Busy With Christmas Miracles

Dec 12, 2016

Hello!

 This week was pretty good! Tuesday we did exchanges with Blanding and I got to have Sister Gillie here with me for the day, it was fun! But it was such a crazy day! We went from Eastland where we live, to Monticello, to Blanding, to Dove Creek, to Ucolo (combination of Utah and Colorado because it's a town/road right on the border... what creativity!), and then back to Eastland. And since Sister Steadman is a sister training leader, we do lots of exchanges, aka lots of driving. Aka our miles are spent on doing exchanges so we don't drive a lot for proselyting. And some days we work it out so we don't drive at all. And this was one of those days. We got a ride from each place from lots of different members. The members here are so nice, we are so blessed.

Thursday was another craaazy day! We did splits for 2 hours! Which is really good, it means that we're busy, but it was a little crazy figuring out how to get from one place to the next and who was going with who, and where to meet. But it all worked out, and everything went well! We taught a recent convert who was baptized a few months ago, he's only 9 years old, and he's so funny. We taught missionary work and invited him to give out a pass along card in school, and he asked for another one so he could give 2 away! He's going to go places in life!

We are also teaching a less active who is really progressing and is preparing to go to the temple in February. We started teaching his 11 year old daughter, Raylee a few weeks ago, and invited her to be baptized, and it would be so neat if he could baptize her. We're hoping for Dec 31, but we'll see what they say. They're lesson is Wed night. Hopefully they'll be able to make it by the 31!

It has been so cold here, we got lots of snow, and now it's freezing cold! We had a lesson outside yesterday too, which means we were standing outside for an hour and then we had to walk across town to our next appointment! It was cold.

We have been having mice in the house.. It's pretty gross. We only caught one, but we set a trap and the darn thing took the bait without dying. And it doesn't help that Sister Codner feeds the cats too much cat food and locks them in the sun room all night with the space heater on. Those cats are more pampered than any other pet I've ever met, and they were originally to be outside cats, strictly for catching mice. It's ok, we have traps, and Sister Steadman is a hero and sets them. I make the bait though, so I still help.

We pushed a car out of snow, I almost died from getting smashed by a ladder because the wind was so strong and it was dark, and freezing cold and raining. But I'm alive, and we didn't freeze. Now we have snow and ice to deal with.

I'm so happy it's Christmas! It's so fun to go around and share the message of the gospel around this time of year! People are way more receptive this time of year. And it's the perfect time to refelct and look at how the Savior has helped us in our lives. The church is so true! I hope you all make time to read the Book of Mormon individually and as family. It's so important! I love you more than the number of snowflakes that fall during the winter time :)

We had the ward Christmas parties this week for 1st and 3rd ward. We were part of the program. Before Sister Steadman came out, she would do this thing with her friend where they paint a picture to a song. It's like a live music video of somebody painting a picture, and the whole time you don't know what the picture for a while. Anyway, we painted a picture of Jesus Christ on butcher paper on the stage to the song "The Innkeeper" from the Forgotten Carols. Wednesday was 1st ward, and everything went so well. We were actually in charge of the whole program. We showed a nativity video, then shared our testimonies, then did the painting. Friday was a little different. It was 1st ward, and we were only doing the painting. But when we got to the church, somebody had thrown away the paint, and the iPod with the song on it was almost dead. It had like 1% battery. So we panicked and found some clumpy paint in one of the cupboards in the church, then we prayed really hard that everything would be okay. It was a miracle! The song played the whole way through (and it's a long song) and we had enough paint. And the painting turned out right. We were so relieved! Prayer works!!

I love being a missionary! I know the church is true! I love sharing the gospel and sharing my testimony with others. I know it because I have read the scriptures and prayed about it, and have felt the holy ghost in my life many times. I hope you all take the time to read and pray. It's so important in this life!! I love you all more than the number of Christmas trees that are all over the world this time of year :)

Love,

Sister Withers

Christmas and Napoleon Dynamite

Dec 5, 2016

Hello!

I hope you all had a lovely week! I hope you had a chance to watch the Christmas devotional last night, it was amazing! We are so blessed to have prophets who can receive revelation for the whole world, and we can always learn from the things they teach, no matter how many times we have heard the message, the spirit is the real teacher and can teach us what we need right then.

This week was pretty grand. We have been getting so many referrals from showing the #lighttheworld Christmas video to active members! The Christmas spirit is so much stronger when you try and look for ways that you can serve others as Christ would. I hope you've been getting the chance to do the Light the World countdown, it's a great way to look for ways to share the happiness of this time of year.

I was on exchanges in Cortez, Colorado this week. Twice actually. They're white-washing their area, which in mission lingo means they are switching out the missionaries for a brand new pair of missionaries, which is really hard for the incoming missionaries because they know absolutely nothing about where anything is or who anyone is. So, we went to this lady's house, and she smokes like there's no tomorrow. We literally walked in planning on showing the Light the World video clip, but we didn't even get to say 10 words before we were sitting on her couch listening to her life story as she smoked 3 cigarettes in 1 hour!! I'm not even kidding, that was the longest hour of my life. She would not stop talking! I kept checking the clock thinking it had been 20 minutes, but it had only been 2. Somehow we stopped her and got her to watch the little video and then talk about it. When we finally got out of there (it was only an hour and a half, but felt like 3 hours) we both could barely breathe, or talk or anything from all the smoke. But we're alive!

Also, we went to church and Curtis Hunt came again!!! He's a less active, and he's doing so good! He has such a testimony and a good understanding of the doctrine and scriptures! He just needed to take the big step of coming to church, and he' s been twice now!! We're so happy for him :) And the Waddoups came too! They're an older couple who have only been coming for the past month or so, and it's been probably 30 years since they'd been before that! Heavenly Father knows who's ready and is involved in everybody's life. Everybody, active members, less actives, investigators, etc. is on some point of the journey to coming closer to Christ, whether they know it or not.

Fun Fact: Napoleon Dynamite is an accurate movie! 2 of the missionaries I was on exchanges this week are from Preston Idaho and they told me how it's similar to the movie. One of them worked at the restaurant where Kip and Rico are having slurpees or something, and the other worked at the chicken farm. I asked, and they pay more than a dollar an hour :)

I hope you're all doing well and that you're having fun getting ready for Christmas! You should do the #lighttheworld 25 in 25 countdown to Christmas on mormon.org! It's so fun to help others and do it all the way up til Christmas! I love you more than the number of cups of hot chocolate that people will drink this winter!

Love

Sister Withers

Our Turkey Said "Moo"

Nov 28, 2016

Hello everyone!

I love getting pictures in the emails! Keep 'em coming! I'm glad you had a nice Thanksgiving and that you got to spend it together. I bet it was nice to get a break from work and school and life and just relax! I had a nice Thanksgiving too, we went to the Boyle's for dinner. They were so nice! They have a missionary in California right now, so they said it was the closest they could get to having her home, I thought that was nice of them to share the holiday dinner with us. We ate waay too much, but it was worth it :) We really only get to do that once a year, so go big or go home!

Explanation of the title: one of our bishops had beef instead of turkey for Thanksgiving, and he said that to us, and we thought that was pretty funny :)

This week was great for me! We went to Bluff Fort last P-day, that's why we got back with just enough time to email and get groceries before our first lesson. We went out to Egnar, they named the town Egnar because at first they wanted to name it Range, but there was already a town called Range, Colorado, so they just put it backwards and called it good.... People do whatever they want in Colorado, it's kinda funny. Egnar is way out of town, we had to drive 10 miles on a dirt road from Dove Creek, which is already a tiny town! Anyway, our dinner appointment was out there, so we decided to head out early and see some other people while we're there. So, we went to a non-member's. She lives in really poor living conditions. She has a little trailer house, and that's about it. No running water, no electricity, no heat. Nothing! We helped her stack wood for her stove, and moved a few things inside so they don't get wet when it rains. Her home is full of junk, and her yard is too, and she has lots of animals. It's crazy, and she lives alone. But it was good to be able to help her for a little bit. Unfortunately, she's very Catholic and not very interested in the church.

One of the less actives we teach, Courtney, has decided he's on his last can of chew! We're so happy for him! He has 2 little kids, and he's really trying to turn his life around. He's been coming to church for the last few weeks too!

Krista has been doing well too! She's another less active. She's very shy and knows hardly anything about the church, but she likes having the missionaries over and teaching her. This past week we taught family history, and she's super interested! I love watching how the spirit of Elijah can really open people's hearts.

I love being a missionary! Sometimes in a lesson, I'll say something, and when I finish, I realize that none of that was me. I didn't have anything to say, and yet because I was willing and opened my mouth, I had something to say, and I was able to share the gospel. Missionaries get to see lots of tender mercies and miracles :) And the cool thing is, anybody can be a missionary! You can see these miracles in your life as you share the gospel!

I was reading a talk earlier this week in my studies about being a consecrated missionary. Consecrated means giving it your all, holding nothing back. In order to be a consecrated missionary, you have to put everything on the alter of sacrifice. And it goes for life too. We have to be willing to put everything on the sacrificial alter. We can't hold anything back. There's a quote from Parley P. Pratt I read, it was really good. He said: "If it is the will of God that I should spend my days in proclaiming this Gospel and bearing my testimony of these things, I shall think myself privileged and honored. And when the Spirit of God is upon me, I think it matters but very little what I suffer, what I sacrificed-whether I secure the honor or dishonor of men, or where I die, if it so be that I can keep the faith, fight the good fight, and finish my course with joy. I have all eternity before me, in which to enjoy myself." He was so selfless! He said that after he got home from one of his missions. He had been serving for 26 years at this point, and when he finally got home, Brigham Young asked him to serve another mission!! And this is what he said! He had a lot of faith! It makes me wonder how much am I willing to sacrifice, or how much am I holding back from the sacrificial alter?

I love you all so much, I hope you're doing well and that you keep up in life and all your crazy adventures :) I love you more than the number of bites that were taken at Thanksgiving dinner all over the world!

Sister Withers

Love Being a Missionary

Nov. 21, 2016

This week was absolutely crazy! We had so many wonderful things happen! Yesterday, we had a less active, Curtis Hunt, come to church who hadn't been since he was in his 30s, and now he's in his 80s!!! Can you believe that!? It was a miracle, and we were so happy! the Waddoups came again too, for the 3rd time. They're the older couple who haven't been in forever either, and this time they stayed for all 3 hours :) I love being a missionary and being able to watch these changes happen in people's lives! It's a miracle in every way.

We went to Dove Creek and did some tracting there. The people there are sooo redneck I just love it! There's this one guy who was chomping on a wad of double bubble, wearing his overalls and jacket, his huge glasses and ball cap, reading the scriptrues with us on his back porch, and when it's his turn to read the verse, he sometimes stops midverse and yells "Shut up Homer!!" and then continues as if nothing happens and it's so hard to not laugh! Last time I checked, it didn't say that in his verse :) He's really nice though!

Today we went to Bluff Fort and saw the historical site there. It was established by Mormons in the 1800s. That's why I have hardly any time to write.

I love you more than the number people who'll be travelling this week!

Sister Withers

The Lord is in Control

Hello!

I hope everybody's doing well! This week has been really good! I only had one exchange this week, I went to Cortez. It was really great, they have a recent convert who is basically a missionary. He has lots of tattoos and used to drink and had a crazy family life, but was baptized in April and is doing really really good. If I didn't know he was a member for only 6 months, I would have thought he's been a member for life. It's crazy how that works, but sometimes the best members are those who find the gospel later on in life, and their testimony is so different because they know what it's like without one. It makes you think if you were a convert, would you have this strong of a testimony? Some people live the gospel because it's always been a part of their life but they don't really have a testimony, and they don't realize the power behind it.

While I was in Cortez, this lady who we helped paint her fence tried to convince us that we were prophets. We explained how there is one man on the earth who is called to be the prophet. Jesus Christ leads his church through him. Nobody else has that authority. We can follow him, and be a disciple and a servant, but we don't have that kind of calling. All we could do was testify to her of what we knew.

We serve in Colorado in a town called Dove Creek, and I swear it is the redneck capital of the world! People are so out there! It's kinda funny. In church, all the men wear cowboy boots with slacks. But it's okay, the church is true no matter where you are, or who you are.

I love you more than all the times we've heard people tell us how the election went! I'm sure the Lord is in control.

Love,
Sister Withers

Robert's Baptism

November 7, 2016

Hello everyone!

This week went really well! Monday we were really busy, we travelled to Farmington for a leadership conference that my companion had to go to. It was quite fun, we picked up some sisters in Cortez on the way, they are so funny! We laughed the entire way there. And it was nice to go to walmart! Our shopping options are gas stations and a tiny grocery store. During the conference I joined some YSA sisters and we became a trio, that was pretty fun! We went to a huge trailer park! It was like 5 square miles, thankfully they knew their way around.

Then I went on exchanges in Cortez, and I've come to realize that Monticello is amazing! Everybody kept telling me it's the celestial kingdom of the mission and I was so lucky to go there. Robert's baptism was really great! We were really happy for him. I don't have a lot of time, we have to go now.

I love you more than the number of deer out here! If you don't see like 10, it's a weird day.

Sister Withers

Towaok and Crepes

Hello everyone!

I hope you all had a great week! This week was pretty good for me. We have been super busy, but that's okay, it's good to be busy! Sister Steadman is a sister training leader, which means she has to do exchanges with other companionships, which means I do too. So I was in Cortez Colorado twice this week. We went out on the Ute reservation for parts of it, and it's like a whole new country out there. The reservation we went to is called Towaok (toy-yock). It's like a 3rd world country, even though it's here in UT. When we were on exchanges, we were listening to a song/recording called "Prophet Pep-talk." I was blown away, it was so good! You should look it up!! It's about 10 minutes long. You'll need to brace yourself and put on your spiritual seat belt for this one, it's super powerful! It's a compilation of powerful statements by prophets and apostles! And the music that goes with it is so good! You need to look it up!

Also, we did a service project, and the lady said "oh yeah, be careful as you move that pile of wood, there are scorpions in there" and then later she told us how she has this 6 foot bull snake in the corner of her garage... We didn't see either, thank goodness.

We had zone conference, which was really good. One thing we learned was that if you want God's help, you're going to have to put in the effort. They related it to the Brother of Jared. He didn't wait til they were in the boats, and ask for the light after he realized it was dark in there. He thought ahead, and brought the stones up to the mountain, and then prayed, and then God helped him. Because of his faith, God helped him. That's how God works.

Also, we had the cleanest truck. It's a big competition. We got 50/50, and they give the winners a necklace (or tie tack). It was super shiny, and all the tires had the perfect pressure, we worked hard for that one :)

This week, we had a great experience! Actually, a lot of them. But one in particular was with a guy named Robert. He's about 60, and was ex-communicated about 30 years ago. He used to be active, and went on a mission and everything, but made some choices that took away his membership. But I think he's always had a testimony of the gospel. Anyway, he's been working with the missionaries for the past few months. At first, he flat out said "I don't see myself coming back into the church." But they were persistent, and last night it was decided by the leaders in this area that he can be re-baptized!! So he's going to be baptized this Saturday!!!

And, we've also been working with a less active couple in Colorado, and they haven't been to church in about 30 years. But we visit with them quite a bit, and they came to church yesterday!!! We were super happy about that! They're goal is to be sealed in the temple, but they have to put in the effort!

There are some families in this area that are really struggling. They've come so far, but Satan is being Satan and isn't wanting to help us too much. But we are trying to help them in every way possible. I've learned a lot already on what it takes to have a functional family, and that is vital to life!

We had a funny experience this week. On one of the days that we were in Monticello, we met with these two old ladies for a picnic. They don't live in town, they live far away, like 10 miles of dirt road off the highway. Their living conditions aren't too good either. And they are very Catholic. We ate lunch (thank you, Mom for making me practice as a kid to "pretend you're a missionary and eat the food, and smile and say thank you" because the food they gave us was... I don't even know. They said they were crepes, which are normally good, but these were different. And the filling was fried chicken mixed with a lot of... mayo maybe, and another was some fish stuff, and the bones were still in it. One of them took a bite and said, "oh hey, they still have the bones! Oh well, more calcium!" and so that made them a little crunchy.) And then we basically listened to them talk the whole time about their dogs, and Catholicism, and they begged to know our first names, but I kindly insisted on being called Sister Withers, because my comp said if you tell them, they call you by that forever. But we made it out of there alive :)

I love you all more than the number of days that have passed since Moroni buried the plates! Hope you're all doing well :)

Love,

Sister Withers