Dear Family and
Friends,
My companion is
hilarious. This has been and will be one of those transfers where you just
laugh hysterically all the time. I wish I could share all of the little
things we laugh about, but I'm 99% positive that none of you would think they
were funny. So I'll spare you. Just know that I love her dearly...From
her One Direction obsession to her gluten-free-ness and her hatred of naturey
things. But mostly I love that she can laugh at herself...and me. We can
both make mistakes and forgive each other and laugh and move on. I need her,
and am so grateful for her!
Hence the Subject
Line, which I decided ought to be dedicated to her. For those of you
less-cultured: 1D=One Direction=Uber-popular boy band from the UK.
The one miracle that
I didn't mention to President that should be documented is that ****** came
into the Visitors' Center to see me! You probably don't remember her...she was
my investigator back in the Malibu days at the very beginning of the mission.
Part Member Family-Less Active husband. She basically dropped us but said we
could still be friends right before I got transferred. And then she was kind of
mean to the other sisters. She's the reason I'm still in a fight with Palisades
Presbyterian church. B/c that's where she's basically a registered member.
(They were trying to decide between us and the Presbyterians and since the
Presbyterian doctrine is just so much more convenient to live...) Long story
short, she likes me and decided to come visit me at the Visitors' Center. The
timing was most interesting of all b/c I had just thought of her that very
morning w/ the thought that I needed to get her contact info so that I could
invite her to my Departing Missionary Fireside/help her feel the spirit again.
And then I found out that the sisters had just called and set up a time to meet
with them again. SO. These are all good signs. Let's keep her in our prayers,
shall we?
Businessy items:
I am not trunky.
Don't worry. But I had some thoughts I thought I'd share.
Next transfer, I will
probably have to sing something at the Departing Missionary Fireside. Here's
why this is terrifying: No musical number ever goes well at the Departing
Missionary Fireside. I don't know why. But really, it doesn't matter how
talented you are...you just don't sound good at that particular event.
Long story short, I'm terrified. But I'd love to be sent some sheet
music of a few songs that are really cool and powerful and easy-ish to sing for
Alto-y voices that might be somewhat lesser-known so my so-so voice won't be compared
to MoTab or other famous artists who everyone has heard them from...you know?
i.e. The Olive Tree, Instrument of Thy Peace, One Voice (the Glasgows sang this
once, I think). Anyway, no one should stress, but I figure we/the Moffats
might have a few good ones laying around. If you wanted to scan and e-mail them
to me or mail them to me, I'd be so grateful.
Love you all so much.
I pray for you and thank Heavenly Father for this incredible gift of a family
I've been given. Hope all is well.
Love,
Sister Wells
P.s. Pics!
My beautiful
area,
my companion,
Her in her cute
headphones watching videos about Family history for the 12-week Training
Program,
Robert at the piano
playing his Book of Mormon composition (He is a regular at the Visitors' Center--has
aspergers and is a brilliant musician. So sweet. LA and RC...we all invited him
to read and pray about the BOM again. So he's doing that, and in the meantime,
he wrote a song about his experience ;)
Us on Christmas or
New Years...can't remember.
Oh, and the other pic
on the last e-mail is of the Accountability section of our District Meeting. We
do it in the Family History Center so we have all sorts of fancy video
equipment. Just thought I'd once again show how different my mission is from
those in Latin America.
Getting mail after
District Meeting
Sister S's sticker
charts (she gets stickers and rewards for making calls in the Teaching Center,
talking to people on the street, etc...it was her idea. She's an elementary ed
major ;)
Crepe party with the
Visitors' Center sisters this morning
Christmas Chaos in
the Visitors' Center. Wrapping and presents and goodies and MORE FOOD THAN YOU
CAN COMPREHEND. I was an anxious spoiled mess that day.
Christmas dinner w/
Sisters K, H, me, and Sister S
More pics of
Christmas dinner...
More Christmas Locura. There's a picture of Claire on here
:)
More Christmas...and
Sis J came to visit!
The Visitors' Center Schedule :)
One of the Farsi
Elders' Tags
Pictures of us at the
Getty Villa in Malibu...the little kids' section was smattered with mormon.org
advertising...
Sis F rockin' the
Visitors' Center floor w/ a guest
McDonald's on New
Year's Eve
Sister A singing at
the New Year's Eve program (we all sang, but I didn't get a pic, so sorry)
...That was a lot of
pics. So sorry.
Hello
President,
It's been another great week in the Westwood 1st ward. Though we have ended up dropping most of our recently-found investigators, we did have one of them come to sacrament meeting yesterday! **** is a little slow-paced, but we feel strongly that he'll continue to progress forward. I get the feeling that he has social anxiety issues, so I think that keeps him from being too excited about meeting with us (which he hasn't done for a full week now) and from committing to three full hours of church and meeting new people. But he says he likes everything overall, and that he'll definitely "be back soon." Again, not entirely sure what that means...but we have high hopes! In the meantime, our finding efforts have got to increase. We're figuring out the 20 conversations a day. I know we can do it if we have enough faith. It's just having the faith...we're working on it.
Yesterday was a day of miracles. We got to church early to talk to bishop for a minute or two about an idea we had in working with members. It was just an extension of one of the goals he had already discussed with the ward called "The Next Step." It's similar to an idea used in the Mar Vista ward, and we feel like it will help members in taking those "small steps" in reaching out to the people around them. He was really excited about it! And from what we understand, we handed it to him just as he found out about the meeting with Elder A next week regarding the ward mission plan, etc...so we hope he finds it helpful. So that was Little miracle #1.
And then as soon as we finished our conversation with Bishop, we walk out front to meet ****. And HE WAS THERE!!! (As opposed to the week before, when he wasn't there) ...In a suit and a tie. Nothing makes me happier than seeing an investigator at church in a suit and a tie, President. My heart swells at the thought. He is the first investigator we have had at church in the entire time I have served here, which kind of makes me want to cry tears of joy and exhaustion all at once...but I really am just so happy he came. And of course every single testimony was PERFECT...I have a deep, heartfelt testimony of fast and testimony meetings. They are powerful conversion tools for every person involved.
Then, in the visitors' center yesterday, we had two different tours with non-members that more or less ended in a self-referral. One was with a somewhat recent convert and his non-member mother, and I can't even begin to tell you how powerful it was to watch the love of a son manifest itself as he bore his testimony and shared his conversion. When they first walked in, they told the front desk that they didn't want a tour...but when we caught up with them later on, it was obvious that that was exactly what they needed. Though we won't get to follow up with the mom (because the son explained that he would make sure the missionaries got to her), she was excited to get a copy of the Book of Mormon and to start meeting with missionaries.
The other tour was with Mr. M. He is an eagle scout who grew up around Mormons, read some of the Book of Mormon, and had even enrolled himself in some Institute classes once...and yet he claimed that he had never been invited to meet with missionaries. So, after briefly explaining the Restoration in the Special Witnesses exhibit, we did just that. And he was beyond open to the invitation. It was almost bizarre how open he was actually. It kind of felt like he was just strolling right into the font, you know? And we were just sort of there to guide him there. Story of my miraculous mission life.
And of course all of these miracles happened at those particular moments of personal need.
Other accountability:
We fasted with the mission and had miraculous experiences because of it. It feels good to be a a part of something this big.
I finished El Libro de Mormon! Before the end of 2013! So I was a little behind the rest of the mission...but I finished! And it was powerful.
We are up-to-date-ish with 12-week, and it has been very well-timed for us. Sister S is gaining more and more confidence and I am loving getting to know her on a personal level. She shared a personal experience in a lesson the other day that just blew us all out of the water. She connected with **** on a level that I have never managed. She is supposed to be here. This week, one of our goals in companionship unity in teaching. We will try to pray for each other in lessons while the other is speaking. We decided we both just need to be more in tune with the spirit to ensure that the "pass-off" is more inspired, balanced, and timely. She is a solid missionary, and I'm worried she doesn't feel like she can contribute. Still figuring out how to make others feel their best. Only the very best teachers can do that, and it'll take a whole lot more Chapter 6 application in my life to get there. So that's where my personal goals are. I just want to want nothing more than to help others be their best, but my pride-infested heart isn't there. But...to quote myself, "I'm workin' on it." :)
Sister F and I are prayerfully preparing for the arrival of the new director. Any suggestions of preparations we ought to be making? We are trying to define the current culture of the Visitors' Center and make necessary improvements.
President, have you read the book "The Power of Everyday Missionaries"? I'm assuming you have. It was the theme of Mar Vista Ward and the Santa Monica stake...and it will be the first non-scriptural book I'll read when I get home. Have you encouraged all of the ward and stake leaders to read it? Is that an appropriate suggestion for you to make?
I look forward to the accountability of interviews next week. Two of my MTC teachers have written me recently and asked me those impossibly heavy questions of why I'm here and what I've done and who I am now...etc. My heart feels weird when I try to answer those and I kind of feel like crying, so I've avoided responding. We'll see what comes out as I write today. I'll give you the update at interviews.
President, I'm ever-grateful for you and your wonderful wife. We feel of your love and trust and often don't feel deserving...but again, just grateful. You can trust that I'm doing what I can to build the faith necessary to move the work forward here.
Have a wonderful week! You're in our prayers.
Love,
Sister Wells
It's been another great week in the Westwood 1st ward. Though we have ended up dropping most of our recently-found investigators, we did have one of them come to sacrament meeting yesterday! **** is a little slow-paced, but we feel strongly that he'll continue to progress forward. I get the feeling that he has social anxiety issues, so I think that keeps him from being too excited about meeting with us (which he hasn't done for a full week now) and from committing to three full hours of church and meeting new people. But he says he likes everything overall, and that he'll definitely "be back soon." Again, not entirely sure what that means...but we have high hopes! In the meantime, our finding efforts have got to increase. We're figuring out the 20 conversations a day. I know we can do it if we have enough faith. It's just having the faith...we're working on it.
Yesterday was a day of miracles. We got to church early to talk to bishop for a minute or two about an idea we had in working with members. It was just an extension of one of the goals he had already discussed with the ward called "The Next Step." It's similar to an idea used in the Mar Vista ward, and we feel like it will help members in taking those "small steps" in reaching out to the people around them. He was really excited about it! And from what we understand, we handed it to him just as he found out about the meeting with Elder A next week regarding the ward mission plan, etc...so we hope he finds it helpful. So that was Little miracle #1.
And then as soon as we finished our conversation with Bishop, we walk out front to meet ****. And HE WAS THERE!!! (As opposed to the week before, when he wasn't there) ...In a suit and a tie. Nothing makes me happier than seeing an investigator at church in a suit and a tie, President. My heart swells at the thought. He is the first investigator we have had at church in the entire time I have served here, which kind of makes me want to cry tears of joy and exhaustion all at once...but I really am just so happy he came. And of course every single testimony was PERFECT...I have a deep, heartfelt testimony of fast and testimony meetings. They are powerful conversion tools for every person involved.
Then, in the visitors' center yesterday, we had two different tours with non-members that more or less ended in a self-referral. One was with a somewhat recent convert and his non-member mother, and I can't even begin to tell you how powerful it was to watch the love of a son manifest itself as he bore his testimony and shared his conversion. When they first walked in, they told the front desk that they didn't want a tour...but when we caught up with them later on, it was obvious that that was exactly what they needed. Though we won't get to follow up with the mom (because the son explained that he would make sure the missionaries got to her), she was excited to get a copy of the Book of Mormon and to start meeting with missionaries.
The other tour was with Mr. M. He is an eagle scout who grew up around Mormons, read some of the Book of Mormon, and had even enrolled himself in some Institute classes once...and yet he claimed that he had never been invited to meet with missionaries. So, after briefly explaining the Restoration in the Special Witnesses exhibit, we did just that. And he was beyond open to the invitation. It was almost bizarre how open he was actually. It kind of felt like he was just strolling right into the font, you know? And we were just sort of there to guide him there. Story of my miraculous mission life.
And of course all of these miracles happened at those particular moments of personal need.
Other accountability:
We fasted with the mission and had miraculous experiences because of it. It feels good to be a a part of something this big.
I finished El Libro de Mormon! Before the end of 2013! So I was a little behind the rest of the mission...but I finished! And it was powerful.
We are up-to-date-ish with 12-week, and it has been very well-timed for us. Sister S is gaining more and more confidence and I am loving getting to know her on a personal level. She shared a personal experience in a lesson the other day that just blew us all out of the water. She connected with **** on a level that I have never managed. She is supposed to be here. This week, one of our goals in companionship unity in teaching. We will try to pray for each other in lessons while the other is speaking. We decided we both just need to be more in tune with the spirit to ensure that the "pass-off" is more inspired, balanced, and timely. She is a solid missionary, and I'm worried she doesn't feel like she can contribute. Still figuring out how to make others feel their best. Only the very best teachers can do that, and it'll take a whole lot more Chapter 6 application in my life to get there. So that's where my personal goals are. I just want to want nothing more than to help others be their best, but my pride-infested heart isn't there. But...to quote myself, "I'm workin' on it." :)
Sister F and I are prayerfully preparing for the arrival of the new director. Any suggestions of preparations we ought to be making? We are trying to define the current culture of the Visitors' Center and make necessary improvements.
President, have you read the book "The Power of Everyday Missionaries"? I'm assuming you have. It was the theme of Mar Vista Ward and the Santa Monica stake...and it will be the first non-scriptural book I'll read when I get home. Have you encouraged all of the ward and stake leaders to read it? Is that an appropriate suggestion for you to make?
I look forward to the accountability of interviews next week. Two of my MTC teachers have written me recently and asked me those impossibly heavy questions of why I'm here and what I've done and who I am now...etc. My heart feels weird when I try to answer those and I kind of feel like crying, so I've avoided responding. We'll see what comes out as I write today. I'll give you the update at interviews.
President, I'm ever-grateful for you and your wonderful wife. We feel of your love and trust and often don't feel deserving...but again, just grateful. You can trust that I'm doing what I can to build the faith necessary to move the work forward here.
Have a wonderful week! You're in our prayers.
Love,
Sister Wells
Another note:
My companion is humble and wonderful. We
laugh all the time, but I am most impressed with her ability to laugh at
herself and me when we both make stupid mistakes. She is incredibly
competent to begin with, but even when she does make a mistake, we laugh it off
and fix it and move forward. And she does the same with me and my
innumerable in-competencies as a trainer. She is so forgiving and so
humble and good-humored. I just wanted to point out this attribute
because I think it's what makes her and what will continue to make her a really
solid servant of the Lord. It all comes back to Chapter 6, you know? :)
...Just wanted you to know.
