First and Lasts

Hi everyone!

This is my final email/blog for my mission.  It is kinda weird and slightly exciting!!

1 Massive Pancake!

You could say that I am excited to return home.  I have been trying to not be a trunky missionary, and I would say that I have succeeded really well.

As of next Monday, I will be doing the tours of Palmyra and the Temple Trip.  I am so excited!!  I am really excited to see the Sacred Grove and I have even been saving up to buy one of the "old" original versions of the Book of Mormon that looks more like a brown book than what we currently read from today.  So that will be great!

This week has been also very eventful, which I have enjoyed, and it keeps me focused and from passing out.  Who knew that a mission could be so tiring?  But anyway...

Marsha is doing great!  We took like 4 members over this week and they all got along.  Marsha has the best answers and since her childhood has been a dry Mormon.  She just didn't know it.  We are still planning on the baptism this Saturday. The only thing that will stop it is if she gets weak and picks smoking back up so close to it.  My fingers are crossed!  Commitment wise, she is a-ok.  We have spent the most amount of time with  her this week, trying to fly through the lessons.  We also did service weeding her fence line and I also brushed her horses.  First time ever that I spent more than 2 seconds around a horse.

The Henry's are the cutest 68 year old people yet.  We picked up 2 more couples this week and apparently they just love what nice and good upstanding young women we are.  Once they get over their rant about how crazy the world is and how children don't show any respect, they normally are very open to a gospel discussion.  I never taught so many older people on my mission as I have here.  LOL.

I also built my first electric fence for another couple who are 7th day Adventist.  Apparently, deer eating gardens is a serious problem up here in the north country.

I also have been helping with the usual stuff.  I am trying to get Sister Holmberg to meet everyone before I leave.

We helped the Elders in Gouverneur by blitzing their area, we set the goal and tracted 80 doors in 3 hours and I think we got really close to 50 or 60 doors!

Yup, that was the week.  basically, nothing too crazy!

But to end my letter, I would just like to bare my testimony.  Going on a mission was one of the greatest gifts that Heavenly Father has given me.  I am not the same person I was 19 months ago.  I can feel the difference.  Yes, there were some tough times, but also some days that were so great that I would go to bed with a smile on my face.  My knowledge and conviction about the Restoration and the Book of Mormon is at an all time high.  I cannot deny the witness that Christ's Church has been restored, and it is back.   I know that the Atonement is real.  I have seen the influence of the Spirit change lives--investigators, less actives, companions and me.  The gospel is true and I have gained so many new friends that I cannot wait to hang out with them in the Celestial  Kingdom.  It will literally be a giant party.  I am grateful for this opportunity.  Sharing the gospel is easier than we think!  Sometimes we just overthink things.  If we share in love, we can never go wrong!

In the name of Jesus Christ amen.

Two More (Dos Mas) !!!

Hello everyone!!

It is me again.  This is my second to last email and boy oh boy is that weird !!

Norwood Group

Lots of things have happened this week, and this update might be on the shorter side.  I can't believe how much I used to write towards the beginning and middle of my mission.  Ha Ha.  May has flown by and June will too.  The temple trip will be on the 13th of June and I fly home on the 14th.  I cannot wait to go and see the Sacred Grove and the Palmyra Temple.  Woop Woop!

This week (in summary) has been full of meetings, tracting, finding golden people and getting an infected foot and putting out Amish grass fires.  Never a dull moment.

Today for Memorial Day, we went to the Norwood Parade.  It lasted 8 whole minutes!  Ha Ha. (side note: Norwood is just barely over 2 square miles in size). We also taught a few lessons and then went to a Branch picnic.  It was awesome.  Hot dogs, and we got to slip-n-slide in Pday clothes which is the best.  We also tried OYM'ing with Palmyra Pageant flyers at the Parade today.  "Hey, if you like parades... you will like a free pageant!"  Unfortunately, hardly any of them have ever heard of Palmyra or the Hill Cumorah Pageant.  But north country people will get there!

Last Monday I guess the highlight was stopping by an investigator family that put their down down, like an hour before we got there.  So, they had us pray for their dog and I am glad we were able to comfort them.  But, that was the first dead pet prayer that I've ever said in my life.  Always a first.

Another interesting thing this week was that we got slightly ambushed/invited to a 'going away' party for an investigator.  But, the hosts were the head overlords/pastors for the local Christian fellowship center.  Yikes!!  Lets just say we had a two hour dinner with some people that hate Mormons just as bad as Governor Boggs from Missouri did back in the Pioneer days.  They were polite while we were there, and I tried to keep things easy with small talk. Then, the Elders came and we left to go to an appointment, and those poor Elders got hit with the questions and the Mormon Doctrine bashing.  That was a tender mercy for me and my companion.  Sisters have magical powers of protection at times compared to Elders.  But it was cool to eat dinner with a few pastors of a 'rival faith' and we planted seeds of being Christ-like.  I count that as a win. :)

We did a lot of tracting in the heat this week.  It was very very hot... but we talked to quite a few nice people and me and Sister Holmberg are pretty good at trying to be creative.  Also, we had some great lessons with Betty this week about the nature of God, and helped teach Anita and Angelo the commandments... but the greatest miracle is MARSHA.

Let me just talk about Marsha here for a bit...  She is my forth quarter miracle.  She is my 'Hail Mary Pass' for the end zone.  We tracted her out about 2 to 3 weeks ago.  We knocked on the door and this kinda grumpy older lady comes out.  I ask how she is and she says, "ehh, I don't feel well".  Anyway, that lead to a not so promising approach of us trying to teach her the Plan of Salvation... and she just kept wanting to talk about how crazy the world is and how Obama is the Anti-Christ.  We were about to leave when I handed her a Book of Mormon and asked if she'd keep it.  She surprised me by saying that she would love to read it and she'd call us 2 weeks after reading it.  Baffled, we walked away saying, "What just happened??"  How did she go from Obama being the Anti Christ to wanting to read the Book of Mormon and that we need to check back on her??  Well, this week we did.  WOW!!!  So glad we did.

Marsha is one of the cutest, most prepared, awesome, wonderful ladies I have met on my mission.  She cracks the top three convert list.  She's had a tough life.... she is 74 years old, she's from Long Island, loves horses and she is a widow.  She's sassy, spunky and loves the Lord with all of her heart.  Ever since she was a kid, she believed in God, loved Him, and wanted to find the right church. And has never been able to find it.  She considered herself Lutheran until today.  But, she started reading the  Book of Mormon and LOVED IT!  She loves the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.  We gave her a Restoration DVD and when she watched it, she cried.  She immediately knew that the Church was true and that Joseph Smith was a prophet.  She almost died a few months ago due to a heart attack, but miraculously didn't die.  After us seeing her every day for the last 5 days, and teaching her the Restoration, the Book of Mormon, the Plan of Salvation... it is obvious that the Lord kept her alive so that she could join the Church and be on the right path.

Teaching her is the best.  She feeds us cake and wants to adopt us and is so happy all of the time now.  She has committed to be baptized the 12th of June, my last day as a missionary in Norwood.  It is so awesome, and I hope it all works out...  We talked about baptism today and she thinks about it all of the time and her biggest concern is what she is going to wear.  I finally found my purpose for why I was supposed to be in Norwood these last three months, it was for Marsha.  Apparently, churches have knocked on her doors for years, but she turned them down... but she said that me and Sister Holmberg were different and she could see something in our faces.  It is so so cool!  So, now my last two weeks have become Operation:  Get Marsha Baptized!  :)  Challenge accepted!  I never met someone so excited to be baptized!

Hmm... other things.  We went to Utica for Sister Holmberg's return and report.  She has completed her 1st month as a missionary!  Woop Woop!

I did have an obstacle, which was that I got an infected bug tie on the side of my foot, and I am currently taking antibiotics to stop the swelling and infection.  But it is on the upswing and hope to be all better soon! :)

Hmmm...  oh we also saw a fire on the side of the road... so we stopped and ran out.   A little Amish yard had caught on fire (we haven't gotten any rain) and we honked our horn and alerted the owners... then we ran buckets and pitchers of water to help save their lawn.  It was a success.  I love my Amish interactions!  :)

Well, all I can say is that this Church is true and that the gospel changes lives.  It has mine :)

Love you all.
Sister Kylie Williams

Nice and Steady

Hi Everyone!

I am starting to find it harder to type out long emails and letters to home.  I don't know why... maybe it is because I am starting to develop this sort of "Head in the Clouds" mentality.  I have to catch myself from day dreaming these days.  But, the Lord is good to me and thankfully I am trying to run to the finish line.

Hmm....  this week we had some totally random things happen.   We OYM'd these Amish ladies, and served them by helping them to get to the bus station and in return, they took a Book of Mormon.  That was awesome.  Seed planted for the next life.  This week, I also did a Family History workshop at the local library and it was a success.  We got 3 to 4 really interested people and I was able to show them ancestry and family search and they really enjoyed themselves.  We were able to help a member, and an investigator and get new service opportunities from doing the class.  We did a lot of tracting in the evenings, and met some nice people and the other usual stuff.

We had a wonderful ZTM or Zone Training Meeting and I had to give my 'departing testimony".  That was a very hard moment, because it was my last zone meeting ever and I knew it was coming.  I also was able to reflect on what my mission has done for me so far and I compared it to the Mormon Message "Flecks of Gold".  My mission really has been a huge gold find of tiny experiences where not only was my testimony strengthened, but also for others as well.  It was the patient accumulation of little flecks of the Spirit and also funny experiences that have brought me great spiritual wealth.  Something which I will always treasure.

We were able to find some new people this week also.  The greatest is the Henry's who will become members one day.  I found them in the phone records, but they had never been taught before.  They are just a classy, sweet older couple that is open to hearing the gospel and they want to grow spiritually.  We have the best lessons on their farm.  We are always drinking some fresh lemonade by their garden.  This morning we actually  had a great Plan of Salvation lesson and helped them to learn about what Heaven is like.  They really enjoyed it.

We were able to get our new investigator Julie to Church and Josh also came.  He is our favorite less active.  He is less active due to health, but we are helping him with the atonement and helping him remember who he is.  He is a returned missionary actually and he served in the New York Utica Mission 4 years ago... but trials got in the way.  It is so good to have him come.  We are hoping for a full activation in a few months.

Had some other good lessons with our peoples this week.  We also got attacked by wasps in the house.  The dang things were everywhere... but thankfully, we have tennis rackets and Books of Mormon to fight back, so they didn't have a chance.

This week if I could describe it would include beautiful sunsets, bugs everywhere, lots of ice cream, and dog walking.  We walked with an investigator for an hour so that we could teach her the Plan of Salvation.  I have developed those missionary  tan lines again  :(

This upcoming week will be very fun.  We have a few investigator parties to go to, a new missionary meeting for Sister Holmberg in Utica and pre-memorial day picnics.  All good things to come!

Week 2 of things learned on the mission:  When praying, God will not take away our burdens or trials.  So, when praying, I have learned to ask for what I'd prefer to happen in a situation, but if it is not Heavenly Father's will, I ask for certain Christlike attributes to help me deal with the situation.  I have noticed that my prayers are answered more quickly and I can see Heavenly Father strengthen me through anything.  I even have a formula... "My desire in prayer" + "But if not" + "a Godly trait desire" = praying for something that God can grant.  For example, (I really want to find 5 new investigators today, but if not, please give me the charity and love to talk with everyone I see on the street).  It really works!!

Well, gotta go,
The Church is True and the Book of Mormon is Blue!

Love
Sister Kylie Williams

Little Miracles

Hey everyone, it's me again!

I have less than 30 days now... Ahhh!!  Thankfully, this week was stellar.  We were finding and teaching people for days!!  We've taught more investigator lessons this week than any other week I have been here in Norwood.  That was fun!  Sister Holmberg is a lot more comfortable with the area and being a missionary.  So, our teaching together is much improved.  The week started slow, appointments and people were dropping us.  So for some reason, I felt the impression for a donut.  And we have an investigator that we haven't been able to meet with that works at Dunkin Donuts.  So, we went and she wasn't there.... but another coworker named Victoria OYM'd us and asked if we went to a Church.  We jumped on that and we ended up picking her up as a sweet investigator and took her on a Church tour.  She is in college and her mother just died, so she wanted to know where she was and wanted to pray. So, we taught her the Plan of Salvation at the Church and had her pray in the Chapel.  The Spirit was present and it was awesome.  We are hoping that we can continue to teach her!! Fingers Crossed!  Lesson learned, and sometimes the Spirit guides us with food. :) Especially me and my companion.  Thankfully we have been trying to run in the mornings.  I need to get back into shape.

Tuesday we taught our friend Charles, the heroin addict.  We couldn't get in contact with him for a while and we happened to find him walking on the street. We pulled over and talked with him.  He has got a long way to go, but he understands the gospel really well!  We are also working with Anita, and trying to get her baptized.  We also decided to make things fun and challenged our Part member family to a cake off.  If they could keep the Word of Wisdom for 1 week, read their scriptures, pray daily, then we get to make them a German chocolate cake.  They are 6 for 7 and going strong.  Time to make a cake!!  It is fun to see them get excited about the gospel.

Wednesday we got in contact with a super solid former investigator named Julie.  She is so prepared and had a lot of questions about the Plan of Salvation.  So, we sat down and it was super spiritual and intense and we answered a lot of her questions.  She has great potential for joining the Church.  Then, the rest of the day was OYMing buff Ukranian dudes on the street and having herbal tea with our "Grandma Becky".  We also used the scriptures to help one of our investigators that was going through a crazy family crisis. The Gospel does bless families.

Thursday, we committed 4 people to baptism and they accepted.  All 4 were new people that we found within the last 3 months.  Sister Holmberg was freaking out because she's never seen a baptismal invite and have it work!  Haha so that was a nice miracle!!

Heavenly Father was also very kind to us this week with timing and weather.  It was warm and sunny the days that we were outside and it was cold everything we planned inside activities.

We did a lot of gardening service this week.  We helped with a Branch gardening activity and then we weeded and raked this other ladies farm for 3 hours.  We were so sore that we couldn't lift our rams for like a day!

Well, those were the big miracles of the week.  But, the best one was going to sleep with a smile on my face a few of those nights just because I knew that what we had done, was what Heavenly Father wanted us to get done.  Obedience does bring blessings.

The Church is true, and one thing I have learned from my mission is:
Consecration is spelled T I M E :)  How much time is consecrated to the Lord and His purposes each day?? The greater the time, the more the Spirit is increased!!

Love Sister Kylie Williams

The Golden

So this week has been pretty good, also very long. Transfer weeks are always like that, they go so slow.  But things are on the up!

Sister Geary and the District Elders

The beginning part of the week, I mainly had to focus on packing Sister Geary up and having her say goodbye to everyone!  Also, the first pack/transfer on the mission is always the most difficult.  I got to help her with that.  Lots of cleaning and running around everywhere.   Not the most spiritual of things, but necessary!

Wednesday came around quickly and we had to get up at 5 in the morning so that we could get to Utica early so I could get to the trainers meeting.  It's my first time training during my mission.  Wow, it is a very humbling experience.  Being a Sister Training Leaders is nothing compared to a trainer.  You have to be exactly completely obedient 24/7 cause your trainee is always watching and picks up on the littlest of things.  But, I got really lucky!  My sweet sweet trainee is from Draper Utah.  She is an awesome listener, motivated, in tune with the Spirit, and ready to work hard.  She actually pushes me sometimes which is what I desperately need towards the end of the mission.  She also loves food, and collegiate Lacrosse, so we talk about sports a lot.  I know we are going to have a blast this transfer.

We're also going to have to go over quite a few basics like what a AL, DL, MLC, ZTM, OYM,  etc., :)  I didn't realize how many acronyms we use on a mission till I had to explain them.  haha.

After all of the packing was done, we've mostly been trying to plan and introduce everyone to my new companion, so she can start learning.  We are always role playing and trying new things out.

Anita is doing awesome, we love her so much.  She is progressing the most and basically is a member.  She just has a slight marriage problem that is keeping her from baptism.  But, we are slowly trying to help with government/legal problems!  Might be a month or two, but she will get there.

This week we've also done some tabling, but the college kids are all graduating, so it is time to take a step back from that.  We need to work more on the old timers in the area, because they actually live in the area.

Sunday was Mother's Day and that was great to talk with the family!  It will be great to be with them soon, but until then, lots of good work still to do.

Sister Holmberg (my new trainee) and I are trying hard to work on creativity   and do different things to get to find people, and not be robot missionaries.  We are about 1 step below buying a ukulele and singing to people on their door steps just because people are tired of missionaries and are slightly stubborn.  Yesterday, we did run into a lady that was 'looking for a Church' so we are super excited!

I have also been teaching Sister Holmberg about the local culture.  Stewarts, Walmart Wings, Potsdam toilets, adding S's to all of our words, and bathing in bug spray... it is awesome!  I think it preps me slightly for motherhood....allowing your kid to grow by falling on their face, but helping them get back up and keep going.

Well that's it for the week.  Lots of finding and great adventures on the rise.

Starting next week, I will be basing my blogs on the top things I have learned and changed during my mission.

Love ya lots!  The Book is blue.. and the Church is true!
Sister Kylie Williams

My Final Transfer

Hello Everyone!

One GIANT Adirondack Chair 

So, this week has been quite unique and interesting!  Never a dull moment and things are always changing.  This is the last week before the upcoming transfers, which is also my last transfer in the mission.  So weird to say that... its kinda starting to sink in.   But, new and great things are on the horizon.  We got a call on Saturday night and Sister Geary is getting transferred to Albany to be a STL (Sister Trainer Leader) and then I was told that I get to train!  It will be my first time truly training a new missionary on my mission!!  But unfortunately, I only have about 5 to 6 weeks to teach her the basics and then start packing to return home.  Also weird.  Time flies by so fast on a mission, just the other day I was remembering some of my first experiences in the field and started to see the little changes in myself that weren't there before.  This really is the Lord's work and not only is He saving souls by preparing them for the future, but also saving those already in the Church and preparing them for the future.  I really don't have a lot of time left, but I can still put in my honest effort and try to make the best of the next 6 weeks.  I am excited, but a little anxious for what happens this week.  I keep crossing my fingers that my new "golden" or 'greenie' is ready to go to work!

This week we didn't do much teaching because we had an exchange to Syracuse and also tried new finding methods with the Elders on campus.  We were still able to see a lot of miracles.

In Syracuse 

I also did have some firsts this week.... like tracting and talking to a few Mennonite and Amish families.  That was really cool.  They are so unique and it is hard to talk with them because they have strong German sounding accents.  They weren't at all interested, but I was happy to cross that off my list.  I wonder if their kids ever notice or wonder why they are so very different than everyone else.  Apparently buggy vs car accidents are a common thing up here in the north country.  Yikes!

We are slightly teaching a Mennonite family, they are very nice and want to try coming to Church.  They do however have some unusual traditions and being in their home made me feel like I was in a 1900's horror movie, but that is the mission field for you!

Tuesday we went tableing at SUNY Potsdam and had one of the most fun days I have had in Norwood.  We went with the Elders and decided to do a combined effort.  It was really successful.  We had a whiteboard and asked everyone we saw "What makes you happy?"  We had some interested people talk with us and we gave out many Books of Mormon and pamphlets.  Unfortunately, we haven't really picked anyone up from it, but the 4 of us worked together and taught close to 10 lessons in 2 hours.  We had a ton of fun.  Once we got the Spirit, me and Sister went tracting and taught a few new people in Norwood.  We also got in with a large less active family and taught the daughters.  We hope to get in more in the future and help them come back to Church.  They are at square 1 with the gospel.

Wednesday, we also taught some of our less actives and helped out teaching English!  Then, we had to prepare for District Meeting and exchanges.  I have come to love long car rides and road trips.  Something we do quite often in the mission.  I takes about 3 to 4 hours from the north to get to Syracuse and I spent the day with Sister Chandler.   It was the greatest idea to put us together, because we go home together in a few weeks.  We had to pray really hard to stay focused, especially when all of the Syracuse appointments fell through, and it decided to rain cats and dogs.  We were able to find a few potentials and service opportunities!  We also spent time with their awesome 'dry mormon' investigator at Funk-N-Waffles.  I had to go one more time on the mission.  So that's another thing we checked off the list.  

Well, we have lots of cleaning, packing and reorganizing to do!!  Goal for the next week is to get my trainee and just love her and start teaching her correct principles of missionary work!

p.s.  Brian in Horseheads got baptized!  I might have shouted for joy!  Missions are awesome.

Here is some spiritual insight from this week.
1)  Missionary service does not end after 18 or 24 months in the field, it is just the beginning.  Hit the ground running and don't allow yourself to take a break from serving or the gospel.

2)  Enduring is the process by which the Lord solidifies the changes he has recently made within us.  Without it, our conversion or changes would be fleeting and cosmetic and not be embedded deeply into our soul!

Love you all!
Sister Kylie Williams

One Eternal Round

Hello Everyone!

This week has been interesting for sure.  Every week feels like a month with the mount of people I met and all of the events.  Just goes to show, that there is plenty of time in a day to accomplish many things.  I just need my planner, some water and some sugar to get through it :)

The headstone for grandfather of Joseph Smith

We have been doing a lot of service this week.  It is good PR in the Community and also gives us a break from finding investigators all day.  This week we helped out a local thrift shop  and organized clothes.  We helped teach English at the ESL class and that was really fun.  Many professors at Clarkson are not from the US, so their wives need help learning English and the culture.  They are the coolest ladies.  They used to live in Italy, France, Vietnam, and Japan and their accents are hilarious.  I also repeatedly told them that they shouldn't generalize the US by their experience in Potsdam, because the North country is not like anywhere else in the US.  Funny group of people up here.  They laughed and agreed!  We also helped out at the local library again and made some posters for upcoming community events.  It felt good to bring out my artistic side again.  We also tried to help with some yard work and building fences/playground equipment with some investigators, but that didn't quite work out so well.  Service can soften hears, but it's also just another powerful way to share the Gospel.  If you can't use words, then use actions... because they speak louder than words.

The most exciting things this week was going up to Ogdensburg for District Meeting and spending time with the Knights.  The coolest senior couple in the world!  They ended their mission and we had a going away party... super sad that I only got a few weeks with them.  But, as tradition, when it gets close to the end of the transfers, we take District photos, so we used their house on the St. Lawrence Seaway and got some great views of Canada.

Bro and Sis Knight and Sister Geary with Kylie 

Teaching wise, we are always in the finding mode.  I have taught the restoration lesson more in the last 5 months of my mission than in the first 12 months combined.  We didn't tract or OYM as much.  I finally taught my first official college student on a  college campus!  Mission bucket list - Check!  She is awesome, but unfortunately she is leaving next week to go home to Jamaica for the summer.  But, she promised us that she would read the Book of Mormon on her way to NYC on the bus, and check out the local ward in Jamaica!  Seed planted!  We also found this retired Army guy who used to work with Elders years ago, but is now open to learning more.  We also found a family and the kids like talking about God and we tracted into the cleaning lady of the Relief Society President!  She has lots of questions about religion.  She doesn't understand the Resurrection.  She thinks coming back to life will make us zombies.. ha ha the lack of spiritual preparation astounds me sometimes.  Ha Ha.  I just try to not laugh about it.

My District

Anita, Al, Gary, they are all hanging in there!  Still progressing and still trying to fix their lives so they can get baptized.  Probably will take a few more months to years, but it will eventually happen.

Fun story, so its amazing to see how the Lord has His own timing.  A young teenager I taught in Utica got baptized this week.  So cool!  And also Will, from back in Elmira, was able to baptize his daughter and family with the help of the Elders.  Tears of joy! :)  Weird to think that just a few months ago, he sat alone in his house with no purpose in life.  Now he loves the Church and is a support to his family that lives on the other side of the City!

So, sometimes we just have to be patient and do what we can! :)

I have been learning a lot about the apostasy the last few weeks, and seeing how people lose their faith in God because they don't have the understanding of the doctrines of the gospel, prophets, dispensations and apostasy.  It is important to have a knowledge that there is a true and living Church on the earth that is under the direction of the true and living God!  But still learning myself. :)

Have a good week everyone!  Last full week before the transfer and we have a trip to Syracuse this week.  That will keep things fun and exciting!

The Church is true.
Sister Kylie Williams