March 31, 2015

The picture is of me pretending like I am cool and know how to rock sunglasses but this is not the case;)  I am with a sister at St. Pierre named Lisa who is super cool.  She works a lot with us sister missionaries and is preparing herself to go on a mission before the end of this year.  The picture is in front of the volcano museum in Reunion that we went to for a young women’s' activity that turned into more of a branch activity because everyone wanted to come:)  It was a super fun time and it was good to get to talk with the members.

So, unfortunately we had computer problems so there will be no more pictures for this week:/  and also I don’t have much more time to write.  But I wanted to give a little update.  You will probably not believe me but I am once again in Mauritius!  What craziness!  We got a phone call last Wednesday night and found out that we were leaving Friday morning.  I am with Sister Liu and Sister Willardson (a new missionary who is from Utah).  It has been fun working with them and fun being back in Mauritius.  This makes the fifth time that I was told it was my last time and yet I still came back;)  it’s a bit embarrassing to say goodbye so many times, but I hope it was the last, and the members are super super happy to have us back:)

We tried to go hiking yesterday with the elders.  They promised us many times that they knew where we were going (lion mountain) but in the end we got lost in the sugar cane fields and never got to go on the real hike;) 

Oh, also Sister Berchel came back to Mauritius yesterday and went with us on a lesson this morning:D  It was super cool and great to see her again:)  We went and ate crepes together afterwards for lunch.

Well, I am happy and doing well.  I know that God loves us; we are literally his children and all we have to do is ask him if he is there and he will help us to feel his presence.  God is love, he is joy, peace, and charity.  Don't forget to love, forgive, appreciate and accept those around you, and have a great week!

Love,

Sister Wilson

March 24, 2015

So I had a fun week back in St. Pierre.  For this week I just wanted to share two stories with you.  The first is about the process of repentance. Repentance is one of the major teachings that Christ taught during his earthly mission and that every prophet that has ever been called by him has preached.  It is a process with five steps that helps us to recognize and regret mistakes that we have made (in religious terms I would say sins that we have committed or things that we have done contrary to the commandments of God), ask God for forgiveness in a prayer, repair any damage we may have done, and then to abandon or change the action that was not good in order to become better.  Often as members of the church we think about repentance as being for "big sins" like stealing, but it is for every little thing that we would like to change about ourselves and it is possible thanks to the infinite sacrifice that our Savior Jesus Christ made (Alma 34:9-10) in taking upon him our sins and weaknesses, dying on the cross, and being resurrected. 

      I got to put this to the test in sort of a funny way this past Thursday.  We had walked to an investigators house in Terre Sainte for a lesson, and as we were walking back up the hill I was eating an orange that I had cut before leaving the house (I like my mother never leave the house without preparing a little pick nick because I always get hungry;).  I normally toss my peels to the side in a bush because they are biodegradable and my conscience feels alright with this.  Then we passed by a trash can that was open and I threw my peel in and kept walking.  For some reason I looked back and realized that the can didn’t have a lid which meant that I couldn’t determine whether it was for recycling or garbage (the lids are color-coded here) .  I felt sort of guilty thinking that it may have been for recycling but I tried to justify myself in thinking that it may well have been for the garbage.  We kept walking and I thought "I’ll just do better next time." but then I thought "no!  If I did something wrong I need to fix it because that is one of the steps and I would be stupid to have that on my conscience when the way to repair what I had done was so simple.”  Just then Sister Woods and Sister Liu stopped to talk with a man waxing his car.  I set my bag down and made a sign to them to say "give me a minute" and ran back down the street to fish back out my orange peel.  I am sure that I looked crazy and my companions had a good laugh but I felt so much better afterwards and know that it is this same peace that we can feel each time we follow these five inspired steps that the savior taught, whether it be for a big mistake or a little. 

Anyways, I ran out of time again, but know that I am doing well, that I got my stiches out on Sunday at church by a brother who happens to be a doctor:)  have a great week!

Love, Sister Wilson

March 17, 2015

Okay, so I debated for a good moment about whether or not I would share this story...  I don’t want anyone to be afraid for me or my health but it really was such a crazy happening that I wanted to tell it.  Friday was Sister Thomas' and I's last day in Mauritius and everything was going well.  We had a lesson in Port Louis with one of the coworkers of Brother Bastien that went super well, but we were a bit late in finishing and were speed walking all the way back through the market to get to the buses.  It was about 5:30 and the market was closing down so there were lots of vans packing up boxes and out of nowhere as we were passing by one van the man let the trunk door go and it fell rather heavily on my head.  I was stunned and let out a loud scream as it hit me and the man quickly lifted it back up.  I touched my head and felt a deep cut and knew what was coming next.  Luckily Sister Thomas is a licensed nurse;)  She got a cloth instantly and pressed it against my head as the blood started to run.  Someone called an ambulance, but another lady said that they take too long and the man whose van it was decided to pay a taxi to take us so off we were.  One of the sisters was in Valiee (the down just over) and was waiting for us for a lesson.  We called her to say sorry that we had to cancel and she decided to come to the hospital with us.  She was a ton of help and so nice, it was like having a mom with us.  I ended up getting stiches and they gave me some medicine and it was all over in about an hour and we went back out to work to finish the evening.  We called our zone leaders that night to tell them the story and it took them a long time to believe us-they thought we were joking.  It is a pretty heinous story but I am fine now.  I will get the stiches out this Saturday (thank heavens because the doctor did a weird thing and sewed a bandage to my head as well which I have been trying to cover with headbands, but that is testing my pride;).

Anyways I am back in St. Pierre with Sr Liu and Sr woods.  They are both super easy going and nice so the transition has been easy.  Also all the members were super nice and happy to see me on Sunday:)  I hope that you all have a good week!!!

Love,

Sister Wilson

March 9, 2015

The first is a picture of Patricia and her two daughters whom we have been teaching for about five months now.  Patricia's sister (Soeur Avrilene) has been a member for years and Patricia knows that the Church is true and has started making huge changes in her life this past month.  It’s incredible to witness and the spirit is so strong in her home especially when she prayers.

The second is a picture of our investigator Jean. I am not sure if I already sent the picture... but it is of us at lunch last week and he had brought us strange fruits that you eat with salt and chili.  Fun fun.  Don't be fooled by the picture, he never smiles in pictures, but he is super nice and happy and one of the kindest people I’ve ever met.  He is also the person that I talked about in the email last week who got his testimony about the living prophet:)

The third is a beautiful family that we recently started teaching.  We met the dad while standing in a line at lunch time to get dalpouri (an Indian thing).  They are super friendly.  The dad believes in God but does not practice a religion (he was raised Indian) and the mom is Catholic but both are very open and there two boys are SO adorable:D   

This is another family that we are teaching which is super fun:) the main person we are teaching is Nathalie who is the mother of Richard one of the recent converts in the branche.  In the photo there is a sister who accompanied us and then all of Nathalie’s granddaughters and grandson:) 

This is a little boy named Adriano who is super precious and always runs up the street when he sees are car coming yelling "bann missionaires pou arrive!!!!" or in other words "the missionaries are coming!!!!" so so cute:)

The last is a picture of the members who stayed late after church last week for a lunch together.  This is something that often happens in LDS culture because the first Sunday of every month is a Sunday where the majority of the members fast (do not eat or drink) for 24 hours to consecrate ourselves more fully in prayer often for a specific reason (a question that we have or a need) and then we can offer the money we did not use to eat to help the poor or another such cause.  It was also the senior couples' last Sunday visiting our branche.  They go home this next Monday which is craziness!

Sister Thomas and I are headed back to reunion this Saturday and I believed that it was for good but our mission President was here this past weekend for a conference with us (the missionaries) and we found out that he and one of the general authorities (the member of the 70 for South Africa) and one other brother are coming back next week to have a meeting with the prime minister of Mauritius about missionary visas and hope to be sending sisters back very soon (from one week to three months they are sure).  So who knows how these next few months will work out or where I will be sent?  Only the Lord, and thank heavens that he knows because it is his work and everything is in his hands.  I have no more preference now of where I would like to be which is good because that means less disappointment and I can just appreciate each step as it comes.

I love teaching people and trying to help people and love them.  I love the Gospel of Jesus Christ and I hope that everyone will open up their hearts to it to be able to find the same peace that I have found.  Have a great week and love,

Soeur Wilson

March 2, 2015

This has been another good week. These past few weeks have been an interesting learning experience for me. There have been many beautiful and many sad moments. Teaching people is such a wonderful experience because you also learn so much yourself. But it can also be sad when the people you teach understand what has been taught and then act contrary to the testimony and knowledge they have of the truth. But what is interesting is that though it has made me feel very sad I feel very at peace within myself. I know that my companion and I do our best and what we could for each of them, that we were important parts of their progression, and that only God sees the beginning and the end of his eternal plan.  We never know what effect we have on the lives of others and only time will tell.

We have an investigator named Jean Nanette that we have been teaching for about two months.  We met him one day when we were in town walking along and talking to people in the street.  It started to rain hard so we ran to find some cover and then talked to the poor people who now had no way of escape (just kidding;).  Jean was one of them and we had a little conversation and invited him to learn more another time.  He has been coming to church ever since and has been learning so much and progressing.  He has some good friends in the branch and he has such a high spiritual sensibility it is amazing.  Well we were teaching this last week about how there is a living prophet on the earth today.  He was surprised --he had already prayed about Joseph Smith and knows that he was a prophet chosen of God to restore the church to the earth but he did not know that the revelation has continued.  Each time a prophet passes away the twelve apostles come together to prayer to learn whom God has chosen as the next prophet and that this organization continues to this very day just like during Christ’s life and with the prophets of old. 

We showed him a clip of President Monson and he prayed on his knees to know if he is the prophet today.  He got his answer right then and there with a great burning in his heart.  This is often how Heavenly Father answers us when we want to know if something is true, he sends his Holy Spirit to testify to our hearts (D&C 9:8-9).  Every time that Jean has asked for an answer he has received it and it is because his heart and his actions are sincere.  And that is the promise that God has made to each and every one of us.  That if we ask with a sincere heart we can know the truth of all things by the power of the Holy Ghost (Moroni 10:3-5).  That strengthened my testimony that President Thomas  S. Monson is the prophet today and the God and the Holy Ghost truly testify of that.  What a great blessing:D

Alyssa Despain has been one of my great friends for many years and recently got home from her mission and I wanted to share a thought from her:  "One of my very favorite scriptures is D&C 100:4-8. I used to share it with members so often that even my companion knew it by heart. It tells us that where we are right now is where God put us to save someone: sometimes ourselves. And, no matter how simple our words are, the Holy Ghost will testify if we speak of Christ with a sincere heart. I had a blessing once that told me ‘you do not need to be scriptural or eloquent. Just do your best.' And I found that I didn't need to find just the right words: I need to testify of the gospel of Jesus Christ. In the beginning was the Word. Words are so powerful and are the way God works."

What a powerful message and it made me think about what one of my own strong convictions is.  I think for me what has been the most important thing that I could give to the people I have met here during my mission was my love because it is something that the world has such great need of.  Also, because love is the greatest motivation for change and the very essence of God and of Jesus Christ:)  We just need to love people:)  And each person on this earth has something unique to offer, their own talents and convictions that can help those around them if we just share.

A funny story from this week is that we had our District Meeting in the church building like usual.  The Elders got their first so they unlocked the church and we didn’t take our keys.  We ate together afterwards and then the Elders had to hurry off for a lesson.  Soeur Thomas and I kept eating a l'aise (in peace) and when we went to leave we found that the Elders had looked the door to the church after them thinking that we had our set of keys..... Hmm yes, we looked at each other and said "haha how is this possible?"  We thought about trying to climb out one of the windows but in Mauritius ALL building have bars across the windows and so there was literally no way out.  Luckily we reflected for a moment and had a more reasonable idea come into our minds than trying to break ourselves out.  There is a long driveway leading up to the church with a big garden and we could see the gardeners sleeping a ways off on the benches.  We called them over and gave them the keys to our car and they kindly got the keys to the church out for us, unlocked the door, and we were saved:D   It was pretty funny:)

Hope that you all have a great week:D

Love,

Soeur Wilson