Monday, May 29, 2017

Strange things are happening to me...

...ain't no doubt about it! (Toy Story)

Yeah.... So many things happened this week! I would like to illustrate with a little song I wrote (you're welcome) to Book of Mormon stories (I followed the lyrics pretty closely) -

All my mission stories that happened to me this week 
Are about a lot of things that started with a beak.
Long ago, on zone p-day, we watched a fun bird show,
And we went to a zoo - now you know.

Later on that same Monday, we heard about the bomb
And a lot of other things that were all sad and wrong.
Book of Mormon stories say that we must brothers be.
Giv'n the land if we live righteously.

Even though that day was hard, the other days were fun!
And we also got a big red sunburn from the sun!
Struck with a small thunderstorm, it then changed randomly.
But we taught in the land righteously.

Don't forget the Comic Con where I bought a nice ring.
We al-so meet the doctor, the gospel we did bring.
He did not denh it, but had curiousity.
One day he will accept righteously.

Now I am a missionary who knows transfer light.
I will be in Warrington for several days and nights.
But a change, Sis-ter Limb my companion will not be.
I have learned how to live righteously.

Yeah, so first off... Transfers happened! I'm still in Warrington. Sister Limb is going to Stockport. My new companion is Sister Taumalolo, a Tongan from Australia :) She sounds like lots of fun, I'm excited to get to know her. It will be sad to be away from Sister Limb, she has helped me so much. We will become lifelong friends :) 
And... about the bombing. Well, it's been so strange to see everyone in such shock. It really affected our area. But, it's been alright. We are helping people move on. They have increased security everywhere, we have seen police all around town now. The country is on high alert, but they are making sure we are safe. Even though these hard times come, the Lords hand is still in our life. The more I learned about the event, the more I can see that. The bomb went off at 10:35 at night - just 5 minutes after all the missionaries go to bed. That right there shows how much the Lord is protecting those he calls. There was also a member of our ward who didn't get tickets to that concert and at the time was mad and devastated. But now, she is counting her blessings that her and her daughter are safe. Keep Manchester in your prayers ❤️ they are all very close to us, and many people were affected. We are all doing good and are safe.
And yeah, the weather??? Well it was hotter than Utah. We have been in the 80s and with high humidity. I felt like I have been serving in a Florida. It was so crazy! English weather is so unpredictable! 
Okay, now onto Comic Con. yeah, we saw Dr. Who, and he was talking to us about how he had been in Utah, and he asked us a bit about the church, so... we will eventually convert him ;) Haha! It was actually tons of fun though! 
Well, that's about all for now.
My week of crazy stories :) 
Love you all!

Sister Wilkinson

Flowers that were sent a couple weeks ago by dad-




Monday, May 22, 2017

To infinity and beyond

First off, I apologize for the short email, but I don't have much time today. I'll send photos though :) 

The reason I decided this title is because the other day, there was a car in front of us, and a little boy had a buzz light year doll that he was holding out the window making it fly. It was really funny - we were with the Delivery elders and we were all quoting toy Story after that. Also, I thought this title fit because I've made it 6 Months!!! How crazy is that?? I feel that I have made it to infinity... Now I just need to go beyond. There's still so,ugh I can improve, and many
lessons for me to learn. I'm excited to see with this next year has in
store! 
So, this week... We had exchange! And interviews with President! And Stake Conference! And I'm currently on my way to a Safari Park (which is like a zoo where the animals come up to you). It has been lots of fun...but I've been in Liverpool basically all week! I love Liverpool, so I don't really mind, just think it's funny :)
Everything I did this week was wonderful and I learned a lot! While meeting with President, he praised me a lot for all the good changes he has seen in me. It made me feel great! Also at stake conference, one of the 70 came to speak to us. All of his words really touched me. Most of the speakers put their focus on the Book of Mormon and how vital it is to our testimonies. I have such a greater love for the Book of Mormon since I've been on my mission, and it always helps me get through hard times. If any of you are struggling with things, turn to the Book of Mormon and read it prayerfully. The Book of Mormon really does have such a great power, it is like an answer book. Always turn towards it when you are looking for direction :)
Also... Funny story before I go: we passed a man and all we said was hello, and he looked at us and then laughed and said, "no..no..no...no..no" and he just kept saying that while shaking his head and laughing and walking past. I think he was holding his hand out and shaking it too ๐Ÿ˜‚ I love the reactions we get, they're
hilarious ;)
Well, I'm going to go on a Safari adventure now!! Hope you all have a great day :)
Sister Wilkinson

Planet of the Apes

They had monkeys that would literally run up to the car and jump on it! We saw the monkeys on top of our car!!
Here is a monkey:


This was the car behind us... to give you an idea of what it was like 


Attack of the monkeys!!!!!!!

Sister Wilkinson

**Mom here- yesterday was Stake Conference for Sister Wilkinson and I received some pictures from a dear sister that is in her stake, from her old Crosby ward. 







Tuesday, May 16, 2017

Family means nobody is forgotten or left behind

Wow! I have the best family hope you all know that! You wanna know why? First, I'll tell you a bit about my week:
Well, the beginning of this week was actually pretty hard. We were lacking in our motivation, and since many missionaries went home recently, we felt a bit discouraged. For our District Meeting, we just mainly focused on finding joy and motivation. Although it was a bit harder, I actually feel great about this week as well. I feel as if I have just begun my change of nature. This new schedule really is forcing me to have accountability and self discipline. But, I really feel that it has started to change.
At our District Meeting, there were some really powerful comments that helped me. Elder Audrlickรฝ talked about Enduring to the end, and how we need to find the joy. He said it's not, "Enduring to the end" but "enjoy to the end". Men are that they might have joy - so we know that we should not need to constantly endure. He talked about changing your nature, and quoted something that said something like, "Men try to take people out of the slumps, but Christ takes the slumps out of the people." Often, we try to just be happy and get out of or avoid those slumps, or even ignore that they are there. When in reality, we are sinking into the slumps, and we often can't make it out alone. When we involve Christ in our lives, he will take away those slumps so that we never fall again, and we can have a full change of nature. 
Sister Cannon talked about motivation and how we just have to jump into the cold water sometimes. It's the hardest to be motivated when your patience is tested, but when we go to the people and bear our afflictions with patience, we will be given success. She inspired me to start a proper 40 day fast. I started fasting last night to know all the things that have been holding me back, and have now come up with a list. This will fully help me to use the atonement every day and come to know my Savior and have a true change of heart.
Elder Thelier said something in his training that really helped me. He said, "thinking of home is what you make of it. It can either hurt you or it can motivate you." The more he talked about it, the more I understood what he meant. It means to feel like you are worthy enough to deserve them and to work your hardest until you feel that way. It reminded me of my favorite talk that I based my entire farewell talk around. It's "Of missions, temples, and stewardship" by President Hinckley. He said, "Think of all that you have that is good--life itself, health, strength, food to eat and clothing to wear, parents, brothers and sisters, and friends. All are gifts from the Lord... Two years will not be time lost. It will be skills gained. You will bless the lives of those you teach, and their posterity after them. You will bless your own life. You will bless the lives of your family, who will sustain you and pray for you. And above and beyond all of this will come that sweet peace in your heart that you have served your Lord faithfully and well. Your service will become an expression of gratitude to your Heavenly Father." I really have been blessed with an incredible family (and I've realised it even more this week) and the best of friends. I was blessed to have been raised in this gospel in such a loving home. I really have seen the Lords hand in my life, and I want to show Him how much I really am grateful for it. I want to deserve and feel worthy to continue to have these wonderful blessings.
Even though the beginning of this week was hard, I had an incredible week! Throughout the week, my family has sent me so much and I just felt so grateful to have them in my life. I received a package from my best friend, a letter from my aunt, and also a letter from my grandma. And I just want to tell you all how incredible my family is (and also about a woman we found). So, a few days ago, we went to a woman's home. She met Sister Limb at a street display and we had a return appointment. She is very involved in the Jehovahs Witness, but is not baptised yet. We shared the Restoration with her, and she could just feel the power in the Book of Mormon. She said she would read it and she was very interested. I think there are just some things that she still doesn't agree with in her church, and we were able to give her more clarity. I think she actually has a lot of potential, it will just be hard for her to change her religion. She could feel there was something different about us though and she wanted to learn more. It was such a good lesson and we really enjoyed it. So, we were already feeling good that day, and we came back to the flat that night and what did we find?? To our suprise, we found a bouquet of flowers in front of the door! It was giant and beautiful! There was a card on the top that said, "Sister Limb and Sister Wilkinson" and the card said, "Just wanted you to remember the most important thing... We love you!" But it never said who it was from. It made our day so much better! 
Then talking to my family yesterday on Skype was wonderful! It really helped me realize that there is still so much of my nature that needs to change. I am definitely staying out for another year - no doubt about it. Talking to my family really gave me that pick up that I needed. With a lot of people it makes them feel homesick, but it actually helped me so much. Hearing their stories, and telling all of my stories really helped me be able to look back at all the spiritual experiences I've had. I loved being able to hear their voices, and talking to the, and sharing a bit of my testimony with them! And I found out that the flowers came from my dad who knows a flower shop in Utah that connected to a shop in  Warrington to send us them. Apparently, they didn't even pick the arrangement, but it was very unique and even had my favorite flower in it - a bird of paradise. It was just incredible - I don't think many missionaries receive flowers randomly - how amazing is that? That was just a testimony of how much the Lord really knows me and knows exactly what I need in order to stay motivated.
This week has really helped me see the blessings I have been given, and I really do want to show my gratitude to the Lord. I think that the 40 day fast will help me do this and have a change of nature. I know the type of person I want to become by the end of this next year, and I have made goals to achieve it. I really am so grateful for the things I have been given, and I just know with all my heart that this gospel is true and that Joseph Smith was able to translate an ancient record that we now have access to in our day. The Book of Mormon is the word of God, and I am so grateful to have its direction in my life. I am grateful for the opportunity I have to share this good news to everyone here, and I am so grateful to be in Warrington with Sister Limb. She has helped me out so much. I know that the Lord always watches over us and protects us, and knows exactly what we need. His timing and will are so perfect, and knowing that helps me have more patience. I felt inspired to share all of this with you, and I do it in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Love you all! Have a great week!

Sister Wilkinson


Monday, May 8, 2017

Who is that girl I see?

....staring straight back at me? Well, it's only been 5 months, but I look and feel like a different person. This mission had really been a life  changing experience and guess what? I still have a year left! ๐Ÿ˜

So, You want to know what happened this week? Well, a lot has happened! I'll start off with a little song to the tune of popcorn popping...

I looked at my companion, and what did I see?
A long legged spider crawling onto her knee!
This had brought me such a big surprise.
A long legged spider right before my eyes!
I could roll a paper and make him dream,
But instead, I decided to scream.
He fell onto the ground, then he turned to me.
We hit him with a shoe as hard as could be.

So... The spider was dead.... Then what happened? Second verse!

I headed to the shower, and what did I see?
A long legged spider was there waiting for me!
This had brought me a bigger surprise.
Another spider right before my eyes!
We could take another shoe to smash him,
But instead, we just made him swim.
We picked him up with gloves, and we flushed him away.
The long legged spider was defeated today.

I hope you all liked that song. You're welcome. So far, these are the only spiders we have found. But they were so big! Like a daddy long leg, but double the size. It had a small body, and skinny legs, but they were longer than a two pound coin. It was crazy... And gross. At least none of the spiders here are poisonous. 

Now onto the more interesting points:

I went to the temple this week! It was so nice! I felt so spiritually uplifted this week because of the temple, it always brings such a peaceful feeling. I really could feel the spirit so strong there. I was in the celestial room, and I randomly opened up the scriptures, and it just confirmed something in my heart that I have been thinking about for a while. I felt very happy that day because of it, and then we had a multi-zone, and I felt even better. It confirmed what I had felt in the temple even more. I really enjoyed the spirit that was there for both events. 

Also, I found out that many missionaries are going home early. There has been tons of change in our mission, and many of us are struggling with all the changes. We are getting a new misson president soon and I think it's been stressing a lot of the missionaries. But it's been making me feel stronger. I felt a sense of security these last few days. I'm actually really proud of myself for making it this far. I've been out for 5 months, I'm almost 1/3 of the way through my mission! In some ways that is exciting and in others its not. But since I've been here this long, England has become a part of me. I love it  here! And I will be here for another 13 months! How exciting! There will be so much change in my mission, but I'm excited for it!

I also LOVE Warrington! The members are so nice and always want to help us. It's also beautiful here. The other day, Sister Limb and I were walking with a member through a park, and it was huge and covered in trees and flowers. It looked like I had found the Hundred Acre Woods! It was seriously beautiful ๐Ÿ˜Š๐ŸŒฟ๐ŸŒณ๐ŸŒธ I love all the parks here!

We also met with a girl named Sarah, and taught her the Restoration. Sister Limb met her at a Street display and gave her a Restoration pamphlet. She is very involved with her church, and she had called us earlier this week to tell us that she read the pamphlet, but made adjustments to it. So we were a bit nervous to meet with her because we thought she might bash. But we prayed for the spirit to guide the lesson. It was taught outside a coffee shop, (which by the way had AMAZING hot chocolate, and also removed us of the coffee shop in Friends) so the atmosphere wasn't the most ideal place, but the spirit was still able to take over the lesson. She asked many questions, and we were able to answer them the best we could. By the end of the lesson, you could tell that she was accepting of what we said. And she felt a desire to read the Book of Mormon. It was a wonderful lesson, and we are seeing her again on Thursday. She seems like she has a lot of potential. She likes our church because we still believe in miracles, and she also likes that we do everything in the name of Jesus Christ.

One more thing before I go... So... We took our investigator, Jack (a 16 year old boy who is great at accents and is just hilarious), to a mission fireside (where new converts tell their conversation story to our investigators and help them on their path to baptism). We rode with the Dunns (who are amazing members that do soon much for us) and we also took Delwar (an extremely funny man from Bangladesh who used to be a Muslim, but us now a member). So, Delwar and Jack were in the back of the car and they were CRAZY! They started jamming to some type of Indian dub step music, and Jack would say things like, "Alright, this goes out to all the elders out there, and let's not forget the sisters" and then Delwar would just Dance like crazy and scream random words, or scream his name. We were laughing the entire way home! I think we all had a good ab exercise that night ๐Ÿ˜‚

Well I hope you have all had a wonderful week! Thanks to all those that have sent me birthday wishes either through email or through the post. I always enjoy them! And I love getting letters, it makes me feel loved! :)

Quick reminders: if you want to send a package, send it to the mission home. If you are just sending a letter, it can be directly sent to my flat and I can get it sooner :) as well, feel free to email me photos and videos, I can see them :)

Love all of you!!!!

My current address is:

27 Edgremont Court
Wilderspool Causeway
Warrington CHES
WA4 6LB

Love, Sister Wilkinson 

Monday, May 1, 2017

Would you like an adventure now, or shall we have our tea first (Peter Pan)

Guess what happened this week? We had a tea appointment EVERY DAY this week! Sometimes even two on accident. We saw so many members this week, which was great since I'm still new to the area. I was able to really focus on them and help them stay strong. They were all so welcoming to me. My birthday was last week, and everyone in the ward took the initiative to tell me Happy Birthday, and one of the members and his family literally threw me a birthday party. They had chicken strips, and pizza, and soda, and crisps, and cake with some candles, and they gave me really nice gifts at the end. I thought it was the nicest thing ever! I LOVE being in this ward. Especially since Sister Bundy served here. I feel like it's made me appreciate her even more and hearing all the stories of her and knowing how much Warrington loved her, really motivates me to become a better missionary.
I've been struggling a bit physically.  I had a bit of a meltdown after teaching a man at his door while tracting. For some reason, I just wasn't feeling the spirit, and because of that I wasn't good at teaching. Sister Limb turned to me and asked me what was wrong, and I just started to cry. While we walked home, she did so well at giving me comfort and council, and once we got inside, she shared so many spiritual things with me. I had taken my name badge off and while I was on my way to put it away, she gave me a big hug and told me she loved me, and then took my name badge and held it in front of me. She reminded me that Jesus Christ went through much worse, and that he was tested and tried even more than we are. I know that I am here as a representative of Him, and that He WILL help me - NO MATTER WHAT. He knows EXACTLY what I'm going through. He understands it perfectly because he came into the world according to the flesh that he could know how to succour his people. He loves every one of us so much that he was willing to die and to go through so much agony in order to save us. Although this week has been a bit rough for me phyically, I though that as I am willing to turn to Jesus Christ, and learn of his everlasting love, I will start to change into who He wants me to become.
I am grateful for everything that I have been able to learn so far on my mission, and I'm grateful for my wonderful companion, and the example she is to me. I'm grateful to be serving with her at this time in Warrington. I love my Saviour, Jesus Christ, and I know that as I focus on knowing him, that testimony will just keep growing stronger. I love the sweet peace that this gospel brings. And I say all of this in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Sister Wilkinson