Hey y'all!
I hope y'all have had an incredible week. It sure has been an amazing one for me. Filled with many miracles from God.
The area here experienced a lot of success this week. We had some pretty incredible experiences this week. First off, I have finally come to know why I was sent to Senatobia. We went over and saw the Hodge family this week, and had an incredible experience. We took a sister from the ward who has just recently been reactivated. This was inspired by God since she had a lot of connections with the Hodges. This dear sister was able to share her experience of coming back to church with Sister Hodge. It seemed to really help Sister Hodge as she mentioned her concern of currently having Word Of Wisdom issues. I shared how we all sin, and there are many members who still have Word of Wisdom problems. But that they still attend church. This was just the encouragement she needed. As a result of this she committed to coming to the pioneer picnic this week. She is going to bring her non-member daughter in- law, and grandkids.

Yesterday was incredible. Sister Camille Bishop gave her homecoming talk, and had two non-member friends at church. One named Hannah Simmons came up to us after church , and shared the great desire she has to be baptized with us. So last night we had dinner with the Syme's family (Camille's Sisters family) and afterwards had a spirit filled lesson. We taught Hannah the gospel of Jesus Christ. We had her pray between the Baptismal dates of August 2nd and 9th as we weren't sure which one God wanted for her. As she prayed it was answered as August 9th. She has a great desire to be Baptized, and we are just praying that she is given strength. As she is scared to tell her family. So if you could, please keep Hannah in your prayers.

Sister Tu'ifua and I seem to be struggling on teaching in unity.  In lessons it seems as though I am headed one direction, and she is headed a total other way. But we are trying to work on that. I hope that we figure it out so that we can really help our investigators progress.

I had a really spiritual experience reading through my Patriarchal Blessing this week. I took a paper and created two columns. One column I had as "Blessings from God", and the other was "What I need to do to receive those blessings". As I dissected by blessing I came to the realization that God has blessed me beyond measure. All I need to do is live worthy of the blessings, and seek after them daily. It was eye opening to me because I didn't realize how many blessings God is willing to impart on all of us. It also was an eye opener to see what I need to be seeking after, and how I need to be living my life. My goal this week is to focus on living my life in a manner that is in accordance to the promised blessings I may be given.
My prayer is that we realize how many blessings we truly are given from the Lord. We need to seek after the gifts he has given us. We need to live our lives in a way that he can bless us. Keep being Member Missionaries, and I know the Lord will allow you to feel of the joy that comes from bringing a soul unto him.
Have a great week, and know that y'all are in my prayers!
Love,
Sister W. Williams

Hi y'all!!

I hope y'all had a great weekend. I learned a lot this week about the great Nation that we live in. How blessed we are to live in a nation truly under God.

This week has been both good, and a little rough. We found a lot of people this week. But most of them have already dropped off. We are continuing to work hard, and I know that miracles will happen. We were really hopeful that Debbie, and her 4 kids were going to come to church yesterday. We committed her to coming at our lesson on Friday. We even texted her on Saturday night, and Sunday morning but she didn't show up.

We contacted a media referral this week. We got a return appointment, and two New Investigators out of it. Mercedes is a 16 year old who ordered a Bible from Mormon.org. Her mom; Betty ended up being at home as well. So we introduced the Book of Mormon to them, and they said that they both want to learn more. I look forward to teaching them with Sister Berry this week.

I am really excited because the Bishop here is really on board with missionary work. Yesterday in sacrament meeting he testified of the experience he had this week with missionary work. He said that every morning, and evening he prays that the Lord will deliver him "silver platters." Silver platters; meaning putting people in his path who are prepared to hear the gospel. He shared two experiences; good and bad. He mentioned how he was saddened when he missed a great opportunity to share the gospel. I know that his testimony definitely lit a fire among a lot of members.

This week in studies I prepared a lot for the talk I gave on Patriotism yesterday. As I studied for my talk I realized how God truly founded America. He always intended for this nation to be a land of freedom, and prosperity. It didn't just start with the founding fathers. It started with Lehi & his family being led to the "promised land". It helped me to realize that I need to be more grateful for the freedom's I enjoy. Especially freedom of speech since it allows me to proclaim the gospel to those who haven't heard it.

My prayer is that all of us pray for "silver platters". That we pray every morning and night for missionary opportunities. I know that as we do this, and open our mouths. That we will be able to feel of the joy that comes from bringing souls unto God.

Love,

Sister W. Williams

Hi y'all, 

 Hope you had a great 4th of July, and realized how blessed we truly are

 The area here seems to be picking up quite a bit. Our Zone Leaders came down on Saturday, and blitzed the area. They found a family, and several other investigators for us. I am grateful that they were so willing to help us out. I look forward to meeting all the people they found at our appointments on Tuesday. We taught The Restoration lesson to Shirley and her daughter this week. We couldn't get Shirley to quite grasp the concept of Priesthood. So I hope that when we see her again this week we can teach it to her understanding. I was disappointed when she cancelled her ride to come to church yesterday morning. This week we are going to try to see what her problem is with coming to church. She came last week but this week she had the excuse that being picked up at 8:30 instead of 8:45 was just too early.... 

 Things with Justine are really coming along. She is gaining a lot of knowledge about the Plan of Salvation. She said that she really enjoys being able to better understand what will happen after this life. She still doesn't completely understand the Resurrection. She can't quite grasp the fact that the bodies we have now are going to be perfected. I know that understanding will come as she continues to read from the Book of Mormon. I am grateful that she has a great desire the read the Book of Mormon. That's usually a major hurdle we have to overcome down here. 

 Sister Tu'ifua and I are doing well. This week we are focusing on finding common ground with those we meet. This will be accomplished through use of the Bible first, and then giving reference to The Book of Mormon. 

 Yesterday I fasted that we would know which Part-Member families we should start working with. I also fasted that hearts will soften here. God's love was manifested to me yesterday when he answered my prayers, and fast. We briefly saw a member yesterday, and asked if there were any recent move-ins in her area. In response she mentioned that across the street lives a part-member family. She mentioned that the kids really want to come to church. As she said this I immediately thought of how this was an answer to my prayers. I am so grateful that God is willing to bless us as we sacrifice a little to him. 

 This morning in my Book of Mormon studies the word "afflictions" kept coming up. The passage of 2 Nephi 2:2 really stuck out to me. I love how it says, that "he shall consecrate thine afflictions for thy gain." What a comfort it is to know that all that God gives us is to refine us, and make us better. Afflictions aren't fun by any means. But they are the means by which we can grow. As we look to God he will strengthen us, and give us the ability to endure hard things. 

 May we all look unto Christ as we go through afflictions, and challenges. The key is to draw nearer to God. Not abandon him. When we are going through difficult times. May we draw on the Savior's strength as we accept and use Christ's atonement in our daily lives. 

Love y'all!

 Sister W. Williams

Hey y'all,
I hope everyone has had a great week. Things are starting to pick up in this area which I am very grateful for.
So like I said, the area here in Senatobia is picking up. We had an investigator; Shirley and her daughter come to church yesterday. So that was really exciting! Shirley even said the prayer, and made many comments during Gospel Principles class. Her daughter was fellowshipped by the Young Women, and really enjoyed herself. I am grateful that the ward really took them in yesterday. Things with Justine are really coming along as well. We went over on Saturday, and she along with her sister questioned us about the Plan of Salvation. We had left Justine with the Plan of Salvation pamphlet last time. Which she and her sister ended up reading together. They underlined the concepts that they had questions about. We are going back tomorrow to follow up on their Book of Mormon reading. Also, to explain the concepts of the Plan of Salvation that we didn't get to last time.

Sister Tu'ifua and I are doing great. We are working well together, and are consistently trying to come up with new ways of finding new investigators.

The way that we met Shirley this week was incredible. As we were headed back from Hernando I felt prompted to stop in on some potential investigators. They answered, and said that they weren't really interested since they already have a church. But as we had driven past their house I saw some people outside. So we walked down the street to see who we could talk to. That was when Shirley waved us down. She mentioned that she had met with sisters before, came to church before for an activity, and had lost contact with the missionaries. She mentioned that she had been praying to come back into contact with the church. She even mentioned that she really wanted to come to church. So we found her a ride, and are going back to teach her tomorrow afternoon.

This week I learned the importance of prayer and fasting. Specifically the power that can come from combining the two. We did a special fast this week to be able to know how we can work better with the ward. Along with fasting for a part-member family, and the ability to find new investigators. The lord truly helped us out on all fronts. We found out that this part-member family had been getting along better than ever before. We also were given inspiration to start using Family History to start finding people. Lastly, God put many people in our path this week to start teaching.

Hi y'all!!
Well, I am now serving in Senatobia, Mississippi. I am enjoying it here. The members are really great, and have helped us out a lot. Just in the short time that I have already been here. I pray that all of you at home are good little member missionaries as well.
The area here is a little slow right now. Spiritual Harvesting isn't working too well. So we are working on new finding ideas. We also are going to really start working with Part Member families. Things with Nicole though are really coming along. She has a baptism date for July 12th. On Thursday we followed up on her reading of Alma 40, and I was amazed at her comprehension level. She seemed to really understand the Plan of Salvation. We then taught her the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and the spirit was very strong. We took Abby and Sister Welch with us. They added a special spirit and powerful testimonies to the lesson. Nicole is planning on coming to church this coming week. I can't wait for her to feel of the spirit in God's house.

Sister Tu'ifua and I are working well together. We are still working on unity. But that will come through teaching more and more. As we are trying to get used to each others teaching style.

There was a special spirit involved in the two ITM's we did this week. I shared Alma 19: 17-18 with Sister Berry, and then the Chisolm family. I shared how Abish is a powerful example of being a member missionary. People were converted to the gospel. By the Spirit because she brought them to hear of King Lamoni's and Ammon's testimonies. I then offered a prayer asking God to reveal names of people who are ready to hear the gospel. In both instances, all involved were able to receive names. So this week we will be Following Up.

This week in studies I have continued to work on the 30 day B.O.M. reading challenge. I love this challenge because I always get new insights as I re-read Christ's words. This time I have focused on prayer. Highlighting every reference to prayer. It's been a great experience because I have learned how important prayer truly is. I love how we can pray about anything, and we can pray at anytime. I am especially touched by how many times the prophets prayed for their enemies. Something that I want to work on is praying for everyone. Not only for those who are my friends. But also those who may not completely enjoy my presence.
I hope that we all can be better member missionaries. That we pray each and everyday for missionary opportunities. That we pray specifically to know what people we can touch. I know that as you pray God will place someone in your mind. He also will provide you with the means by which you can bring those around you closer to Christ.
Love y'all!!
Sister W. Williams

Hey y'all,

We have had a very interesting week. It has seemed as though everyone is trying to avoid us. We have no problems finding people. The problem lies in getting into contact with them again. We don't have any investigators progressing at this point since none are keeping commitments, and we have put a lot of people on pause. Things with the Fisher family though are coming along. We went over yesterday to give them a copy of the Book of Mormon. We introduced the Book of Mormon using the pictures, and read through the last two paragraphs of the Introduction. Debra was sick and mainly slept through the lesson. But Johnny listened with real intent, and said that he is going to read a few chapters before our next appointment this Tuesday. What's neat is that the first time we met them, Johnny dominated the conversation. This time he listened, and asked questions to make sure he fully understood what the Book of Mormon is and contains.

We had a neat experience with Brother Farmer this week. He is a Less-Active who has started to pick up reading the Book of Mormon. While we were talking with him he talked all about service. So as we left I decided to share Mosiah 2:16-18 with him. Sister Ives said that as I was reading it he was mouthing the words. She was confused since we both know he hasn't read the Book of Mormon in quite a few years. Come to find out he had just read Mosiah 2. Brother Farmer couldn't believe that I shared these verses. He was astonished! It was neat to see God's role in our lesson. He prompted me to share this scripture which really helped Brother Farmer to feel God's love.

I also had an interesting experience Friday. When during Weekly Planning I told Sister Ives that we are not going to try to see Darris anymore. Unless we see him walking around sometime. We have been knocking on his door, and trying to call him with no success. That night Sister Ives felt prompted to go to the store. As we were walking in Darris was walking out. He said, "Sisters! I haven't seen you in awhile." We told him that we have been trying to contact him. He said that he is trying to live right, and has been at his moms house. I felt like this was a sign from Heavenly Father saying to keep working with Darris. However, he didn't keep his appointment that we set with him for Saturday so we are back to where we started...

This week I studied Chapter 4; Recognizing the Spirit in Preach My Gospel. One of the main things I took away from my reading of this chapter. Is that I need to be praying for the Holy Ghost everyday. For it's presence, influence, guidance, and the ability to recognize it. I think that we become too immune to the Holy Ghost. We expect him to always be there. When in reality we really need to ask for him to abide in us. So this week I am going to be working on praying for the Holy Ghost.

My invitation to y'all is to pray for the ability to recognize the Holy Ghost. I know that as you do Heavenly Father will open your eyes. He will help you, and guide you in all you do.

Love y'all,

  Sister W. Williams

Hey y'all!
 We had an interesting week this past week. It started off really great, and then didn't seem to end very well. Thursday was a very successful day having taught 9 lessons, and extending 3 Baptismal Invites with dates. That was followed by 3 days of not being in contact with a lot of our investigators. We kept being prompted to visit certain investigators but none of the plans seemed to pan out. It seemed like it was one of those experiences of "God testing our Faith, Patience, and Diligence." Things with Darris have really slowed down. We haven't been able to see him in awhile. It is looking like we are going to have to put him on pause. Since he isn't keeping his commitments. We had a really great lesson with Catina this week. What's interesting with her is that she seems to keep getting stuck on sub-topics of the Plan of Salvation. It is all very unfamiliar to her but she keeps studying, and praying about it. She seems to really be changing. Her desire to be Baptized and come to church is rapidly increasing.

We had an interesting experience with Ms. Church this week. She had lots of questions for us. We answered them to the best of our ability. I can testify of God willing to put words in our mouths if we just open them. He definitely filled my mouth with the words to say as I tried to answer her. She asked the golden question. She asked, "If you could get others to understand one thing about your church that would 'hook them' what would that be?" Sister Ives answered with, "The Priesthood." What was interesting is that as she said that the spirit was powerful. You could see the wheels turning in Ms. Churches' mind as she reflected upon what was said.

 This week we knocked into the Fisher family. He is a minister, and she is going to be a pastor or preacher. Mrs. Fisher got mad at her husband because he wouldn't let us talk. She said that she wanted to hear what we had to say because she could tell that we had "a word" in us. So I immediately jumped on the chance to talk and testified of the Book of Mormon. We are going back this week to give them a Book of Mormon. Since she is really interested in reading it. In fact, she ordered one over telephone 3 years ago when she was going through Cancer. But for some reason she never received one. God works in very mysterious ways.

I learned a lot from my studies this week. I read pgs. 55-66 in the White Handbook on leadership. I learned that leaders are to help others set goals, and make plans on how they can be better missionaries. I learned that leaders need to be great examples so that they can inspire others to be better. As leaders live the gospel they become more Christ-like. Which results in others seeing the potential of who they can become.

May we all be leaders, and show the world who Christ is. We can all emulate Christ as we develop Christ-like attributes, and strive to fully represent him at all times.

 Love y'all!

 Sister W. Williams