progress

This was a pretty good week, no room for complaining.  Mostly because Lynda wants to BE BAPTIZED ON SEPTEMBER 22ND!!!  Well, she has to stop smoking, but she can totally do it.  I know she can, she quit on her own far before we ever met her, so she's already done it once!  Dominick and Mickey are thinking about getting married, too.  We'll see if we can get that goin!

 On Tuesday, we went to contact this single boy in his 20's and the wind was a bit rambunctious that day.  This guy just happened to be outside with his friend.  Yup.  You guessed it.  My skirt caught a current and I flashed both of them with my garments.  Then we left and I laughed hysterically.  Oh, life.
 You know what is crazy to me?  People switch churches a lot!  I think I grew up thinking that everyone had one church that their parents took them to and they stayed with it most their lives.  Nope.  Not here.  People go to whatever church is closest to them, which is really sad.  I often hear "oh yeah, we just started going to this other church 2 weeks ago" or "Ive just started going to the one down the street."  Lucky for me, these people are actually SEARCHING for a church to go to, so when we come along its easy to challenge them to try ours. 

 Here's a cool miracle that happened to us this week!  We had about 10 minutes so we decided to go down to the park and talk with people.  As we got out of the car, I felt prompted to grab a DVD from our trunk, so I did.  The park we went to was kind of far from our area, so it was kinda' risky to meet people there that actually live in our teaching boundaries, but we didnt car.  Park contacting is difficult at times because you have to pick your people.  You can walk in any direction and you just pray that you're not skipping the person you are supposed to find!  Sister Oliphant and I felt inspired to talk with the first woman we saw who was a young black mother watching her son play.  We walked over and the whole conversation was so natural with her.  She actually asked US which church we were from before we could bring it up.  She said she was looking for a church!  Come to find out, she actually lives across the street from our church building, like, she could walk there if she needed to.  We gave her the DVD and she was so excited!  Her name is Shatavia and we teach her again tomorrow.  YAY! 

Random:
My car has bluetooth to our phone, so when people call us, our radio shuts off and the people speak to us through the car system.  Ive never been this high-tech in my life.  Strange that it should happen on my mission!  Then again, the church just came out with some new Mormon.org cards that have the little scanny thing for the iPhones.  I'm happy our church is staying up with the times, I just wish they would focus more on the DEAF technology and translation that we need. 

We went to the Delta on Friday night to eat dinner and see the boats and docks.  I love boats and docks, I'll send pictures.

My favorite Zina quote from the week: "God said Adam and Eve, NOT STEVE AND STEVE AND EVE AND EVE!"  She understands well.  That Zina says some crazy funny stuff. 

I love all of you! 

 Sister Wilson

New Companion

Sister Oliphant is amazing.  Yes, Oliphant, like elephant with an O. She's from Madison, Wisconsin and she isnt 5'2"!  When I picked her up from the office, she was just so bubbly and happy to be here.  She's had 5 years of ASL and helped me interpret on Sunday.  Yesterday when we went to contact a Deaf person, this way angry guy threw the door open before we even got to the front step.  He yelled at us to go away and that we were bothering him at home when he didnt want us there.  He slammed the door shut.  We get in the car.  Sister Oliphant yells "MY FIRST DOOR SLAMMED IN MY FACE!!  YES!!"  and she laughs.  I love her.  She's so enthusiastic and she has all these new fresh ideas and its good for me to remember everything I've forgotten from the MTC!  Dan was sick this past week so we asked him if he needed anything and he just answered "soup."  So directly after church, me and Sister Oliphant came home and she made Tomato Basil soup that was surprisingly good for the lack of ingredients we had.  (But naturally, it wasn't as good as Stacey's!)

 Lynda is so ready to be baptized!!  She just has to stop smoking.  She's now cut back to 2 cigarettes a day, and honestly, she only has 2 left.  She says that she 'aint buyin' no mo'.  We were talking with her about the Word of Wisdom and she had a testimony of it far before she met us.  She's like "Smoking isnt Godly!  I shouldnt be doing it!"  Then we taught the other substances that were harmful and she told us that drinking isnt going to be a problem to give up cuz she doesnt drink often and that coffee is no biggie either.  So if we can just get her to quit smoking we'll be good to go for her baptism!!   I'm so excited!!  We still need to teach the law of chastity, but in the last lesson she said "Fornication!  fornication, fornication.  I need to call my friend and tell him its over!"  So, pretty sure that wont be a problem either, she already knows it's a sin.  I LOVE LYNDA!!!! 

I love being a missionary.  I've grown so much since the MTC.  Sister Oliphant gives me flash backs to my first few weeks and my fears of being a new missionary.  I remember being scared to talk to strangers, feeling nervous and stuttering on my sentences while Sister Williams did most the talking.  I have come far and I realized that I'm now comfortable here.  Not comfortable in a "I dont need to improve" kind of way, but comfortable like...at peace.  I am at peace as a missionary, answering questions people ask and resolving concerns they have.  The gospel is amazing!!!

Love you all!                           these are all the deaf sister missionaries in my mission

 Sister Wilson

Last night, there was a man playing a trumpet outside our window.

training!

Meet Sister Wilson, the new trainer of the MTC GREENIE!!!! WOOOO!!!!   IM SO EXCITED!!!  Sister Oliphant, a new ASL sister arrives today and I will be training her in the field.  I was never technically ever senior companion, but who needs that, right?  I'll just jump straight to trainer I guess!  I had my "mission birthday" last week.  Exactly one year since I entered the MTC and began this whole adventure.  I'm amazed at the growth that's occured and everything I've learned.  I was pondering the other day and I think one big change I've made is being able to take critisizm better than I used to.  Before my mission, when someone ever told me I was doing something wrong, I would be defensive, or if I knew it was true I would be extremely sad and disappointed in myself.  Now, I can sit down with my companions and we can work through problems.  They can correct me and I know I can repent and move on.  I have need of repentance daily, and THATS OKAY!  I love the gospel!  For my mission birthday, I made monkey bread for the apartment sisters and I blew out a 1-year-match. 

 Sunday was a VERY interesting testimony meeting.  Lets just say I'm glad some of my investigators werent able to make it that day.  The very first testimony was a less active guy stormed to the front of the pulpit and yelled at the audience.  He explained that his wife had just walked out of the meeting because she had felt SO shunned by everyone and didnt feel welcome.  He was upset that we werent all being like disciples of Jesus Christ.  There goes the spirit.  Gone.  Out the door.  Lucky for us, he just stopped there and said "uhh....amen."  Bishop was out of town, but the 2nd councelor walked the guy off the stage and out the door to talk with him.  He later joined the back row, so I guess he calmed down.  We are sooo happy to have Sister Johnson in our ward because she saved the meeting.  After he left, she stood up and powerfully bore testimony that she LOVED the ward and that she's sorry someone doesn't feel the way she does about it.  After her, Zina got up and bore testimony and then sang a gospel song  to all of us a cappella.  Then this old lady who just moved in to our ward stood up and annoucned that she was single and that she was very lonely and looking for a lonely single man to marry.  She told all of us she hadnt been sealed in the temple yet and if anyone wanted to meet her she lived at such and such apartments.  wow. 

Deaf Dianne called!!!!  She's back from her brain surgery but she has one more to go through before she heals completely!  So, she will probably finish up the lessons and be baptized in September but I'm so excited for her to come back.  We hadnt heard from her for about a month!!  Some of these investigators are in the very depths of poverty.

 We had one investigator named Barb who lives in a trailer park.  She pays her rent by going to the stadium and collecting plastic cans to recycle.  She calls it "her job" and she "goes to work" every day.  She's a little off her rocker as far as doctrine goes, she doesnt even believe in the king james bible, yet she thinks that Nephi is a reincarnated Moses.  I will send a picture of her.  Barb's mother who she lives with calls us "Morons" cuz she thinks its funny.  We just laugh at her because she's like 80 and she honestly believes she's a prophetess.  Crazy people, but I love them. 

 Lynda has been cutting back on her smoking!!  She still wants to be baptized and she has decided that we are the church she wants to go to!  Its such a wonderful feeling when someone finally understands all the truths we teach them.  Dan has been cutting back too and he's doing well.  We had a sisters meeting last monday, too, that was really fun.  I got to see sister Despain before she left.  There's only about 25 sisters here in the mission. 

 One last story.  Zina told us a few weeks back one of her stories from her crazy past and I want to share it because we were all crying it was so funny.  When Zina was doing drugs, she decided to try crack for the first time.  She sniffed it all and rubbed the remainder of it all over her gums to get high.  Then, she had so much energy that she ran for miles in the middle of the night without stopping.  She climbed up a scoreboard at the stadium and was sitting at the top when the police arrested her.  The nicknamed her Scoreboard.  A few weeks later she was eating an apple when her two front teeth simply fell out. So she took the two teeth and SUPERGLUED them back into her head.  Needless to say that didnt last long.  Come to find out, superglue destroys your gums so the gums wont hold the teeth anymore!  While she went shopping at the grocery store, they fell out again randomly and she was on her hands and knees looking for them on the ground of the store.  They had to escort her out because they thought she was high.  She just kept saying "NO!  my teeth!!  I have to find my teeth!  They're here somewhere!"  The dentist had to scrape off the superglue and give her a retainer with two fake front teeth in it.  So thats what she wears now.  Ohhh drugs.  Dont do drugs, kids. 

Sister Teerime can now effectively cross just one of her eyes.  That is all.

Love you all! 

Sister Wilson

random pics

   

 this is Zina!       and this is the puppy we found.

Also, our map for deaf work!  And the littler map colored is the English area, our ward boundaries.  

new car

First and foremost, I GOT A NEW CAR!!!  YAY!  The old car we were driving had too many miles on it, so the church switched me out for a new 2012 Corolla.  Sooooo much better than the Malibu!  I love driving it, but it kind of scares me to be driving a car straight off the lot.  My daddy taught me better than that!  When we got the car, it had 27 miles as the odometer. 

 It was Lynda's birthday last week so we "heart attacked" her door and she loved it.  She's pondering baptism but she's really stressed right now and wont stop smoking.  Hopefully she will give it up soon.  Dan, on the other hand, has cut back on the cigarettes and he is slowly getting off them so he can be baptized when he gets off parole.  We added a few new people this week that Zina brought to church, but some of them are dealing drugs and some of them just want welfare money, so we are really trying to find people who really want to know the truth and feel the spirit of our church!

 Its story time...On Thursday I wasn't feeling super great, but we had 5 appointments that day so I decided to just deal with it.  We went out and taught Dan but by the end of his lesson, I felt like I was going to fall over.  It was a migraine.  We went to our next appointment with a less active, Lori, and I agreed with Sister Teerime that we needed to cancel and go home.  We chatted with Lori, cancelled, and got in the car.  I felt so detached from my body, like I was in a dream, hoping I could drive all the way home for 10 minutes.  Just down the street, I saw elders leaving a house and getting into their car.  In a weird daze, all I could say was "elders!  elders..." and I pulled the car up next to them (my two zone leaders and one of the Assistants to the President) and begged for a priesthood blessing.  They aren't allowed to give sister missionaries blessings, so we called president for approval but he didn't answer.  I wanted to pass out and throw up at the same time.  I couldnt breathe very well and the poor, awkward elders looked at me with concern. 

They asked if I would be alright to make it home in my condition.  I didn't know what other choice I had, since they cant drive in the same car with sister missionaries, so I told them I'd be fine and I would make it home and call a member for a blessing.  They saw the doubt on my face and said "Sister, I think we better drive you home."  I wasn't going to fight it, I was super sick, so I climbed in the back seat.  So for the first time in all of our missions, the Assistant to the President climbed in the drivers side with one other elder and drove me and sister Teerime home.  It was a miracle that I found them at that moment on that street, and that they happened to be on exchanges that day.  The other elder had a member he was with so they drove the other car and followed us. 

So there I am in the back seat of my own car, trying not to throw up on the new carpet.  We called the mission nurse, Sister Nielsen, and I was only able to speak to her for about 70 seconds before I said "Sister Nielsen, I'm gonna go throw up now, I love you!"  CLICK.  We made it to the apartment and I told sister Teerime to go open the door so I could run to the bathroom.  but I didnt make it inside in time.  The espanol sisters were inside, so they came out and watched me dry heaving 8 times on the curb.  Yay for me.  Wretching up in front of 6 missionaries and a member. 

By that time, they had permission from President to give me a blessing, and they walked me inside.  Because they had that member with them, the elders were allowed to come into my apartment and give me a blessing of healing!  During the blessing, Sister Teerime was throwing up in the bathroom because she couldn't handle watching me do it (what a great companion, eh?!)  Immediately after being blessed, I was filled with peace and felt a ton better.  I chugged a mountain dew for the headache and I was a little weak after that, but I was perfectly fine!  They made me stay home for the rest of the day, but all I did was chat with Sister Marroquin while Sister Teerime went out to our appointments.  There were so many miracles during the whole day.  It just so happened that the espanol sisters didnt have appointments that day, so one could go out and the other could stay with me.  I am thankful that those elders had that member with them, in addition to be with the Assistant who could approve such help!!  I know that the Lord is watching out for me and He will do all He can to help me stay healthy so I can keep working!!  I went out the next day and I'm fine. 

I love being a missionary! 

 Sister Wilson

Random:

There are wonderful fruit stands EVERYWHERE down here.  If you look at Stockton on a map, its completely surrounded by farmland.  Fresh fresh fresh cherries, strawberries, nectarines, peaches, any kind of fruit you can think of.  I love it, Utah fruit just isn't comparable. 

We had a kind of strange investigator, Jason, who tried to pay us for our time.  (Do other churches make people pay when they visit their houses and do bible studies?)  He wrote us a check for $20, but we told him we couldnt accept it. 

Kelly

KELLY GOT BAPTIZED!!!!

It was a crazy crazy baptism, but we did it!  Because she's paralyzed from the chest down, it took 3 elders and 1 member to do the actual ceremony.  5 people in the font all in white, it was pretty cool.  They first moved her from her wheelchair into a plastic chair.  Then, the three elders lifted her, on the chair, around the corner and down the steps into the water.  They almost dropped her.



 When she was finally seated in the font, they turned her on her side so she could lean her back down into the water, but the had to hold her up while the ordinance was being said.  Here's my favorite part:  As the Deaf man started signing the prayer, I realized that nobody was voice interpreting for all the hearing people (the mission president was there as well as the companions of those elders helping in the font.)   So I began speaking the words.  "Kelly Brown, having been commissioned of Jesus Christ, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.  Amen."  I have never memorized those words before.  I've never payed attention to them because I never had to recite them!  The Holy Ghost filled my mouth and I was able to recite perfectly that ordinance for all those hearing people who were present.  Wow.  It was so awesome.  I love how the Lord steps in and takes over just when we are in our moment of need. They then lowered her into the water, one elder held her knees down and the other two had to lower her down then lift her back up out of the water, since she doesn't have the strength.  Then Kelly was getting the gift of the Holy Ghost!  They asked her "Who do you want in the circle to confirm you?" and she said "Wilson!"  uhhh....it can't be a girl!  haha.  We had to explain that it had to be someone with the priesthood, but I was flattered.  I love baptisms.  

 We ate dinner with Zina for the first time and she had 4 plates out and we were confused.  We sat there and she says to us "This plate is for Jesus.  He's always here with us."  Then she threw it away.  I love Zina.  

Lynda is doing really well and we are trying so hard to get her to stop smoking so she can be baptized this month!!  She got her answer about Joseph Smith and  accepted that her baptism, though it was with great intent, wasn't valid.  She just has to stop smoking...last time we were at her house she had absolutely NO gasoline in her car and she only had 2 more cigarettes left.  She doesn't have money to buy more since she was fired from her job and everything has been a mess.  Its a blessing in disguise, me thinks.  

I woke up the other day at 5am to use the bathroom and I heard somebody crying outside.  Kind of like sobbing.  The next morning while chatting with Sister Marroquin, she said there was a dog who whimpered all night while crawling underneath our car.  She actually woke up to it and went outside to see what it was!  We went outside and the dog was still there.  She was a sweet thing, on her leash, but ownerless.  Her chest was full of milk like she had just had puppies, but there were no puppies to be found to relieve her--she was probably in pain.  We called animal control and hopefully they will get her adopted out soon.  She was a really wonderful dog and she loved being pet and talked to, I'm sure she will find a home.  

All the missionaries who are going home in the next 8 months get the opportunity to go to Coloma before their missions end.  Guess I'm in that group.  Weird.  We went to visit all the historical sites of the early 1800 gold-rush.  It was pretty cool to see all the old buildings and play outside with about 25 other missionaries.  After we saw the old saw mills and watched a movie about Mormon Battalion, we got to go to the river to PAN FOR GOLD!!

   Soooo fun.  We were in the water for about 45 minutes digging through the sand and rocks, looking for gold flecks.  There were a bazillion itty bitty pieces that were too tiny to grab, so the water kind of sparkled.  It was awesome.  I will send some sweet pictures of me looking at REAL gold that I found!  

I love you family and friends!  The church is true and I love missionary work!

Sister Wilson

Random stuff: 

Our AC broke and every night when we come home its been like 85 degrees in our apartment.  I (who sleeps with 5 blankets all summer and winter) slept without pajamas and without blankets.  But they finally fixed it!  yay!  

We have a spider infestation.  We probably kill like 12 a week.  I    think I prefer cockroaches.  

I went to the doctor to see if he could give me a referral to see a physical therapist for my back and guess what he told me?  I'm 6 foot.  They measured 72 inches!!  No WAY doc.  But I did have shoes on.  Hmmm....maybe I should stop going to the chiropractor...he's straightening me out to be taller than I was!  If I keep going I'll be 6'1"! haha.  But honestly, if you take off the 1 inch of shoe he measured, I guess I'm 5'11" instead of 5'10" now.  Weird.  

We saw a homeless guy on the side of the street with a sign that said "I bet you can hit me with a quarter!"  I laughed really hard

love this place!

As if things could get better from last week, THEY DID.  This week was awesome.  We added two new investigators, one of them is seriously crazy and the other one is seriously searching for truth.  Hey, at least 50% is a good find!  And Lynda!!!  LYNDA CAME TO CHURCH!!!  AND SHE TOLD BISHOP SHE WANTS TO BE BAPTIZED!!!!  She explained that there was a miscommunication and she didnt mean to tell us that she wanted to stop "bible study" but she wanted us to come over!!  She's so ready for the gospel, and we are hoping that she will be our July miracle!!!  IM SO HAPPY!!!!

My testimony of apostles has increased so much recently.  Since Elder Holland came to our mission and gave us that apostolic blessing, we all needed to change some things about ourselves and our mission, but I can see the hand of God in this work.  I can see that the Lord supports His apostles and their promises to us!  There is an energy in the mission.  Everyone is excited and happy.  All the missionaries are full of faith and hope.  What a miracle it is for me to be serving in this place at such a great time!  Dan wants to be baptized, but the problem is that he cant until he gets off parole next January.  He already calls himself a Mormon, though.  He bears strong testimony of the truth that we taught him and he knows that God chose this church for him to join.  The other day in our lesson, he got quite emotional.  He shook his head at the ground and said "Danny can't be in charge of Danny's life no more.  Ive seen what happens when I am, and I have to give my life to God so He can be in charge."  There is such a huge difference in Dan.  Such a use of the Atonement, stronger than any I have ever seen in my life.  He is the most truly converted nonmember I have ever met. 

I am yet again training my companion to only cross one eye.  She's getting closer!!  One night, Sister Teerime and I were driving home when I saw a crumpled brown piece of fabric in the middle of the road.  Out of impulse, (thanks Erin Haskell) I stopped the car and demanded that she pick it up because I was curious what it was.  Sister Teerime resisted, looking at me like I was crazy.  She got out and looked at it and said "It looks like some kind of hat!"  And I say "pick it up!  Put it in the car!"  So she finally did.  It was a pirate hat with three corners.  Best thing I have EVER found on the side of the road.  We laughed all the way home because it looks rediculous when you put it on.  We decided to give it to the Kroffs in our ward because they have a children's theatre and they can use it, I'm sure. 

 Later that night, Sister Teerime's hair was bothering her, so I offered to cut it. She let me.  I just did what Momma told me they used to do in the 70's when they wanted layers!!  Put it in a ponytail on top of the head and cut straight across!!  We had to fix it a bit after we let it down but it actually looks really good and she is much happier.  She has so much hair that before we did the cut, she couldnt even run her brush through it.  Yay!  ALSO!!  Sister Teerime is learning ASL.  Like, I have never met other sister who is picking it up as fast as she has. After two days, she was praying in ASL.  She understands like 25% of our deaf lessons.  She has truly been given the gift of tongues.  (Gift of hands?)

Deaf Dianne is still in Louisiana getting surgery, but when she comes home she wants to finish learning and get baptized in August.  She's so wonderful and what a blessing it is for me to teach her.  I am also going to Deaf Kelly's baptism this Sunday in Carmichael!!  (yay, I can visit Carmichael again for a day!) 

 As you can tell, I am one very happy sister missionary serving the Lord with all my heart, might, mind, and strength.  I love our Heavenly Father so much and I know He loves all these people to whom He has sent me!!  The church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the only church on earth with the proper authority to baptize!!  And we're going to do it!!!

Sister Wilson