Why not Minot?

Dear Family and Friends,

This has been a crazy week full of excitement! I am getting transferred to Minot, North Dakota! It is about to get a lot colder, but I'm excited for this new adventure. I've met so many great people here in Fargo/Moorhead and I will miss them greatly especially my companion Sister Aiono. We have become truly great friends and it still hasn't quite hit me that we won't be serving together anymore.

This has been a truly fantastic week. I was able to see Mark pass the sacrament in church on Sunday. I'm so proud of all the progress he has made. It has been an amazing blessing to see him grow in the gospel. We met with Jen a bunch too and she is doing great! I'm excited to hear how she does from Sister Aiono. I've made a lot of memories this past week and I have a ton of photos so I will keep this short, but know that I love you all. I'm grateful for this time I have to serve the Lord full-time and I know with all the fiber of my being this gospel is true. We can accomplish anything as we rely on the enabling power of the Atonement and find true happiness. I love you all!

Love,
Sister Williams

  WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS OF MOORHEAD, MINNESOTA!

 Super pink and wind burned from walking to service at the food pantry!

 Name tags and friendship rings =D I'm going to miss her!  BOO WHOO!!

 Have you ever seen a cuter snow shoveler??

 Being silly as we always are! 

 Even sillier yet!  Can we possibly ever be serious?

 This is Jen and her kids.

 This is Jen and her kids.

 Me with the big softy of a dog Lenny-- he is the sweetest!

 Me with the big softy of a dog Lenny-- he is the sweetest!

 Sister Aiono and me in a last photo together as companions!

                     Holding a bird!

 These are the Hegeness's they feed us missionaries every week and we love them!!

 Sister Brooks (I love her) and me Attempting to hold a tarantula in Sister Brooks' lab!

 Left to Right: Michelle, Me, Heather these are two of our investigators they are super sweet and I love them! I'll miss them!

 Name tags and friendship rings =D I'm going to miss her! We are eternally connected as sisters!!

Many Miracles!

Dear Family and Friends,

This was a good week. My companion got the stomach flu and we were stuck inside for two days. As a missionary your sole purpose is to help others come unto Christ which requires being around others. However, I know that this is the Lords work and He will not let us fail. One evening when my companion was sleeping I said a silent prayer and I was pleading with Heavenly Father to know how I can still be productive and further the work along while confined within the walls of our apartment. Then the phone rang. I looked at the caller ID and it was one of our potential investigators we haven't talked to in awhile. As we talked she told me of the many changes she has been making and that she had been praying a lot and knew God was answering her prayers. I set up a time to meet with her, hung up the phone and fell to my knees with tears streaming down my face as I offered a prayer of gratitude.

Then we had a meeting with the Zone leaders for Sister Training leader responsibilities and they gave us three referrals and we have a return appointment with one of them. She seems very interested and I look forward to meeting with her this week.

I'm so grateful to be serving at this time and in this area. I know Christ is directing His work through His servants and I know I am one of them. I love this work. I love my savior and I know He lives. I love you all. Look for opportunities to serve one another this week.

Love,

Sister Williams

These are the Metallos. They are the senior missionary couple in the area. I love them! they are full of funny personality. We had our cleaning inspection and passed with flying colors! =D

 I'm the worst artist but this is supposed  to be sister Aiono.

 I had some time while Sister Aiono was sick so I learned Arabic!

The Spirit of Elijah

Dear Family and Friends,

This has been a great week full of personal revelation. I'm grateful for the knowledge that God answers our prayers and I've gained a stronger testimony of the power of fasting. What a great opportunity we have to fast and allow ourselves to be more sensitive to the spirit. I had a neat experience during my personal studies on Sunday when I was fasting. I was thinking about how much to donate with my fast offering. As I studied I was led to D&C 58:35--

   "It is wisdom in me that my servant Martin Harris should be an example unto the church, in laying his moneys before the bishop of the church."

 Well, I am related to Martin Harris. He is my third great uncle and I was doing family history on his line earlier in the week when I found many names to take to the temple. The fact that I received an answer to my question through the example of my ancestor, recorded in the scriptures, was truly faith affirming that we cannot be saved without our dead, in many ways.

In the zone conference we had this week one of the trainings we received was on family history work. We had the opportunity to do some family history this week and there is a new feature on familysearch.org called decendancy where you are able to find your cousins. In just one hour I found 24 of my cousins who need 38 ordinances to be completed in the temple. It was amazing to experience the spirit of Elijah and to help my ancestors have the opportunity to be eternal families. In Malachi 4:5-6 it says,

 5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord:

 6 And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

I know Elijah appeared to Joseph Smith and gave him the priesthood keys necessary to do temple work not just for the living, but for the dead as well. I've experienced the turning of my heart to my fathers and the heart of my fathers to me. I know our families can be eternal and I'm grateful for this precious knowledge and the time I have to share it with others full time. I love you all!

Love,

Sister Williams

       All my ancestors on their way to the Oakland temple! 

  Sister Anderson (Presidents Wife) and me at Zone Conference.

 Reunited AGAIN with Sister Park! We are still so in sync! Our outfits matched.

           Thank you Mom and Dad! I love my super duper warm coat!!

        French Manicures and Cupcakes on Preparation Day!

                           I love the sunsets!

         Sister Power at Zone Conference.

Dear Family and Friends,

This was a great week! We will be having Zone Conference this week and I'm giving a short talk during it which I'm very excited about. We also found two new investigators this week and I look forward to teaching them more in the coming weeks.

This week marks 5 months out in the mission field and I honestly can't believe how fast time flies! It seems like only yesterday I was being dropped off at the Missionary Training Center in a flurry of excitement. It has been a great time so far and I'm happy I have many more months to work hard. I love this work.

Sorry this is a short post, but know I love you all and more than anything, I know Christ lives.

Love,

Sister Williams
                                  Sister Aiono and me

                          Teaching the Romo's English

They Know Not Where to Find It

Dear Family and Friends,

This has been a great week full of finding, teaching, and inviting to be baptized! We had a lesson with a newer investigator, Heather, and to our surprise she brought a friend with her, Michelle, which we have begun to teach as well. They have both been prepared to receive the gospel and it was great teaching them. They asked such great questions and I could see the hunger in their eyes to learn more. We also began teaching Felix, an older man from Africa. His lesson was amazing. We taught the Restoration and the spirit was there so strongly. He didn't have any questions and he accepted everything we taught saying, "Yes, I know that is true." It is amazing to witness the hand of God in so many peoples lives. To be able to see how they have been prepared and then to find them is nothing short of a miracle.

I love this work. I love meeting people and helping them find what they have been searching for. The restored gospel of Jesus Christ will bring a fullness of joy into your life that nothing else can because there is nothing else that offers eternal life. We read in 2 Nephi 31:

17 Wherefore, do the things which I have told you I have seen that your Lord and your Redeemer should do; for, for this cause have they been shown unto me, that ye might know the gate by which ye should enter. For the gate by which ye should enter is repentance and baptism by water; and then cometh a remission of your sins by fire and by the Holy Ghost.

 18 And then are ye in this strait and narrow path which leads to eternal life; yea, ye have entered in by the gate; ye have done according to the commandments of the Father and the Son; and ye have received the Holy Ghost, which witnesses of the Father and the Son, unto the fulfilling of the promise which he hath made, that if ye entered in by the way ye should receive.

 19 And now, my beloved brethren, after ye have gotten into this strait and narrow path, I would ask if all is done? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; for ye have not come thus far save it were by the word of Christ with unshaken faith in him, relying wholly upon the merits of him who is mighty to save.

 20 Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life.

 21 And now, behold, my beloved brethren, this is the way; and there is none other way nor name given under heaven whereby man can be saved in the kingdom of God. And now, behold, this is the doctrine of Christ, and the only and true doctrine of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, which is one God, without end. Amen.

I know this is true. I know living the gospel of Jesus Christ is the only way to be truly happy in this life and in the life to come. Share with someone the happiness you have found in the gospel. In Doctrine and Covenants 123 it says

12 For there are many yet on the earth among all sects, parties, and denominations, who are blinded by the subtle craftiness of men, whereby they lie in wait to deceive, and who are only kept from the truth because they know not where to find it—

They know not where to find it-- you can be the means by which our brothers and sisters find the answer to everlasting happiness. I love you all so much!

Love,

Sister Williams

A Personal Record

Dear Family and Friends,

Well, this has been one full week!! We put one of our investigators, Cornell, on date for baptism for Feb 7! It was such a great lesson and he has truly been prepared to receive the gospel. We also got in contact again with Kate and we have a lesson with her this week so we are excited to meet with her!

When I came out on my mission I brought a journal with me so I could record the details of this journey I would be on for the next 18 months. I also brought with me the journal I have been keeping of my life which documents from the age of 13 til right before I left for the mission. I've enjoyed reading from that journal this past week and it has been amazing to witness my own progression captured in its pages. I'm so grateful to have this record. It has really put into perspective who I was, who I am, and who I want to become. I'm excited to be able to look back at the record of this time in my life where I am helping others to progress and grow.

It makes me very grateful for the scriptures. We have a record of God's dealings with his children and its pages contain the answer of how to obtain Eternal Life. This knowledge is invaluable and we have it! What an amazing blessing! As I have feasted upon the words of God and kept a personal record of God's dealings with me I've been able to track my progress and have made a record which is now invaluable to me and my future posterity.

I love you all so much! And I hope all is well!

Love,

Sister Williams

 Sister Park and I reunited once again! She was my MTC companion in Provo!

 Can you believe how cheap gas is here!? It is insane!

Feeling the Warmth of the Spirit in -30 degree Weather!

Dear Family and Friends,

Happy New Year! I hope you all had a great New Year's! I know I did as I counted down to 10:30 =D This has been a great week here in Minnesota. We found a bunch more people to teach and look forward to the people we will find this week as well!

One of the people we have started teaching was a former investigator named Carmen. We were looking through the teaching records and her name stood out to us so we gave her a call and set up an appointment. She lives in one of the small towns in our area so we took a mini road trip, through a snowy wind storm, to a town of 100 people. Carmen is amazing. Her testimony of Joseph Smith being a prophet of God strengthened my own  testimony. I could feel the spirit so strongly as we visited with her. I'm so excited to continue meeting with her. She gave us a bunch of homemade tamales to take home too. She is super sweet!

It has gotten extremely cold here this past week as well. With the wind chill factor it has been -30. We share the car with another set of sister missionaries and we didn't have the car yesterday, and we wanted to remind one of our investigators (who doesn't have a phone) about our appointment. So we bundled up and set off down the road. We made it about five blocks. Then we turned around and went to the warm safety of our apartment.

I love setting goals and with the new year what better time to set a vision for the person I want to become and things I want to accomplish in 2015. Here are a few of the goals I have set to accomplish in 2015:

• Read the Bible cover to cover (I'm in Exodus so far)

• Gain a deeper understanding of the Character of Christ

• Do everything in my power to help others make covenants with our Heavenly Father

• Develop Christlike attributes (emphasis on humility) 

These are just a few of my goals for 2015. What are some of the goals you have set for the coming year? I would love to hear about them. Come the end of 2015 I will evaluate how I've done and share with you what I've learned. 

I love you all so much and I hope you have a fantastic week full of missionary opportunities! Hey, lets start a new thing. You all can email me missionary experiences you have during the week and we can have a Missionary Moment of the Week highlight in the posts! My email is right there in the right column of my blog! I love you all and have a great week!!

Love,

Sister Williams

This is the Romo Family! Brother Romo bore his testimony in sacrament meeting and it was great!

 The Romo's dog Sophia who I have adopted as my dog! 

 Dad's Annual New Years Eve Dip!! Yummy!

 The Elders (literally) ate all the dip!

 Emptied by the Elders!

 We counted down to 10:30 on New Years Eve....and then went to sleep!

                    I kissed fish lips!

 Eating a fish eyeball! (I didn't actually eat it)

 Trying to keep my face warm in -30 degree weather!

 We froze in -30 degree weather!!