Farewell Ohio! A last week of mission blessings.

Dear Mama,

Hello! Happy St. Patrick's Day from Kirtland! My oh my, it's been a wonderful week. Full to the brim of appointments, meetings, miracles, and opportunities to learn, grow, testify, and serve. It has been an incredible week. Heavenly Father decided to keep us really, really busy so that I wouldn't even have time to think about or worry about home. I'm really grateful for that, as well as for the gradual and continued feeling of peace as I ponder my service here. It's building to an overwhelming feeling of love and approval from the Lord, and I know that is a sign of His acceptance of my service here. I'm not done yet, and I know that miracles will continue to happen over the next 3 days as I continue to serve.

I'm so grateful for the incredible blessing and opportunity I've had to serve a mission in the Ohio Cleveland, and especially in Kirtland. I know it is a sacred place. I've grown and learned so much over the course of my mission, sometimes in ways that I never imagined. I think what I learned the most these past two transfers is companionship unity. Nothing else can happen unless you have the Spirit in your companionship, and I've grown so much as I've had to work hard at that with Sister Johnson. I know that this companionship especially has prepared me for success in the future, and I'm so grateful.

We saw a lot of miracles this week. Laura came to a baptism, Bob came back to church (he's been sick), and Jason came to church! Miracle after miracle. Another one was with a wonderful tour Kirtland, with a cute young family. We were tired but did our best to teach to their children's needs, and it was all worth it when the five-year old girl whispered to her dad in the School of the Prophets that she was feeling the Spirit, and it was making her happy. What a tender blessing, and a sweet experience. This is why I love being a missionary! 

Bob is better!! He and the Stacey's came to Kirtland on Tuesday, and we went to the Family History Center to get him started on Family History. I was finally able to show my pedigree chart to someone! He's really excited about doing his family history and taking names to the temple. :)

We got to talk to Robert on Wednesday, and he is doing SO great. Oh my goodness, what a miracle it's been to teach him. Every single time, I'm awed by the strength of his testimony. At the end of our phone lesson, he said, "I just want to tell you one more thing..." and then he shared his testimony with us! It was so sweet and sincere, and it touched my heart. He is so, so amazing!

I also got to call Sister Johnson's friend Javi on Tuesday. I'm so grateful that she trusted me with the referral to call one of her friends! It was daunting at first, but he was really nice and friendly. Awesome.

On Thursday, we went to see our friends Chris and Serg at Best Gyro's. They gave us free dinner, which was so nice of them, but that wasn't the best part. The best part is that we've become such good friends with them! Chris told us that he was having a bad day, but that we made it brighter. Purpose fulfilled. :)

Friday was training meeting, transfer breakfast, and exchanges with Sister Mohler. Sister Sorenson is the most wonderful woman in the world--she made quiche for transfer breakfast because she knows how much I like it! What a sweet lady. I love her.

And exchanges with Sister Mohler were amazing! She has had some health issues and been rather sick lately, but I was amazed at her faith, her determination to push through challenges, and her ability to work and teach by the Spirit. We talked about focusing on what she can do rather than what she can't, how to put more into the hours that she can serve, and focusing on what Heavenly Father expects of her rather than anyone else. She told me that it really helped her to gain a new perspective and feel more hopeful about everything, and I'm so grateful I was able to help in some way. She really is an amazing missionary--a powerful teacher and a great example of love and testimony. I love her!!

Saturday, we made broccoli cheese soup with Sister Frazier. She is the sweetest woman in the world, and I love her so much! I'm so grateful that we've been able to visit her every week and help her learn more about the Book of Mormon. I know that it will all make sense to her someday. :)

Saturday was also dinner with the Wagner family. They are one of my favorite families in the ward. They are so amazing, and incredible examples to me of faith, endurance, and service. I love them. :)

Then, Saturday night was Kathy Cola's baptism! The Shaker Heights North sisters have been teaching her, and she is amazing. She quit smoking after 40 years because she wanted to be baptized so badly, and the ward was SO amazing at helping her do it--calls, texts, friendship, support, you name it. I love this ward so much. :) And I love Kathy! The baptism was a very touching service, and the Spirit was so strong. Laura came, and she really seemed to enjoy it. I got to play a musical number with Brother Rhodes, which was really fun. I love music! :)

On Sunday, we had breakfast with the Roberto family. They are AMAZING. Sister Roberto is from Finland, and she made Finnish pancakes! Yum. Both Brother and Sister Roberto are the gentlest, kindest people I know. They guided their young boys to ask us questions about missionary work, and we were so grateful for the opportunity to teach and testify of the gospel in that way. :) 

Church was amazing as always. Jason came! He's moving soon, but promised to keep reading and praying. We had a great lesson with him at the Taft's on Friday that started with temples but led to some questions and concerns he has about prayer. It was definitely guided by the Spirit. Sister Taft shared some wonderful experiences that were perfect for Jason's understanding--she is awesome. :) 

I also got to play our musical number with Brother Rhodes and Brother Miner again in sacrament meeting. It went so well, and the Spirit was so strong. What a blessed opportunity. :) We also had the opportunity to help Sister Price with her lesson in Primary, which was so fun. We shared stories from the scriptures of those who saw Christ after he was resurrected. I shared the story of Mary Magdalene--I picked that one from the list because of Savior of the World. :) 

Sunday night we had a fireside at Historic Kirtland (we do one about every month), and Elder Seldon (our area Seventy) came and spoke!! It was a miracle that it worked out--when we called to ask him to speak, it turned out that this was his only free weekend all month! He spoke about prophets and the wonderful opportunity that we have to hear from President Monson and others at General Conference in a few weeks. It was a powerful, enlightening message, and I'm so grateful that I got to be there! 

I'm also so grateful for the blessing it's been to me to serve a mission. It truly is the best decision I've ever made!! I've been pondering lately about what I've learned on my mission, and the list is too long to count! Serving a mission has opened my eyes and broadened my understanding of the gospel in so many ways. I've become more deeply converted to the Savior and His gospel, and come to understand myself better--my strengths, my weaknesses, my capacity to serve, love, and change, and so much more. I've learned to love people as the Lord loves them, and I've learned to love serving others. I've learned what it means to work hard, and how to recognize the quiet, gentle whisperings of the Spirit. At times, I've caught a glimpse of heaven through those quiet promptings from the Spirit. I understand a little better now how to gain and keep the Spirit with me, which is vital because that's what helps us know where to go, what to do, and who to be as we strive to represent the Savior in taking the gospel to all the world. I truly love being a missionary, and I truly love the Savior and His gospel. It's made me a happier person, and I can't help but be happy about all of my time here. Kirtland is such a sacred place, and I feel so blessed to have had the honor of serving here. It will always hold a special place in my heart, as will each person that I've met and worked with here. :) The Church is true, and it's true everywhere! The Savior knows us each individually, and will guide us down the exact path that we need to take in order to return, with Him, to our Heavenly Father again someday. We can return and live with our families forever, and I'm so excited about that blessing. I love you, my dear family, with all my heart, and I want nothing more than to live with my family forever. The gospel is the way, and now that I understand that, I will never, ever take it for granted or leave it. :)

Thank you, my wonderful family and friends, for every single prayer, thought, supporting or encouraging word, and the like. Surely I am nothing without the Lord (Alma 26:11-12), but I could never do this without you, either!! You are all such wonderful examples to me, and I love you all. Have a blessed week, and I'll see you soon!! Please, if you would, continue to pray for Bob, Laura, Jason, Kia, Kayla, Cheyla, Dazia, LaTasha, and the wonderful Shaker Heights Ward. Please pray that we'll get a temple here soon--that is an invitation from our Stake President, and we hope to see it fulfilled soon. :)

Love,

Sister Wygant

Another wonderful week in Kirtland

Hi Mama!!

What a wonderful week it's been. Spring is trying so hard to come to Kirtland--it's in the 40s today!! But will probably snow again this week. It's coming, though! The birds are coming back/out, and I love to hear them sing. :) 

The work is going GREAT. Oh man. I love this area, this ward, and this work so much. The work is hastening SO quickly!!!!! We honestly have no spare time in our area this week, because we have so many people to meet with. We're hopefully even going on splits on Thursday night if everything works out. I've wanted to do that my whole mission, and it hasn't happened yet--so I'm pretty excited. :) We have wonderful investigators and less active members that we're working with. Most of them are progressing really slowly, which has taught me a lot about patience and meeting needs--it's been really good for me.  Something really exciting that happened last week was that  Laura came to the RS activity with us! At first we weren't going to invite her because she is pretty shy and likes to stay home...but I kept feeling like we needed to invite her. So we did, and she came, and she loved it! Thank goodness for promptings from the Spirit to help us have a clue about what we should be doing. I'd be so lost without it. :) Another exciting thing is that we met a young man named Chaz yesterday, gave him our number, and later he actually called us! That doesn't often happen, so it's always exciting. 

I went on exchanges with Sister Smith in the Kirtland North area, and we saw SO many miracles! She told me in our studies that a question I'd suggested for one of our lessons had actually been an answer to her prayers--I was so humbled and grateful! We were then able to use the answers and testimony building experiences she'd received in lessons that very day. One miracle was that we stopped by a less active member who wasn't home...but her sister was, and after talking to the sister for a minute, she let us in and allowed us to teach her! It turns out that she's a less active member as well, who is really struggling and in need of gospel light. The lesson we had wasn't planned at all, but was entirely led by the Spirit, and it was amazing to see her countenance brighten a little by the end of our lesson. I am so grateful for promptings from the Spirit, that the Spirit touches hearts, and that we could be an instrument in the Lord's hands to lift that sister that day. :)

We did service for some amazing members, and saw some amazing miracles--one was when we went to a nursing home to see if we could volunteer there. Turns out they're pretty starved for volunteer work, and they accepted us on the spot! They were really excited to have us, and the activities coordinator, Ann, was so cute and friendly to us. She kept asking us questions about why we're here and what we do--it was a great opportunity to share the gospel.

We had two great lessons with Kayla this week--she is starting to understand the Book of Mormon better!! Hooray!!!! Hopefully she'll be able to come to church this week or next--yay!!

We are going to be busy, busy, busy this week--I'm so excited!! I love missionary work, and I especially love teaching people and sharing the gospel. The Church is true, the Savior lives, and the gospel is the way to happiness! We talked about repentance in RS yesterday, and I liked this thought: "Repentance diminishes the distance between us and God." Each step or returning step brings us closer to our Heavenly Father, and the kind of joy that He has. His is the perfect training plan, and we get to learn and practice every day at home, church, in our families, and in everyday life. Practice makes permanent--make sure you put in your best work! I'll do so as well. I love you all so much!!

Love,

Sister Wygant

Happy March!!

Hi Mama!!

Happy March!! Wow. I can't believe it's March already!! That's crazy. Sister Johnson and I are SO happy that Spring should be coming soon--we are definitely ready to be a bit warmer. :) 

Our week was fantastic. We saw so, so many miracles. Robert shared with us on Saturday a miracle of his own: his mom allowed him to pray at the dinner table with her! She's Jewish, and has previously been opposed to it. Her heart is softening--what a miracle!! Robert is so amazing, and was so excited when he told us about this miracle. He is so, so ready and excited to be baptized--and I know that continuing in patience will help him grow and deepen his testimony until the day that baptism is possible for him. :)

Bob has been sick and had a few back surgeries recently, and we haven't seen him in 2 weeks. :( Would you please pray for him? He must be really sick if he isn't getting back to us. :(

One amazing miracle was when I had a random thought pop into my head while we were driving that we should go stop by a girl named LaTasha. We'd plan to visit her later that day, so at first I dismissed the thought...but then it came again, so I followed it and we went over. She was home, having a really hard day, and we were an answer to her prayers! We were able to share a bit of the Plan of Salvation with her, and she said she really wanted to come to church with us!!! It was amazing to me to learn another way that the Spirit speaks to me, and that it really is like a whisper--a random, quiet thought--but that it works!! I know that Heavenly Father knows us personally because of how He speaks to us in ways that we understand. He's so good at that. :)

Another miracle was with Laura. She came to Kirtland and took a tour on Saturday!! She came later than she'd planned, and at first we were worried that she wouldn't come. At one point, I said a prayer, and two minutes later she arrived. Tender mercies. :) She was really tired that day, so we weren't sure if she got much out of the tour, but at our lesson last night she told us that she felt something special there that she couldn't put into words. Zing!! The Spirit!! And our lesson was so, so great. She seemed more interested than before, and more willing to make commitments. Kirtland truly is the best missionary in Ohio!! She even agreed to come to the RS dinner/activity with us on Thursday--which is big for Laura because she's really shy. I'm SO excited for her to come and meet the wonderful sisters in our ward. I know that will be so helpful for her!! If you could pray that everything will work out for her to come, and that she'll feel comfortable there, I would sure appreciate it. Thank you!! :) 

We also had an awesome Preparation Day last Monday...Sister Cameron, a musician from the Kirtland ward who I've played with a few times, took us to Cleveland to see the Cleveland Institute of Music!! I was able to walk around, get an information packet, and talk to a few people about what it's like there. Being there helped me to realize just how much I really do love music, and how much my spirit really does need it. Music feeds my soul and lifts my spirit, and I'm so grateful for that gift in my life. We're having a special training meeting at the Kirtland Temple on Friday, and Elder Sorenson asked me to do a musical number. I'm SO excited to play my flute in the temple one more time!! What an amazing opportunity. :)

I went on exchanges with Sister Rigby on Wednesday, and it was SO fun. She is such an amazing missionary!! People kept asking how long we'd been together and saying that we taught so well together--funny because we'd only been together for the day, but amazing to see that we were able to both be in tune with and teach by the Spirit. That's what makes all the difference. :) 

We had dinner with Sister Edgin on Thursday, and she is amazing. She's moving to Louisville, KY this week for a job transfer, and I am so sad!! She is an amazing, spiritual, kind, powerful, wonderful, loving person, and I look up to her so much. I will miss her! She has been a great example to me, as have so many members in this ward. I am so, so grateful that I get to serve in the Shaker Heights ward!! 

We also saw many miracles in Heavenly Father opening the way for us to meet with people and have great lessons. We had wonderful lessons with Cheyla & Dazia, a new investigator named Virginia, Kia, Kayla, the Barkers and their friends (Sister Rosales and her daughter Vanessa, a less active member and her non-member daughter who are so sweet and kind), Sister Frazier, Jason, Sister Richards, the McMullans, Sister Wagner...so many wonderful people. Sometimes we practice teaching with ward members, and it is so fun. I love it because we get to be with the people that I love, sharpen our teaching skills, and strengthen them in the process. Definitely an inspired idea from President Vellinga. I love being a missionary, I love Kirtland, and I love Shaker Heights East!! It's been such a good week, and I'm grateful for every single one of the ups and downs along the way. I know that all of our challenges and trials are for our good, and that they are meant to guide us toward our ultimate goal of becoming like our Savior and living with our Heavenly Father again. I read about the Jaredites in my studies this morning, and one verse says that there were fierce winds that never stopped blowing their barges towards the promised land. It struck me that we each feel those fierce winds in our lives, and at times it seems more than we can bear, and we wish it would stop. But with the eternal perspective, knowing that it's those very winds that are taking us to the promised land, perhaps it becomes easier to trust God and endure well. :)

We're just about out of time, but I love you so much!! Thank you for your constant prayers, thoughts, well wishes, encouragement, support, and love. I am so grateful for everything I am learning and the work I am able to do for the Lord here as a missionary. I love this work with my whole heart, and I know I could never do it on my own--so I'm grateful for the Lord's help and yours. :) I love you!! Have a wonderful week!!

Love,

Sister Wygant