October 30 - Pics

Too many gray hairs!

 

Sister Coplan gearing up for Halloween...

Liberty Jail Sister's... Sister Conrow, Jones, Ogletree, Mendez, Me, Lisonbee, Coplan, and Altier

Award for our pumpkin

Our Pumpkin!

October 30

Holy cow! Where did the month go?! Honestly, it seems like I got here just yesterday but so much has happened. Talk about a humbling experience and learning so much about myself. It hasn't been a crazy busy week-it's the off season here at Liberty Jail so we've had some slow days. Last Tuesday after I emailed we went to lunch with Elder and Sister Stevenson; a senior couple from Alpine, UT. Sister Lisonbee is leaving next week so they took us out as a farewell to her. That afternoon we went to the Tyler's (an older couple in the ward) for dinner.... I was super leery about the yellow chicken-seriously, it was bright yellow. Turned out to be curry and wasn't too bad. We did service for the Tyler's on Wednesday afternoon. Honest to goodness yard work. I picked all the tomatoes, pulled out the tomato plant, pulled out 4 o'clock bushes, and transplanted a Lily. Mom, you would have been proud of me. I had some nasty green nails to prove how hard I had worked. Before I could get a picture, though, we had to high-tail it to Chick-fil-a to our dinner appointment with the Creswell's. Man, this ward spoils us! We had a great conversation with Mercedes after dinner. Mercedes is a 17 year old girl who is a non-member living with the Emmett family who are members. She's been really stand offish with us before but really opened up to us this night. To help out the Emmett's we decided to clean up their kitchen--MESSY! We had a great assembly line going. All of a sudden, I hear Sister Coplan laughing. I looked up to see blood gushing (literally) from her hand! There was a broken glass in the dish water. It was a pretty bad cut but it's healing well now. I won't send pics of it, though. Thursday night we had a pumpkin carving activity that the Simper's (another senior couple) provided for us. It was really fun; and you know how much I LOVE anything that has to do with Halloween. Friday morning we had district meeting and interviews with President Keyes (I passed!) Friday afternoon was a bit disappointing. We had 3 solid appointments fall through! Ah! Two of our investigators were sick and the other is avoiding us. Satan is really frustrating me bad this week. So, we've knocked a lot of doors this week and didn't really have a successful investigator lesson week--better luck next week, huh? Saturday was super interesting-we had exchanges. I went with Sister Ogletree (in the MTC with me) and Conrow. I will just say how grateful I am to Sister Lisonbee and Coplan. They have really taught me lots of good stuff and are making me work; I wasn't okay with it at first but see how much I needed that to be effective. I learned a new appreciation for how our attitude plays into our missionary work. I was really grateful to be back with my comps at the end of the day. Sunday after our shift at the Jail we visited a few less active families. For dinner we went to a Sister's house who I have done service for before, who has seen me with my comps at Walmart, and who sits by us sometimes at church. So we walk into the house and she says "Oh, I didn't know SHE was coming. Guess I'll get another plate." Umm, yeah, felt real welcome. Before heading home for the night we visited with Nonnie, her kids, and their dad, Avel. I love this family. They always welcome us into their home and are so kind and considerate. Avel was just recently baptized and we are working on getting him to the temple. We think it would be great for him to go with his kids. Yesterday was also a lot of door knocking with little success and an extremely slow night at the Jail. I got caught up on my journal writing, though, and am working on memorizing my lessons. I have to memorize all 5 lessons before I can drive. I'm hoping to pass off number 4 on Friday.

Well, that was just one long run on paragraph but... I've got an interesting spiritual insight for you. In the Bible Dictionary under "earnest" we read... "As used by Paul it means that the Lord gives us his Holy Spirit in this life as a foretaste of the joy of eternal life. The Spirit is also the Lord's surety that he will fulfill his promise to give eternal life to the faithful." How wonderfully awesome is that?! Not only do we have a small slice of heaven here on earth but it's God showing us in good faith that if we keep our end of the covenant that He will follow through on His! I love the bible dictionary!

So, that's about it for my week. I get to be on shift at the Jail tomorrow night-best way to spend Halloween! Send my love to everyone who asks about me. I love you all and hope everyone is still healthy and strong. As always, you're in my prayers. Love you all a ton!

Hugs and kisses!

Cris

October 23

Hello, everyone! I can't believe how fast each week goes! Is time flying by as fast for you as it is for me?

We had a great week last week--we taught 21 lessons. Well, we wish they would have all been with investigators but they were not, just random lessons we taught. We were so excited for Sunday, we had 12 people that were suppose to come to church! We got one... Dang! I've told you about Kimberly, right? She was going to come but she had an awful night with one of her kids, she promised to be there next Sunday. When we met with her last Friday she was so excited to tell us about the revelation she had received that she was going in the right direction and that she should continue to look into the "Mormon" church. It was great! We have a Halloween activity on Saturday we're going to invite her and her family to.

Chris was suppose to come to church, too, but he wasn't feeling well and he forgot about our appointment yesterday-ah! We rescheduled for Friday and are going to have a member of the ward (Cody) go with us again. He came out with us last night, too. We knocked a bunch of doors. There is an elderly lady (Betty Robinson) in our ward. She had a hip infection recently and was hospitalized for a couple days. We went over yesterday to see how she was doing and ended up doing an hours worth of service. We were late for our dinner appointment but it was great. Last week at the Jail I met Mrs. Horgesheimer's son. It was kind of crazy; there aren't too many of them around. She is still alive and living in Bountiful. Life wasn't all that different this week; just a bunch of missionary work.

 

I am so grateful to get and read all of your emails. I am so happy to hear how well everyone (most everyone) is doing. I really do love being a missionary and am loving Missouri-it is beautiful country. One day I WILL get you all back here to see everything. Not only are there a bunch of church sites/historical markers but there is just a lot of history I won't get to see as a missionary. It's a wonderful place and I want to share it with you someday. Keep me posted on life-send pictures-and I will keep you in my prayers. LOVE YOU ALL!

Cristin

(Make sure the little ones see this picture! Remember-I'm holding you responsible if they don't know me!)

October 16

Hello, everyone! I was so grateful to hear from each of you. The weeks are flying by here! I cannot believe how fast time seems to go. It's really weird to think that I've been here for about 3 weeks. Time just flies by when you're having fun. Here's how the week has gone....

Tuesday: After p-day we had a dinner appointment with the Kesler family; soup day! It was really good but slightly awkward because they weren't a very talkative family. We went to the hospital to visit Elder Tubbs; a senior elder in charge of the cars. He had fallen and broken his hip. Since the hospital was in our area we paid him a visit. The doctor came in while we were there. We did ask his wife if we needed to leave but she said we would be all right. We learned a WHOLE LOT more than we ever needed to know about Elder Tubbs. I'm glad we went, though, because our visit was greatly appreciated.

Wednesday: We spent the morning at Liberty Jail. I LOVE serving there. The history comes alive for me and I love talking to so many different people. I actually met Debbi Ames 3rd cousin Pam Randall recently and had a co-worker from Knowlton come in. How small the world is. We did a lot of door knocking and talked to some nice people but no one really interested in learning more. That night we had an appointment with Chris; a man who had yelled at us from across the street when we were visiting someone else. I was really nervous about the appointment. Chris had been slightly (alot) intoxicated when he had first yelled at us and was enjoying a refreshing drink (not root beer) when we had first talked to him. We had invited along with us Cody Kesler (from the quiet family). The meeting went great! Cody actually talks and Chris was very receptive. He even controlled his need for a cigerette until we had left.

Thursday: Every Thursday we have a training meeting at the jail... I play the piano--what were they thinking?! Then we had zone training at a stake center next to the temple. Gorgeous temple; someday I'll go inside. After a hurried lunch we did service for the PMS sisters (that's what they call themselves!) Three sisters living together who's lasts names start with those letters. We helped with a little unpacking then fed their horses apples. Fun day.... Okay, so I was too chicken to feed them but I did pet their noses. We went on shift at 3:00 and were there until 9.

Friday: Fabulous day! After 2 hours of study and 3 hours of weekly planning we had an appointment with Kimberly. Sis Coplan and Sis Lisonbee had tracted into Kimberly earlier; she had already read a portion of the Book of Mormon and was interested in learning more. It was a hectic appointment with kids running in and out but Kimberly was so engaged. We taught her the first lesson (Restoration of the gospel) and were talking about prophets. "Why wouldn't we have prophets now," she said, "that only makes sense!" Well, yeah, it does! She seems like a 'golden' investigator but the true test is whether people keep the commitments we give them or not. As of right now we have a standing appointment every Friday--YES! After that appointment we did service for Sister King; a member of our ward that recently had surgery and should not have been raking her lawn. So, we did it instead. our last part of the day was filled with a dinner appointment. We had hamburgers and fruit salad. The Kabel's are a part member family where mom and daughter have just recently been baptized. After dinner they were so excited to paint ceramics with us-so we did. Pictures coming!

Saturday: We spent the morning studying and then checked up on people we had visited previously. Total inspiration that Amber Thompson (a ward member) was out with us! We stopped by Darla's house to see if she had read the info we gave her but found her trying to make bows for homecoming. She invited us in and asked if we could help. Sis Coplan and I were totally hopeless but Amber had worked at a florist shop-hooray! We met up with Chris again later and invited him to stake conference. He agreed to come.... GLADYS KNIGHT DEVOTIONAL! I know she came to Stadium of Fire and I was not impressed BUT the traveling devotional she and her choir go around giving is the best. Totally inspirational, inspiring, and bold. LOVE IT!

Sunday: Chris came to stake conference! And he brought his friend, Melanie, and her daughter! We were so excited! Stake conference was great though I really couldn't hear a lot because Sis Coplan and I were back with all the kids (bad idea) while Sis Lisonbee sat with Chris. Fabulous meeting, though. Chris really enjoyed it; we have another meeting with him tonight. The day went fast and we spent some time at Liberty Jail.

Monday: Evening shift at the jail with lots of door knocking in the morning. Nothing too exciting.

 

Well, I love you all and hope you are all safe and sound. Keep smiling and keep me updated!

Sis Wilson

October 9

Hello, everyone! I was SO excited to get all your emails. Sounds like, for the most part, everyone is healthy and strong. You are all in my prayers! So, did you just LOVE conference or what?! It was absolutely fantastic. The Saturday morning session we watched at the Jail with our senior couple, the Stevenson's. D&C 121:33 gives me a great visual image of all these 18 and 19 year old missionaries rowing down the Missouri river to spread the gospel. Though everyone at the Jail was shocked by the change in age we are all pleased and excited about it; me included. I can only see the benefits and blessings that will come to those that decide to serve at an earlier age. As always, though, I think Elder Holland was my favorite followed closely by President Eyring.

Let me see, since I last emailed... We've done a lot of tracting and visited a lot of less active members. We've run into 2, possibly 3, people that may be really golden investigators. We've only met with them once and have appointments with each of them later in the week; I'll keep you updated on their progress. Can I tell you how awesome the members are here? I think I'm in the best ward-Liberty 1st. Since I've gotten here we haven't had to cook ourselves dinner once. Ward members have fed us for the past week and a half and our calendar is filled up basically through October. It's great...and interesting. My new favorite fast food place is Taco Bell; I had pork chops one night; peppers/onions/mushrooms with steak last night; and a whole world of different foods that I am being polite and eating. Hooray for new experiences! We've also tracted into some pretty dirty, smelly, cluttered houses. Thank you, Mom, for your standard of cleanliness-I see the benefit of it now.

Friday I got to go on a field trip with about 20 other sisters and senior couples. We went to Far West, Adam-Ohndi-Ahman, and Marydale Inn. The Spirit and peace I felt there was absolutely amazing! I am so grateful for the opportunity I had to learn and grow about our history while I was there. I've got lots of pictures and will hopefully send some today. Marydale Inn is a bed and breakfast owned by an LDS family. They fed us a lunch of sticky buns, Amish casserole, homemade bread, and strawberry soup. AMAZING! If you're ever in the area I encourage you to stop by. Their home is beautiful and they are wonderful generous people.

Friday night was a wonderful night for new investigators. We took one of our members, Emily, out with us. It was a fun time. Saturday evening, the Thompson's took us to IHOP for dinner. It was really fun. (Sometimes I worry about what members are going to feed us and how polite I will have to be. It was nice to order whatever.) Their daughter, Amber, is leaving for a mission at the end of the month. She's going to Brazil; we're going to try and get her out to do some missionary work with us.

Kind of funny story for you... We visited a less active member Saturday night and had a nice visit. I led the way out when we were done and walked straight into their glass screen door!!! It was pretty funny-gave the little kids a great laugh. I didn't hurt myself I really just kicked the door. I had a great laugh about it. I thought of Mark running into the sliding glass door when we were in California that one time--anyone else remember that?

Well, onward and upward! I love you all and am so grateful for everything you have done and are doing for me. I have the absolutely best family ever!

LOVE YOU!

Sis. Wilson

October 2 - Pics

Liberty Jail

 House with liberty Jail in background

Saying goodbye to Sister Harding (MTC Companion)

 

My new Companions

My Travel Group

October 2 - In the Mission Feild!

So, my last few days at the MTC were rather hectic. We didn't get a lot of time to pack so we had to stay up late then wake up early to get roomies off to the airport. I think I'm still catching up on sleep.

Anyway, my plane left right on time last Wednesday--weird! We made it to the Kansas City airport without any complications. I've never seen so many people use an airplane bathroom, though. I should've taken some data on that. The first people we met were President and Sister Keyes-I LOVE them already. They are great loving, wonderful people. I am so happy to be a part of their mission--ZION!
Our group of 25 (biggest group yet) got to visit the Kansas City temple grounds, take a tour of Liberty Jail, and Independence Visitor Center before heading to the mission home. We had a welcome orientation and Sis. Keyes (as well as the rest of the staff) made us homemade lasagna for dinner--REAL FOOD! It was amazing. Pres. Keyes interviewed us before we retired to our beds. Guess where I'm serving? I'm at Liberty Jail with the Liberty 1st ward as my area. I'm told it's the coveted assignment in the mission field and it's where I get to start! I'm in a trio with Sister Lisonbee and Sister Coplan. There are 8 sisters living in our house--I'm sending pics.

I'm really enjoying myself. I was super nervous about knowing/remembering everything but I'm doing good. By the end of my first shift at the jail I had given a half tour. By my second day I was doing the whole tour with my companions shadowing me. Yesterday I gave tours by myself. It's so wonderful to be part of this amazing work! I've also had some experiences with tracting... Not my favorite thing yet but I'm working on it. We've met some nice and not-so-nice people. Last night we had dinner with a family; they are absolutely wonderful and gave us a lot of information about who we should or should not contact. I'm still learning the routine and people but I'm doing well. There is so much to learn/memorize that I'm trying to just remember it all right now. My p-days will be on Tuesday this transfer so I hope to hear from you all before then. Remember I love and wish I could email you all individually!

Sister Wilson