7-6-15
Dear Family!!
What a crazy week, President &
Sister Reynolds arrived, it was the 4th of July, and we had a
baptism!!
Monday was the best thing ever cause
I got to see my trainer, Sister Myers (Morgan) and her mom!! They
came back to visit and so we met them down in Belle Harbor for the
best afternoon of my life!! It was so good to be back with her in
the area and catch up! I feel like I owe everything good that has
come from my mission to her. It's amazing how being around someone
who is so positive can change the way you are and the outlook you
have on your mission. I feel so blessed to have had the perfect
trainer.
On Thursday we went to the Mission
Office for a mission-wide conference to meet the Reynolds. Let me
tell ya, they are something else!! So presh. It's funny to see the
difference, President Calderwood was all business and obviously so
loving and the greatest guy ever, and President Reynolds is a
construction guy with a drawl and a happy little smile. He's like
President Egbert, Grandpa, Pa, and every other amazing guy all
rolled up into one! One thing that just kills me is how short him
and his wife both are! They are the cutest couple EVER. When they
were telling us about themselves they were SO NERVOUS. They are
already adjusting so well though! They even came to our baptism
yesterday! But I won't spoil that haha.
So our Zone Leaders from last
transfer met this lady who was unpacking a moving van so they
helped her and have gone back subsequent times to assist in the
unloading. The family is moving from NJ and their dad just passed
away from cancer...they have 3 kids in their teens. Our whole
district went to help them move on Friday and we got to teach the
mom and her daughter and the grandmother and it was one of the most
spiritual, powerful lessons I have been in! There were boxes all
over, seriously not even a place to sit, but the room was full of
the spirit as we talked about God's plan for us and how He knows
our needs. You can imagine how special the restoration and the Plan
of Salvation are to a family who has just lost their dad. I think
sometimes we take all this a bit for granted because we are so used
to being blessed with it. The gospel is truly amazing.
We met with Debbie on the 4th for
breakfast. She is the lady who broke up with us but then still
wants to meet with us, she took us to Juniors (finally got a
picture!!) and had a great little talk...she still wants to be
baptized!! Just not for a while so her family can settle down. She
is seriously the sweetest lady ever. We also had a BBQ at our Ward
Mission Leader's house and had some non-members there so it was
awesome! And I got to cook a bit so I was happy. I am so grateful
for religious freedom and for this great country, there were a lot
of fireworks at Coney Island and in the city and we had a good view
of them all! Haha I guess there is so much more that happened on
that day but I am too excited to tell you about our Sunday!!!
Sunday is the highlight of the week.
Each day we are trying our hardest to get people to commit to come
to church on Sunday and it seems like ever since I got here it's
been such a struggle! We usually have 2 or 3 investigators and some
less actives, but considering how many people we are teaching we
should have WAY more. I am a strong believer in fasting so I
decided to fast that our people would come to church. We had 5
investigators, 2 less-active FAMILIES, and a few other people show
up that we have been trying for MONTHS to get there!! It was such a
miracle and a blessing. I guess the best part was that we took the
parents down to nursery to drop their kids off and their kids
started SCREAMING. 3 toddlers and 2 sister missionaries who can't
hold kids is not a good combination. The poor nursery lady was so
overwhelmed. We tried to stay to help but we had to make the
program for the baptism. I also had to play the piano for primary
because the lady who usually does it was gone. Seriously the
craziest 3 hours of my life! Then we ran back to RS so I could play
there and right after that we had to start the baptism. We had a
huge turnout which was amazing, and we had a sister play a really
beautiful number on her violin. After Valerie got baptized she bore
her testimony. She has quite the sense of humor and has literally
one to every church in existence. She also has a degree in theology
so she has a lot to say. She bore one of the most powerful
testimonies of the Book of Mormon I have EVER heard. It was
seriously beautiful and so heartfelt. I felt like a proud mama. She
talked about how each time she feels stressed from the pressures of
the world she finds her hand reading for her Book of Mormon. She
caries it with her everywhere and she sleeps with it on her
nightstand. She is one of my favorites guys, seriously the
coolest.
Sunday night we taught some pretty
cray lessons, all I can say is it is really obvious when someone has
a sincere heart and real intent, and when they don't it sure makes
it hard to try and teach because the spirit is difficult to have
when there is doubt and misconception. I am glad I know of myself
that this is true because no matter what people say it cannot shake
the witness I have from the Spirit.
Something I wanted to share that
President Reynolds said in our meeting regarding "rules"
(and I see "commandments" as a synonym here) is that "our
contract is with the Lord". We can have parents or church
leaders or supervisors telling us what to do, but in the end it all
comes down to us and God. Do we feel comfortable with how we have
acted and the choices we have made? I know that God is just and that
we will have to face all that we have done, but I also know that He
is merciful, more merciful than we know, and He loves us and wants
us to become like Him. I feel so blessed to be an extension of the
Prophet and Apostles and fulfill the divine mandate to preach the
gospel to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people. The more we
share it, the more our own testimony is strengthened. I love you
all, thanks for your support, examples, and love!!
Love,
Sister Wadsworth
1. Best friends doesn't describe it.
2. The moving crew! Love our district.
3. With Debbie at Juniors!
4. President & Sister Reynolds
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