Feb 26

Where did the month go?! Can you believe February is basically gone?! I can't; time just continues to fly by! It's been a crazy week here in Missouri; lots of stuff that isn't routine! Wednesday we had a great appointment with Mark. He was found and taught by missionaries about a year ago but we are teaching him again. He's really interested in the religion and believes the things we teach but his wife is a devout Catholic and is not at all supportive of Mark investigating. She isn't open to learning and/or hearing about the church, either. So, he's not getting baptized any time soon (told us that himself) but he really loves what we teach and is grateful for our willingness to meet with him. During the presentation I happened to mention to Mark that, as missionaries, we are away from our families for 18 months with the only communication being weekly emails and Skyping twice a year. I thought he might cry! He couldn't imagine not having his son with him; couldn't imagine not seeing him. I told him it was definitely a sacrifice; that it was hard to leave our families and not be in constant contact like we had been before. Mark just looked at me and said "until you hold your own child in your arms you will never understand what a sacrifice is for your parents." Man, that hit me like a ton of bricks.

I've thought about Mark's statement a lot this last week and realized how selfish I have been in my thought process. Yeah, this is hard for me being out here away from you all. Yeah, I miss you all like crazy and can't wait to see you all again. BUT I've never thought about how this is affecting you; the sacrifice you are making by supporting me as I am out here doing the Lord's work. I cannot begin to thank you enough for the prayers and love I feel every day coming from each of you. For the strength you send my way when I need it most. For your emails and pictures and letters and EVERYTHING! I know I am serving the Lord and doing what I am suppose to do; I've just never thought about how much my actions rippled out to affect everyone! I love you all and am grateful for the sacrifices you are making in my behalf. A Sister couldn't ask for a better support system than the one I've got. I'm so grateful for the blessing of being with each of you for eternity.

Wednesday evening we had an appointment with Marcella; she is also a former investigator. We ended up not being able to talk with her but did meet with her 12 year old daughter, McKayla. McKayla is so sweet! She's living in a somewhat deprived situation (physically and spiritually) but she has so much to offer. She came to church with us on Sunday and said she would like to go back. McKayla is so great; just needs a lot of tender loving care. When we were leaving our appointment I told her I didn't know if she was a huggy person... That's as much as I got out before she gave me a huge hug--so sweet!

So, evidently, you are sending some of your snow this way, huh? Yeah, we got it good... Wednesday night we got a call from President Keyes saying that the cars were to remain parked until further notice; they wanted to see what the storm would do. Thursday morning when I woke up there was... NOTHING! Good thing we were grounded, though. The snow started between 7 and 8 am and went on all day. We were grounded for a day and a half.. Our apartment was super clean. Everything was organized... By 2pm on Friday we were so ready to get out. S. Stobbe and I are blessed to live across the hall from S. Wilson and S. Gines. So, we got together for our meals. It was a good time.

I am amazed that none of you questioned or wrote about the new missions that will be opening! There are 58 new missions that will be opening in July--it's so great to see the hastening of the work! There are so many missionaries coming out! The week of February 8 President Keyes informed us that there had been 1,700 applications for missionaries; over half of them were sisters. (History in the making!) Generally, they have 2 apostles that come in and assign calls, there were 6 that day. Yes, the work is definitely moving forward. With all these missionaries going out they needed somewhere to put them so new missions were created. One of them was the Kansas Wichita Mission... Come July of this year the Missouri Independence Mission will be split. Will that affect me? Yes, I'm sure it will. Some of the wonderful Elders and Sisters I have had the opportunity of serving with will (without a doubt) be transferred to this new mission. I may be transferred to Kansas. One thing I am learning to accept is the Lord's timing and His will. I would love to finish out my mission with President and Sister Keyes as a V.C. Sister but I will go and do whatever the Lord requires of me (1 Nephi 3:7). There is a purpose for me being here; the Lord knows what that is and will put me where He needs me.

Saturday I was able to witness the baptism of Malcolm (aka: Milk) Westin. I've met Milk here at the VC; he is a great person that comes from a rough background. I absolutely love seeing the change the Atonement plays in people. Milk was so ready to be baptized. He was jumping up and down in the font afterward and yelling "I feel like a million bucks!" as he was changing in the bathroom. I love the enthusiasm of older converts. They are making huge changes in their lives and learning so much about the plan our Father has for everyone. As an added blessing at the baptism I ran into some of my Liberty 1st Ward friends. It really was a tender mercy of the Lord. I was able to Bishop Tervort and Vivian (Ernestine's granddaughter). It was so great! I am super blessed to be placed right where I need to at just the right time.

Sunday's are always crazy days. Covering a ward and a branch is a ton of work. I feel like we are always missing someone or leaving someone out. I really love both units I get to serve in but I am thoroughly enjoying being in the branch. The YSA's are so great! I needed to be in a branch to get over my jaded views of YSA's, I think. The Lord surely knows me...

Monday we did a lot of contacting. Everywhere we went people warned us about the storm that was coming. It did come sometime during the middle of the night... and dropped a ton of snow. We are, once again, grounded but the visitor center director and his wife (the Brenchley's) picked us up so we could email. I'm super grateful to them. Other than that we did laundry, took a nap, and ate lunch with our neighbors across the hall. Great day!

Thank you all, so much, for your prayers. Thank you for the emails and pictures. I love and miss you all! May God continue to be with and bless each of you!
Love, hugs, and kisses!
Sister Wilson