along I went to I had the opportunity to listen to/read the words and they stuck with me. I think about the little Christ child born in a manger and wrapped in swaddling clothes. Do we know that He walked on water? Do we know that He gave sight to the blind? Do we know that He is the Son of God? The song goes on but I don't have the words right here with me. But they touched my heart. How much do we really know? Have we asked our Heavenly Father to tell us of these truths? Do we know those things our Savior did for us? As I see the Christus every day I think about the Atonement and what it does for me. I know that our Savior lives and loves each one of us. I know that He is always there waiting for us to lay our burdens at His feet. I know He wants to help us. I know He loves and cares for each one of us. I know that He has a plan for me. I know that His expectations for me are so much higher than I have for myself and He has a way prepared for us to accomplish those things. I know that this gospel is true. I know that through our Savior Jesus Christ is the only way for us to find that peace and happiness that we are looking for. I know that we are children of God. I know that we are here to be tested and tried; to find our way by faith rather than by sight. I know that we are led by a living prophet today. I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God translated by the power of God. I know our Savior lives.

I love each of you. Have a very merry Christmas.

Love,

Sister Wilson

P.S. I survived yet another transfer in the Lee's Summit 2nd Ward; looks like I'm gonna die here. S. Weng is still with me and S. Harward joined us. LOVE YOU!

Pics...

1--Christmas Eve dinner (at Olive Garden) with the Stevenson's!! (S. Stevenson, Me, S. Weng, S. Harward, E. Stevenson)

2--We did service but S. Weng forgot her shoes and S. Harward forgot to bring her shirt. We were an interesting group for the day.

3--All the VC Sisters from last transfer