Hurrah -- Conference and Kirtland!

Hi Mama!!

Hello from Kirtland!!! I've been transferred to the Shaker Heights East area, and my new companion is Sister Nelson, from Logan Utah. She is amazing, and I love her! Sister Ellsworth was actually her companion here for the last 3 transfers--I get to serve in the same ward that she did! Yay! I'm back living in the same house that she and I lived in for a transfer last year, in the same room and everything. Blast from the past!! That was a wonderful, happy time, and I'm so grateful to be back. Sister Ellsworth left big shoes to fill, but I am so grateful and humbled by the opportunity to serve here. Sister Nelson and I are Sister Training Leaders, and also the Training Sisters for the Visitor's Center--we get to help Elder and Sister Sorenson plan and train for everything at sites! I am SO excited about this opportunity. :) :) 

Our area is great. It's a bigger city than any I've served in previously--it reminds me a bit of Provo/Orem! We've already had some great success in our area in the few days since transfers. We had a great lesson with our investigator Sabrina. She is from El Salvador, and she is so fun. We read the Book of Mormon with her, and she follows along in Spanish--it's easier for her to understand that way. Different, but so cool! She is hopefully coming to the Visitor's Center tonight for a lesson--we are going to invite her to be baptized, and I am so excited!!

We also had a miracle happen while tracting, on my very first day in the area. We met a woman named Elizabeth sitting outside, and we were able to share the message of the Restoration with her. She is SO prepared! She loved it, and accepted the invitation to be baptized right away! She said that what we shared with her felt like light, and she knew it was true. So amazing! We also invited her to watch General Conference with us, which she was very interested in. It turns out that she lives in Cleveland, and works in the area where we met her--so we were able to give her information to the Elders in her area, and they are going to teach her. Yay!! I love miracles like that. :)

General Conference was AMAZING.  I wanted to sit there forever and just drink in the wonderful Spirit brought. What an amazing blessing it was to hear from the Prophet and others, and to feel of the Spirit of gathering, even across distances. I am so, so, so grateful for the inspiration and Spiritual boost. I don't think I could choose a favorite talk either...but I really loved Elder Bednar's talk about tithing. I really enjoy and get a lot from is teaching style. He has such a great way of inspiring and encouraging me to want to act/live the gospel without directly ordering or demanding. It's something that I want to study further when the talks are published so that I can follow his example. 

I'm so glad that you liked the music at Conference so much. I thought of you also, especially when we got to stand and sing together. :) I loved watching Ryan Murphy conduct--he reminds me so much of Coach! Over and over again during Conference, especially during the songs, I was reminded of how very blessed my life has been, and how grateful I am for wonderful role models like Coach, and wonderful parents like you and Dad. I am so grateful that Heavenly Father knows me so perfectly, and has blessed me with the experiences and loving atmospheres that I have been surrounded by throughout my life. Thank you for being amazing. :)

Midway through Elder Ballard's talk, I got really excited because he is coming to Kirtland this weekend!!! He is coming to speak at Stake Conference, and also for a special event/program commemorating the 10th Anniversary of the dedication of the Kirtland Sites. How exciting!! I am so grateful that I get to be here to hear from an Apostle of the Lord!! How great is our calling. :)

I forgot my camera, but next week I'll have lots of pictures to share, from Kent and from transfer meeting. It was so odd to have my mom (Sister Ellsworth) go home--but it already feels like she's been gone forever! I am so very grateful to have had her as my trainer, and for her wonderful example. I'm also grateful for the wonderful support and examples of you and everyone at home! Please tell everyone hello and thank you for me, and give them my love!! I love you all, and I'm so grateful for the opportunity to come to know and love my Savior better as I serve Him here in Ohio. Being a missionary is the best thing in the whole world, and I absolutely love it. The Church is true!!

Love,

Sister Wygant

P.S. Please tell Jenna and Joey congrats for me!!!

P.P.S. Amalia is getting married? Wow! How exciting! Congratulations!!!

Happy October!

Dear Mama,

Hello! Good morning from Kent for the last time--I'm getting transferred tomorrow! That's crazy. It seems like I just got here! I have absolutely loved serving here, and especially serving with Sister Bell. I am so grateful for the opportunity to serve with her here--her amazing example of love and dedication has changed my life! I have learned so much and grown a lot here, and although I'm sad to leave, I'm excited for new opportunities to serve. I'm excited for transfers, but really sad at the same time, because Sister Ellsworth (my trainer) is going home!! I definitely cried at our testimony meeting last week. I can't believe she's leaving! Time has flown so quickly.

Before I forget, guess what I ate last week! Avocado! and I didn't die! It was actually very good. The mission is changing me in so many ways. :)

Last week, you asked for more insights from Elder Bowen's mission tour. Something that really stuck out to me was his comments on artificial limitations that we place on ourselves. He likened it to a flea circus--if you put fleas in a jar, they will jump around and learn to jump only so high so as not to keep hitting the jar. Then when you remove the jar, they don't realize that it's gone, so they keep jumping around the same space, restrained by the now artificial limitations. He helped us see that we as missionaries place a lot of artificial limitations on ourselves--so-and-so will never be baptized because of this, or such-and-such area will never be successful, or we can't achieve goal x because of y--etc. It was really an eye-opener for me. And this week as I reflected back on it, what came to mind was the chapter from the book The Hiding Place, where Corrie's sister tells her to be thankful for the fleas. She balks at first, but later it turns out to be a great blessing. My thoughts have been centered on that idea--how can I be grateful for my artificial limitations, and allow them to be blessings and benefits instead? A good question to ponder for awhile.

We saw many, many miracles this week. We found wonderful new investigators, including a cute girl who described exactly to us the feelings of the Spirit as she told us her experiences with prayer. Sister Pugh and I went on exchanges yesterday (which was awesome), and we were also blessed to find a new investigator. She is so inspired, and so full of faith! It was great to work with her. I know that the Lord put us together on that day specifically on purpose. Sister Pugh is facing challenges right now similar to things that I faced at the beginning of my mission--and I was so grateful that I was able to share my experiences with her and help her to feel more hopeful. The Lord's timing is amazing!

We also went on exchanges with the Massillon sisters this past week. I worked with Sister Chapman in Massillon, and she is incredible. She has such an amazingly positive attitude about everything, in spite of all the challenges she's faced recently. And she really, really loves the people in her area, especially the members. It was inspiring to watch her work with them and see them respond to her love.

We've had a great time inviting everyone to watch General Conference--I am so excited for it!! I love, love, love Conference. :) Please invite everyone you know to watch it!! It's such an amazing opportunity to receive personal guidance and instruction from the Lord as we listen to His chosen Prophet and Apostles. There's a great video up on lds.org that's easy to share on Facebook/etc--it introduces what General Conference is, and invites everyone to watch. You can see it here, and another shorter one here. Yay for General Conference!! :)

We got to serve at the Johnson Home for part of the morning on Saturday--yay! We had two tours that I know we were meant to be a part of. I'm so grateful for Heavenly Father's timing, and to know that I've been in the right place at the right time to be an instrument in His hands. That's one of my favorite things. :)

Our time is short, so I'll end here and (hopefully) include a few pictures. I love you so much!!! Happy October!!!!!

Love,

Sister Wygant

P.S. this computer isn't letting me send pictures... :( Oh well. I'll try again next week!

Happy Fall Equinox

Hi Mama!!

It's been a great week in Kent. We saw so many miracles this week! Our investigator Nikki is progressing, and I absolutely love her. Another investigator, David, remembered learning about the Word of Wisdom from Sister Bell last year, and on Saturday he told us that he had started living it--without us even asking him to! Amazing.

Happy Fall Equinox indeed! I wore tights for the first time yesterday, and wore my hoodie running this morning. Fall is here! The leaves are beginning to turn colors, and it's already beautiful. I think it will be picture-worthy soon. :)

We also saw miracles tracting and contacting this week. We went to a farmer's market in Kent on Saturday, and I felt like we should stop and talk to a particular vendor--a girl selling home made soap. I'm so glad that we followed that impression! It turned out that the girl had met other missionaries at another market the week before, and she also had a friend in school who was a member, who told her about Kirtland. She lives near Hiram and has been to the Johnson Farm, but no one ever offered her a copy of the Book of Mormon. We offered to have missionaries bring her one, and she accepted! It was such an amazing experience. I am so grateful for the little moments of quiet assurance that Heavenly Father is with us and guiding us in His work--moments like this one, where I realize that I have been led by the Spirit. It was also a testimony builder to me that Heavenly Father truly knows us, and sends the Spirit to teach us and guide us in ways that we know and understand (See 2 Ne 31:3). At first, I wanted to talk to this girl because she was selling home made soap--and I've always liked the home made soap that Mama Rowley makes us. If it hadn't been for that, I might not have felt enough of an interest to talk to her. Every little thing prepares us for what's next! There are no coincidences. :)

This week, I'm also incredibly grateful for the power of music. Heavenly Father teaches me many, many things through musical concepts that I already know and understand as He helps me apply them to spiritual concepts and gospel knowledge. Take, for instance, Coach's constant reminder during my choir years to always "monitor and adjust" as we sing. That's the same as "practice, evaluate, and repractice" as we study and prepare to teach. Also, being in tune with the Spirit, to me, is a lot like being in tune musically in two ways. One, I have to make sure I play every note in tune on my flute--just because one note is right doesn't mean another one will be right 5 minutes down the road. Also, I have to be in tune with the conductor--to keep my focus locked on his baton so that I can play in time and be sensitive to his rubato. It's the same with the Spirit. :)

Dan is doing alright. We still haven't been able to help him move past Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon--so we backed off and are going to let him focus on studying, praying, and such for awhile. Keep praying for him though. I know he'll know it's true someday. :) We also met with Brenda this week--we are going to keep reading the Book of Mormon with her as well. She is amazing, and I can see her testimony building little by little as we meet with her. Yay. :)

Thank you for sharing your experiences, thoughts, and encouragement, and for your confidence in me. I think self-confidence is one of the hardest things for me to be consistent at. Satan works so hard to get me down! I'm grateful for spiral progression, though. Each time I come back to a challenge, I come back with a little more knowledge and experience to draw on that can help me--in this and any other situation. I'm so grateful for the gospel! In particular, I'm grateful for Elder Bednar's Mormon Message about "Patterns of Light". That helped me yesterday, when I was sitting in sacrament meeting feeling overwhelmed. I was longing to feel Heavenly Father's love and acceptance of me, and Mama, the impression that came to me was of your love and support. Thanks for the spirit hug. :) This helped me to recognize Heavenly Father's own love and support for me through you--as Elder Bednar describes in Patterns of Light (see here). I love you! Thank you for your example, and for helping me to recognize and feel the love that I needed. 

You asked for more about Elder Bowen's meeting--I'll review my notes and share more with you next week. The picture you saw was indeed of the back of my head, with Sister Bell to my left and Elder Bowen to my right. He sat with us at lunch! We are so, so lucky. :)

We're almost out of time--I love you so much! Thank you for all of the wonderful stories, experiences, greetings, news, and love. I love reading your emails every week! Please give my love to everyone, and snuggle Purrcy for me.  :) Love you!!!!!

Love,

Sister Wygant

Happy Fall!

Hi Mama!!

Happy Fall! It's starting to get dark earlier, and it's brisk in the mornings--where did the summer go? It's been an amazing week though. Elder Bowen from the Seventy came to tour our mission, and our half of the mission met with him on Tuesday. He is AMAZING. I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to learn from him! We talked a lot about knowing who we are and what we do because of it. He reminded us that we are nothing without the Lord (see Alma 26:12 and Moses 1), but inspired us to have confidence in our ever-important message of the restored gospel. How great is our calling!! I love being a missionary. :) Elder Ballard is coming to Kirtland next month for a 10-year anniversary event. That's probably what Sister Palmer was talking about. We're so excited! :)

Exciting things are happening in Kent. We started teaching 3 new investigators this past week! One is Nikki, who we found tracting. It was the last door we knocked, of course, and we almost passed it--but I felt like we should stop. I'm so grateful that we did! Nikki is so sweet, and so open and willing to learn about the gospel. I love her already. I also love the baby kitten that she just got on Saturday. When we went back for our return appointment, the little kitten slept on my lap the whole time. So cute. :) 

Our other two investigators are a Muslim couple named Hussain and Arwa. They are incredible! Sister Bell taught them last year, and we decided to go back and see if they were interested in meeting with us again. They are the kindest, most devoted people I've ever met! I've never taught anyone of the Muslim religion before, and I'm not very familiar with their beliefs, so our first lesson was so interesting for me! I'm amazed at how devout and dedicated they are to their faith. It inspires me. They don't believe that Jesus is the Christ, which is something I've never encountered before. It will be an interesting experience to teach them, I'm sure. I've never had to defend Jesus as the Savior before--but there are lots of truths that I've had to defend and testify of on my mission that I've never had to beforehand. There are so many things, simple and deep, that we believe that I took for granted before my mission. I never questioned that Joseph Smith was a prophet, or etc, or etc--but meeting people who have never heard of him before has given me the opportunity to strengthen and deepen my own testimony as I teach and testify. I have to be able to explain not only what I believe, but why I believe it. What a great blessing. :)

I'm out of time, but I love you so much! Please tell everyone hello back for me, especially "Grumpy Grandpa" and Max. :) 

Love,

Sister Wygant

A "Valley of Roses"

Dear Mum,

Hello! How was your week? Ours was BUSY. But so good. We had dinner with the Maughn family last night (from Provo/Grandview :) ), and Brother Maughn shared this touching analogy for his mission experience: Before your mission, you're on a peak, looking down on a valley of roses. But once you get there, you discover that roses have thorns--that it hurts sometimes, and the way is hard. But once you're through, and climb the peak on the other side, you'll look back and see all of the roses that were there the whole time. I am so grateful for the opportunity to be a missionary! I know that I learned and grown so much through my service as a missionary--in ways I recognize now, and hopefully many more ways that I will recognize later. I know that sometimes it's hard to recognize change or growth in yourself--have I grown in the past year? How? 

I can't believe Colby and Alicia are getting married--what a small world! That's so exciting. Please send me congratulations to them, as well as to Kelly and Zac! It sounds like they are both powerful and prepared missionaries. What wonderful talks--thank you for sharing your notes with me!

Our week was busy as usual. :) We had Zone Training Meeting on Wednesday, which was fantastic. Sister Bell and I also organized a pot luck lunch for the zone--and it actually worked out! (Phew :) ). Everyone brought an ingredient, and we made Cafe Rio-style salad. Yum. :) 

Speaking of conferences and meetings, our mission conference with Elder Bowen is tomorrow! I am SO excited. I can't wait to learn from him and from the Spirit that I know he will bring.

Also, did you get to watch the CES devotional last night? Another wonderful opportunity to hear from an Apostle of the Lord. Dan came, so we were able to watch it with him--I hope he got as much out of it as I did! I thought it was fabulous. 

Both xxx and yyy came to church yesterday--yay! yyy hasn't set a baptismal date yet, but she wants to be baptized sometime in November. She is such a joy to teach--she is amazingly prepared and accepting of the gospel principles that we teach her. I love her! 

xxx is also a great privilege to teach. I have grown so much in my gospel knowledge and teaching skills from teaching him. I'm grateful for every reminder that we need to teach simply, and teach by the Spirit. xxx is still struggling to accept Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. I think he has felt spiritual witnesses, but he is so logic-minded and focused on evidence that he has a hard time accepting the spiritual confirmations he receives as answers. He has shared experiences feeling the Spirit before, but we're still trying to help him connect feeling the Spirit with recognizing this as the truth. We're going to try just focusing on reading the Book of Mormon and praying about it and Joseph Smith for the next while. Do you have any other suggestions? How can we help him accept a spiritual witness of the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith in spite of it not making sense to him logically yet? We'd welcome any and all suggestions. :) 

I've been reflecting lately on how much I've learned and changed as a missionary. I'm so grateful for the increased knowledge and understanding I have been blessed with recently, especially about the Atonement. I am grateful for challenging, even sometimes painful experiences that have helped me to realize just how much I need the Atonement. It's easy to identify with Nephi's psalm sometimes--and to wonder if I will ever be able to rise above my past self, past mistakes, and present imperfections. But now I know that that's what the enabling power of the Atonement is all about--by ourselves, we could never "break the mold" and rise above our natural selves. But through the Atonement, we have hope--hope that He can "raise us up" and save us from our weaknesses, sins, mistakes, inadequacies, faults--all of it. (see Moroni 7:41).

 It reminds me of one of my favorite songs from the Ark--"Lift me up, take me home; Life me up and help me to stand. Lift me up, and carry me in the cup of Thy hand." The soothing balm of Gilead is what flows from the infinite sacrifice of the Savior--and that is what I want, more than anything, to share with the people of Ohio. We've been struggling to find lately, and this week we've decided to focus our prayers on asking for people's hearts to be softened, and to focus our studies on finding and teaching skills. Please pray for the people of Ohio! I know that they need the gospel of Jesus Christ just as much as I do--but it's very challenging to light fires under people who don't recognize the need for it. I'm guilty of that myself, in the past! I'm so grateful for the opportunity to serve a mission, and to see my heart be changed and my eyes opened, and be blessed with greater understanding of and passion for living the gospel. I don't understand it all, and I can explain even less--but I know that we have been called by a prophet of God to share what we know to be true. And I love doing it. :) We're out of time, but I love you, and I love everyone at home! Please pass on my love and my gratitude to everyone for their prayers and well wishes. Talk to you next week! 

Love,

Sister Wygant

Happy Labor Day

Hi Mama!

We didn't get to go email yesterday since the libraries were closed...and I have just a few minutes today. Thank you for your wonderful thoughts! We are so busy lately, and it's really easy to feel like we're drowning in life's situations. Thank you for reminding me that our Lifeguard walks on water. :) 

We've had such a great week. We had a really good lesson with David, and he came to church! He was even fasting--without us even asking him to! He is great. We also had a lovely lesson with Brenda. I love her so much. She is so sweet. She still doesn't feel comfortable coming to church, but I hope that as we continue to pray and study with her that we will be able to find and resolve her concerns. 

Kent State started classes last week, and we go once a week to sit at an information table for the LDSSA club and talk to people about mormon.org. It is so fun. :) Anna, a freshman who just moved into the YSA Branch, sat with us, and she was so good at greeting people and talking to them!! She's a natural. :) We were also on exchanges that day, so I was working with Sister Owens from the Tallmadge North area...busy busy busy!

Let's see...Mission Leadership Council was today! I got to lead a discussion on one of our mission study topics for Elder Bowen's visit next week. It was fun and intimidating at the same time. I love Mission Council, and learning so much from the wisdom and experience of President Vellinga and the other missionaries. We're busy preparing for Elder Bowen's mission tour next week--our zone and 3 other zones will get to meet with him next Tuesday. I'm so excited! His conference talks and the things he's asked us to study have helped me learn SO much. I'm so excited to learn even more from him!

I'm so glad the recording of our musical number worked for you. Please feel free to share it if possible! Our weekend at Kirtland was great. We had more visitors than I expected--the numbers are starting to die down now that the summer rush is over. We had a wonderful training meeting on Friday, where we talked about the Atonement, and shared hymns/verses of hymns that have helped us feel the Savior's love and the power of the Atonement. I love music. It was such a powerful witness and help to me. :)

Speaking of the summer rush being over, the leaves in Ohio started changing color almost a month ago--and they're already falling, in some places! What? It can't be fall yet! That's crazy. I can't believe the summer went so fast....but September means that General Conference is only a month away! That's a very exciting thought. I LOVE Conference. :)

I'm so glad that you got to meet Sister Palmer! She is amazing, and I love her so much. She emailed me and said that she loved meeting you. :) 

This has definitely been a "roller coaster" week...full of ups and downs. But all in all, life is good. I'm grateful that Heavenly Father loves me enough to give me hard things to work through, and to also be with me every step of the way. We've been talking with our investigator Dan about grace lately...and I can testify of the reality of both enabling grace and saving grace. There is so much that I can't do, and sometimes, it threatens to overwhelm me...but when I muster the courage to put one step forward, I somehow find the power to do so, every time. I know that comes from the Savior. I love Him, and I love you!!! Thanks to all of you for your continued love, prayers, and support. The Church is true!

Love,

Sister Wygant

Sisters Palmer, Wygant and Ellsworth

One year mark--how time flies!

Hi Mama,

Hello from sunny Kent! The summer weather has finally arrived, now that school is starting again. Hmm. :) August went by so quickly--happy almost September! I can't believe the month went by so fast. 

It has been a great, busy week! Wednesday was transfers. Three of our wonderful Kirtland sisters went home: Sister Joseph, Sister Christensen, and Sister Palmer. Two of my companions, and one from the Rootstown ward! It was sad to see them go, because I love them all so much. I'm grateful for the chance to serve with each of them and learn from their wonderful examples. And then, we keep moving forward! With 7 new sites sisters and a fresh start in the Rootstown West area for Sister Bell and I. We are so happy to still be together, and excited for lots of miracles to happen this transfer! 

Our schedule puts us at Kirtland on Fridays and Saturdays now, and we're excited to be there. I love Kirtland! It really is so beautiful. We are so lucky. :) We won't be serving at the Johnson Farm anymore though--now that the summer rush has died down, there aren't enough people coming through for them to need our extra help. We're hoping to go with Anna sometime, though. :)

We've been working really hard to find people, and also to get people to church. Dan and Cyndi came to the singles branch yesterday--yay!  ... a less active member, also came--the first time she's come since I've been here! That was really exciting. We had a great lesson with ... during the week, where I could really see the Spirit teaching him, and he was excited to come to church--but then he got in an accident on the way and missed church. :( Man! Hopefully his car will get fixed and he will be able to come next week.

We had great lessons with Cyndi and Dan after church. Dan loves coming to church, but still has a lot of doubts about the Book of Mormon. He really wants to know the truth though! We hope that something will change soon so that he can come to church on Sundays instead of having to work. Thank you for praying for him and all of our investigators. 

Cyndi is so prepared, and is ready to be baptized--we just have to wait until November when her work schedule won't be so crazy. We're so excited for that, and I love seeing her faith and testimony grow each time we meet.

Speaking of testimonies, we had a great meal and lesson with Sister Alexander and her family last night in honor of her birthday. Her great-niece, Breanna, was just baptized and goes to the singles branch with us. She is so great! We shared a message about the glad tidings of the gospel of Jesus Christ (see D&C 76:40-41--given at the Johnson Farm! :) ), and Breanna told us that she is so much happier since being baptized and joining the church. What a blessing, both to experience and notice the difference that the gospel makes in our lives! Hearing stories like that is one of my favorite things as a missionary. :)

Thanks to everyone for such kind wishes and words of encouragement. It's hard to believe my year mark is this week! Where did the time go? This truly has been the best, hardest, sweetest year of my life. I am so grateful for the opportunity to serve a mission. Before my mission, I didn't understand what living the gospel meant. I didn't know what I didn't know! But over the past year of serving as a missionary, my eyes have been opened to a whole new perspective, and a higher plane of thinking and living. For this, I will be eternally grateful. And there's still so much that I want to learn and do here! Six months is a long time--I'm grateful that I still have so much time to become a better instrument in the Lord's hands and invite everyone in Ohio to come unto Christ. :)

Speaking of instruments! Elder Ingersoll, Elder Romirell and I had the wonderful privilege of playing a musical number at transfer meeting. We played the arrangement of "Savior, Redeemer of My Soul" sung by Dallyn on the 17 Miracles Soundtrack as a duet for flute, violin, and piano. This is one of my very favorite songs, and I'm so grateful that we had the opportunity to play it! It was so fun, and I think it turned out really well. I'll attach two recordings--one of our final run-through, and one of the actual musical number during transfer meeting. I hope the recordings turned out okay, and that you like it!

One of our goals lately has been to become more anxiously engaged. I love working hard, and I know there's always more that we can do--we just have to learn to work hard and smart at the same time. What does it mean to you to be anxiously engaged? I'd love to hear any thoughts, experiences, or advice on how to work harder and smarter. :)

Well, we're almost out of time...but I love you all so much. Thank you for your prayers, support, encouragement, and examples to me. And thanks especially for the jam! I've had some every day since it arrived. :) Have a wonderful week!

Love,

Sister Wygant