Church is True, Book is Blue

Time is flying! Sis Batsuuri is done training and I hit my 10-month mark on Saturday! Oh and I'm getting transferred so say goodbye to Queens YSA!! What a great area.

This week was super fun! We did a zone-wide exchange and I got to be with Sister Andersen, my MTC companion! It was a pretty uneventful exchange, I went to the doctor so they could dig out whatever was in my foot. It was pretty swollen the rest of the week so good thing we have a car! We had a ton of fun and it was cool to see how much we have changed in the last 10 months. Something I learned from her is that it really isn't about the success you have as a missionary, but the effort you put in. You could invite everyone you see to be baptized and never have a baptism, but that doesn't mean you didn't do your job. I firmly believe the most important person to convert on your mission is yourself. 

We did a train finding activity as a zone where we had 4 missionaries each read a verse of scripture super loud and then we gave out a bunch of Book of Mormons, I had 2 really cool (and 1 creepy) experiences. The first person I talked to was an adorable old catholic lady, Grace, and she basically grabbed the book out of my hands after I told her about it.  Our conversation ended with a hug cause I guess we were "there" in the relationship. It's funny how a 2 minute discussion about the gospel can make two strangers in New York best friends. The second lady was a little more aloof so I went for the "families are forever" approach...works every time. Just tell her this life is about families and that the gospel is meant for families...she was all about it. She practically grabbed the book from me too. Church is true, book is BLUE!! Afterwards the senior couples in the office bought our zone Panda Express because of the stellar job we did cleaning the church when the General Authorities came. 

The Astoria ward had a talent show and our elders signed up the whole district for something so we did a skit that actually turned out really funny. We had the greenie Elder Robinson knock 4 doors, at one of them Sister Batsuuri came out screaming at him in some kind of Asian language and swatting him with a broom. It was hysterical. I'll try and send a video. 

There is this guy in our apartment building who sees our name tags so I think he assumes we are nuns, every time we walk past he says "hallelujah!" "Praise the Lord!" And all this stuff that's pretty hysterical and makes me laugh. The other day he walked past and didn't say anything so I was just like "praise the Lord, brother" and he was like "hallelujah" so I was like "amen" and we just kept going back and forth, it was seriously so funny. We have the weirdest people in our apartment. Esp the maintenance guys haha. Our drain in our bathtub broke so we were forced to ask them to fix it. My trophy wife skills aren't to the plumbing level quite yet. Anyway he tried to get us to make him breakfast after he fixed it and so I opened the door and was like "wow thanks so much, have a great day!" And he just got the most shocked look on his face and walked out. Hahaha. 

I had a cool experience at the mall on Monday. We were at Sephora and I wanted to talk to the lady about the church but I didn't know how so I asked her to teach me how to do eye make up (which I already know how to do haha), we had a really good discussion! I taught her the plan of salvation (without her knowing it) and she really liked it! I love talking to people about the gospel in a "normal" setting with no pressure. I used to be so intimidated about bringing the gospel up in regular settings, but talking about God is something everyone can relate to, whether they believe in Him or not. The best part was when she told me to try doing on my left eye what she had done on my right eye and I did it like I normally do and she was like "wow, you're really good!" And I was like yeah, do you wanna be baptized? Haha jk but it was a fun experience. We can talk to people about our religion guys! The only way to get over our fear of doing so is PRACTICE. Sorry not sorry but that's the only way.  

Sunday was the best thing ever because Richard finally set a baptismal date! It's been almost 4 months of teaching him, but he is finally ready to take the plunge! I am seriously so excited for him. It is so incredible to watch people make changes in their lives for the better! It is also cool to see the progress from when we were first teaching him and he claimed to be Atheist. I can tell he wants to follow Christ's example.

This week I was studying about anger. I know that's kind of a weird topic, but I was talking to a less active girl about it(she was telling me a story about how she punched someone at work..legit) and decided I wanted to learn more about how we can control our anger. There are some excellent talks and scriptures about anger, one entitled "Agency and Anger" and something I learned from it is that no one can ever make us angry. Becoming angry is a choice we make, and it is similar with being offended. I thought "oh well I never get offended" but right after that I pretty much got called out by Elder Bednar:  "When we believe or say we have been offended, we usually mean we feel insulted, mistreated, snubbed, or disrespected." I was like, oh yeah haha actually I feel that way sometimes, and I realized it's because I choose to. We are in control of how we feel, but we have to take control. I know choosing to look past hurtful things and looking for the positive in others and in life will bring us the most peace and happiness. Amidst all those talks I found one "Trial of your Faith" based on a study of Ether 12:4. I love what Elder Andersen said: "With faith come trials of faith, bringing increased faith." Its a good way to look at trials: an opportunity to increase our faith. I know this gospel is true and happy lives are possible because of it. 

Love you all, thanks for the support! 

Sister Wads

PS ...a scripture a day keeps the devil away

1. Our District + the ZLs and Spanish Sisters!

2. Macy! 

3. MTC besties reunited!

4. S H O V E L I N G

This week....? Fuhgeddaboudit

Dear Family:

Another monumental week here in NY! It snowed every day this week, we took someone to the temple, and the "restart" is now underway! Every night when I come how I am just in awe at how blessed I am to be serving here. It is unreal the way in which the gospel blesses me, our family, and the people here. 

Monday was a bit unusual because we got our hair done!! A new lady in the ward from Montreal, CA did it for us for free and she did an awesome job! The blessings of having a hairstylist called as a ward missionary. We were also able to get to know her and she is an incredible person! I love getting to know new people. We did the usual "run 5 different companionships to the grocery store" and then....we got to skype JeongAh!!!!! She's been back in So. Korea for a month now and it was so good to hear her voice! She is so precious, we were asking her about the church there and she said "I like it, the carpet is the same." Classic. I am grateful that we come to church for the spirit, because it is the same everywhere. I feel the same when I walk into the Woodside building as I did back at home. Something I have learned here is the importance of keeping the Lord's house clean. I hope we are all careful and mindful of the condition in which we keep our places of worship. 

Tuesday we had an awesome District Mtg, our district leader shared a video about the importance of the atonement in missionary work (and life) based on a talk from Elder Holland "Missionary Work & the Atonement", one of my favorites. I wish I could quote the whole talk here, but I loved this line "salvation is not a cheap experience." I think we too often get down on ourselves when times get hard or when things don't go like we planned. We forget that it is supposed to be hard. That's how we learn. President always says "stop trying to serve your mission with the companion you want, in the area you want, the way you want. Serve the Lord's mission and you will learn what you need to." It's the same in life. Do it God's way and you will learn what he wants you to. It is important that we don't take the atonement for granted--it should be a part of every day of our lives. I hope we don't waste this precious gift because if we are applying it properly, we will always be happy. 

Also taught the RS president and her brother how to make biscuits and gravy. Sooo presh. The brother was like "woooowww" the whole time, he couldn't believe how cool it was how they rose in the oven. 

Wednesday was the fateful day of no more Facebook! (Amen. I kinda hate Facebook.) we've been off it for like 5 days now and I seriously feel free as a bird! Should have done this sooner. It will be so refreshing to use it properly after we have been trained (and train ourselves) to do so. We got the new iPads and sent our old ones back to Salt Lake. We had an amazing multi-zone conference to kick off the restart, as well as launch all missionaries into the 12-program for technology. It's like we are at the beginning of our "technology mission." There were incredible workshops by President and the APs about teaching, fulfilling our purpose, and using Gospel Library andMormon.org. Dude check that website out the church has put a lot of effort into it. Also, a senior missionary gave a workshop about family history! I definitely learned some new things! Just because your family tree is complete doesn't mean you're done! You can go to your ancestors and complete their descendancy to find all your long lost third cousins! I know that family history is a commandment for all of us, not just old people, and that as we do it we will gain the power to resist the temptations of our day. After the conference we went and indexed with some members (how appropriate) our branch has a goal for each person to do 50 names each quarter. It's really easy and fun when you do it with others! Check that out too. 

Thursday it snowed alllll day. We had to cancel our lesson at the university with John because the traffic and roads were bad. We shoveled the walks at the church and weekly planned and then got on the train into Manhattan early because there were so many delays. We only missed one stop, and I can proudly say after 10 months that I can finally understand the subway map! Car areas ruin your ability to find anything or get anywhere without a GPS. Anyway so we got there early and met the members in the Family History Center inside the same building as the temple. The lady that worked there was Sister Hanson, from Fallon NV!! Haha what the heck we didn't know any of the same people so it was kind weird but it was cool to meet her! My companion printed off 57 family names and we did them all! She is no longer the only member in her family haha. We met a lady there who is a ballerina and was like 67 years old. She was so cool. Sister Pratt. It was a really good experience for the member, she hasn't been in quite some time, and it was a special time for all of us. Afterwards we went to this place called Shake Shack and it was sooo good. I love the members of this branch, they are so accepting of everyone and so kind. That is something I love about New York. Everyone is so different that you have to be accepting. There are no "black sheep" because the herd is every different shape, color, and size. There is no "normal." 

Friday we took one of the girls from the branch to do manis. We are helping her get back to the temple and she is the sweetest thing ever! She took us out to Subway and we had a really great lesson with her. There was also a Relief Society anniversary dinner that night and one of the ladies was supposed to do a musical number and she wanted me to "make up" an accompaniment for "As Sisters in Zion." Well I've been practicing this thing where I mess around with hymns and try to make them sound prettier, and the number actually turned out well! Especially considering it was kind of on the spot. My piano game has been pretty strong on the mission, and I know the Lord makes us more than we actually are when we are trying to do His work. Saturday was a HUGE women's conference with a ton of workshops and a blood drive and all this different stuff. The YSA girls did a beauty and fashion workshop and they said they wanted us to help out so we were like "ok yeah" expecting them to need help setting up chairs. Nope! We walk in and they're like "Sister Wadsworth, put on this dress!" And basically made a model out of me. Good thing I decided that was a good day to not wear makeup haha. And all the clothes they had were like size 0 so I looked like a heifer but it was really fun and I LOVE the girls in the YSA, they are all so down-to-earth and kind. We had a lot of investigators come too! It was a great turnout. Sunday we went to a members house and they had this furniture in boxes that's been sitting in their house since I met them and they still haven't put it together! They let me set it up and it was soooo great. I felt so at home. I felt like everything Pa taught me was finally being put to good use! It was probably the funnest thing I did all week lets be honest. 

I read a wonderful talk this week by President Packer from back in the day and he talked about how some of the pioneers went through that long and painful winter on the way to Salt Lake. One man said that the sun rose one morning and it was so bright and warm he practically forgot the horrible journey he had been on for the last 6 months. It is the same way with the atonement and forgiveness. No matter how long we suffer or how difficult it might be, when we feel Christ's forgiveness we can forget that pain and look to our future with faith and purpose. I am so grateful for the atonement and for God's love in our lives. He cares so much about each one of His children, I feel so blessed to be a witness of that every day. 

I am grateful to all of you for your support and love! (: 

xoxo

Sister Wadsworth

1. My beautiful trainer is going home this transfer! ): 

2. Fun snow day in Manhattan at the temple

3. Erica and Steven, probably the funniest people on the planet. 

4. Teaching some Filipinos how to make biscuits! (FYI her shirt says "don't be jealous just because I've been chatting online with babes all day) lol. She's never even seen the movie.

Becoming a Disciple of Christ in the Digital Age

Hi Fam! 

I seriously don't even know what just happened. It's like a tornado swept through NY between my last letter and now. I guess I'll just start off with all the miracles and then move into our experience with the General Authorities. This will be a long'un so get excitedddd!

So there's a guy in the branch and he's an INCREDIBLE cook. Like Alton Brown, Peruvian style. I had kind of been hinting that he should feed us dinner for quite some time now, and his cousin is here from Spain so there's another woman in the house so it was legal! So we go over and his cousin only speaks Spanish but we ended up teaching her (in Spanish, that's how good I'm getting guys..haha), gave her a Spanish Book of Mormon (yes we are that prepared) and on Friday we set a baptismal date with her! So sick. 

Tuesday and Wednesday were awesome I'm sure, but honestly I don't really remember what happened on those days. 

THURSDAY. Oh my Panda Express it was such a miracle day. So the morning was normal (for this week), I woke up unable to breathe from my ear infection and other sickness whatever they are, and attempted working out, studying, etc. eventually gave up and tried to sleep. It's weird how disobedient you feel when you're sick. You feel like because you didn't study the full 4 hours nothing good can happen that day because you're disobedient. Haha, not true I guess! I wouldn't recommend it though. Anyways our zone cleaned the church because the General Authorities were coming the next day and all the churches in NYC are filthy, just like the rest of NYC. We spent 4 hours, some of the elders were polishing the basketball hoops, just so you get the idea. I sprayed air freshener all over the chapel so if we all got high at the meeting it was my fault sorry not sorry. That place smelled like a divine apple orchard if you ask me. Anyway it was fun cleaning with like 20 missionaries, and people said that's the cleanest they'd ever seen the church. Only the best for the Lords representatives! 

They we went and took a member to do manicures with us at this place, seriously everyone here does nails there are salons on every corner and manis are $5 and they give you a back massage too which is awesome, but now we're getting derailed. So we're talking to the member who moved here 3 weeks ago and she's like, so stinkin cool. Well turns out she was inactive before coming here and we drug her to institute one night and she made a ton of friends there and now she loves coming to church! I never would have guessed haha. I asked her if she prays and she said that lately she had been and she just started bawling right there and told us everything has changed and now she WANTS to be a member and she loves coming to church! Well that was cool so we asked her to come do a lookup with us.

We go to that family from Elko and no one answered so we were like "dang, guess we'll go home" but as we were walking away the door opened (best 2 years status right there) and this new girl let us in! We hadn't met her when we came the first time. We got to know her and her sister (the one we had originally planned to visit) and it was super chill! They asked of we could stay and we said we could stay till 9:30 but only if we had a lesson. They agreed so we shared the "choose this day" mormon message by President Eyring. We bore our testimonies about God's love and it somehow turned into individual worth and the girl started crying! It was an emotional day haha. She had been inactive for like 10 years but she said she wanted to come back to church. Well she came to the right people haha. And on the way home we almost got in an accident and probably should have died but we didn't so that was another miracle.

So our mission was one of the first to get the iPads. They turned us loose with hardly any restrictions and told us to figure it out (this was 6 months before I got here). That was the "test" phase. We graduated to the "trial" phase!! Now, instead of not knowing what the heck we are doing, we get to be trained on how to be effective on Facebook and mormon.org, family history, areabook (the app, not the book haha I've never had a planner like other missionaries, it's all on the app), and everything else!! But not just effective as missionaries...they are training us how to be effective with technology and social media in general, as people, so we can do so for the rest of our lives. No more days of wasting hours on the newsfeed comparing yourself to everyone else's "best side." The Lord has better purposes for technology and he wants us to be the masters, not the servants of it. The training we received was not on the iPads. It was on becoming disciples of Christ in this age. The gospel is the pearl of great price and we display it in a beautiful box (the iPad) but sometimes we start admiring the box we forget WHY we have it! The gospel is much more important than the way in which we share it. There were SO MANY things said, but because mostly family members will read this I will try and write things that will be beneficial in helping families use technology safely and wisely. 

When Elder Evans got up he held up a pen and said "these devices should be no more distracting than this pen. They are both simply tools to help us further the Lord's work." Well I can guarantee I couldn't set my phone on the desk for 10 minutes without at least THINKING about checking it or something dumb like that before my mission. We are so attached to these touch screens which, incidentally, make us lose touch with the world around us. Whenever we get on technology we should have a purpose. If we don't have a purpose, we are wasting our time. And that's they way they designed it to be! Have you every seen the round red badge on an app telling you of a notification, you click on it, and somebody commented on a post you commented on that you probably don't care about anymore but you click on it anyway and then you go to someone's profile who also commented and you see something on their wall and suddenly it's been 20 minutes before you look up from the wedding pictures you were creepin on of your best friend's roommate's sister? Congratulations, you just wasted a half hour of your life. One of the great uses of Facebook will be to prove in the last days that lack of prayer was not because of lack of time. Anything that diverts you from your path to follow Christ is bad, even if it is a good thing. There are a lot of "good" things in this life, but if they keep us from eternal life with God...I think they can go stuff themselves. 

They talked a bit about things that are "wrong" about technology, and one of them is our behavior when we use it. We ignore others, and often use it is an escape mechanism from feelings of anger, boredom, anxiety, or (let's be real) awkward situations. We program ourselves to pull out our phones when we are at certain places or when we do certain things. As missionaries we are going off Facebook so we can reprogram our minds and our escape mechanisms. We shouldn't be using tools as escapes. Just like the Liahona, our tools will stop working *correctly* if we use them incorrectly. 

Another problem is with pornography and other forms of inappropriate entertainment. When we isolate ourselves from our companion (or family, or spouse) we are crawling to a dark corner with Satan. Visible screens bring trust and keep us safe. I can think of nothing more unsettling than the "brightness" setting, which allows us to darken our screens so no one can see what we are doing. Like Ma always said "the devil works in the dark." Even though we are probably all guilty of doing things we shouldn't have, whether it be simply wasting time or a more serious sin, I know that we can "restart" and that second chance comes from repentance. Personally, I don't want to use these principals just as a missionary. I feel like that's putting a time limit on my righteousness. When we decide to repent it must be forever. We cannot be truly faithful if we are not first clean. It is not as often as we sin that we are forgiven, but as often as we repent.

So here are some guidelines that have been given to us (hallelujah) to help us be more effective in our technology that (I believe) apply to all who desire to become true disciples of Christ in this digital age. 

Safeguard 1: be in tune with spiritual promptings. President Packer said that "no member of this church will ever make a serious mistake without first being warned by the promptings of the Holy Ghost." We are so blessed to have this protection.

Safeguard 2: be focused on your purpose. Whether you are a missionary or a mom or dad or teen, have a purpose in using technology. This helps avoid wasting time and helps us use technology effectively. 

Safeguard 3: be disciplined. Handheld devices should be our servants, not our masters.

Safeguard 4: be one. "I say unto you, be one; and if ye are not one ye are not mine." Whether you take this to be one as husband and wife or as a family, make sure everyone knows the rules and agrees to be open with how technology should be used in your family unit. 

What to do if you feel susceptible: 

1. Be aware and acknowledge thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Understand how they can make you more vulnerable to using technology. 

2. Choose to act. Respond in righteous, productive ways to what you are feeling.

3. Learn and improve. Use your experiences to continue learning and improving for the future. 

Learning to use technology may mean changing former habits, and doing so is a lot more difficult than saying you will do so. It's important to remember the Savior's atonement and to rely on Him as we live the safeguards and continue to change. 

Some thoughts I had about how I want to use technology when I have a family (the kids are gonna hate me):

-no devices allowed in rooms because all evil happens in isolation. You wouldn't pull up certain images on the big screen for the family to view together, but you would view them in your room when you're alone. All screens facing where everyone can see them. As missionaries we always have to be able to see our companions screen, and although this is a bit unrealistic in real life, you can make adjustments to fit your situation. 

-along with no devices in the rooms I was talking to President and he said that he has a "charging station" where everything electronic goes after 9pm. It reminded me of when I went to prom with Hubs and he said something to the effect that "the Holy Ghost goes to bed after midnight." I know if I was a teenager I would put up a fight on this one, but I know the same principal applies. 

-everyone knows everyone's passwords. My kids will have mine so there is trust on both ends. The only time people have a problem with this is when they have something to hide. 

-we don't delete history, we review it. Together. (#awk if Ma and Pa did this I would have died and cried and everything else 12-year-olds do, but I would have been fine!)

-lastly, there will be filters. Not the annoying ones that won't even let you go to YouTube, but filters so that you will only see inappropriate things if you go looking for them. You can set things like YouTube to only show PG-13 or better if you go to "settings" at the bottom of their website. However, all filters can be broken through. The only true "filter" is the heart and mind of the person. I know that if we have a personal testimony of Christ and His atonement we will never get into trouble with technology. We will be protected from the adversary because we know that "this is life eternal: to know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou has sent." 

The only way to truly fortify ourselves against the adversary is to gain a witness of the truthfulness of the gospel. We do this by reading the scriptures and the words of the prophets and asking God to give us that witness. I know He will. I am grateful for my testimony of the doctrine of Christ and for the opportunity to be serving during this most remarkable era in the history of the church..."the hastening of His work." I will always be faithful to what I know is true.

Love you all & thank you for your constant support!

Sister Wadsworth

1. Gettin some Taco Bell after our finding activity fail...we are the only ones who showed up haha. 

2. On exchanges with Sister Paublo! I love her.

3. Some subway action

4. Our new handbooks! (Note they still say draft...we are so exclusive here in the NYNYSM...) 

The Reset

This week has been pretty groundbreaking in the mission. We are so very blessed to have the iPads as a tool to hasten the work! We had an "emergency" meeting on Saturday and our Zone Leaders informed us about some exciting new changes in the mission. Exciting because it is an opportunity for us to be more obedient and effective missionaries!!! Two of the general authorities gave a training for about 20 mission presidents whose missions have or are getting iPads. They said we don't have iPads to hasten the Lord's work, we have them so that the missionaries can learn how to effectively use technology and make it our servants, not make ourselves servants to it. I was really grateful to hear this because I have often wondered how to raise my kids in this crazy world with something new coming out every second of every day. You don't want to "shelter" kids from technology but if you don't know how to use them how can you teach your kids? We are lucky to be trained on our missions how to use these tools so we can go home and help others (especially our families) use them for good. One thing that I love is that we always have our companions next to us so that they can see our screens. It's not very realistic to do this with your kids, but I think if you make your social interactions know to each other (maybe passwords, not just knowing their's but them knowing yours) you and your kids can be open about your technology and there can be more trust. 

Our mission was one of the test missions for iPads, we were in the first 10 missions to have them. When they first gave us the iPads no one knew how to use them, and you can just see in your mind's eye 18-year-old missionaries downloading apps like fruit ninja or whatever it is kids play these days and wasting their missions away. Well they've come up with some restrictions since then, but there was never any solid guidelines on how to use Facebook or any of the other things effectively. For me, even if I was on it doing what I was supposed to it was easy to waste time and get caught up in things that didn't fulfill our missionary purpose. Well that's  the exciting news! Now that we are buying our iPads it's like a fresh start. They are giving us handbooks on how to use them and our mission is having a "Facebook Breakup" for 2 months so that we can get on the right page and get trained on how to use everything correctly. It is cool because we did pretty well considering what we had to go off of as far as instructions, but now we are receiving more light as to how to use them in the best way we can! So starting next Wednesday we will have new iPads and no Facebook which I'm pretty excited for! Some people from the missionary department are coming to train us on how to use them properly. Sorry if you can't tell, I'm really excited. Mostly because the easiest way to disobey in our mission is on your iPad, so I am grateful for the opportunity to become better and more obedient so that we can help others come to the ordinances that have brought us so much happiness. It's kind of like a way to change and start over with everything and have more help in doing it, which is what this gospel is all about! 

All this kind of ties into some other thoughts I had been having earlier this week about the spirit and revelation. I have been thinking about how important it is that we don't offend the spirit. It is so easy to do something that drives Him away-maybe a joke or a word that isn't quite on point and suddenly we are relying on our own strength because God will draw away until we come seeking Him again. Something I have been able to understand and enjoy a lot since coming on a mission is the ability to recognize when the spirit is there and when He isn't. I think in "real life" a lot of it has to do with how we use technology. How often do we stop and ponder? How often do we open our scriptures? Or pray? And compare those to the number of times we click on Instagram, Snapchat, or Facebook. I know for me, I was nowhere in the same ballpark with those numbers, but gratefully on my mission I have been able to control those things more and am closer to the spirit because of it. Ok I love music so much. It was always on in the car, the house, the headphones. But even music, if we listen to it too much, can take over the atmosphere of our spirit and can distract us from praying. I dunno about you, but I can't pray if Luke Bryan is blastin. Bless his heart. I hope we can all stop and think about how we spend our time. I love this quote "one of the greatest uses of Facebook and Twitter will be to prove in the last days that lack of prayer was not from lack of time." We all have time to do things that are important, but are we spending it on important things? Anyway going back to revelation, I think we can hear God talking to us a lot clearer when we aren't distracted by things of no value. 

I'm sorry if none of this makes sense..it makes sense in my female sister mish brain haha

The rest of the week was pretty slick, literally and figuratively, it was super cold and we helped crazy Dave clean out his house 2 of the days. It was purty crazy let me tell you. But Dave is awesome, he got started on hipsters and gave us a half hour lecture about how they are ruining our society. I was pretty entertained. We gave talks in church, I spoke about the Spirit of Revelation (my favorite topic of all time), and it was super good! Not saying the talk was that good, but it was a good experience for me haha. I love the YSA and am not looking forward to being transferred anytime soon. 

Speaking of which, President has been making a lot of changes in our mission so that we can be more obedient, and transfer calls are now the day before instead of a few days! It'll be crazy but I know as we follow the white handbook and what the prophets and apostles have outlined we will be a better mission and better missionaries. I am so grateful to be here, we are called to our specific missions for divine reasons, I know that. I love this gospel with all my heart. 

Thank you for everything you do for me, I love you all!

Sister Wadsworth

That awkward moment when all the pictures from this week are of us eating as a district.. (We went to the same pizza place 2 days in a row after doing service for Dave, plus district lunch)

But I threw in a little tbt action from the MTC for your enjoyment (:

Happy Valentine's Day!

I've gotten more roses as a missionary than I have in my whole life put together...

Dear Family,

Have I ever said how much I love being a missionary?! This week has been incredible!!! It started off with lots of meetings: Sisters Conference, District Meeting, Zone Training Meeting, and then taking our car into the auto body place since I totaled it. Jk it's fine there was a scratch on the fender from before I got here I PROMISE it was nothing I did. 

Okay Sister's Conference was the BEST THING EVER. They had several different workshops based on the talk "Approaching the Throne of God with Confidence," one of my favorites from this last conference. The first one I went to was about taking care of our bodies, given by the mission nurse. I have noticed for a while now that she ALWAYS has a bottle of coke with her...EVERYWHERE SHE GOES. Disgusting. During her workshop she talked about how she was gonna eat healthier and work out more, so right after her workshop I grabbed her coke and dumped it in the drinking fountain and filled the bottle with water. I brought it back to her and told her I was gonna call her in a week to make sure she hadn't drank anymore. She was basically crying with gratitude haha it was hysterical. There were 6 workshops so I'll just give highlights: 

"Trials are like presents. They are actually blessings, you just have to unwrap them first! Next time you get a "present" don't ask "why???" Ask "what?""

Sister Calderwood gave a workshop about affliction and how we can get over our feelings. First she said to feel your feelings. We are human, and we are gonna get hurt, jealous, sad, depressed, etc. don't pretend like you're not. Whatever you're feeling, feel it! But then comes the hard part, you have to act appropriately despite your feelings. Second she said to compare your negativity to your blessings. Say someone offends you at church and you are miffed and don't want to go back. Feel it! But then act appropriately and do the right thing. You can ask: "who is this person in comparison to my blessings? My family, my friends, a roof over my head, clothes, etc?" It makes the offense seem pretty small in comparison to eternal life, doesn't it? I loved what she said, she is an incredible woman. President gave an amazing workshop but I might have to save that for a week when nothing else happened, because it will take like 10 paragraphs to explain it. 

Thursday was Zone Training Meeting, I got to make the refreshments for it! Yessss. I made chocolate eclair dessert and crepes. Sorry I didn't get any pics they ate it too fast haha. It was a great meeting as well, we did some cool role plays and I was able to receive some direction on where to go with one of our more difficult investigators. Friday we took the car all the way to Lynbrook (took us 2 hours to drive there) for a 5 minute inspection to get an estimate on the fender. Then we had an AMAZING lesson with our new Mongolian investigator and set a baptismal date! She was so excited to hear about the restoration and where the Book of Mormon came from, she has been reading it for a few months now with no background, but she was talking about Nephi like they've been homies since the pre-existence! It was soooo incredible to be in that room, the spirit was so strong! After that we taught our investigator who claims to be atheist, but you can tell by his prayers he knows he's talking to God. We talked about applying what we know. Seriously, you could know all the doctrine there is to learn, but if you don't live it you'll never benefit.

Saturday morning we met with Kiki, and before we started the lesson she told us that her family thinks we are brainwashing her and she can't meet with us anymore. Well I'm sorry but the Plan of Salvation is the greatest thing ever, so I told her since she was already here she should let us tell her about it. I had the visuals you made mom, and she was on the edge of her seat the whole time! She loved it, and even took a picture of the diagram! I know it will work out for her to join someday, just not now with everything that's going on with her family. We had dinner with the STLs and the sisters in our district...I made macaroni and cheese and we were all so full! And sorry but if I have the stuff for crepes I'm gonna make them...so I did. Anyway we were all bursting at the seams but it's fine. We had a lesson with a guy who the other sisters found. He is from India so we brought Neil and they hit it off! When we first got him at the door he was talking about basketball and stuff, he had just seen Kevin Durrant that day so I was dying but it's fine. Anyway we get into the lesson and apparently he thought he had come to talk basketball, not Jesus! But he was cool and the lesson turn a quick spiritual turn and he is going to read and pray about the Book of Mormon, as well as play basketball on Wednesdays with the elders haha. He seems pretty prepared so we are excited!

Sunday was just incredible as always with branch council and church. Our ward is so focused on missionary work in all the meetings, and it makes things so great for us! We set a goal for the first quarter and we still have a month but we have already hit all our goals! It's cause the members are so incredible at helping with the work. Sunday evening we had a dinner appointment that the elders had set up for us with someone in the family ward. Turns out they are from Elko and they know allll about our family. Well they tried to set me up with their son in Elko and I was kinda like thanks but no thanks, I got me a cowboy...but they wanted to see the family picture and they found Rebekah so the are like dead set that she marries their son and they've never even met her. I forgot what families are like haha they reminded me so much of Ma and Pa, just joking up a storm. Anyway it was good cause they actually have 2 kids who are supposed to be in YSA and we talked to them both and they're gonna start coming!

I have been thinking a lot about "virtue" this week and have been studying it quite a bit. I know there was a movie that came out this last weekend that is pretty inappropriate and I think a lot of people went and saw it. I just think it's so sad that people fall into Satan's trap that there is no right or wrong, and if there is it doesn't matter. It is such a blessing to see the world through the lens of the gospel and be able to know right from wrong. I know there are some things out there that aren't worth our integrity, no matter how many people (including members) are doing. I love the parable of the 10 virgins...yes they were all virgins, but they weren't all disciples. I think standing in holy places means more than being at church or the temple often, it means making wherever YOU stand a holy place. I am grateful for the gospel guidelines that keep us happy and safe. 

Thank you for everything you do for me!

Love ya,

Sister Wadsworth

1. Makin crepes #wifeystatus

2. My dear sisters after we stuffed ourselves..

3. Neil brought us roses on Valentine's Day!

4. Love these girls in the branch! RM and future missionary :)

Miracles Are On Point This Week!

Yesss. This was such a great week! Basically,

Monday:drove people's stuff around

Tuesday: drove people's stuff around

Wednesday: drove people's stuff around

Thursday: meetings

Friday: lessons

Saturday: service 

Sunday: church

Monday was awesome though. Sis Cox and Seely came to Rego and we hung out all day and did our grocery shopping together with the sisters in our district and the STLs. I love the sisters we serve with, they are all so great. Probably the most epic moment was when we were at H&M and my comp grabs this ultra mini skirt to buy. I was Iike dude, probs not mish appropro. She held it up and it went past her knees...I am not gonna lie I was pretty much speechless. That thing wouldn't have covered my caboose if I'd have put it on, but it fits her! Haha. Tuesday was transfers! Which for us means the endless day of driving and hauling around other people's luggage haha. I wouldn't wanna carry 4 huge bags on a subway either so I don't blame them for asking and I can't say no. 6 of 8 elders left our zone so there were a lot of adjustments. Our new district is so cool! It's gonna be an awesome transfer cause everyone is super pumped and President put some missionaries back who already know the people and the area, so they can help us be more effective. So yeah, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday: solid road trip days. Oh and one of our (whom we thought) super cool investigators turns out to be brainwashed and thinks we're demons so that's fun. The weird thing is he still texts us "goodnight Hun" every night which is slightly disturbing so we might be a droppin him before long. Most of the miracles have been happening with our recent converts and less-actives. 

The Asian girl who was baptized a few weeks ago found her roommate reading the Book of Mormon a few days ago so she started taking to her about it and she invited her to church! Her roommate said she has been reading the book for a while now, and had been praying that God would send someone to take her to church because she was scared to go alone. Who knew that person would be living with her! Jackpot #2, she is Mongolian! Convenient since my comp is a fanatic about anyone from her motherland, so this is a straight up miracle! She came to church Sunday and loved it.

Thursday we had a lesson in the library with John, we had HIM teach US the plan of salvation, and he did awesome! I love new members, they are seriously incredible. I think the way to keep that fire is to always be seeking more knowledge. We can never study the gospel too much.

Saturday was an epic fail, but it was hysterical! I haven't laughed that hard in a while. The morning was fine, we took JeongAh out to breakfast (at McDonalds...we are pretty high rollers over here) and then we took some pictures. That was good. Well we went home and did our other 3 hours of studies and then did some lookups, none of which were home. We picked up the other sisters and made dinner for them. Cockroaches:1. Sis Wads:0. We decided instead of doing lookups for the rest of that night that we would go "heart attack" some doors. Train wreck! So we go to the first house, we parked a ways away and tiptoed up to the door. Right as we got there it started to open! So we slid over the ice and hid behind a car. Their neighbor was outside and seriously giving us the weirdest looks. So the members left and we went to do the deed. The neighbor comes up all confrontational like and asked what we were doing. We assured him we weren't a threat. Fail #1 was over. Oh except I fell on the ice on the way back to the car...now it's over. Fail #2, we go to a ritzier part of town and couldn't find a place to park so we sent the other sisters in. They didn't get far because the doorman wouldn't let them in without being "buzzed in" and obviously you can't ring their bell cause then it wouldn't be a surprise! Well last try (fail #3) we go to the bishop's house. They live in an apartment building and the outside door was locked. Well usually no one ever answers so I rang all the bells but their's. Someone buzzed us in and we walked into the building. Like 4 people were standing outside their doors to greet us, because we had rung their bells. So awk. No wait, that's not the fail yet. Hold your horses. So we go up to the third floor and tried to guess which one they lived in cause there were 3 doors. Well as we're standing there the bishop and his kids start coming up the stairs! We booked it up the remainder of the stairs, but we were at the top floor and only one flight up from their door...we are seriously rolling with laughter cause it's so awkward, and here comes bishop in his PJs with his laundry. He sees us and just gives us the strangest look cause we are at the top of the stairs laughing. So we tell him what we were (trying) to do and he said we could do it to their front door (turns out 2 of the 4 doors led into their house) so we go over and are trying to be quick but one of his kids opens the door so we scattered and he walks down the hall and around the corner so he can see our faces and is all: "I caught you!" We were seriously dying. We finally finished, knocked, and ran down the stairs. We sounded like Grandpa White's horses running out of the barn after they've been unsaddled. Sooo loud. Probs the last time we'll do that for a while, this "heart attack" business is too much trouble with doorman, parking, and little kids.

Sunday was great, as always! I seriously never wanna be transferred. We went and saw some members and they gave us balute (not sure of the spelling) they are from the Philippians and it's basically the fertilized & fermented duck egg. Sooo nasty. Big Dude I hope you're proud. Then Al (the brother) showed us some videos from his mission in Utah and they were hysterical!! The things elders come up with when they're supposed to be weekly planning. 

I just realized that my letters are like my lessons, a whole lot of nothing that ends with a spiritual thought. Great. Haha okay not really but on a more spiritual note, I was studying the Fall of Adam and Eve and I think it's interesting how we think that was such a huge deal for them to partake of the fruit and be cast out of the garden, but how often do we make a bad decision that takes us farther from Gods presence and not think twice about it? As President Monson would say, decisions determine destiny. That illiteration though. Then this girl got up in Relief Society and did the mathematical equation for infinity and after she went through that whole thing she was like: "that's a long time...right? I guess we better make good decisions while we're here!" She's so right. This life is too short to waste it on instant gratification only to find out that we lost the REAL prize, eternal life with a loving Heavenly Father. Something I'm gonna work on is making better smaller, more everyday decisions, because I know that "out of small things proceedeth that which is great." Hope y'all will think about doing that too!

Love you tons!

Sister Wadsworth 

1. Wow don't I just make taking pictures in ice look fun? Kill me.

2. Me and my comp! (Notice she is standing on her toes lol)

3. Made dinner and crepes for the other sisters...besties!

4. Ah I love these ladies! #YSAforLife 

Back in the Filthy Far Rock

Monday we woke up to beautiful snow falling! It was beautiful for about 2 hours and then I was over it. Mondays are always a spiritual hangover because our Sundays are always so incredible. I love church. We spent our p-day with Sister Lugo and Sister Pablo eating chicken noodle soup and backing up the 7,000 pictures I have taken since coming to New York. The weather got really bad that night, so we stayed in and made phone calls to random people in our phone who we don't know...that's always a party haha. Tuesday we shoveled snow for about 4 hours (ok it was probably like 2, but 4 sounds right for the way my back feels right now) and then had district meeting. Our District Leader is going home Tuesday and he is the most rigid missionary I have ever met. But we had just come in from shoveling and we're all in normal clothes and were run to the ground. So we sat on the floor in a circle and just had a good old talk about the area, our investigators, and then he gave an amazing workshop. It was one of the best district meetings I have been to. We brought Sister Hawkins and Larsen home and made them chicken noodle soup cause they were sick, and then took them home and went to our lesson with JeongAh. We were supposed to take her to the temple Saturday but it's closed for maintenance! It opens on the 4th, which is the day she leaves for Korea so we aren't sure if that'll work out. We talked about the temple and eternal marriage and she is so solid! I hope I get to see her again one day. I don't think I ever mentioned this, but we teach most of our lessons in the church. Well it was FREEZING in there, so we went in the mother's lounge to teach her and it was like a sauna! And there were rocking chairs so...ideal.  

Wednesday we did this thing with the other missionaries where you have to do certain things in a certain amount of time, like give out a Book of Mormon, 5 mormon.org cards, 5 English class cards, get some contact info, and do an act of service. So me and my comp walk out of the church (ok we were running cause I'm competitive) and this guy is de-icing the sidewalk. I walked right up to him and gave him one of everything and got his contact info. We even had a shot restoration lesson! We walked around the corner and gave out the rest of the stuff, and for the act of service I told this lady to quit smoking and she did. Haha. We did it within 10 minutes! We went back to the church and wrote our name on the board and then went and got 2 more people's contact info cause for every one you get after you finish takes 5 min off your time. The winner gets dinner made by the Zone Leaders (don't know how excited I am for that haha). That night we went to a turbo kick class with some of the members who "never have time to meet with us." It was super fun and I felt like we were able to "bond" with them as we all just about died from the intensity of it. The lady who teaches it is the wife of one of our councillors in the branch presidency and she is doing it as a missionary tool which is awesome! We can all use our skills to bring others into the church. 

Thursday we exchanged and I went to the Rock with Hermana Welch. Home sweet home! We taught a lesson in Spanish (*she taught the lesson, I sat there nodding my head) and then we taught English class that night! She really impressed me, she's been out a month and she can handle the area and the language and everything perfectly! The Lord helps us so much in this work to be what we need to be. It was a super fun exchange and when we got back we went and sang on the train! The one guy tried to hand me $20 after our song and I was just like "oh awk what do I do.." And then he told me I was enchanting when I sang so I was super uncomfortable haha. Luckily his stop was right then so he got off and I kinda just stood there not sure if I should be flattered or super creeped out. It was good though, we talked to lots of people! We will be sad when Elder Turley is home and he can't play the guitar when we sing...I dunno how A Capella would sound. That night we taught some awesome lessons and then went to FHE. I seriously love the people in the branch so much! Never wanna leave. 

Saturday we went with a member to help her run some errands. It's so funny here, if people don't have time to meet they just ask you to come along with them wherever they're going! After that it was look ups for the rest of the day. It is soooo cold! And of course Sunday was great, Sunday's are my favorite. Some of the girls in the branch have taken it upon themselves to "teach me how to wear lipstick" so one of them brought some bright red MAC lipstick to church and put it on me. Dude makeup is just not my thing...I felt like a clown. Haha! As soon as she left I went to the bathroom and washed it all off. Anyways testimony meetng. The spirit is ALWAYS present in fast and testimony meeting, and we had 5 of our recent converts get up and bear powerful testimonies! It was so beautiful. We also had a few awkward testimonies because you know if you're in YSA that there's gonna be some dating drama so people get up and talk about how no one will date them. I think it's hysterical. I love living life not having to worry about dating and watching other people worry about it...it makes me laugh. 

As I was studying about the Plan of Salvation this past week I was thinking a lot about the war in Heaven and how it continues on earth today. Something I have looked over in the past is that the war in heaven wasn't among strangers...it was among our bothers and sisters. It's so important to keep our eye on the prophet who will never lead us astray. Even those close to us can be deceived or convince us that small discrepancies are okay, but if we always follow the words of the prophets we can be sure of eternal life with God. With that, it is so important to live what we know. Satan was one of the greatest people in the pre-earth life. He probably knew a lot. But what we know does us no good if we don't live it. If we willfully rebel against the instruction God gives us we are no better than Satan. Anyway that sounded really dark, but when we understand all of this it brings us so much happiness and joy to be followers of Christ and cleansed from sin. I am especially grateful for the atonement and for its healing and enabling power that allows us to be much better than we could ever be on our own. I love this gospel so much. 

Love y'all! 

Sister Wadsworth

1. Snow crew!

2. Our zone mama is being transferred ): 

3. View of the city from Rockaway..the blessed A train graced my picture with its presence. 

4. On top of the roof at the sister's pad. 

5. "Welcome to filthy Far Rock" with Sister Welch