Kazan Week 6 - "Investigators!"

September 21, 2015

All is well :) 

Well first I'll answer the question, how is my health? Sooo a miracle happened. I am completely healed. Zero trace of ulcer. Monday night I was feeling like a champion and asked if we could go out and work. We got the go :) And I've had no pain since Monday. Normally is takes about 2 weeks for the pain to go away, and about 4-6 weeks for it to heal completely. I feel like I never even had an ulcer now. It's gone :) So hallelujah and thanks for all your prayers! 

However... it was super hard getting back into the work this week. It's like running a marathon and then stopping for a while and then starting again. But Heavenly Father helped cheer me on and I'm running at full speed again :) 

About a month ago my companion and I were going through the area book and making some calls. Poor Sister Neilsen is terrified of using the phone (her mean trainer has her on the phone a lot) but she called a girl named S and thanks to Sister Neilsen's courageous phone call we got a lesson with her! She is 27 and is the neice of a new convert (who is now less active sadly) but her teaching record said that she's not really too interested in talking about God. On the lesson we focused on the gospel blesses families, she seemed a little stiff during the lesson, but she felt the spirit and promised to come to church. Ever since that lesson S has been coming to church every Sunday for 3 weeks! 

This week we had a meeting set up at 2:00 to take a walk with her around the Kremlin. Sister Neilsen and I prayed and did role plays to know how to bring up religion with her more naturally during this walk. Well... as we were walking amongst many churches I non-chalantly asked her, "did you go to church when you were little?" And the rest is history. The Spirit took over and she opened right up to us. She told us how her father is an alcoholic and how she can't stand him when he's drunk and that although she didn't grow up in a believing family, she wants her future family to be religious. She said that she knows that religion makes families happy because it teaches us how to properly love one another. She doesn't drink coffee or smoke or even drink tea. She is already living the word of wisdom because she has a testimony of it! Also she mentioned how amazing her life has been since she's been coming to church. She's making more money, and her clients are much nicer. While she was talking I was just in shock. I was totally not expecting this. Then she told us that she needs our help, because she wants to be baptized, but she needs to know the doctrine of our church better, and asked if she could meet with us twice a week (haaaaallelujah by my guest!) She said that previously she hasn't been interested to meet with the missionaries, but she feels ready now. I was sooo ecstatic. Probably way more than she was. Because she's young and beautiful and so normal and cool! And God loves her :) 

 After our walk she offered to drive us home. She also thinks that she got a good parking spot thanks to us ;) She has such a nice car.... and I was in paradise driving home. She may or may not have put in a John Mayer CD while we drove. The weather was beautiful and so we rolled down the windows and I almost cried it felt so good. I miss taking drives so badly. But man, what a good day, we love her so much! S is awesome :)

That night was a member's birthday/talent show and soooo many of his friends came and so many member's friends came. We were just rolling in potential investigators. It was so fun getting to know all these people and helping them to see that we are completely normal :) It's really nice leaving good impressions with people.

For the talent show I played a piano piece and it was just a nightmare hahahahaha AHHH. I was so nervous and I was sooo not expecting that many people?! I've played it before at baptisms and it wasn't a problem, but this time was awful. Also I forgot to pray before I played.... so I think that's why it went so bad. Everyone was really nice though and thanked me for the attempt :) There was soooo much food there.... awful. Pretty sure I gained 20 pounds in one night. But heeey there'll be more of me to love when I'm home :):):) I promised myself that I would be one of those sisters that wouldn't gain weight on their missions... ha.. ha.. haaaa... yeah right. It's all good. I've got a few months to trim down. 

We have other investigators that we've continued to meet with, Li, Z, and a Russian grandmother named R. The members in our branch are amazing. I love them so much. There's an elderly woman named G who is always willing to help on lessons and is so motherly. There are Y and Lo, who are my FAVORITE, man I wish I could just hang out with them sometimes. Y is always willing to help us on lessons and L has this completely dry sense of humor and a deep voice that makes everything she says so much funnier. 

All is well in Kazan :) Heavenly Father was really generous to us this week. Today at 3:00 we are heading down to Toliatti for a zone training! Yaaaay! We get to stay with Sister Twede and her companion. We are literally out of money because we've been spending it all on medicine and transportation... we have 10,000 rubles worth of refunds to send up to the office, yikes. 

This week in my letter to president I expressed a lack of hope that I've been having. I feel like I have a lot of doubt and fear for the future. This is what he wrote me in reply, "Thank you Sister Wilson. You said something really important. You said : "I feel that I have hope for the future, but not much faith." Things like the future (what will happen) are what we should have hope for. What we should have faith in is NOT the future, but in Jesus Christ. In other words, have hope that everything will work out well in the future, and have faith in Christ that HE will make it so. Leave the logistics and the specifics and the "hows" in His hands. Trust me that all will work out well! The Lord takes care of His returned missionaries, and He will take care of you! just worry about the work for now, and look forward to Him helping you down the road!" It's really what I needed to hear. My faith needs to be in Christ that he is making a beautiful future for Sister Wilson and that I need not be afraid :) He's in control. 

Sorry this was eons long. Loooove,

сестра вилсон. 

Kazan - Week 3 - "In Every Thought"

August 23, 2015

All is well,

Sorry this is going to be a shorter one this week!

WOW. What an interesting week. I am continuing to love Kazan :) We reset the boundaries of our area with the elders and now we both share the center of the city with President Schwab's permission. Which is going to be sweeeet. We get to see all the beautiful architecture around here. I really feel like I'm living in a dream city whenever I'm in center.
Today we are visiting the Kremlin and then we'll take a stroll down a walking street and do some souvineer shopping. 

Sooo our investigators in this area? We have about 2.... L, who has been an investigator for about four years. We are really going to pray to know what to do about that woman. She loves the Book of Mormon, and loves church, and wants to be baptized. But for some reason everytime before baptism something gets in her way. We are hoping to get some sort of revelation to know what to keep Satan away from her! 

Another investigator that we have right now is Z. Remember last week how the elders gave us the number of a woman who was interested in meeting with us? We all thought her name was L... turns out that her name is , but she goes by Z. When we met with her in the church last week for the first time I didn't recognize her face as someone that we met. But she told us that she remembers that two blond girls, and one with reeeally long blond hair who were very social gave her an invitation to church. That was definitely us haha :) And then I saw Z's loooong long hair. Dark and thick and I totally remembered that all we did was give her and invitation to church and I said to her, "By the way you have gooorgeous hair!" I can't forget hair that long. It's past her booty that's for sure. She has a daugther, D, who is 1 1/2 and adorrrrable. We're so excited to be teaching them :) 

Also we met a boy named R on the bus the other day. He's 17 year old. And what do you know, it was my companion to start the conversation! Well, we took him to the church and had the elders show him around. Then on Sunday he came to church with us.... and after church he confessed his love for me and after he left continued to send me texts full of poetry. Yikes.

My companion is doing sooo so well! She is still hesitant, but is making calls, and even contacting on the bus! We are friends, and we get the best of each other :) 

I have noticed the times that I am not exercising faith in Christ is when I am not looking unto him "in every thought" doubting not and fearing not. When I don't use faith in missionary work I honestly just feel like a foreigner wondering around in someone else's country. I really want to focus this week more on Casting out fears and other forms of unbelief, I also want to look unto Christ. Even if the outward results don't come, the inward results always will if I have faith in Christ. 

Doctrine & Covenants 6:36 

Look unto me in every thought; 

doubt not, fear not"

Loooove, Sister Wilson 

Bezi - Week 4 - "Pull up your socks"

June 9, 2015

All is well :) of course.

Once again I don't even know where to start... first of all some people asked if we're allowed to wewar sunglasses or not because I was wearing some in my last email. Well, I read the white handbook and I don't see anywhere that it says we can't wear sunglasses. My guess is that Heavenly Father would want me to protect my eyes even on my mission :) But just in case I called Sister Schwab and asked if it was allowed and she told me I could, so there we have it :)

This week we did a lot of contacting again. We've been getting up early in the mornings and just hitting the streets for 2 hours. Samara is such a good place and the people on the streets are much sweeter but I do admit that I miss Saratov a little bit at times! I was there for a whole year and my heart is still wanting to go back somedays. Those members are my best friends. But I am working really hard on building relationships with people here as well. It's so awesome praying for people and trying to love people and really seeing a noticeable difference in a person when you are sincerely striving to build friendships instead of members thinking that we are just people who need their help for a month or two and then the relationship is cut off as soon as we leave. I really want to somehow have an impact on these people and their lives while I am still here. 

L, the girl that I met the first week that I was in this area, has fallen off the face of the earth (she even had a baptism date and had heard the first three lessons!) And since then we have met a lot of wonderful people and so so many people who seem like they are so ready for the gospel... but they end up being a one time thing or they end up being totally not interested. Yesterday I was especially upset by this when we called a girl that we'd met yesterday who had told us that she has wanted a Book of Mormon for so long and was so excited when we gave her one, and then today we called her and she had blocked our number. Then we called another man we'd met on the street who was just begging us to help him to stop smoking and he had given us the wrong number. That pretty much brought me to my ends wits.... 

I have never prayed more fervently in my life for Heavenly Father to please please pleeease bless us with miracles and with people to share this amazing message with. As a mission we have a goal to baptism one person every cycle... yesterday I just felt my hope starting to run dry when I realized that we only have 2 weeks left in the cycle. I went into the bathroom and got on my knees and just prayed and told Heavenly Father exactly what I was feeling and honestly I was just having a "Oh God where art thou?" moment. 

Actually after my prayer I just picked up the phone and called the APs. I explained that usually I call President about most of my problems but I really wanted to talk to some of my comrades who know what its like to hit the streets hour after hour after hour. I didn't expect to get emotional at all but I totally started crying. It just breaks your heart to invest your entire soul into helping these people and praying your heart out for these things and seeing nothing. I really was having a heart break moment. I was so grateful for them though, they really gave me all the words that I needed to hear and honestly all that I needed to hear was a little, "wipe away your tears, pull up your socks, and keep going." They were actually a lot nicer than that, but pretty much they said to keep pushing forward and rely on God and don't lose hope. 

I really don't understand God's plans. I have no idea whether or not we will get a baptism this cycle. But God knows all things and I will keep praying for a baptism and for these people until the end of this cycle :) 

Love, Sister Wilson 

Faith also includes trust in God’s timing, for He has said,

 “All things must come to pass in their time.” (D&C 64:32.)

We are to work steadily, but realistically, 

and only expect to reap "in due season." (Gal. 6:9)

A reassuring promise is given us in this journey:

 “And any man that shall go and preach this gospel of the kingdom, 

and fail not to continue faithful in all things, shall not be weary in mind, neither darkened.” (D&C 84:80.)

Neil A. Maxwell - “LEST YE BE WEARIED AND FAINT IN YOUR MINDS”

Bezi - Week 3 - "Not getting cooler anytime soon"

June 1, 2015

All is well :) 

This week we did a lot of contacting. We noticed that a lot of our investigators really aren't progressing, when people won't keep commitments time after time after time... maybe they need a little bit of time. We did splits with the sisters from Penza and the whole time it was just contacting. I have really come to love the way that each sister works individually out here, I love how much I can learn from each missionary. I have actually starting tracking qualities that I love in others and writing them down, one of the qualities that I have really fallen in love with out here is humility. Which maybe I love that quality because it is something that I am lacking a little bit :) 

We are praying for miracles every day and praying more fervently. I think we really could still pray more earnestly. I am just grateful for Heavenly Father softening people's hearts every day. If I can get a few good conversations in every day I feel really good. But something that my companion pointed out to me this week is that literally no effort is wasted. Literally. For example if we just talk to a woman on the bus with 2 young daughters and make really friendly conversation and help her to understand that we are normal people... well maybe 10 years down the road one of the daughters will be 16 and find the missionaries and desire to be baptized, and that mother will allow it because she knows that we are normal people because missionaries made friendly conversation with her 10 years ago. It really is nice to know that literally all acts now can bring miracles later down the road. 

The branch here has about 30 people who come reguarly. The branch president has been in office for about 20 years now, what a valiant man. There's quite a bit of drama in our branch and just some contention and I can't imagine how exhausting his job is. There are lots of grandmas and a lot of youth that are new converts, which a lot of those new converts went less active not long after baptism so we're working on leading them back to the fold by focusing on faith in Christ. 

I can honestly say that before my mission I had no idea what it meant to exercise faith in Christ. I feel like maybe now after repetition and studying and pondering I know what faith is, but actually exercising that faith is a constant battle. The other day I was thinking to myself about why my family has stayed in the church all these years. To me it just seemed like a habit coming to church and reading scriptures and praying because that's just how I was raised... but honestly what has kept me coming back and thirsting for more is the Spirit. I know that this church is true because of what I feel. Whenever I feel tempted to doubt, I try to recall what the Spirit has given me and recalling those feels gives me hope that I will feel them again :) 

Love,

Sister Wilson 

Alma 32:28 : “If ye give place, that a seed may be planted in your heart, behold, … ye will begin to say within yourselves—It must needs be that this is a good seed … for it beginneth to enlarge my soul; yea, it beginneth to enlighten my understanding, yea, it beginneth to be delicious to me.”

For more beautiful quotes on Faith click here

Saratov Week 11 - "Staying in Solcheney"

March 30, 2015

All is well :) 

Sister Coleman and Sister Wilson

Sister Coleman is flying home on an airplane as I am writing this letter, that is just crazy! I can't imagine what that plane ride feels like. I can't imagine what it feels like to step foot in your home again.

During zone training this week President Schwab said that we would be shocked if we could only see the amount of support fighting with us from the other side of the veil. My kids are helping me, my ancestors are helping me. I have so much love and support. I have good parents, wonderful siblings, cousins... and support from other missionaries who are here with us. I really mean it when I say that a mission only gives back. I cannot even count the endless amount of friendships that I have made, with members, with missionaries, and even with random people on the streets. The memories alone make a mission worth it (although that's not a good reason to go on a mission) I mean really though... who thought I'd be living in Russia for 18 months? If you told me that when I was 15 years old I would have laughed. What we put into a mission is what we will get back, that's really what it is. 

We are really praying for miracles every single day. One of the biggest miracles was talking about tithing with one of our investigators who is progressing toward baptism. This investigator was found over a year ago and is so so hard to get a hold of but she just soaks up spiritual knowledge like the sun. We have finally discovered that the best way to go about doing anything with her is always setting up return appointments. She knows what day we are coming and what time and she can prepare herself spiritually for those lessons. She even told us that when she knows we are coming over she is just antsy all day with anticipation to see us. This week we focused on the commandments with her and were very pleasantly surprised with her reaction to tithing. I feel bad for how little faith we had going over there! Tithing is usually something scary for people, and we know that N really struggles with work and with trying to take care of her family. However she was so open to it and accepted it without any doubts. She even said that she thinks it will probably help her with her financial problems. That's faith :) 

Last night we had a lesson that was based on faith. However as I was teaching the lesson I realized that I was simply speaking empty words that were true... but that had little meaning or feeling to me while I was saying it. I realized last night that I actually understand faith very poorly. I have also realized that one of the reasons why I am having a difficult time understanding this principle is because I haven't been exercising it. Exercising faith is looking unto Christ in every thought, doubting not, and fearing not. I reread the talk on faith by elder Bednar "according to thy faith" which president Bennett gave to us last summer as well as studying faith in true to the faith. We really need to study faith more. I feel like at the beginning of my mission I really understood what exercising faith meant because I was such a weak little missionary and I really relied on the Savior. However, now that I can speak the language, now that I am not afraid to talk to anyone, now that I know the gospel principles (not that I necessarily understand them all)... I have started to rely on my own power. How foolish! I need to set more goals and push myself harder. As soon as we are all snug in our comfort zone we are really in trouble. Sometimes when we are uncomfortable and really straining ourselves is when we see real miracles because we begin to rely on the redeeming power of the Savior. I really want to set more goals this week and use my faith and see the fruit of my works with God's help. 

My new companion is Sister Wagstaff, I've only been with her for a day, but from what I can see she is just a little ball of sunshine! :) 

Have a wonderful week!

Sister Brooklyn Wilson 

Saratov Week 5 - "Shoulder to Shoulder with the Savior"

February 9, 2015

All is well,

I am realizing how much more I need to actively exercise faith in Christ. (you know what? You could study faith in Christ every day for yearsss and not even get it perfect, at least that's what I think) I can't believe how simple our baptismal covenants are, how easy they are to remember, yet how difficult it seems to be to actually FULFILL our covenants. However, I have noticed that remembering Christ ALWAYS makes things lighter. This morning I reread in Moroni 7 that before you can ever have faith or hope, you must be humble. I need to ask that Heavenly Father humbles me, because you can't plant a seed of faith in cement. Heavenly Father would rather use clay than old crusty playdough, and

that's what I want from my mission. I really want to be that soft clay, I want to be an instrument. 

Also this is my dear companion's last week in Russia. Sister Busman is doing wonderful. Thanks to her, I love slow cooked scrambled eggs (weeeird, right mom?) also I love Swedish chocolate (which is sweet sweet milk chocolate with little shards of salty black chocolate in it, and oh goodness the first 3 times I tried it I hated it, but now I have really fallen in love with the combination).

She is starting to merge into thoughts of home a little, which she feels bad for (oh sweet sister Busman) but OF COURSE that is normal right now. How can she not? I am so grateful for the things that she has taught me about obedience and about loyalty to God and to always do the right thing when no one is watching. Sister Busman is a missionary who has literally given HERSELF to the work, not just her time. She is the most consecrated and good intentioned missionary. She will be someone that doesn't look back on her mission with regrets in mind, because she just kept pushing. I can't even picture her as a normal person at home now. She has been shaped into a missionary. She came and did exactly what God needed her to do in Russia. (side note... I have lost my third pair of mittens. It's so easy to lose them on the bus) 

We have been struggling with keeping investigators lately... we have been finding and teaching AMAZING (seriously amazing) people, but they end up falling off the face of the earth. Literally. Their schedules get stuffed with work or their phone number changes. Even when we warn people during lessons when they feel the spirit to "REMEMBER HOW YOU FEEL RIGHT NOW" warning people that Satan will tell them to stop meeting with us or that this isn't important. They still manage to fall off the face of the earth. It's so frustrating, we're fighting against a power that is so scary and real.... so we've been working on finding a little bit.  

I am going to have to say that Russian people are about fifty times more pleasant in the summer than in the winter. I am beyond grateful that I am serving two summers rather than two winters :) This week has been a little more difficult than most... I feel that I am just now experiencing what people mean when they say that Russians are tough cookies. I will explain to you how a normal day of contacting in Russian winters goes. "Hi, my friend and I moved here to share a message that is very dear and precious to us, it has changed our lives and we want to share it with others." and here are just a few of the usual replies, "did you know that you are from a sect?" or "не надо" (no need) "I'm in a hurry." or sometimes if you are lucky you get the "GET AWAY FROM ME." When we tell people why we are here they often act like we just pooped on their car or something. 

Well. One day.... rejection after rejection after rejection (and a couple snide and sassy comments later) I had had enough. It's so hard to feel as though we are not wasting time and literally paying for it all at the same time. I just started to cry. It hurts so badly having something that you know is so pure, something that you know will bring them happiness, and having them slam it down without even knowing what it is. It's hard giving your all and putting your whole heart into a conversation just pleading with these people and testifying with all that you have about it, and being rejected. Oh it hurts, it really does. Then my companion said to me, that yes, it does hurt, but that it's the sacrifice that we are willing to make, so that they too can at least have the opportunity to accept it, or to reject it. That reminded me of the atoning sacrifice of Christ. That he paid the price, the price is paid, the gift is ours if we will only accept it. Being a missionary gives me so much gratitude for the atonement. Knowing that when we are rejected, we are standing shoulder to shoulder with the greatest missionary who ever lived. After that thought I brushed off my shoulders, gave my companion a hug, and continued down the slushy, snowy path to make sure that everyone could receive the opportunity to accept the sacrifice that Christ has made for them.

Missionary work is tough! It certainly makes you rely on the Savior. 

I really wouldn't rather be any where else. 

This is the most useful experience I've ever had in my life, it's so so bittersweet, 

but it's so worth it. 

Love, 

Sister Brooklyn Wilson 

Sister Wilson's last couple of paragraph's made me think of a recent General Conference talk by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland. Below are some of his thoughts and also a link to the entire talk entitled "The cost and Blessings of Discipleship"

With admiration and encouragement for everyone who will need to remain steadfast in these latter days, I say to all and especially the youth of the Church that if you haven’t already, you will one day find yourself called upon to defend your faith or perhaps even endure some personal abuse simply because you are a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Such moments will require both courage and courtesy on your part.

For example, a sister missionary recently wrote to me: “My companion and I saw a man sitting on a bench in the town square eating his lunch. As we drew near, he looked up and saw our missionary name tags. With a terrible look in his eye, he jumped up and raised his hand to hit me. I ducked just in time, only to have him spit his food all over me and start swearing the most horrible things at us. We walked away saying nothing. I tried to wipe the food off of my face, only to feel a clump of mashed potato hit me in the back of the head. Sometimes it is hard being a missionary because right then I wanted to go back, grab that little man, and say, ‘EXCUSE ME!’ But I didn’t.”

To this devoted missionary I say, dear child, you have in your own humble way stepped into a circle of very distinguished women and men who have, as the Book of Mormon prophet Jacob said, “view[ed Christ’s] death, and suffer[ed] his cross and [borne] the shame of the world.”1

 read or listen to Elder Holland HERE