Hello Everyone!!

I hope you all are well, and that everything is going well for you. My new area is Bartlett, Tennessee and I LOVE it here!! It is a little rough right now because we don't have a big teaching pool, and we go Spiritual Harvesting a lot ("Tracting") but I am still loving the work. I do have to admit, it has been a rough couple of days because I am 6 weeks out, with another 6 weeker and are re-opening this area for sisters. It is a lot of hard work, but I know that God gave me this challenge because he knows that I can do it! The members are really friendly here, and have welcomed us with open arms.

Right now we are working on trying to build up the Area here. We don't have a lot of Investigators, so we are trying to build up our teaching pool. We did Spiritual Harvest into a house owned by a man named Sammy. The first visit we had with him went great. We summarized all three of the Lessons because he wanted to know all about what "mormons" believe. We gave him a copy of the Book of Mormon, and he couldn't believe it was his! We invited him to read it, and he said that he will read it with an open mind. He also wants to do more research on the church so we gave him www.lds.org and www.mormon.org to look up information. We invited him to church and said that he couldn't come (yesterday) but taht he will really try to go next week. We also Spiritual Harvested into a house owned by a lady named Angela. Angela is one of the happiest people I have ever met! She works with Disabled individuals and loves her job. She finds joy in everything that life has to offer. We told her how we felt prompted to knock on her door, and how we knew she was God's elect. She answered with, "I know I am!" She also said that she knew that God sent us to her for a reason. We gave her the Book of Mromon and invited her to read the introduction along with the testimonies of the witnesses and Joseph Smith.I am looking forward to being able to share more about the gospel with both Sammy and Angela along with their families.

Sister Olsen and I are getting along well. We both are working hard, and have the same goal in mind of building up the area here. We work well together, and are having fun re-opening this area for sister. I am glad that I have this opportunity to serve with her, and am excited to learn how I can become a better missionary from her.

Coming into this area Sister Olsen and I decided that before church on Sunday. We would try to meet some ward members and get a feel of the area. Also, to let them know that we are here to help and serve them. This turned out to be really effective for us because we got a lot of referrals (10!!) from the members, especially the Less Actives. It was amazing to me that as long as I am obedient and am aligning my will with Heavenly Father he will help me in this work.

This week in studies I have been reading up on The Restoration so I can teach it more effectively. The interesting thing that I found out about is that Joseph Smith prayed three times about giving Martin Harris the manuscripts. The first time was a solid no, and the third Heavenly Father told him yes. I then read about how Joseph Smith after receiving the news of the 116 pages being lost that he was tormented, and was truly repentant in order to further the translation of The Book of Mormon. I know that this is information that isn't needed for investigators but it really built my testimony up of Joseph Smith being a prophet of God. I also have been studying 3 Nephi, and what caught my eye were the verses that say, "he wept" and "his countenance smiled." It brought Christ more to life, and really made him more personable to me. It helped me to know that he prays for me, weeps with me, and smiles at me when I do what is right.

Yesterday I had a really amazing spiritual experience. Elder Breckenridge, my District Leader gave 3 of us Sisters Priesthood Blessings. (My companion and I are over 1st ward, there are two sister over 2nd ward, and we have Elders over both wards). I have been really stressed out because I didn't think I would be re-opening an area, and we are needing to find many people to teach. The blessing was so powerful! Heavenly Father was truly communicating with me through Elder Breckenridge because he said things that God would only now right now. The blessing was such a comfort because it let me know that God knows I am nervous, but knows that I can do this. Please all of you at home take advantage of Priesthood Blessings, they are such a comfort, and can truly bless you in your lives.

My challenge for each of you this week is to recognize God's hand in your lives. Recognize the little miracles that you experience everyday because of his tender, loving hands. I KNOW that he is always with us, and that we are never alone. We all can do HARD THINGS because with God, ANYTHING and EVERYTHING is possible!

KEITH was BAPTIZED!!! He had to go under twice because Elder Henderson didn't have him go far down enough the 1st time (knees showed) and the second time on the way up Keith nailed his head on the bar in the font because Elder Henderson wasn't paying enough attention...

Love you all!!

-Sister W. Williams