Christmas Fun !!

Hello Everyone !

I hope that everyone had a safe and great holiday week !!  I know I did. With the Christmas week and the cold virus going around, we did not do as much proselyting as we hoped, but I still saw a lot of miracles happen during the week!

Christmas Eve was a blast :)  We spent the afternoon with some of our recent converts and got to do some much needed cleaning up around the apartment.  Then, it was time to start going to members homes and eat dinner with them.  We stayed at one family's house for 5 hours because they had their annual Swedish Christmas Eve Extravaganza!  It was a fairly large party.  I have never spent Christmas Eve with 24 other people eating and singing carols for 5 hours, so that was new and exciting!  We ate a TON of food !  I am glad that I own a stretchy skirt.  LOL.  The family had us try all of the Swedish delicacies (Lutfisk, pickled herring, beef tongue, rye bread with lingonberries, Swedish meatballs and potato sausage etc)  It wasn't actually that bad... except for the beef tongue... that was gross.   Afterwards, we practiced caroling and then caroled to all of the neighbors which is part of their tradition.  It was amazing to see the tears well up in the neighbor's eyes as we sang to them.  Everyone needs a little cheer on Christmas Eve.

Christmas Day came the next morning and as a special present, we got to sleep an extra 30 minutes... which ended up just making me more tired.  Funny how living the Mission Rules changes you.  We opened our presents and ate chocolate for breakfast :)    We relaxed and enjoyed our time to take care of ourselves and prepared for the rest of the day.

I got to call my family!!  That was so much fun!  I am glad to hear that they are all doing good.  It was very interesting to hear their voices.  These last 3 weeks have gone by so much faster than the 3 weeks at the MTC!  

Next, we got to spend time at a hospital in Corning and we sang to those who needed it most.  Even though I am not the best singer, we continued to spread the Holiday Cheer.  I did lose my voice for about 2 hours after all of the singing though!  We then went to 2 other member's homes and ate and ate.  I loved getting to know them better and we even listened to a few conversion stories!  Those stories are the BEST!    I was full, happy and very tired when we got back to our apartment late that day.

But, no time to waste... after a day or two of relaxing it was back to work!  We had companion exchanges, and I took over the area with a Sister in the southern Ward below us.  I had to set up lessons, contacts, teach, lead the discussions, make travel plans and extend invitations to those we taught.  We even had time to street contact and tract.  By the end of the day, I was exhausted!  But, I gained so much more confidence in myself and the Lord.  After a short period of learning, I had to quickly start using things tools and principles that I have learned over the last month to teach and bring the Spirit into peoples' homes.

I have seen miracles EVERY TIME that we ask either members, less actives and non-members to pray after we teach an inspired lesson!  As long as we do everything in our power to have the Spirit with us, people feel it and the Spirit teaches them and makes them feel so good and peaceful.  I have even had a few members start crying during the lessons this last week as they have prayed for specific things and God answered their prayers as we sat in their homes or at other gathering areas.

I have learned this week that the gift of Agency is one of the most important aspects of the gospel.  As we ACT, as we make choices and do things, we experience changes and feel power in our life to change anything we desire.  But, we also need to focus on the small and simple things first to experience the greatest changes:   prayer, scripture study, church attendance etc.  Just as the story of Aaron and King Lamoni's Father in Alma 22, God answers our prayers as we turn our hearts to Him and forsake our sins and humble ourselves.

Well, I got to go!  Love you all!

The Church is True!

Sister Williams

Serving as a Bell Ringer

Service, Charity and Personal Growth

Hi Everyone!!

Well, this week has been a real roller coaster.  My companion has been sick and we got a few screws in one of our tires.  We have had a couple of set backs, but we've been doing a lot of service this week.  We got to ring bells for the Salvation Army again and that was so much fun.  We also served at a food pantry, Meals on Wheels, and helped out at a Senior Center.  Service always puts a smile on my face!

But, more importantly, I have learned a lot about myself and who I need to become this last week.  Things might have been hard, but me and my companion try to find things we are grateful for each day and stay happy and positive.   Working hard is the best way.

We have also been teaching members and reaching out to a lot of recent converts and less actives and getting to know them.  With Christmas this week however, everyone has been super busy.  We had a great Christmas program on Sunday and we even sang in the Choir!!  But, I have learned lots about humility, charity and how to better put my trust in God this week.  Lots of opportunities for personal growth and more to come this week!  I take over the area on Friday and go on an exchange with a Sister Missionary from the Elmira area and try to teach as many lessons as possible within a day or two.   Wish us luck :)

Well, gotta get back to work.  Ha Ha.

Everyone have a Merry Christmas and be safe !!

Love, Sister Kylie Williams

Born in Corning!!

Hi Everyone!!

What a crazy and wild week it has been!  Thankfully I did make it safely to New York after 13 hours of travel time from Salt Lake City, Utah to Utica, New York.  On the way to the Mission Home, we stopped for dinner and got the famous Utica pizza and chicken wings.  Apparently, the food of choice for Upstate New York is pizza and chicken wings.  When a slice of pizza is the size of a full dinner plate, things get serious! :)  The food here is great.

Once I arrived at the Mission Home, I got to meet the Mission President and his wife.  They are truly the Lord's angels, the sweetest people ever!  That first night I slept at the Mission Home I was in a bunk bed where the mattress was like sleeping on a heavenly cloud.  Either that, or I think I was just tired from traveling.

The next day was crazy.  We (the newbies/greenie missionaries) had office training and got an orientation.  Then the moment of truth... transfers !!!  I am serving in the Corning Area  in the Owego Zone as a Sister Training Leader !!!  Me, a 1 week green missionary.   I am over 4 other Sister Companionship's in the Owego Zone and I have a few exchanges coming up in Ithaca, Binghamton, and Elmira soon! It will be fun to help the sisters I am over and get to learn their areas and their investigators.

Thankfully, I already LOVE THE PEOPLE OF NEW YORK!  They are so humble and so willing to work!  I love the members here in the Corning Branch.  They are examples to me of excellent member missionary work!  Thankfully, I have already memorized most of the members in my Branch.  I also had to speak in church this Sunday!

Obviously, the Lord is giving me a lot of opportunities to grow and to learn... and to stretch and to overcome fear.  No time to wait, just time to open my mouth and teach.  Thankfully I have an amazing companion and trainer named Sister Yancey.  She is from Idaho and we get along so well.  We are like twins!  We both love sports, food and the gospel, so it works out great :)   We both help each other with being better teachers!

The days here are cold and the snow is thankfully not to high down here in the southern tier, but it is gorgeous country here in New York.  I just love it.  My companion and I have done a lot of service here this week.  I got to be the bell ringer for Salvation Army, and I got to help several members decorate their homes for Christmas.

I have also learned of the "Restored Teaching Method" used here in the Utica New York Mission.  It is an approved way to teach the lessons from Preach My Gospel.  It works sooo well!!  I have learned more in 5 days here in New York than I did in 3 weeks in the MTC... and I thought I learned a lot there too.  I have a testimony that everything happens for a reason and that I am here in Corning for a reason.

We have great members and great investigators.  I gave away my first Book of Mormon with my testimony in it.  I also taught the Restoration and the woman we taught committed to be baptized after our lesson!  Miracles!!!  It was awesome and I know that the gospel can help the people of Upstate New York, because the people throughout the State have a lot of struggles.  Thankfully, the hope and healing power that comes from Christ can fix all of those if we turn to Him.

So much to do...so little time.  Hopefully we are going to go to the famous Corning Glass Museum and have a blast today and do some other fun P-day activities as well.

Love you all!
Sister Williams

Sister Kylie Williams, New York Utica Mission

Mission President Joseph B. Wirthlin Jr and his wife with Kylie and her new companion.

My Awesome Companions

Off to New York

Hello Everyone !!

It is that time again (P-day) and today is my last day at the MTC.  Tomorrow morning, (more like night... I don't consider 1:30 am to be morning), I have a long journey to the great State of New York..with a lot of flight time.

Tomorrow will be the first time that I will be out in the general public with my missionary tag.  I am interested to see the responses I will get from people as my traveling companions and I have to travel to 4 different airports tomorrow! I will get lots of practice talking to strangers, and passing out "Pass-Along Cards."

I am crossing my fingers for good weather and would love to be able to catch a few ZZzzz's.  I won't actually be arriving at the Mission Home until about 6 or 7 pm tomorrow night.  I am so super excited to finally meet President Joseph Wirthlin Jr. in the flesh and shake his hand.

Transfers are also on Wednesday, so it will be time to say goodbye to all of the new friends I have made here.  Some will be off to San Diego.. and others will be scattered throughout the New York Utica boundaries.  I have been so grateful for all of them and the bonds we have created.  Three weeks is the longest I have ever been away from home, and with my awesome new friends and MTC companions they have made the transition all that much easier.  We keep guessing where we are going to end up.  My guess is Oswego/Syracuse area.  So, I will have to see if my prediction is right!

This week has been a little more normal, lots of classes and practice with members!  This week I have had to say goodbye to my great teachers Sis. Smith and Bro. Chipman.  They have taught me a lot.  After the new missionaries arrived last Wednesday I and the other Sister Training Leaders and Zone Leaders showed then around.  The next morning we got to role play with them and practice teaching lessons.  I WAS AMAZED by the growth I have had in just 3 short weeks.  I could sit down with a pretend scenario, change up lessons, relate to their lives and struggles and teach doctrine in 5 minutes without getting too deep or getting confused.  It was awesome.  I also got to help a new sister and help her to realize the connections in the gospel between the restoration, the commandments and the Plan of Salvation.  It was so cool.  Looking back, I am glad for the extra week I got here at the MTC instead of the standard 2 weeks for English speaking/US missionaries.  Everything would be a lot harder.  Me and my companion also continued to teach a lady named Sydney and "Matt" (my teacher).

It is sad to leave the MTC, I didn't realize how attached I would get to people in less than a week.  We have also continued to go to the gym, sing in the choir, and attend the devotionals.  Sunday was great to experience not only testimony meeting with 30 other missionaries, but also listen to the Christmas Devotional given by the General Presidency.  I also got to listen to a past MTC Devotional by Elder Holland.  I learn so much from these great men in the Church.  One day, I want to be able to speak with as much power and conviction as they do.

Well, time to go pack!!

PS:  I highly recommend that everyone see the latest video "His the the Gift", great Christmas Short Video about the true meaning of Christmas!!

Sister Kylie Williams

My MTC District, half go to New York, the other half, San Diego !

Look ! I am official !

MTC Photos !!

Me and My Companion in our dorm room.

My group that is heading To New York

Spiritual "Throw Down"

I can't believe that it has already been another week.

This week has been amazing in so many ways !!  It all started with the Tuesday Devotional before Thanksgiving.  We had the opportunity to hear from Elder and Sister Dallin Oaks.  They were awesome!  I sat with the Choir and got to sing "Nearer My God to Thee" for Elder Oaks.  It was also broadcast to all of the other 14 MTC's around the world.  So, I was famous for about .05 seconds! The Oaks gave great talks about dedication and how to be an instrument in the Lord's hands.

On Thanksgiving, we got to hear from Elder and Sister Bednar.  They did a Q&A session with the missionaries via texts on our cell phones.  I was able to text a question to an Apostle...no big deal !! :)  Brother Bednar spent a full hour answering questions about faith, agency, examples of Jesus Christ etc., and it was also amazing.  I wrote down 6 full pages of notes.  I also got to sing "Come Thou Fount" and sang the 2nd alto position.  Even though I may not be the best singer, I could still participate and sing in the MTC Choir.

The rest of Thanksgiving Day, we had several more activities.  I got to have some down time and eat a lot of junk food and turkey (which I am okay with.)  We also participated in a musical Thanksgiving program and a humanitarian project.  All of us MTC missionaries made 410,000 packet meals for the starving children of Utah.  It was so much fun to do an exciting service project.  Earlier in the week I'd been assigned to clean the girls dorm bathroom.. Ick.  But, both project are just as important.  We also got to see the movie "Meet the Mormon's" and eat popcorn and ice cream.  It was a really good movie actually!

For the other days of the week, I continue to study, teach, role play, and get to know my awesome sisters that will be joining me in New York !  I can't believe I have only one week left at the MTC!  I will miss the 24/7 spiritual thrown down that happens at the MTC.  I can't even count the times I have teared up here due to feeling the Spirit.

The other awesome thing that happened this week was that I was called to be a Sister Training Leader.  I get to welcome/help/guide the new sister missionaries that arrive on Wednesday!  It also meant I had to attend 4 extra meetings on Sunday, but oooh well!  I learned a lot about what it means to minister and love/serve those we are over!  Also on Sunday, my teacher for Relief Society was none other than the famous Sister Sheri Dew !!!  She is amazing and I was sitting like 10 feet in front of her.  We were taught about how we can receive revelation, "spiritually wrestle" with questions and access the power of God, and also the role of women and the Priesthood.  She gave a powerful talk, she is an amazing lady.

Sunday we ended with a live performance by VOCAL POINT !!  They sang us about 10 songs and gave us tips of how to be better missionaries from their experiences.  This week I have grown so much.  I am happy to see where this next week will take me.  But, this week has definitely been a spiritual throw down and it is kinda nice to see all these "celebrities" from Church.  I am spoiled!!

I finally got some pictures to upload, so please enjoy a glimpse of me and those whom I spend my time serving and working with. :)

1st Week at the MTC

Hi Everyone!! 

     What a wild and crazy week its been here at the MTC (Missionary Training Center). I can't believe that it has already been the first 6 days!! Here are the basics of what has been going on.

     Everyone in my District is either coming with me to Utica, New York or going to San Diego, California.  I love all of them already. I really love the 3 Sisters that I am serving with and who are also going to Utica, New York with Me.  Sister A, Sister C, and Sister H... are "the Bomb". We have learned to get along and serve each other over the last 6 days. We are one big happy family. We occasionally get really sidetracked and distracted, but we have great gospel discussions.

      I am the Scriptorian of my District.  I often hear:  "Sister Williams, where is this verse? ...etc" because I am the only one that memorized the Seminary Scripture Mastery and other verses.  And, I have learned that I best teach with them. 

     We all have been struggling with the transition from regular life to missionary life. Occasionally we get homesick or fall asleep because we spend like 7+ hours a day just sitting behind a desk learning how to effectively teach people about the gospel.   However, we all love the Spirit we feel here. Everyone is SO nice and polite and we are all here for the same purpose; to invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His atonement, and repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. 

     I love how in just six days I feel like a different and better person. I have had to rely more than ever on developing my relationship with God and Christ, and I am already starting to receive the blessings in my life. I love how I could listen to the "Spoken Word" and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir from Temple Square, and be taught by Sister Marriott who is in the Young Women's General Presidency during Relief Society. She gave an amazing lesson/talk! Later I was taught by Elder Bednar through an older recorded devotional given a few years ago. 

It just feels good to be here and doing one of the best things that I could ever do over the course of my life. I cant wait to leave for New York soon and start working with real people, and not just role playing and practicing. But as sister A says "Practice makes progress!!" 

I love and miss everyone. To those who wrote me a letter, please be patient and realize that I probably won't be able to read and respond to all of them until after the middle of December. 

I can't wait for what new things will come this next week.  I hopefully will figure out how to upload pictures this next week. The computers where acting up during my short login time. I promise, pictures will be posted soon!!"

PS: I forgot to mention. I love Exercise time!! I won a lightning round of basketball and beat all the guys in my zone and won!! Woop Woop!! I wasn't too humble that day... I'm still learning.

Love Sister Kylie

Denver International Airport - And She's on her way to the MTC !

Packed and ready to go!

After a few hours of packing.... we decided to celebrate Kylie's birthday 2 days early!! Happy early 19th birthday Sister Williams!

Weather Report

Checked the weather channel this morning before Kylie's flight and also saw this....

Winter has decided to hit New York! Especially cities close to the Great Lakes. Watertown (which is in her mission) is expected to get up to 3 ft till Thursday! Burrrrr

Write me please :)

So my main source of contact for the next year and a half will be through letters and email! My mom will be updating this blog every week. However, I WOULD LOVE LETTERS FROM FRIENDS AND FAMILY!!! I even enjoy hand-drawn pictures from the little ones!! If you want my missionary email account just message my facebook account or comment on this post.

But just a few important things:
1) My basic US Post office shipping address can be found on the top of the right column above my picture.

2) For packages sent through Fedex or UPS the shipping address is
Sister Kylie Williams
8439 Clark Mills Rd
Whitesboro, NY 13492

3) If you want to receive email notifications when blog is updated. Subscribe by email by entering your email in the "Follow By Email" box and click submit!

Less than 7 days!!

One week left!! Ahhhh!! Doesn't feel real yet that by next Wednesday.. I will be in Utah at the MTC (missionary training center), on my first day as a called missionary of the church. Then after 10 days of training, its off to cold New York! Now... I just have to pack (yikes!) but I couldn't be more excited!!! And when I'm excited, I usually dance..

The Final Countdown

Hey everyone!! I have now less than 30 days until I leave everything behind and depart to Upstate New York to serve a mission. Time has flown by... but now that 98% of the preparation is done I can just sit back and enjoy quality time with the family. Its been nice watching tv, relaxing, going mission shopping, studying, babysitting, etc, but soon that will all be over and then it'll be time to get to work. Many of my friends have asked me "What exactly does a LDS missionary do on a mission?" and the answer is simple... SERVE! However, there are two distinct sides of service. There is the basic form of service which includes constantly preforming good deeds for others to make them feel loved and also help them in their time of need. So I am predicting I will be raking a lot of leaves and snow shoveling will play a big part in the future haha! The other service that I will provide is spiritual service. Teaching and bringing people to the knowledge of Christ and that He lived and died for us so that we can return to the presence of God. This form of teaching we call "Proselyting." This will be the focus of my mission, but I will always be on the lookout to help anyone, even those who are not interested in learning my faith. I will be very very busy in the near future, but I see the next year and a half as my time to make the world a better place. It will be hard, but it will be worth it!

NY State Map

Most people when they heard the words "New York", they automatically think of New York City, Long Island, Manhattan, Brooklyn, Wall St., subways... and pizza. However my area of service will be nowhere close to those locations, except for the pizza. Everyone loves New York style pizza! Upstate New York is almost like a different world full of Universities, farms, smaller metropolitan areas, and national\state parks with the most amazing scenery. Here's a state map so that everyone can understand the geography and where I'll be living, which is the area shaded in Red!