Hey y'all,

 I looked out the window this morning, and what did I see? Snow!!! :)

This week was a very trying week....no one wanted to talk with us. We had a few people drop us as well. But all is well, and we will keep persevering. :) I am so glad that Elder and Sister Brooksby came this week. They are incredible, and really helped us out since we were on bike week this week. We had a really good lesson with Misty Ash this week. We found her a week and a half ago, and Saturday was the first time we had a full lesson with her. She downladed the gospel reference library. She was excited about the capability of listening to the Book of Mormon. The Spirit prompted me several times to ask her how she feels when attending church. She said she cries immediately upon entering the building. So we turned to Galations 5:22-23, and I asked if she feels these feelings at church. She said, Yes, thats exactly how I feel. She wants structure for her and her girls. I am excited to be able to share the gospel with her.

We had a great visit with Amanda Ragsdale this week. She is learning a lot from her study of the Book of Mormon. She gets excited to share with us what she learned from her reading. We arent sure why she wasnt at church yesterday. Hopefully we can figure out what is going on.

Sister Sommers and I are doing great. Right now we are working a lot with the new senior couple; the Brooksbys. To help them get acquainted with the area, and members.In our lesson with Bruno, Sister Brooksby told him to " Just do it!" In regards to prayer, and reading the Book of Mormon. It was the best thing ever!!

Revelations 3: 19-20 really stuck out to me this morning. Its message is that the Lord chastens us because he loves us. All he wants is for us to repent, and open the door. We must open the doors of our hearts in order to truly change. My goal this week is to allow the Lord to truly come into my heart. May we all open our hearts to God.

May we allow him to change us. I love y'all!!

 Sister W. Williams

Hey y'all,

The area seems to be coming along. It's just taking its own sweet time. Things are going really well with Sister Ragsdale. On Wednesday we talked all about spiritual C.P.R.- Church, Pray, Read. We had her set up calendar alarms everyday for morning, and evening prayers. She had a concern of the house being noisy at night in regards to her nightly prayer. So I invited her to pray in the bathroom. She thought that that was a great idea! I just Love the concept that we can pray absolutely anywhere, and at anytime! Sister Ragsdale is participating in the 65 day Book of Mormon reading challenge that the branch is doing. They are trying the read the entire Book of Mormon before General Conference. She has commited to start attending all of her Sunday meetings. Not just staying for sacrament, and then leaving. Unfortunately, she got sick yesterday and was unable to attend church. But she texted us letting us know that she wasn't skipping out. She also told us that she is still reading the B.O.M. :)

Things are really starting to pick up for Bruno. He got a call from his old boss this past week. Who has offered him a job for whenever he can get back to Virginia. This was fantastic news to hear. Since this will allow him to get him out of the sticky situation he is currently in. He is currently working on smoking less than half a pack of cigarettes a day.

Sister Sommers, and I are continuing to work well together. We are working hard, and are continuously striving to improve. In the past we haven't been good about evaluating our lessons. So we have been working on that.

On Saturday we had a very unexpected experience. We went up the cash register to pay for our food at the Mexican restaurant. As we were getting ready to pay. The cashier (named Armando) asked if he could give us a discount. He then went on to say that at one point he was active in the church. He stated that he received the Aaronic, and Melchizedek Priesthood years ago. But is now disillusioned with all religions. I was sad to hear this, but I know that he will eventually come back.

As I continue my reading of the New Testament. There is one thing that continuously sticks out to me. It is that we must endure all trials, temptations, and tribulations in Patience. We read about this specifically in 2 Thessalonians 1:4. There is absolutely no other way to make it through the hard times. We must always remember that it's in the Lord's timing, and what he knows is best. As we endure hard things we WILL become strong, and we will reach our divine potential. If we aren't patient, and go through trials in anger. We will not grow, and we will miss out on witnessing many might miracles. My goal is to continue to focus on the Savior instead of on the storm. To write down ways that I have been strengthened through adversity. I invite y'all to do the same. To see the ways in which you have been strengthened through hardship.

Please keep Kimberly Jordy in your prayers this week. She is supposed to be getting Baptized this Sunday. Her mom is experiencing a lot of trials right now. As a result we are having trouble getting in the home. So please pray that everything will work out to where we may get in the home. Thanks for all your prayers! :)

Love y'all,

Sister W. Williams

Hey y'all,

I hope that everyone has had an amazing week. It's been a little rough here but it's all good! :)

We had a huge miracle occur this week! We have started teaching Kimberly Jordy the lessons. She is 11 years old, and was Baptized at age 8. But her Baptism and Confirmation were never recorded. So she is needing to be Baptized again so what's recorded on earth may be recorded in heaven. We started by teaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Sister Sommers taught her an easy way to remember the steps of Repentance. Using the A,B,C's. A is for Admit you have wronged. B is for Be sorry. C is for Confess to God or church leader if needed. D is for Don't do it again. Kimberly and her 7 year old brother; Isaac. Love these simple ABC's of Repentance. Kimberly is very excited to be baptized on February 15th!

Bruno is doing good. He won't be getting Baptized in February though. There are certain things that need to happen in order for him to be able to move out. These things are going to take at least a couple of weeks of time. On Tuesday we committed him to several things, and we focused on getting him to say a firm YES! That way he showed Heavenly Father that he is all in, and truly wants to change. It took several "Will You's?" to get a YES. But we eventually got him to make this "binding committment."

Yesterday while trying to contact a Less-Active. We met a lady named Robin Brazil. I asked her "what she looks for in a church?" She said that it needs to be family focused. So Sister Sommers and I explained about the Temple, and how her family can be together forever. Her exact words were "I dig it". She has a desire to come to church this Sunday. We have an appointment with her on Tuesday afternoon. I am looking forward to teaching her more about how her family can be together forever!

Sister Sommers, and I have struggled this week. We are trying our hardest to build up this branch. We are trying to find new people to teach, and are having no success. We are knocking doors, and are doing our best to talk with everyone. Some people seem interested, but drop us on our next visit. I guess God is just testing our diligence right now. We have decided now along with our Branch President to focus on the members. So we can build a firm foundation since there are only a couple of "firm in the faith" members.

We received the Best Phone Call Ever on Wednesday. Sister Ragsdale called, and asked for our help on Friday. So of course we said, Yes! She then went on to say that she wants to get with us. So we can set up a time for us to come, and visit the family. She told us that she feels their family really needs a missionary visit right now. I was all smiles from that time on. On Friday after we helped Sister Ragsdale she said that she really needs our help. She wants us to come every week, and help her out spiritually. She came to Sacrament yesterday, and we set up an appointment for Wednesday afternoon. I am so excited that we have this opportunity to help her out, and strengthen her Faith. From this experience I learned Humility. She recognizes that she can't do it on her own, and she has seeked for help.

I learned a lot from my reading of 2 Corinthians. I was touched by 2 Corinthians 4:16. I learned from this verse that although our physical bodies fall apart, and start failing us during this earth life. That we will be ok because we can ALWAYS strengthen our spiritual selves. We may be frail on the outward appearance. But we can be strong "inwardly". We will have trials, and heartaches. But as we endure, and keep moving forward we will be alright. My goal this week is to maintain an eternal perspective. By increasing my Faith, and fully trusting in the Lord. Especially in his timing.

I love y'all, and appreciate all your support.

Love,

Sister W. Williams