Willie, Sarah

Hi family, friends, and fellow missionaries! I hope you have all had a wonderful week. This week has been crazy and fun all at the same time.  We went to go and visit a man named Omar that the Elders were teaching before we started covering the area. So we knocked and he let us in! We were so excited to talk to him and teach him, and then it kind of went downhill from there haha We didn't get a word in pretty much the whole time, and he just talked all about how there are so many words, including Jesus Christ, that have so much pagan influence to them that he refuses to say them. So half of our conversation, he was just spelling words at us. So.... it was a really interesting conversation, and we were glad to be out of there. His wife also offered us pomegranate juice and smoked salmon, which we politely declined.  I also got to go on exchanges this week! I stayed in my area with Sister Andersen, and it was so much fun! We got to visit a member of one of our wards who hasn't c...

Hello everyone! I hope you all have had a great week. On Sunday, I hit 11 months as a missionary! Time has flown by, and it is so crazy!  This past week has been very busy with lots of different meetings, but they were all really good. We had Zone Conference this week where a big group of missionaries get together and learn more about how we can come closer to Jesus Christ and how we can help the people we are teaching progress towards baptism. The Spirit was so strong, and I loved the emphasis they had on following the Spirit and giving our all to being missionaries.  This week, we were able to give some amazing temple tours! One was to a guy named Itai, and he was so cool! He had such a desire to learn and to grow, and he gave all the Sisters a flower after because he was so grateful we took the time to show him around. Yesterday, we gave a tour for some Elders that we get to serve with. Their friend Bree was really sweet, and it was such a beautiful tour.  We were fina...

Happy Wednesday everyone! We were in the Visitors' Center yesterday, so my extra p-day time is today!  This past week has been so crazy and so busy, but also really really good. We have seen some amazing miracles.  The biggest miracle was that Jenny got baptized on Saturday!! It was such an amazing thing to experience and get to be a part of. I was a little stressed for a minute about all the details, but God put everything together perfectly. After Jenny was baptized, she said that she feels clean and reborn. It was such a privilege to be there with her and it is something that I will never forget.  Last week, I mentioned that I am training a new missionary this transfer. Her name is Sister Rice, and she is so awesome! She is really sweet and funny, and we get along really well together. I know that God knows us so perfectly, because Sister Rice is exactly the companion that I need to be with right now. I am so excited to spend this next transfer with her and see so many...

Hello everyone!  We got to give a temple tour to one of our friends, Linus, this week. Our mission president, his wife, and our ward mission leader came. It was a party! We were able to teach him more about the temple and he really wants to be sealed to his family one day! Happy (late) Fourth of July! We were in the Visitors' Center, and our wonderful directors, The Brooksbys, made us a little spread! It was so nice! We also got to visit with some cute families that came in, and enjoy the air conditioning that the Visitors' Center offers. It was also the last day that I got to serve with Sister Weber, who is one of my trainers. She has made such an impact on me, and I will miss her so much!  On Saturday, we went on exchanges, so I got to be with Sister Andersen in Maplewood! We did a lot of knocking doors, and we met some nice people, even though none of them were interested. We also got roasted by an 8 year old kid, so that was super fun. Overall, the exchange was really good...

Happy Tuesday everyone!  This week we were able to meet with our friend Jenny. She got a job that makes it so she works on Sunday which is sad. However, she told us yesterday that she needs to put God first, and now she should be able to come to sacrament meeting on Sunday! It is so exciting! We also had a really good lesson with her about keeping the commandments and she told us she would pray to God to receive the answer for herself. We will hopefully be able to schedule her baptism soon!  On Saturday, Sister Williams and I decided to talk to everyone we saw and invite them to church the next day. It was kind of awkward at some parts, but we also met some really cool people! It was amazing to see how we were able to accomplish our goal with help from the Savior.  Yesterday, we had dinner with a member of our ward, Sharon, who is recently coming back to church. She is the sweetest, and she has such a desire to go to the temple. She is also hilarious and invited our waitr...