Monday, June 26, 2017

How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard

(Winnie the Pooh) I was going to quote the goodbye song from Fox and the Hound... but I thought that would be way too depressing... so I settled on Pooh Bear ;)
So why did I title it this? Because it's President Ulrich's last week! So.. that's crazy! We will all miss him so much!
We are getting our new mission President on Friday. We had a goodbye multizone, and well let's just say, many tears were shed! It was so good to hear from him.
We also met some amazing people that we are now teaching! They have the sweetest spirits in the world, and I love them both so much! So that has been SO exciting! We met them on a bus (that we didn't even mean to take) and she automatically opened up to the gospel. I feel like I have found my friends! :) and
During Sacrament Meeting yesterday, we were talking about prophets. So, I wanted to tell all of you that I have a strong testimony that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, and that our church is still lead by a prophet on the earth today - Thomas S. Monson. My testimony compares to that of Elder Holland, and I want to share his testimony because it is powerful and true.
"When Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum started for Carthage to face what they knew would be an imminent martyrdom, Hyrum read these words to comfort the heart of his brother: "Thou hast been faithful; wherefore … thou shalt be made strong, even unto the sitting down in the place which I have prepared in the mansions of my Father... And now I, Moroni, bid farewell … until we shall meet before the judgment-seat of Christ.” A few short verses from the 12th chapter of Ether in the Book of Mormon. 
"Before closing the book, Hyrum turned down the corner of the page from which he had read, marking it as part of the everlasting testimony for which these two brothers were about to die. I hold in my hand that book, the very copy from which Hyrum read, the same corner of the page turned down, still visible. Later, when actually incarcerated in the jail, Joseph the Prophet turned to the guards who held him captive and bore a powerful testimony of the divine authenticity of the Book of Mormon. Shortly thereafter pistol and ball would take the lives of these two testators.
"As one of a thousand elements of my own testimony of the divinity of the Book of Mormon, I submit this as yet one more evidence of its truthfulness. In this their greatest--and last--hour of need, I ask you: would these men blaspheme before God by continuing to fix their lives, their honor, and their own search for eternal salvation on a book (and by implication a church and a ministry) they had fictitiously created out of whole cloth?
Never mind that their wives are about to be widows and their children fatherless. Never mind that their little band of followers will yet be “houseless, friendless and homeless” and that their children will leave footprints of blood across frozen rivers and an untamed prairie floor. Never mind that legions will die and other legions live declaring in the four quarters of this earth that they know the Book of Mormon and the Church which espouses it to be true. Disregard all of that, and tell me whether in this hour of death these two men would enter the presence of their Eternal Judge quoting from and finding solace in a book which, if not the very word of God, would brand them as imposters and charlatans until the end of time? They would not do that! They were willing to die rather than deny the divine origin and the eternal truthfulness of the Book of Mormon" - Jeffrey R. Holland (Safety for the Soul)
I want to say that I know the Book of Mormon is true, and I love everything Elder Holland says in this quote!
Sorry, I don't really have many funny stories this week, but it was FILLED with SO MANY miracles :) I guess a quick kind of funny thing that happened this week was that we were trying to figure out how to make it to a members house for a tea appointment because she lived about an hour away, and so we decided to call her and see if she could possibly give us a lift. And right as we called her, she was actually in town where we were, and she saw us on the street. So, she just said, "Yeah, hop in!" And we ran into her car as fast as we could while she was stopped at a red light. I thought it was so funny! And talk about perfect timing!!!
Alright, week that's about it. Love you all! Till next week!
Sister Wilkinson

My First Kebab- Well, I was kebab-tized last week, so here are some photos. I didnt really like them, but I had to try them!


Also, I got a crazy sunburn last week from the crazy heat!


That's all for now. Have a great week everyone :)

Monday, June 19, 2017

"I swear I'm sweating like a sinner in church"

(Princess and the Frog)

"There is Sunshine in England Today! More glorious and bright than glows in any English sky..."

But seriously, it's SO HOT here! It's been 75 to 80 degree heat plus the humidity... let me just say I'm grateful to be serving in a cold country. I'm not sure if I could handle missionary work in the heat like this (shout out to all my missionary friends in Arizona! And the other hot areas - good on you!)
Also, I found this little place that's like mini America. All the streets are named after American places. It's so sweet! Made me feel right at home ;) I also went to IKEA this week, so I also enjoyed that, and it reminded me of home. So, it's been a pretty fun week - I feel like I'm not even in England 😂












First off, quick announcement, I should be avoiding "chatting" in emails, so just letting each of you know that I won't be able to reply too much to your emails when we are both online. President said it should help us focus on the work. So, sorry to any of you who may be sad, but I want to do everything I can to be obedient :) I'll get to
talk to you all properly in a year from now anyway :)

Also, HAPPY FATHERS DAY Everyone! Hope you all enjoyed it! :) My Sacrament meeting was so great! We had the primary children speak, and it was SO CUTE!! They said the cutest things and it was great to hear from all of them!

Well, not too much has happened this week beside the heat. We also had companion exchange, which is always a lot of fun! I went on exchange with Sister Luo, who is basically an older, Asian version of me ;) also we are both obsessed with cats ;) so it was lots of fun!

Anything else to mention? Oh yeah, maybe the fact that I went to a BAPTISM this Saturday!!! Woohoo! It was the first time I was able to see a convert baptism, so it was really exciting. I also got to see Sister Limb again while I was there. So, it was wonderful! The baptism was for the Elders investigators, both Daniel (from Romania), and Ben. Ben is wonderful - we got to know him really well. We also just saw him while we were at IKEA. Definitely a good member! So two new additions to Warrington ward!!



My week has definitely been a good one, and I'm so grateful for all the miracles I've seen.

Hope you all have had a good week as well - keep up the good work, and enjoy Summer! (Get in the pool as much as you can for me, okay) ;) That's something I wish I could do right now!

Love you all!!!

Sister Wilkinson

** Mom here- This is the headline in the Manchester news this morning- 

It's so hot in Manchester the pavements are actually MELTING

“You could probably crack an egg and cook it on the floor”

Monday, June 12, 2017

Group email

Sorry to all
Guess what? It's MONDAY, the day you have all been waiting for...
To get an email from Sister Wilkinson...
Also the day where her brain shuts off and only has limited time to email...
So... sorry to everyone but I've not had anything too excited to report.
However, I have had a fabulous week!
Here's a little something and I'll be on my way.
At zone conference, we started by pretending it was our first day at the MTC. It was different than anything I've done before, but it was really good. It helped me realise just how much I've changed since then. I really have grown a lot and went through many different spiritual moments. We also talked about the power and authority of our callings. I write many things down in my study journal that come to my mind/things others say as I hear talks or attend meetings. I wanted to share something with you that I wrote down. It says, "We have been given authority by the stake President when we were set apart. As we are obedient to the standards, we receive power. That power will then convert others to the gospel. As our investigators keep commitments, they can receive the Holy Ghost which brings spiritual power". I definitely know that obedience brings blessings, and that it brings the Holy Ghost to touch people's hearts. My entire mission, I've done my best to stay obedient and I feel the happiest when I obey. When I fall short, something always seems to happen wrong. Even in the small things, I'm blessed the most when I am following the mission standards. 
Love you all! Til next week!
Laters... love you
Sister Wilkinson

Monday, June 5, 2017

**gasp** MY SPINACH PUFFS!!!

Hey everyone....
So... I'm not really sure what to talk about this week because SO MUCH happened!
This week has been good for the work, and my new companion, Sister Taumalolo and I get along really well. I have really loved serving beside her. She is from Perth, Australia... the wonderful land of Oz! She is SO MUCH fun!
This week we were able to give a baptismal date as a goal for a woman named Kate, who has been investigating with past missionaries for about a year. I think it helped her realize if she wanted to be fully committed or not. She is now meeting with us more often.
We also found a new investigator this week named Maavis, who was very accepting of everything we said. He is originally from Nigeria, and he moved to England when he was very young. He is now 17, and studying at Priestly college. We brought a member with us to help teach, and we found out that the member knew his mom! So, she invited the mom to church, and she seemed pretty interested. That was definitely inspired to bring her along with us, and it was such a big miracle that we saw
this week.
I know that I am being blessed right now with so many miracles because this week has been a bit crazy with things from home. My aunt came to England on Wednesday, and she dropped off a package at the mission office. Sister McAllister (the office couple) said that she sent a photo, and I got a phone call from the office to let me know.
It was very sweet, and I felt uplifted, and I wasn't too worried because I knew she was still a bit far away. The next day, we got a text from a random number with a Utah area code. I thought it might be my aunt or her friend, but it was actually an Elder that served in Warrington that now lives in Bountiful. But it was strange to get knowing that my aunt is here in England. Then at church on Sunday, there was a family there that was from Orem, Utah who were just passing through. They took a photo of Elder Schoonover and I to send to our parents once they get back to Utah. So, that was great to see that family, but also a bit strange. Then, last night, someone knocked on our door. It was 10:25pm, so we decided it was too late to answer, and we felt a bit scared to know who was at our door so late at night. They then buzzed our flat a few times, and we felt uneasy. So, we called the District Leader and let him know what was happening, and he said to call the Dunns to just walk around the building to make sure we were safe. So, they ended up coming over and checking. Chloe came to our door, and we could hear her just laughing. Once we opened the door, we saw it was COVERED in notes and photos from my family. My aunt was literally outside decorating our door, but we did not know, and we didn't answer. So, last night was obviously really hard for me having that realization that I missed her by only a few minutes. But I am actually glad I didn't see her, because I may have been up all night talking to her and it would be hard to say goodbye. Elder Thelier told me I would be blessed for staying obedient, and that because home was literally a few meters away, that I would be filled with strength this week.

Sister Wilkinson

England Manchester Mission ☔️

(Mom here- Sister Wilkinson's aunt is visiting England but purposefully did not see her.  She was staying in a hotel just around the block and did decorate her door.  They doorbell ditched them last night so if Sister Wilkinson did answer the door she would have only seen the lovely notes and not her aunt- who too was obeying mission rules.  Just thought I would throw that in there so that nobody thinks she was trying to cheat.  She has far more willpower then the rest of us.  I know I would have cheated.  I couldn't be that close and not given her a hug.  We miss her dearly and we are all so proud of the great missionary she has become.  Thank you for all your support- Rachel Wilkinson)