Hello Everyone!
Monday has come around the corner once again and we have been running around all week! ha ha. That has been my life for all of January. I cannot believe how fast this year is already going. February and March, I am pretty sure, will be gone before I know it. The beginning part of the week we started with Sister Gass going to Palmyra, so that took a lot of planning. Monday we packed and tried to clean up our apartment and after a lesson, we left early for Ithaca where I jumped out of the car and joined another Sister and watched as our companions went up to Syracuse and then to Utica to spend the night. The next day, they went to Palmyra and saw the sights and went to the temple. That plus driving really wiped out Sister Gass. I am actually excited for the upcoming day when I get to go to the temple and finally see the Sacred Grove and the Hill Cumorah before I come home. All in good time.
While she was doing that... Sister Virgin and I were trying to work in Ithaca. It is a strange place. There is a downtown and rough parts, there is Cornell Univ. and all the intellectual professors and PhD's and college dorm housing, and then around that is rural backwoods area surrounded by cascading waterfalls, but inhabited by people suffering from " I have lived here my whole life" syndrome. We had fun though. We saw a few of their RC/LA's and tried a few potentials and went tracting. We picked up this guy named Jay in a trailer park, and he was slightly buzzed, but he loved the Restoration. He read the Book of Mormon when he was in jail a few years ago and found God.... but currently, he is going elsewhere. Hopefully, he likes the message just as much when he is fully sober. I also got to teach this fun lady named Charlotte, who is 75 years old and grew up Catholic, that the Sisters found 6 months ago. She converted to the gospel and she has this heavy New Jersey accent and a gruff voice. When she reads the Book of Mormon, she says out loud, "You guys, wasn't that the most beautiful thing you ever read!"
I was so glad to be back in Elmira on Wednesday after Sister Gass came back and we drove home.... just in time for District Meeting. It was the first time that I truly missed my area and my people on my mission. I really just wanted to go back and see them and teach the people that we have been seeing the last three months. It was interesting. I have always loved the people I taught... but not to the extent of what has occurred now on my mission. It is funny to see the differences over time. We did this weird "Scavenger hunt" that was supposed to be an analogy for how to plan well... yea, wasn't the most spiritual meeting, but it was fun. Then, we just went to work seeing people. We have been seeing our main people lately. We taught Jon and Crystal again over Facebook and they are slowly progressing. We are even doing a church tour with them this Wednesday and I am excited. Once we get them to Church, I know that they will get baptized in the coming months. We got to see Will... we had a slight scare. He hasn't really been the best at taking care of himself and managing his diabetes and his blood sugar dropped to 26 on Sunday night... just before we were to teach him a lesson. We knew something was wrong because he didn't open his door and his car was home. We prayed hard and decided to leave. The next day, he texted us and told us that he had hurt himself bad and the EMT's/ambulance had to break in to his house to help him. It was scary, so we are scared about the baptism... but he just keeps plunking along.
Williams got baptized on Saturday and it was great. His sister came and also the Elders had a baptism. The poor Elder's investigator had to be baptized 9 times because the man doing it, was inexperienced and had a hard time with a low water level font. So that was slightly embarrassing. They all had a good laugh about it afterwards though. We watched Meet the Mormons during the dressing time, and the Spirit was so strong during the Candy Bomber story. Sister Gass and I were on the verge of tears the whole time. We were so glad that things worked out.
However, the coolest miracle happened on Sunday. Will was going to be confirmed. When we walked into the Church, we saw him and and he was talking to someone we didn't recognize. They looked alike, so I thought that he had invited his adult daughter to see it. I was so proud of him as a missionary, but it actually didn't work out quite that way. A month ago, the Elmira central Elders tracted into a family who let them in and they gave a lesson. Over the last 2 weeks, that family became a super solid progressing family. This family was ready to come to Church and the Elders brought them. They walk in, are looking around and the Mom screams and runs over to someone in a suit on the other side of the building. The Elders ask, "What's going on?" The Father says, "Oh, that's her Dad." William's daughter found the gospel just like he did. William has a golden family. It was a family reunion at Church! They both said that they both had been learning more about God and going to Church, they were excited for each other, but had never discussed what the name of the Church was... LOL. What are the odds, that we find William and the Elders find the daughter and her family and we teach both groups simultaneously. Even more astonishing is that they both come to Church for the first time on the same day, in the same building. Boom! They both have instant fellow shippers and a support system. This is not our work, it is the Lord's work. Will had the best confirmation. He loved it. He said that he felt like something "filled him up' and he was the luckiest guy on the earth. He even stayed for an 8 year old baptism afterwards. He is doing great... unfortunately, we just saw him last night while he had a low blood sugar episode. It is tough to watch one of my favorite people be reduced to the level of a teenager and lose all inhibition due to health problems. Agency is a killer. If only people would take care of themselves. But, the Lord knows what he is doing.
Thursday, we kept teaching people. We tracted into this guy named Norm that loves the Yankees and was willing to listen and read the Book of Mormon. Rachel is doing good! We had a Relief Society activity on Thursday and got to know more of the ladies in the Ward. That was Fun!
Humm, other updates. James, still stubborn James... Sabrina and Brian are finally having spiritual experiences over Facebook, but they won't let go of their work responsibilities to let the Gospel help them. But, we will still get there! Jim is getting the priesthood next week! We went on exchanges with the Corning Sisters and picked up 4 investigators and saw little referral miracles. I tracted in the cold for 4 hours ... that was fun. Even though we didn't spend a ton of time in our area this week, we still got work done!
Church on Sunday was so spiritual. Best Sunday speakers and little miracles with our investigators. The Spirit was so strong, it tired me out... but I had to go see all of our people.
Well, this week is transfer week. Sister Gass is going home and Sister Seeder will be my new companion. She has been out for 15 months. She is from Seattle and is super cute and nice, but very shy. We are complete opposites, but I have learned that God gives me companions to learn how to be best friends with people that I would never think to be friends with.
I am going to miss Sister Gass a ton. She has been my favorite companion so far and we have had a lot of good time. But, I am excited for the future!
The Church is true!
Sister Kylie Williams
