Week 9: Off to Arizona!

GREETINGS FROM SUNNY TUCSON!!!!!!!!!!

I STILL can't believe I'm here. It's WARM. It's awesome. My companion is heaven sent. Her name is Hermana Jeppson from Logan, Utah and literally everybody who has talked about her has said that she is the best I could possibly get, including the President himself. He told me that in his opinion she is literally the best missionary in the entire mission, that if she was an elder she would be AP. She is the work horse of the area. SHE IS SO AWESOME!!!! She is very down to earth and very "let's stop wasting time and get this done right now." But she is also very kind and understanding and listens very well. So basically, all my prayers for the world's best companion were answered. I can't wait to learn the ropes from her amazing example and experience.

Yesterday President Kilpack and his wife picked us up from the airport, along with the APs. The Kilpacks are incredible! They took us to the Mormon Battalion monument, treated us to pizza for lunch, and took us to their home where we spent the rest of the night having meetings, interviews, dinner, testimony meeting, pictures, and a nature walk. All of the senior couples were also with us. Their home was so nice and the spirit was so strong. During my interview with President Kilpack was when he told me I really have been given the best companion in the whole mission. She also speaks excellent Spanish!

I've been told by everyone so far that this is a baptizing mission. Our goal for each companionship is a baptism every month! They said the people are so humble and the members love and care for their missionaries. I'm in such a good place! We got settled in our apartment this morning, which has grass! Most places around here don't have any because it is so dry. It's a cute little place. The sister who's place I'm taking is Sister Curlee, the CUTEST thing I've ever seen. I'll send pictures. She barely comes up to my shoulder.

Our APs and elders seem so awesome so far. They were all so friendly and had such a strong confidence and charity and respect. I can tell they are good elders.

At the airport yesterday, I thought, "Oh my heck, I'm in public....I have to talk to people...." It was actually the part that freaked me out the most about getting ready to go into the field! We were sitting across from a couple that didn't seem very talkative, but I felt super strongly like I had to talk to them. I kept getting scared and wouldn't do it and when I finally resolved that I would, they both fell asleep. I was sitting there with a mormon.org card in my lap, shaking, waiting for them to wake up. Our plane was coming soon and I was so scared of disobeying the prompting from the Spirit to talk to them that I said a prayer that they would wake up. Not even 30 seconds later they just opened up their eyes and looked at us and started talking to us! Prayers are answered! We talked to them all about their trip and family and everything. Then I said, "Have you heard about the church..."yes"....Well we focus a lot on the family, how to gain stronger family relationships, how to better raise a family these days, how families can be blessed by the gospel...." I gave the woman the mormon.org card and got rejected hahhah but I followed the prompting to open my mouth and felt like that had made me successful. No regrets. Then, on the plane, I sat in the aisle seat next to an Elder. The woman across the aisle from me was traveling with her son to watch her daughter perform in a musical. We kept talking but I could NOT think of a way to bring up the gospel at all. It bugged me the whole flight. Again, while this woman slept, I agonized in my mind about what I should say. I started talking to the woman in front of her, saying anything that came to mind, and then out of nowhere she said, "So are you nervous? You're for 18 months, right? Good luck." I didn't think she was a member. I couldn't tell. But I just tried to have a good conversation with her and make her feel like she was listened to. But I still didn't know what I should say to her. I'm excited to see my companion in situations like this so I can see how she makes the transition.

Yesterday my traveling companion was Sister Blood, from San Diego. Her story is crazy. It made me so humble and so grateful. Her dad was a "jack mormon" who left their family years ago and her mom is an ex-mormon gone anti. Her mom would always bible bash with her and Sister Blood would have to get rides every week with the Relief Society president. She got baptized when she was 12. When she announced that she was going on a mission, her mom was always putting anti-mormon literature on her bed and saying that she would disown her if she went. When her call came in the mail, she came home from work that night and found it ripped to shreds in the trash can. She had to sit there for hours taping it back together and found out that she was going to Tucson, English speaking. Her mom told her that she wouldn't write her a single letter and when she called home from the airport the other day, her mom asked why she was even calling. She didn't want to talk about it at all after. I thought holy cow, I AM BLESSED!!!! My family is all active members and all they ever do is be incredible examples and encourage me to do the right thing! I can't believe how much I have taken it for granted! I love you all so much and I can see how I was put in this amazing family for a reason. I have always struggled with believing in myself and having enough confidence to do what I should, and all my family members have helped me to see who I am, realize my potential and turn it into action. I wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for all of you. I've never really been the type to say "That's what I want in life so I'm going to get it" type, I've often given up and thought that I'm just not great and can't accomplish anything. But that changes now. I am going to set high expectations, have faith in myself and in my investigators, be obedient, and CHANGE through being obedient to all these things daily. I know now that I can change and become who I want to become because of the Savior. I can't wait to tell this to other people who don't understand who they are and their magnificent potential to change their lives and do great things.

Well today is P-day, I don't know if we'll be meeting with investigators or what. I know we're going to go play basketball with the other elders or something. I've gotta finish unpacking a few things. I think my trainer Sister Jeppson is also new in the area, I can't remember. Oh wait, we're covering new areas on top of our own, or something like that. We were told about some of our new investigators by the sisters that taught them. They said there have been miracles worked with these people, that they are very special and we need to take very good care of them. I'm so excited to get started! Hra Jeppson said we don't tract a lot. She said they used to go for 7 or 8 hours at a time but it was found to be pretty ineffective, so we don't really do a ton anymore. It's mostly member referrals, which are the BEST because they have friends in the church who can help them. So whenever the missionaries ask you for referrals of people you know, don't hesitate! This was emphasized to us OVER AND OVER again in the MTC. Members are KEY in missionary work. the best thing you could possibly do to help the missionaries is give them referrals.

Well I guess that's it for now. So I'll be writing again next monday. You can still dearElder me here, I just don't know when I'll get them. Mail and packages don't come directly to our apartment (we're actually not allowed to give anyone our apartment address, including family), they are all sent to the mission office and then given to us once a week. I'll let you know how it goes.

Well I love you love you love you LOVE you!!!! Can't wait to tell you about my first week!!!!

PS: Thank you Kristine SO MUCH for the peanut butter bars!!!!! We all gobbled them up immediately, my district said they were the best thing they'd ever had! I said I know.

Jen--Thanks so much for your letter!!!! President Uchtdorff's talk was also my favorite in conference.

Sister Addis--Thank you so much for your letter! It was such a nice surprise!!! Kimy is doing well at the MTC, it was such a blessing to be with her!!!

Sister Edwards--Thank you for dearElder!!! I heard from Sean recently and it made my whole day. I am sad that Tucker is losing his hearing!! :(

OKay love you!!!!!

~Hermana Wadsworth

Week 8: Goodbye MTC!

Hola!!!

So, this is my last week in the MTC.

I feel like I just got here not too long ago!

It's crazy how it's a time warp; part of you feels like you just came and part feels like you've been here your whole life (and will never leave).

Not much happened this week. It's really just been a bunch of reviewing Spanish and trying to perfect what we still don't understand. I've learned more about teaching, though. I feel like I'm really starting to get a grip on how to ask thought-provoking questions, how to discern what their real concern is from what they're telling me, and how to teach with the spirit and just listen. I'm excited and nervous to be doing this with real people!! But our mock investigators have really helped us a lot to have a feel for what it will be like.

Man, you really have to be totally worthy for the spirit and totally in tune with whatever it is trying to tell you about your investigator. When I'm not perfectly listening or in tune with the Spirit, we aren't successful teachers. I feel like it's kindaaaa a huge deal, it's really nerve racking because I'm definitely not perfect and it can be pretty hard sometimes to really have the exact kind of lesson you should have. I really hope that my first companion in the field is just completely stellar and I can learn soooooo much from her in the very beginning. If not.....well, bring it on.

So, I got my travel plans!!!! I'll be flying to Tucson on Monday the 21 (next monday) with Delta. My flight leaves at around 10-ish I think.....but while I'm in the airport I GET TO CALL HOME!!!!! So my guess is that I'll be calling anytime from like 8-9:30 my time, or 10-11:30 your time. Send me a dearElder to let me know if I should call your cell phone or call the house or what, and MAKE SURE TO SEND ME YOUR HOME PHONE NUMBER---I've forgotten it and I don't have it. So be ready! I can't wait to call!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Grandma and Grandpa--I was supposed to give you my mission home address right now and I was totally dumb and completely forgot to!!! I'll probably hop back on email later today and send it to you. But would you mind sending my bedding package tomorrow to the mission office? I can't remember if you got the check for it or not, let me know :)

I met ANOTHER Wadsworth yesterday. She is the wife of a branch president here at the MTC. She is from Pinaca (Pin-a-kuh, don't know how to spell it), Las Vegas. I've heard this from multiple people before-- people always say "Oh, do you have family in Las Vegas? I know a bunch of Wadsworths from there." Once again, can't wait to do my family history. Yesterday I actually learned all about how family history is a great way to find people to teach. Did you know that all church family history centers are open to all people and that 60% of the people that use these centers are not LDS? It's a huge hobby these days. We were told we could organize classes in meeting houses for people who are interested in doing their family history. I'm so excited! I encourage you guys to get started with your family history! It's so exciting. The church has the largest database of geneology files in the entire world. And you can just go to FamilySearch.org and do it all from your computer at home. It's actually really fun :)

Wellllll I guess that's it for now....I've got time left on my email so if I can think of anything else I'll hop back on later and send you another one. But I loooooooooooove you. Today we're doing sealings in the temple. I'm excited.

Well LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!

Hermana Wadsworth

Week 7: More good times

HOla HoLa hoLA!!!!

This week in the MTC was awesome. Every week I grow so much. It´s hard, but I love it. I gain so much understanding through having experience. I love it! This is how life should be. I´m determined to keep it this way after my mission.

KIM IS HERE!!!! She got here Wednesday and I couldn´t find her all day. So at night I randomly went searching in the dorm rooms on the floor above ours and ran right into her! It´´s been so awesome having my best friend go through this experience with me! I´ll have to get pictures of us together and send them to you.

Grandma and Grandpa~ I was wondering if you could send me any stories or pictures of my dad on his mission? I'd love to hear about the kind of missionary he was, what he learned, and funny stories.

I've learned some very important lessons this week. I've had so many faith-building experiences that have strengthened my testimony and brought me greater understanding and happiness the old fashioned way (work and hard times).

I've realized that I'm really hard on myself. Really hard. So when something doesn't go perfectly right, I get super depressed. If I'm lacking desire or motivation one day to work and be happy or I have a lesson that doesn't go well or one thing goes wrong, I beat myself up over it. I tell myself that life is too hard and this is how it will always be and I can never improve and I'll never be happy or successful or really be the best person that I want to be. Satan totally jumps right in when I'm having a moment like this. I would get confused when I was doing everything I was supposed to and was either messing up or feeling a lack of motivation or wasn't having an "Enos moment" every time I planned a lesson or read the scriptures or was obedient. I finally realized that THATS NORMAL. If we were super happy and filled with the Spirit so strongly and strong and successful allllllll the time, we wouldn't actually fully comprehend that happiness. We would just be going through the motions and we wouldn't understand the happy moments when we had them. "The sad times on your mission will outnumber the happy ones, but the happy moments will outweigh the sad ones." That's already been true for me in the MTC. It's like I forgot that I'm human and farrrrr from perfect, that no one is ever happy all the time. This is why Adam and Eve were cast out of the Garden, so they could gain understanding and really cherish the happiness they found. If we were never sad we'd never be happy. I'm so thankful Heavenly Father loves me so much that He allows me to have these rough times in order to really be thankful for the happy moments.

From this experience I also had to remember what life is all about: growing and progressing one little bit at a time. I would always compare myself unfavorably to others and their accomplishments and feel like it was impossible for me to change. But when Sacrament came on Sunday, I remembered that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are ready to immediately forgive as soon as we have a change of heart. This whole plan is all for US! I couldn't do anything without the Atonement of my Savior and I love Him very much. Everyone in the world needs to know that they have a Savior!

Last night we had a devotional from one of the Church's lawyers. It was so awesome. He talked all about religious freedom in different countries, and what sorts of things stop the work from progressing on the earth. He took us through a bunch of statistics and showed us how the Lord's hand is in every detail of the work spreading forth on the earth! He said 70% of the world's population lives with HIGH resstrictions on religious freedom. He told us about different laws in different countries and interesting stories about the times he's had to be a part of passing different laws in different lands and "opening the doors of nations" to the gospel, for missionaries to go proselyte and establish the church. Of the stories he shared, it just made you think "holy cow, the Lord really is in every single detail of this, opening hearts and doors and everything so the gospel can move forward!" He said church membership is increasing exponentially: 54% every decade! It made me want to learn so much more. That would be so awesome to be a part of moving the work forward on the earth through negotiating and creating laws and what have you.

Okay thank you SO MUCH for the packages everyone has sent me!!!! Getting mail is the bomb but getting packages is the BEST. Grandma and Grandpa thank you so much for the package with the picture! It was so sweet!!! And mom thank you so much for the watches, they are perfect. They are so cute! I love them! I sent you a check this week for my car and the watches--let me know if you got it.

I'll send you my bank info this week.

Yesterday I met a Sister Bardin going to Tucson Spanish speaking! She is the only person I've met in the whole MTC so far going there! She is from ROy Utah and is very sweet.

I also met another Wadsworth yesterday!!! I got her contact info for after the mish.

Yesterday I bore my testimony in Spanish in sacrament meeting. It was great. I LOVE SPANISH. I feel like it's seriously always been in my blood. I've always loved the language and the culture and the FOOD and just everything about it. I feel like this was meant to be.

Kim told me that before she came into the MTC she had a dream that my dad would be helping me a lot, especially with my Spanish. He already has.

I feel like I've finally gotten to the point now where I can look back at day 1 and say "look how far I've come!" I can finally measure my progress and recognize that I've changed and learned so much. MISSION IN TWO WEEKS AHHHH!!!!!!!

It's been chilly here. There's snow on the mountains and it's so beautiful! I love it. It was gently snowing this morning when we left our dorm. We had a nice temple walk yesterday. All of the trees were bold yellow and red. It was so beautiful.

I'm just so HAPPY. I'm loving life. It hasn't been easy so far but it has been so worth it and I have grown so much as a person already. I can't wait to be in the field! Ah that's so crazy!

Well I love you all so much and think about you every day. I couldn't do this without all of your prayers. I need them so much. Thank you!

Yo se que Dios y Jesucristo viven, y JesuCristo es mi Salvador. Arrepentimiento funciona y es possible para cambiar cada dia. El amo.

Dad thanks so much for the letters in Spanish! Hahah I love them!!

Well wish me luck with another week!

Don't forget that I get to CALL you in the airport when I fly to Arizona. I'll get you the details-- I get my travel plans this week!!! CRazy!!!!

Kay love you all!!!!!!!

Hermana Wadsworth