December 2, 2014

So the first is a picture from sister Berchel's last day on the mission :O  We are in St. Denis with Sister Gardiner, Isham, and Olivarius.  We decided to go out to ice cream all together one last time:) 

The second is a picture from the airport.  We may or may not have cried like babies....  it is a strange experience sending a missionary off.  She was nervous, but also ready to go because she knew that she had done her best, worked her hardest, and was leaving no regrets behind.  Up until this point in my mission I have no regrets either, and I hope that I will be able to keep it that way right up until the end.  

Coming back to la reunion is not what I would have chosen for myself, but I had a week before I left to become adjusted to the idea and to remind myself that I know that the Lord always knows best.  So, by the time that I was on the plane I was grateful and excited for my new adventure whatever it may be.  Getting to be with/there for Sr Berchel in her last moments was a precious gift and a blessing to me and I believe for her as well.  It was a very strange feeling sending off a missionary, especially one who has become such a close and dear friend.

 I am in St. Denis now for who knows how long, and so I am trying to work as though I will be here indefinitely.  It has been hard but very satisfying work.  I like the feeling of starting from the ground and working your way up -it is a very free feeling.  Every day we left the apartment with plans of trying to stop by addresses of less active members and former investigators, and with the intention of talking to every single person that crossed our path, and that is exactly what we did.  In four days between the two companionships we had 23 contacts (people we met on the street who gave us their address, phone number and set up a lesson), and yesterday we had 7 lessons with members and two others, which is more than we had put together all last week!!! we also had a good number of investigators at church:)  the work is going well and I still have so much to learn, but I am happy and will keep moving forward.  Sister Olivarius has been on her mission for just one month and is super motivated and I hope that she will be able to keep her fire going:)  Sister Gardiner is almost at the end (one and a half months left) and is a bit discouraged because she has spent her whole 16 months in St.  Denis.  I hope that she will be able to re-catch the motivation and the joy of missionary work before going home so that she does not leave behind regrets.  I think that she is already happier and more excited because things are looking up:)

Another surprise blessing of being back is that Sr Isham and I were able to go to the baptism of Vincent on Saturday in St. Pierre.  It was someone that we had found together and taught just before leaving for Maurice.  He was doing well and it was super fun to see the members there:)

Luckily I love meeting new people, so this past week has been a blast.  I hope that everyone at home is doing well and that you are excited for Christmas and won’t forget that it is all about the love:)   have a great week!

Love,

Soeur Wilson

Okay so these are some pictures for the last P-day activity I had with Sister Berchel. We went to Casela which is a huge safari/park in Mauritius and you can pay to go on an hour tour walking with lions.   

The lions were orphaned in South Africa and trained from infancy to be with people so they had no leashes, no anesthesia, we just each had a wooden stick which is they sign of authority that they were trained to recognize.

 Needless to say it was paradise;) I love being with animals :D