Hello Y'all!!

I hope everyone has a GREAT Thanksgiving this week, and enjoys the company of family and friends. I am doing well, and am learning Spanish slowly but surely. I remember a few things from High School which is helpful. We have ran into one Spanish speaker so far. But a lot of Branch members have told us how many Spanish speakers are here. So we just need to find them.
The area here in Pocahontas has a lot of potential. While we haven't had a lot of success yet, I know that it will come. The Branch here is small because the majority of the branch is Less-Active. We had around 45 members there yesterday. So we have a lot of work here to do with re-activation. The Branch consists mostly of Grandparents right now. Since the middle-aged individuals aren't coming. The ward is really into Missionary Work which is exciting. They really want to find people for us to teach, and as a result we have gotten quite a few referrals. We have quite a few part-member families that we are really trying to work with right now. One consists of a 10 year old girl named Heather who is wanting to be Baptized in December around Christmas. So this week we will be starting to teach her the lessons.

My companion and I are doing GREAT! She is teaching me Spanish, and it is a great companion building activity. We are working hard to find people to teach, and to re-activate many members.

My story this week comes from my last area; Bartlett. On Tuesday we met with our investigator, Angela. When we went in and asked her how her Book of Mormon reading had been going. She said she hadn't been doing it because work, and life had been so stressful. So we read Ether 12 with her, and what happened was remarkable. The Spirit was so strong as she read. When we asked what God was telling her she wept, and said that she needs to read his word. She could feel God's love for her so strong. She kept saying how she knew God placed us in her life for a reason, and that this is the path she needs to be on.

I loved being able to "Go Vertical" this week. As I had my two hour personal devotion. I really felt a connection with my Heavenly Father like never before. I really tried to study what Heavenly Father would have me learn. I prayed and really was guided. I could really feel God's arms around me as I studied. I am loving being able to participate in the 40 day Fast- as I turn my will over to God, and try to become a new creature in him I feel strengthened. Although, I am not perfect at doing or not doing every behavior I have listed. I love being able to re-covenant with God to do better every morning and evening. I hope that this week you really thank Heavenly Father for all that you have, and seek his guidance on who you can reach out and help during this season.

Love,

Sister Whitney Jo Williams

Hi Y'all,

Well....It's to Pocahontas, Arkansas I go!! I will be opening this area with my companion and will be learning Spanish! President Petersen said that we will primarily speak English. But, there are Guatamalan people there so my companion will be a Spanish speaking missionary. I will be said to leave Bartlett because I have gotten to close to all the people here. But I know that the Lord needs me in Pocahontas.

The work here is really exploding. We had a really great lesson with Alex this week. We were even able to have Christian-one of the young men in the ward come with us. Alex was really impressed with Christian, and could tell that there was something different about him. He said that he could tell that Christian was "calm." We did the cup demo with Alex to re-iterate The Restoration. As we pulled out the cups for the death of the Apostles and Jesus Christ he said, "that makes sense!" He really like this visual aid. He understood how all the churches took what they wanted from the gospel, and mingled it with their own thoughts. It was neat having Christian there because he bore his testimony on holding the priesthood. He shared what it meant for him to hold it, and how it helps him to be a better person. We are now working on getting more young men to his lessons because he says he is just used to his old church.

This week we were able to have two great lessons with Kayla, Kayla, and Quintez. They are all 14 years old. We met Kayla Lewis about a week ago, and she wanted her friend Kayla, and cousin Quintez to learn about this gospel with her. We gave them all Book of Mormons and they were so excited to get them! We taught them the first half of the Plan of Salvation lesson on Wednesday, and on Friday when we asked them what they remembered they summarized everything perfectly. It was great to see how much they really remembered. They all had Baptism dates for November 23. But they are going to have to be pushed back because none of them were able to attend church on Sunday. They all really want to be baptized, and learn more. We tried everything to get them to church but unfortunately weren't able to get them there.

Sister Olsen and I have been getting along great! I have learned a lot from her this transfer. I have learned to be more optimistic about every situation I am in. I also have learned to not get so stressed out. That with Heavenly Fathers help I truly can do anything. It is great to see how big our teaching pool has gotten from the beginning of the transfer. I know that we were only able to do it through unity, diligence, and hard work.

On Saturday we helped Bartlett 2nd ward with a service project. During it two girls ran into the room, saying that someones car was getting towed. One of the members started yelling outside to not tow the car because we all thought that it was hers. However, it turned out to be a young girl named Tresela who purposely needed it towed because it was breaking down. We were able to give her a pass-along card, and a Book of Mormon. She is interested in learning more, and I know that she didn't end up in the church parking lot on accident.

This morning at Walgreens I was able to hand the cashier a Book of Mormon and pass-along card. She had read our name tags, and was unfamiliar with our church. She asked us where we were from, and when we said Utah she smiled and said, Utah?!? She was so excited she even gave us a hug. We just got talking and I told her how she could learn more. (See, missionary work doesn't have to be that hard. :))

This week during studies I studied Ether 12 and Moroni 7. Through these chapters I really recognized that Miracles are only wrought by our Faith. In order for this work to progress I need to increase my Faith. I have been struggling with Faith but I have really learned that by praying and really leaning on the Lord I can do anything. From reading these chapters I am going to focus on really praying for strength. I know that as I really rely on Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ I will be made an effective instrument in God's hands.

I hope you all are doing well. May you all continue in your efforts to do missionary work. It doesn't matter whether big or small. Every Member a Missionary!! :)

Love,

Sister W. Williams

Hi y'all!!

 I hope you are all doing well, and are in good health. I am doing GREAT, and am LOVING the work!!

 We had a lot of exciting things happen this week in this area. We had a lesson with Angela and it was do or die. She was on the chopping block. We had been praying to know if we should drop her. Or what we could share with her that could get her progressing again. Right before the lesson I felt like we needed to ask her how her Book of Mormon reading was going. She replied by saying that she hadn't been reading so I had her read 2 Nephi 29:11. I asked her what she got from the verse. She said," that we will be judged for our works". We then asked her what the second part of the verse is. We explained that we will be judged from the words that are contained in The Book of Mormon. She smiled at us because she knew what she needed to do. She said she knew she needed to "Repent" by reading The Book of Mormon everyday. We then invited her to read The Book of Mormon everyday for 5 minutes and to attend church this Sunday. Now this was a big step because in the beginning she said she never wanted to come to our church. At first she kept telling us that she probably wouldn't come. But we just kept telling her that we would call her Sunday, and would see her at church at 10:00 a.m. The good news was that She Came!! We asked her what she thought about it after Stake Conference, and she said that she knew she was supposed to be there. I am so glad God enlightened our minds so that we could get Angela progressing again.

We had another investigator attend Stake Conference whose name is Alex. Alex is 17 years old, and he LOVES The Book of Mormon. He has told us numerous times that by reading it it helps to calm his anger, and he knows that it's Gods word. He is also really in tune with the Spirit because he feels it in every lesson we have taught him. He even had his cousin come to church with us yesterday! The only problem is that he was bored at church. He told Sister Olsen that he wasn't sure that he could come to church with us next week because in his "home church" they catch the spirit a lot. So this week we are going to try to get one of the young men to go to the lesson with us so that we realized that young men's will be an exciting program to be a part of.

Sister Olsen and I are doing Great. We are really teaching by the spirit now, and really love doing this work. Neither one of us dominates, and I have learned a lot from her. I have learned to always be positive and optimistic even though it may be hard at times.

This week I had an amazing experience with following the spirit. As we were driving on Tuesday to contact some referrals. A distinct impression came to my mind to visit an investigator named Dana. We had not been in touch for a couple of weeks now, but I felt like we really needed to stop by and see how she was doing. So we knocked, and she invited us in. She told us how her brother died last week and how it has been really hard for her. We then testified about the Plan of Salvation, and how he is hearing the gospel right now in the Spirit World. We testified of how Heavenly Father knows her personally because he gave us the impression to go see her. I am so glad we followed the spirit, and were able to comfort her when she needed it.

This week in studies I have gotten a lot out of Alma in The Book of Mormon. One thing that I have been trying to work on is Patience, particularly in the Lord's timing. As I have been reading Alma I have learned that I need to just keep working hard, and things will come. If it wasn't easy for Prophets and Missionaries back then it shouldn't be for me now. They went through a lot of afflictions much worse than I will ever get. So I just need to smile and bare it. I know that with God anything is possible, and as long as I keep working -things will start happening.

I hope you all know and continually remember that God loves you and knows you personally. There is no trial that he gives you that you can't get through. (1 Nephi 3:7). Continue to rely on him and look to the Savior for the comfort he can offer you through the atonement. I hope that in this season of giving we all can reach out to those who are in need of comfort and know that they are loved.

 Love,

 Sister W. Williams

Hi Y'all,

I hope you all are doing well. I am doing GREAT!

The good news about the area here is that we are finding a lot of Potential Investigators. The bad news is that not a lot of them are Progressing. This week my heart was broken when Danielle dropped us. We had a great lesson with her on Tuesday when we re-taught her The Restoration by using the cup demo. When we asked her what she learned she told us that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the only true church. However, on Thursday the lesson started out with her telling us that she is going to follow her heart which is telling her to stick with her friends, and stick with attending the church she grew up attending. What really hurt was at the end of the lesson she again told us how she knows that this church is the only true church, and even asked Sister Olsen and I if we would come to her Baptism if she ended up getting Baptized next year. On the bright side though we met a young girl named Kayla this week who was walking home from school. We gave her a Book of Mormon and she immediately hugged it and got a big smile on her face. We also handed her The Restoration video and she said that "everyone will be watching this tonight." Meaning that she wanted her family to watch it with her. We were able to teach her the Restoration on Saturday and she seemed to understand everything really well. We invited her to be Baptized on Nov.16th and she said YES with a big smile on her face. The interesting thing that happened at this meeting was that she asked for another Book of Mormon because she said that her mom took hers to work. Kayla also told us that she had gotten in trouble for trying to read The Book of Mormon instead of focusing during class. Sister Olsen and I are excited to teach Kayla again on Tuesday. Since we are teaching her at the school because Kayla wants us to teach her friends as well. It's amazing to see how Kayla is already acting as a young missionary-she has her mom reading The Book of Mormon with her, and wants her friends to hear about the gospel as well.

Sister Olsen and I are getting along really well. She is a great listener, and genuinely wants to help me when I feel stressed. It's great to have a companion who really cares, and I feel like I can tell anything to.

This week we Spiritually Harvested into a lady who we introduced The Book of Mormon too but wasn't too interested because she has bad eye sight. However, she did have us talk to her Granddaughter because she wants her Granddaughter to come to our church, and to learn more about the gospel of Jesus Christ. I look forward to being able to teach her Granddaughter because I know that she will love the Young Women's program, and her whole family will truly benefit from the message we share as missionaries.

This week during studies I read the chapters in the Book of Moron about the Doctrine of Christ. Which are 2 Nephi 31, 3 Nephi 11, and 3 Nephi 27. I read these with the question in my mind of "Why my purpose (inviting others to come unto Christ through Baptism) should be written on my heart?" I learned that my purpose needs to be written on my heart because it is only through Baptism that we can enter into that straight and narrow gate that is the path that leads to living with God again. Also, Baptism is the way that we truly follow Jesus Christ. He has commanded men of all time periods to come follow him and be Baptized.

Love,

Sister W. Williams

Hello Y'all!!

 I hope you all are doing well, and that everything is going great! I am doing well, and am loving the work. Although it is hard it is so worth it. Seeing people change for the better is always remarkable to see.

 The area here is slowly starting to develop. We are constantly trying to build up our teaching pool. The thing that we are having a problem with is that we find a lot of people. But we have one lesson or interaction with them and then we can't get back into contact with them. I feel as though Heavenly Father is trying to teach me a lesson about Patience. Things were going really well with Danielle until yesterday. We taught her the first three lessons, and got her committed to living the Law of Chastity. She even came to church for the 2nd week in a row. Then she informed us that as of Saturday night she decided that she wants to just stick with her church. Sister Olsen and I were heartbroken. We asked her why she felt that way because she consistently tells us how she loves coming to church, wants to go to the Temple someday, and loves how warm and inviting all the church members are to her. She has been so excited about her Baptism date on November 9, and she feels a change coming over her. She then said that she still wants to do "bible study" with us. But that she talked things over with her Aunt and she just wants everyone to be happy. We then told her that that's what we want. We want her to make her own decision. Not for us, and not for her Aunt. So this week we are going to really ask inspired questions, and see what the real obstacle is. Between her and entering the waters of Baptism to become a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. We also are going to re-teach the Restoration and Plan of Salvation and really hit on the points of the Great Apostasy, and living together with her Mom again (sealing in Temple). Our investigator Laddie, that we found Spiritual Harvesting (Tracting) is really progressing. We taught him the Restoration on Wednesday, and really taught by the Spirit. It was incredible! Sister Olsen and I both said things that really touched his heart. He understood everything that we were explaining, and he could feel the truthfulness of the message. We went over yesterday to teach him again but unfortunately he had to reschedule because he need to take his grandson back to Ole Miss. However, we did find out that he is reading The Book of Mormon consistently, and he really has a desire to learn more. When we got there he immediately said he was sorry for having to cancel, and wanted to know when we could have a lesson with him. It's amazing to see his excitement to learn more about the gospel, and to see his desire to read The Book of Mormon. I can't wait until we get to have the Plan of Salvation lesson with him this Thursday!

Sister Olsen and I really get along. We are quite the opposite but in a good way. I am high-stress, hard-working and she is Patient, and Positive. We really balance each other out, and we keep each other going. Our lessons are getting better in terms of Unity the more we are able to teach.

This week we were asked to help with the Primary Program rehearsal. We were asked to sit with the kids and make sure they behaved and paid attention. This was an incredible experience for me because the spirit was so strong in that program. The children bore their testimonies through short talks, and singing. It was great to see how innocent and wise little children are. They are so close to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. It was a good reminder to me that I need to always be like a child. Humble and willing to follow his footsteps just as little children are.

This week in studies I have really focused on reading and re-reading Chapter 3 in Preach My Gospel. So that I can teach with better confidence, and can rely on the Spirit more as I teach. I also re-started The Book of Mormon 30 day challenge with a goal of writing down every scripture I come across that has a reference to the bullet points in the first 3 lessons we teach investigators. As I have done this I have realized how full the Book of Mormon is of references to The Restoration, The Plan of Salvation, and The Gospel of Jesus Christ. (Makes sense right!?!) By doing this I also feel better equipped to share scriptures that will really apply the doctrines we teach to investigators.

Let us all become more child like. Willing to submit to the will of our father, and endure our trials in Patience.

Love,

Sister W. Williams

Hello y'all!!

 I hope you are all doing well and that everything is going good for you. This week has been one of the hardest and best weeks of my mission. Within this past week I ran into 2 Bible bashers. Those encounters were the hardest things I have ever experienced. Being from Utah you never experience that type of thing. All I have to say is that I am glad that it isn't like that in Utah. Through those experiences though, my testimony grew. They couldn't tell me that what I believed was false. We just politely sat through what they were saying, and didn't tried to bash with them at all. My hope is that they realized how we acted (with dignity and respect), and that a seed was planted in them.

With lots of Hard Work and Perseverance the area is starting to grow here. It has been a little slow, but is now rapidly moving. We have been talking with everyone we see, and we have been able to get many New Investigators. We met a girl Friday, named Danielle. She is 18 years old, and we ran into her by the park on our bikes. This was no coincidence because we were trying to find a Less-Actives apartment that ended up being the opposite way of where we were going. We talked to her, and gave her a Book of Mormon and set a return appointment up for the next day. We taught her Lesson 1 (The Restoration) on Saturday, and invited her to be Baptized November 9 which she said YES to. We asked her to pray to know if the things we had taught her were true, and she said, "I already believe they are." We invited her to attend a Baptism Saturday night but she was unable to attend. However, she did come to church yesterday, and loved it. The members were so welcoming and loving and she really appreciated their friendship. She told us that she can really see herself loving going to our church. What is even more exciting is that several members have invited Danielle to come with us at our Dinner appointments. It is great to see how much the ward here is embracing member missionary work! While Spiritual Harvesting we ran into a lady by the name of Dana. Dana just moved here, and is looking for a church to go to. She doesn't have a set religion although her husband is Baptist. We taught her about The Restoration on Saturday, and she said that everything makes sense. Her husband has told her some anti-mormon literature but she asked us about it, and we were able to overcome those concerns. We invited her to church and to the Baptism but she was unable to attend both because of becoming sick. She is really into reading The Book of Mormon, and I am excited to be able to teach her more this week.

My companion and I are doing great, and are working well together. This week was pretty rough until things got moving this weekend. But through it all Sister Olsen was upbeat, and positive. This really helped me since I am easily stressed. She has helped me to believe that I can do it, and to remain optimistic even though things have been hard. We are still trying to get used to how each other teaches but I know that with more practice, and teaching more investigators our Unity will increase. 

Last Monday, I was able to give a Book of Mormon and a pass-along card to the cashier at Old Navy. It was the neatest experience because I normally would not have the courage to do such a thing. As the cashier was scanning my clothes she was reading my badge. I then asked her if she had ever heard of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints before. To which she replied, No. I then asked if she had ever heard of Mormons. To which she said, Yes. She then asked me what the difference is between what we believe and the Baptists. I told her (as I was scanning my card to pay) that we believe the Bible to be the word of God, as well as The Book of Mormon. I then gave her a pass-along card and told her to go to www.mormon.org, and she asked if it would talk about "the book" on there .So then I handed her The Book of Mormon, and as I was in the process of saying that she could call us if she had any questions she finished my sentence for me. I am so glad I was able to have this experience because it build up confidence in me. 

This week in studies I have focused on The Book of Mormon and reading Preach My Gospel Chapter 3 everyday for 30 minutes. I was able to finish The Book of Mormon challenge (read it in 30 days), and was able to once again feel the truthfulness of the message it contains by doing Moroni's promise. I prayed to know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God, and felt a tingling sensation in my arms and legs. It was strange but I know that it was the Holy Ghost manifesting the truth of The Book of Mormon unto me. I have also noticed that as I read Chapter 3 in PMG everyday I become more confident in teaching, and I feel better equipped to teach.

Love you all!! Go and find people you can share this wonderful gospel with!!

-Sister W. Williams

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