Marry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Dear Family and Friends,

I hope you had a Merry Christmas, I know I sure did. I was able to Skype with my family and it was great to see them! I'm so grateful for the love, support, and laughter my family supplies me with. How was your Christmas? Our apartment is currently full of candy, cookies, and chocolate thanks to our loving ward members. We also were able to meet with a few investigators on Christmas, so overall it was an awesome day!

And now for the miracle of the week! We were on exchanges and made plans to contact some less-active members. We made it to the apartment building and knocked on the members door...and no answer. We left a note and then turned around to go back to the car. As we reached the end of the hallway we saw a door all decorated for Christmas with a ton of shoes outside the door. I felt we should knock the door. We did and Keisha answered the door. We watched the "He is the Gift" video with her and she loved it. She has such a sweet spirit and we are meeting with her this week!

For many of us, Christmas is our favorite time of year and it tends to come and go much too quickly. However, we can have the feeling of Christmas with us all year if we heed the words of our prophet Thomas S. Monson, "To catch the real meaning of the spirit of Christmas, we need only drop the last syllable, and it becomes the spirit of Christ." The spirit of Christ is available to us year round 24/7. With the new year coming it is a great time to set goals for ourselves. One of mine is to continually do the things that bring the spirit of Christ into my life. I love you all so much! Have a Happy New Year!

Love,

Sister Williams

                    It's Christmas!

 It's Christmas! My eyes look super green! Sister Aiono and I are so Happy!

 More Decorations from Gordon, our landlord!

 This is one of our investigators, Sheila! She is sassy and Fantastic!

 This is a less-active family, the Ghimires. They are fantastic and from Nepal. They are so sweet!

The Power of Ancestors

Dear Family and Friends,

This has been a great week full of success! We found two new people to teach through He is the Gift and I'm excited to meet with them this week! We also went on exchanges this week and I went to Detroit Lakes, Minnesota. There really are a ton of lakes there and I stood on the frozen lake. We did some service at this cool museum and I saw a three legged wolf and a two-headed calf!

Well, Saturday was my four month mark and I can't believe I've been on the mission that long already! It is going by super fast and I love every minute of it. We went Christmas caroling yesterday at a couple of rest homes and it was really fun. I love elderly people they're adorable and they were so happy to hear Christmas songs.

Mark, our recent convert, came caroling with us and it was great! He is doing really well and progressing in the gospel so quickly. He received the Aaronic Priesthood a couple weeks ago and we have been working on his family history so he can find names and take them to the temple. He is really excited about family history and it is so fun to see that joy in his eyes as his family tree grows larger and larger!

Speaking of family history we were teaching a lesson about it to the Romo Family. They are a couple who have recently come back to activity and we are teaching them English. We went over the familysearch.org website with them and they wanted to know how far back my tree went. To my surprise a branch of my family tree has gone back all the way to the 700's! It is amazing to know that these family members are anxiously waiting for me and my family to help them make covenants and is motivation to get moving on it!

I love you all so much and I hope you are all having a great Christmas season and have a fantastic Christmas this week!

Love,
Sister Williams

 This is our Christmas decorated front door! Our landlord is a super sweet older man named Gordon and he gave us a bunch of Christmas decorations!

 I got your packages!! Yippee! Christmas came early for me!

 Ha, Ha, Ha funny story. So we were walking and I totally slipped on this ice that was covered by snow! So I needed to take a picture and show you all! It was pretty funny and don't worry I didn't fall down. =D

 We were waiting at the church to exchange back and we played a giant game of tic tac toe!

 Me and Sister Lewis on exchanges! She is from Louisiana and she made me red beans and rice yummy! This Sister can cook! I love her!

I'm standing on a frozen lake! Its like I'm Elsa!

p.s. people are ice fishing in the background.

 Sister Aiono and me having a fun photo op!

  We went Christmas Caroling as a set of ward missionaries!

 An even funnier photo op......me in mid sentence!

 We went Christmas Caroling as a set of ward missionaries!

SERVICE: The Cure For All Life's Problems

Dear Family and Friends,

This has been a fantastic week and a warm week! It's basically been like spring here with temperatures in the low 40's. Never thought I would think 40 degree weather was warm, but that is what happens when you live in the arctic. It has been fun learning how to drive on a thin sheet of ice, but don't worry I am safe.

Well, this week we had a lot of success finding people to teach using "He is the Gift." We do some service at a local food pantry and we gave a He is the Gift pass along card to one of the people we volunteer with. She watched the video and the next week when we saw her she was curious how our beliefs differ and wanted to meet with us to talk about it! We have an appointment with her this week.

As a missionary along with the proselyting work we do, we also participate in various service activities. This week we had the opportunity to help a woman, Jamie, pack up her friends apartment. We had planned to be there for about an hour and a half thinking it would be plenty of time, but we were very surprised when we got there. Come to find out this poor woman has been working on cleaning/packing this apartment for the past 6 months. The woman living there was in an accident where she lost her short-term memory and other brain functions, which resulted in her becoming a hoarder. We ended up staying for most of the day and helping Jamie pack up the living room. We got to talking and learned all about her story. Her example of charity and service is amazing to me. We are going back this week to continue helping her. She is an amazing woman full of hope.

As we serve others with charity in our hearts the problems we may be facing work out and we are able to gain a more eternal perspective. I know the scripture in Mosiah 2:17 is true:
"And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God."

Let us all gain a bit more wisdom this holiday season as we serve our Heavenly Father by serving his children. I love you all!

Love,

Sister Williams

Sister Aiono and me together on Thanksgiving! We are cute!

Thanksgiving table set for the feast.

Our Thanksgiving feast at the Metallo's home, a senior couple in the mission.

 The whole district at the senior couple's House, the Metallos, for Thanksgiving =)

 Me and Sister Aiono, my new companion.  We are best friends already!

He is the Gift

Dear Friends and Family,

I would like to start off by apologizing for not writing the past couple weeks. These past couple preparation days have been hectic, but I am writing a long one today! Well Since my last post a lot has changed. I finished my training and said goodbye to my trainer Sister Rodriguez. My new companion is Sister Aiono (I-O-NO). She is from Southern California and has been out for a year. She is fantastic and I've loved getting to  know her better. She is the Sister Training Leader for our zone, so we get to go on exchanges with the other sisters in our zone. It's great to serve with so many amazing woman and to have the opportunity to serve with them all.

There is a video and website the Church has put out for the holiday season called He is the Gift. It is an amazing video. Every time I watch it I feel the Spirit so strongly and I have confirmed to me over and over again the Christ lives. He is my Savior. My loving Heavenly Father sent his son for me, that I might have the chance to gain eternal life. This knowledge has brought me an everlasting happiness and it is something I want to share with all of you.

                                           Click on this link to view : He is the Gift

Will you discover Christ by learning more about His Atonement and Gospel?

Will you embrace Christ by living His teachings and allowing the Atonement to work in your life?

Will you share Christ with those you love and care about so they too will know of the amazing gift?

This Christmas season is a fantastic opportunity to get back to the real meaning of CHRISTmas. I invite all of you to discover,embrace, and share the gift we have all been given. I want to hear about your experiences please email or write me a letter.

I love you all so much and I leave you with my testimony that Christ lives.

Love,

Sister Williams


 This was from a couple weeks ago. It was Sister Alston's Birthday and her family sent her mustaches so we took missionary mustache mugshots =)

 This is the beautiful nowhere!

 Me and Sister Nielson trying to exchange back and stuck in the middle of the beautiful nowhere.

Photo Blog For This Week

Happy December to all!!

Transfers were the week of Thanksgiving for Makaela so she did not get a blog post off that week. This past week her companion was transferred and she received a new companion, Sister Aiono from Long Beach, California.  Makaela says they instantly hit it off and are best friends already.  Makaela will post a nice long post this coming week.  She did send some photos though, so I will post them for this week.
    She sends her love to all and wishes everyone a happy week.  Here are her most recent photos.
Keep on writing those letters to her and all missionaries in the field so they know we are thinking of them always.
              Mistletoe for all,  Troy

Our last photo together. Sister Rodriguez was transferred to Rapid City. I will miss my trainer for my first 2 months of my mission.  I learned so much from her!  Good luck!

 Sardines from Grandma and Grandpa =D yummy yummy.

 This is the view of the Red River from the bridge! The bridge connects North Dakota and
Minnesota. The river is the border between North Dakota and Minnesota.  Yes, that is snow that
I am standing in!  Not much yet, but more to come soon.

 I'm in two places at once! On the bridge that connects Fargo and Moorhead!

He Lives!

Dear Family and Friends,

This was an amazing week. We have found a lot of people to teach the past couple weeks so we were jam packed with teaching appointments. We were also able to see the movie made by the church called Meet the Mormons, which shows the life of six church members around the world and how they were able to find the gospel and how it has helped them understand who they've always been.

More than anything this week though, I have really gained a deeper and abiding witness of Jesus Christ. I know He lives. I know because of Him I am able to do anything. I know His love for me and I know it is only through Him I am able to gain eternal life. I am grateful for this knowledge and for the growing witness that is within me. I know this is the only knowledge which can bring us true happiness and it is for that very reason why I am here serving His mission, because EVERYONE needs to know.

I love you all so much and if you don't know Christ lives I invite you to find out for yourselves if He does. I know and I promise it will bring you eternal happiness.

Love,
Sister Williams

                                     It's a fleet of missionary vehicles!

 We had a Mexican Feast! Chili Rellenos, rice, beans, tortillas, and oddly popcorn!

 We made lefse (Lefsa) which is a Norwegian thing. It looks like a tortilla, but it is made of potatoes, flour, butter, salt.

 Me flipping the Lefse I am really good at flipping Lefse!

Open Your Mouth

Dear Family and Friends,

I just wanted to start off by saying thank you to you all for your love, support, and prayers. You all mean so much to me and I am happy to know you. Well, this was a fantastic week! We had a great district meeting about the basic principle of finding and you know what we came to a conclusion of? The basic principle of finding is to...OPEN YOUR MOUTH. It is so simple yet we all seem to have such a difficult time with it,  don't we?

Well, my companion and I decided we needed to open our mouths more and once we did we couldn't stop finding people! We do service at a food pantry in town and we met the sweetest older couple. It was funny because they seemed like teenagers in old people's bodies. We helped them get the food they needed and as we helped them out to their car we told them who we are and what we do and they said,"You know we have been looking for a church." We have a return appointment with them this week.

Then after we found this old couple, we were walking to meet some members to go to a lesson and a lady was walking towards us. We said hello and then she just stopped right when our paths crossed. It was like she was drawn to us by an unseen force and we talked with her and she really opened up to us and gave us her number.

Right after we met this woman we saw an African man walking to his car and we thought it was one of our investigators, but we couldn't be sure. He got into his car and turned it on and we crossed in front of the windshield and waved. He started to get out of his car so we walked around to say hi. Turns out it was NOT our investigator, but he had met missionaries before in Africa and we were able to trade contact info and hope to see him sometime this week.

There are people all around us who Heavenly Father has prepared to receive His gospel. They are there. I know as we have the courage to OPEN OUR MOUTHS we will be able to be the means by which they receive the good news of the gospel, but they won't have the chance to know if we don't do our part. In Doctrine and Covenants 123:11-12 it reads:

11 And also it is an imperative duty that we owe to all the rising generation, and to all the pure in heart—

 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—

It is our duty to bring the truth to those who know not where to find it, and we can do this as we open our mouths.

I love you all so much and I look forward to hearing your experiences!

Love,

Sister Williams


 Okay, story time. We went shopping at Wal-Mart last P-day and we share a car with the other set of sisters. So we had finished our shopping very quickly and went to wait for the sisters by the car. Well It was FREEZING! The wind was blowing and we were out there waiting for 30 min. So to avoid the wind and warm up we knelt behind the car and ate hot Doritos. =D I'm happy I could bring a smile to your face with our stupidity ;)

 Again me holding my muddy shoe imprint! It is seriously so beautiful here I love serving in this area!

 We all helped one of the young men in our ward with his Eagle Scout Project by walking alongside a river and picking up trash. I am holding the mud print of my shoe =D

Weave the Word of God into the Very Fabric of Your Soul!

Dear Family and Friends,

What a powerful week I've had. This week we had a Quad-Zone Conference with over 100 missionaries in attendance. Elder Marcus B. Nash of the First Quorum of the Seventy came and spoke and counseled with us. The spirit was just raining upon us and I felt so uplifted and inspired I was antsy to get back to work!

We spoke of many things, but one thing which really stood out to me was what Elder Nash said regarding the scriptures. He said, "There is great power in the word of God. We need to have the word woven into the very fabric of our soul." As I have been on my mission I have truly gained a knowledge of the power of the scriptures. On Sunday it was daylights saving and we completely forgot. We had an extra hour and I decided to take that time to read from the Book of Mormon. Oh, how I wish I had an infinite amount of hours to read from that book! I know the Book of Mormon is the most correct of any book and as you read it you WILL come closer to Christ. Take the promise given and experience the amazing power of God's word for yourself.

This week we put one of our investigators on date for baptism! Her name is Kate and she was truly prepared to receive the gospel. We haven't been meeting with her for very long, but it is amazing to see her progress just in the matter of a week! I feel so blessed to be able to see this progress in the people I teach and in myself and I know it has been possible because of the great plan of happiness our Heavenly Father has for us.

I know Christ lives. I know the Book of Mormon contains the fulness of His gospel. I know I can be made whole through His infinite Atonement. I know this is a knowledge we all need to have and I invite you to gain that knowledge starting today.

I love you.

Love,
Sister Williams


 Look at me! Aren't I so cute in my Autumn coat and hat?

 Part of the MTC District Reunited!  Sister Park and I were MTC companions.  Elder Mayfield was in our district in the MTC also.

 This was our Quad-Zone Conference where Elder Nash came and spoke with us.

When You're On God's Team, It's Always A Win!

Dear Family and Friends,

This has been a great and difficult week. I'll start with the difficult part of the week. We had to stop meeting with two of our investigators this week which broke my heart. I've grown so close to them and it was really hard to accept. I was reading in the Book of Mormon today and stumbled upon a scripture which describes how I feel about the work I am doing:

Mosiah 28:3

   "Now they were desirous that salvation should be declared to every creature, for they could not bear that any human soul should perish; yea, even the very thoughts that any soul should endure endless torment did cause them to quake and tremble."

I love the people I teach. I love the people of this area. I love all of God's children and the thought of not being able to be with them all for eternity causes me great sorrow. HOWEVER, I know our Heavenly Father has a plan for each of us and it just isn't their time yet. Now for the GREAT part of the week. We have been meeting with a young adult, Kate, for the past few weeks and she is making such great progress. I love meeting with her! She comes prepared to lessons with questions and concerns and is so honest about her thoughts and feelings. It is a true pleasure to teach her.

I have felt the love of my Heavenly Father so abundantly this week and I know He is just anxiously waiting for us to come to Him and ask for what we need. I also know asking for help can sometimes be the hardest part of finding peace and comfort, but as we humble ourselves and accept the fact that we can't do it on our own we are able to be strengthened by the love of our Heavenly Father. I know we can do anything with His divine help. I love you all.

Love,

Sister Williams

 This is a statue on the street we live on. I pass it everyday! It is pretty fun. It is painted like starry night and if you look closely it is Van Gogh; the head is wrapped in cloth because its ear is "chopped off".

Remember...

Dear Family and Friends,

I had my first baptism this week! It was so wonderful to be a part of. Our investigators name is Mark and I am so grateful I had the opportunity to teach him. It was amazing to witness the power of the gospel inspire Mark to change and grow. He was so happy after his baptism and when he was confirmed on Sunday he was just glowing and said he was so full of happiness he might burst.

What a wonderful knowledge to have. When we are able to comprehend our true identity as sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father, to fully comprehend the divine potential we all possess, it changes your perspective; it helps us develop an eternal perspective, His perspective. As we strive to understand our divine potential it allows us to see that potential in others. Everyone you see at school, on the bus, in the grocery store, the person who cut you off on the freeway, they all posses this divine potential. How great is that?

I want to leave you with a scripture from Doctrine and Covenants 18:10

                           "Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God."

As you go throughout your week internalize this scripture and as you remember we are all divine sons and daughters of a loving Heavenly Father allow that knowledge to change you and how you view others.

I love you all so much and hope you have a great week!

Love,

Sister Williams

                                            Mark got Baptized! He is standing next to me.

                                          This is the street I live on...isn't it beautiful!!

                                           My apartment building.

 My bedroom...if you look very closely you will see I made my bed the "right way" =D

                                           This is where I study every morning.

                                           Another beautiful sunset in the country.

A Week In Pictures!

Dear Family and Friends,

I decided I would send a bunch of pictures this week instead of a typical post. Know that I love you all so much and I love doing the Lord's work. Have a great week and read from the scriptures daily. The strength and power I receive from the scriptures everyday is too priceless to miss out on. I love you all and email me how you are doing with the commitments I've left you all in the past weeks. I love you!

Love,

Sister Williams 

This is my Sister Training Leader Sister Alder. We went on exchanges together this week and I just adore her. We love doing accents together.

This is a photo of my district and the Metallos!

This is a less-active member we are working with she is so fun and sassy! 

A beautiful park we walk through to get home.