Monday, April 24, 2017

It's the green, It's the green you neeeed...

...and when I look into your future it's the green that I see. (Princess and the Frog)
It's BEAUTIFUL in Warrington and I love it here sooooo much!!! Lots of green :)
Also, Guess what day it is???... It's my birthday! The big 20... 1/5 of the way to 100... I'm getting old. I've now been alive for two centuries. But I also still look like I'm 14. We rode with a member to bring her daughter to work, and she was 20. But she looked more like she was 30. The people over in England all look so much older. I look like a child... that's okay though, I'm sure I'll like it in the future ;) There was also a member in her 50s that did not look that old. She was talking to me about it and said she was 26 while on her mission, and everyone thought that she was barely 21. She found it annoying then, but it's great now that she is older. 
I absolutely love this ward!! I got to know a lot of the members yesterday and they are all very sweet and loving :) 
I also absolutely love my new companion!!! Her name is Sister Limb. She is from Kaysville, Utah. She loves Disney just as much as I do (but has only been to Disneyland once for 1/2 a day). We are also both children at heart, so I really feel that we will get along well. 
Also, speaking of Disney - the entire area of Warrington is Alice in Wonderland themed ❤️ I love it so much!!! They have Alice things everywhere, and every pub we pass is named after the story. To name a few, I've seen "The Looking Glass" and "The Hatter". I just love this area so much and I'm having a great time.
Yesterday, I was at church and this little girl (whose Grandma is in the Crosby ward, so I've met before) ran up to me and gave me the biggest hug, and she took my hand and made me walk everywhere with her, and she took one of my name tags and pretended she was a missionary too, it was adorable!!! :)
Well, I'm going to be with my district celebrating my birthday, so sorry for the short email..
I love you all! :)
-Sister Wilkinson


A change in me

Transfers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So guess what?.. there are no more Sisters in Crosby. They have taken both of us out. I will be still serving in the Liverpool zone, but now in the Warrington area. Although it will be hard to leave Sister Clawson, and also to leave Crosby, I am very excited to go to Warrington. I feel that this transfer was so inspired for me. I think that my new companion, Sister Limb, is super sweet and I think we will get along great and she will be a perfect companion for me.
I already know one of the members in the Warrington ward, and they have a super sweet 9 year old daughter who said she is excited I'm serving there and that we will be best friends. I have met her a few times and she just loves being with us. She is super knowledgeable as well. I'm excited to serve in her ward!
I'm so grateful for all the time I have spent here in Crosby, and I'm grateful for all the people I was able to meet and teach. I love Crosby, and there will always be a piece of my heart here. The ward may be a bit uneasy about having no sisters anymore. There are a few older single sisters in the ward, as well as some less actives, so it will be an interesting change. But they will always be in my prayers, and I hope that the Elders as well as the members will take good care of them.
I'm also so grateful to have served with Sister Clawson for two transfers. It has been such a blessing to get to know her. I love her so much! She always goes out of the way to help me when I'm struggling. And she lets me know her concerns as well. I can trust her with anything, and she always helps me to become a better missionary. I am so grateful she was able to follow up train me as well as be my companion and friend. She has really helped me progress and even when I feel down about myself or I feel I'm finding little success, she is always there to help lift my Spirit and get me back on my feet again. She has shown me the importance of obedience and consecration. We have worked on both of these throughout the last transfer, and I feel that it has helped us both. As we have worked together we have seen many miracles. I feel that we have left our area better than we found it. Although we weren't  able to see a baptism, and many of our investigators dropped us, we were able to re-activate some less active members. Most of which hadn't been to church in over 5 years, so I think it was great that we were able to help them. I have loved serving in this ward.
I love you all and I hope you have a great week!!! 
Sister Wilkinson :)

Pictures from Easter Sunday- last Sunday in Crosby



Mini Transfer Meeting- When she moved over to Warrington



Saturday, April 15, 2017

Pictures, Pictures, and more Pictures!!!!!

Sister Wilkinson's new haircut done by her- So proud!!


The tree where Elder Holland received the revelation to build the Preston Temple with Sister Crosby and President and Sister Ulrich



Loads of pictures sent to us by a wonderful Sister in Sister Wilkinson's Crosby ward!  Thank you Sister Moylan























Sorry, quick one

I've been in Liverpool all day, so this email will be quick (sorry).
It was Sister Setu's birthday, so we all joined her for Tai Pan
Chinese Buffet. It was really fun!
Also, Transfers are next week!!!!! Send me your guesses (Tell everyone
to send them). I think I am moving to Workington. Although I do want
to stay in Crosby.
Send everyone my love :)
-Sister Wilkinson

There is sunshine in my soul today

Wow!!! This week has been inspiring! Between the mission tour, companion exchange, and general conference, I've learned so much! We also had some miracles happen with our investigator!
So, his phone hasn't been working, so we haven't been able to meet with him, and we have been really sad about it. We wanted to meet with him, but we were not sure how. One day, we only had 20 minutes left, but we wanted to finish the day strong. So, we said a prayer and asked which direction we should go. Both of us just felt prompted to stay there for a minute, so we stopped a few people and they weren't interested, and then we turned and saw Him! It was so great to talk to him again. We told him about conference and invited him to watch it. While Sister Clawson and I were at conference, we both started crying during one of the talks because it was directed to Him in every way. It proved to us that God is aware of all his children. We left the room after he finished his talk, and said a prayer of gratitude and pleaded for Him to watch that talk and that it would touch his heart. Last night, we had an Hour before going in and we wanted to find this investigator, so we said a prayer that we would run into him and lead us to where he was. We had the impression to cross the street - and there he was! We stopped him and walked home with him, and had a great conversation. And another miracle? He watched last night's conference. I could tell he was touched, he just wouldn't admit it. He is literally the best though, and I'm so grateful to be teaching him.
The mission tour was wonderful, and it was fun to learn about the history of the mission as well as learning new ways of finding. It was good to see how other people would reach out to others. We also had a powerful lesson on hymns. We have been using hymns in all of our lessons because of this, and there is an incredible difference. It really does soften the hearts of those we speak to. We went to a members house this week, and we sang "O my father". Although we were terrible at singing it, and our voices were not the best at all, I looked up and saw that he was crying and that the spirit of the hymn was touching his heart. He told us after we finished that it was the song they sang at his wife's funeral. There was an automatic peace in the room, and he bore his testimony, and it was just a wonderful experience. We also sang hymns to less active members, and their hearts were softened. We even sang to a new investigator that we had only met once before. There is definitely power found in the hymns. We will keep using them!
I learned a lot during exchange and Conference as well. I really felt a spiritual boost. This has been such an uplifting week for me. 
Also, there will be a new temple in Saratoga!!! So wonderful! :)
Have a great week!!
Sister Wilkinson

One more thing

Remember when you send packages (tell this to everyone) to send them
to the Manchester address (Knutsford), that it should be under £30 and
marked as a gift.
If it's a hand written letter, they can mail it to Waterloo.
Thanks!!

Oh, and one last thing, Andy's birthday party has been moved.... to... today...

(Toy Story)
Um, yeah.... so... today is the mission tour which is exciting!! But, we just found out that we are going to exchange today instead of tomorrow, which is a surprise. Also we found out while on the bus, so we aren't prepared, and our Pday is also today.... so I'm not sure how we will get groceries or clean the flat today.... so that's a bit stressing, but other than that, this week has been great. 
The sun has been out all week ☀️ and it's been SOOOO nice!!! I've missed the sun! I mean, it was still windy, and I had to wear my coat still, but it was nice :)
Yesterday, the Zone leaders came to our area and did a Street display with us, and I learned so much. Elder Watterson is such a diligent missionary, and he was a great example. He talked to everyone he met, and he tried so many different approaches. He made a lot of people smile, and he was very good at having gospel discussions. At one point, a large group of people passed, and he held out his Book of Mormon and said, "Have any of you heard of this book before?" He was just so bold, and such a good zone leader. Elder Simtim is so charitable. He speaks and teaches from the heart. He reached out to everyone with love and thought them principles of the gospel easily and honestly. I looked over at one point, and he was showing a framed picture of his family in front of the temple and said, "I have been sealed to my family for all eternity. You can have this for your family as well." I loved to hear how sincere his testimony is, and how he shared it with others.
I learned a lot from their examples, and because of their help, we found eight new investigators yesterday alone, when last week we only had one for our key indicators. I know now that when we talk to everyone about the gospel - no matter if they accept it or not - we will find people to teach.
I also gave away a Book of Mormon yesterday. It's a bit sad to say that it was the first one I've personally gave away since the start of my mission. I've given many out as a companionship, but not by myself. So, I felt pretty proud that I was able to share the gospel. It helped me build my confidence.
This week has really been great!! 
Sorry for the short email, we have a quick Pday today!
-Sister Wilkinson