Week 22 - Walking miracle and I love being Christian!

This was an amazing week literally everything that happened this week was a miracle. :) It was honestly amazing. 

Sick

Tuesday night I started to feel really sick and by the time we got home to the apartment that night I was pretty miserable. I was really worried because we had a busy week planned and had appointments that we were so excited about. :) I wanted to work so bad and didn't want to stay home at all, so I prayed so hard that night that I would be able to work as hard and as much and Heavenly Father needed me too. I woke up Wednesday morning and felt like I had gotten hit by a train. :) haha so we sent a text to our District leader and asked the elders if they would ever be willing to give me a blessing before district meeting started, they said of course. :) The blessing that Elder Errdman gave me was the most tender thing in the whole world. It was one of the shortest blessings I have ever gotten and it was only a few lines, but it was so powerful. All he said was that my heavenly father loved me and that my sickness "wouldn't interfere with the work." I was so grateful for that blessing and I have clung to that promise all week. I was promised by God that I would be able to work, so we trusted in him and we went to work.  :) As we drove to our first appointment after district meeting I wasn't feeling any better and was worried about my ability to be a missionary, but when we went into our appointment i was 100% able to do all the things that I needed to do. It was amazing. :) I could think clearly, I wasn't distracted by me not feeling well, and it was a complete miracle. After, when we got into the car when we were leaving I felt completely sick again. But we went to the next appointment and the exact same thing happened. :) It was amazing. That happened throughout the entire week. time and time again. I am still not feeling 100% yet but throughout this whole week, EVERY TIME we showed our faith and kept going to appointments I was able to do everything that we needed to get done. I am so grateful for the tender and humble blessing that I was able to receive because it was an absolute answer to prayer. We were only able to do what we did this week because of the power of the priesthood is so real. I felt so blessed to get to be a literal walking miracle this week. :) It was incredible. 

Addy and Molly Baptism

 A few weeks ago we got a call from one of our members who was kind of in a panic. :) She told us how for some reason her daughter was bound and determined to not get baptized until she turned 9 years old, so we went over there and taught a family home evening lesson about how awesome baptism was and how excited we were for her to be baptized. :) So. Her and her cousin were baptized yesterday after church. :) It was such a cool baptism and we were able to have two of our investigators there to see it. It was awesome! So fun.

So we had kind of an interesting experience this week that I have thought about like crazy. :) One of the girls that we are teaching came to mutual on Wednesday night and was just so cute and excited about it. :) I was wearing a cardigan that she really liked so I let her wear it throughout the night. She was totally bummed to give it back to me, so I told her that when she gets baptized I will let her keep my cardigan. :) She looked at me and said "Sister Watts. I totally want to get baptized, but there is one problem. I cant because I'm a christian." We were all totally shocked and right away testified to her that we absolutely believe in Christ and that we love him with everything that we are. We were then able to resolve some of her other concerns and answer some more of her questions. But that has been something that has been on my mind so much lately. About 3 or 4 times this week people have asked us weather or not we believed in Jesus Christ. Luckily those questions have lead to some really tender opportunities for us to testify of our savior and talk about how much we love him. I love getting to wear a name tag every day that has the name JESUS CHRIST right next to mine, and I love getting to read the Book of Mormon which is another testament of JESUS CHRIST, I love being a member of the church of JESUS CHRIST. I love being Christian. :) I love him so much and I feel so blessed to serve as a missionary for and with him. We are constantly seeing miracles because this is his work. I love it. :)

Elders Spoof Team Smile

The District

We taught a lesson this week that was probably the most intense moment that I have had on my mission so far. We have been meeting with this less active for a while now and we have started to have a really tender and special relationship with her. She is having a really hard time right now and is just struggling with a lot of things. She sat down and one of the first things out of her mouth was "I don't think I want to meet with you sisters anymore." we were shocked and asked her why. She went on to bash and mock so many of our most cherished beliefs and shared with us some really hard feelings that she has about certain things. She told us that she didn't want to have a temple recommend ever again and that she didn't want to come back to church. We were absolutely devastated. It was the most heartbreaking moment for Sister Raccuia and I to listen to her wanting to throw away the blessings that she has loved for so long. The feeling in that room was so heavy. We begged her to not give up on the truths that are here. She kept telling us that we "don't understand" because we are to young. SO we started to testify to her of something that I am beginning to understand more every day. We testified to her of the atonement of Jesus Christ. I told her with as much love as I could muster that Jesus Christ absolutely understood her. That he loves her and cares for her so much. We testified that he was aware of the pain and confusion that she was feeling and he knew exactly how to help her. Instantly the feeling in the room changed, the spirit came flooding in and we could start to see some hope in her eyes. It was incredible. The difference was night and day. The atonement heals all pain and we watched that happen. I don't think I have ever been more excited to see someone at church than I was to see her at church on Sunday. :) The atonement is real. And the blessings from our Saviors sacrifice are absolutely incredible. :) 

Thank you so much for everything that you are doing in your own lives to be followers of Jesus Christ. :) I love you guys so much and I am so grateful for your examples and for everything that you are doing for me and for the work.

I LOVE YOU

Love, Sister Watts 

Week 21 - Prepared to learn

Hello to the best and greatest family and friends in the whole world. :) 

Zone training

We had an incredible Zone training this week, that was just amazing. :) it was so cool. I love training meetings because I always feel so excited and energized to go do missionary work after we are done. :) the spirit is always so strong and just so inspiring. Someone told me when I first got here that "You work your hardest and do the best you can until you go to a training meeting where you get called to repentance. Then you go back and work even harder. I Absolutely felt that way after this training meeting. :) we learned so many incredible things that we were so excited to apply to our area and to us as missionaries. It was just awesome. :) This zone training was really cool because president Woodbury gave us a copy of a song that he wrote and asked sister Raccuia and I to put it together so that the whole zone could do a special musical number. It was so awesome. :) We practiced a lot and it ended up sounding really amazing. Sister Raccuia played the piano and I directed the choir. I was really nervous about it because I have never done anything like that before, our zone is very talented so I felt super inadequate but it went really well. :) I learned so much and people were very kind to us about it. :) 

We did a lot of yard work for a recent convert in our ward named Mary this week. It was a lot of fun. We had the elders come and help us because it was a really big job and we ended up spending a lot of time there. We put in almost a full day there last week and then almost a full day there this week and I think we pretty much have it all under control. :) But while we were out there working both times Mary's neighbors R**** and S**** came over and started helping us. We absolutely appreciated the help and we loved getting to work with them, they were awesome. Well this time when S**** came over to help us we were just talking to him and getting to know him a little bit better so we asked him if he was religious at all and he said "you know. I was raised really religious, but I've never really been interested in a certain denomination until I met you guys. I would love to check out your church." And then he started asking us all sorts of questions and was just really interested and excited about what we had to say he told us that he totally wasted to come to church with us and was just really grateful that he met us. :) He is so amazing and and is just so eager and excited about learning more about the gospel. He is going out of town for a few weeks, so we will start teaching him more when he comes home. But we are so excited about it.

:)

We had a ball at the Farmers Market again this week. :) B**** was there again to play with us and he was so excited about it. B**** is about 16 years old and He gives up his Saturdays to come and play out of the Primary Song Book with a bunch of missionaries. :) it's so awesome. We love having him play with us! After we were done playing he said "hey! I want you to meet my friend S****," So we walked across the market where the cutest old man ever was sitting down and playing the accordion. :) He was awesome. He was born in Poland and was raised in Germany and has the coolest accent in the world. We talked him for a little bit and he ended up asking us to play a song for him, so we sang I am a Child of God for him and it was just so powerful. :) One of the elders that was with us was holding a Book of Mormon in his hand and S**** looked at it and said "Can in have that book?" We gave it to him and he started talking about he has friends who are members And how he went out to visit them and just fell on love with the Salt Lake temple he asked us if we could come over and start talking about the Book of Mormon with him, he said he totally wanted to come to church with us, and he was so happy to meet us. :) It was so cool, we honestly didn't even need to say two words. He was just so anxious and excited to learn more about the gospel. It was so awesome. :) 

5 months out this week

You don't normally have people who pretty much run up to you and want you to teach them, so it was so neat to basically have that happen twice this week. It is the coolest thing to see how prepared some people are to hear the gospel and how excited they are about it. :)

I wish I had more time to tell you more about everything that happened this week, because it was amazing. :) But we have to run to a zone activity tonight. I love you so much and I man so excited to hear from you guys. Thank you for all the love and support. We appreciate it so much. :) Your prayers are absolutely helping us see miracles all the time.

I LOVE YOU.

love sister watts.  :)

"I can do hard things" - hairball in tub drain

Store in LaPorte

Week 20 - The Lords work

We had a super fun week this week. :) We worked way hard and tried our hardest to be in tune with the spirit and we were able to see absolute miracles come from it. :) It was so fun. 

We went and saw M***** this week and it was amazing. :) She has been super busy lately with things going on with her family so we haven't been able to see her except when she comes to church. So we decided to just go and stop by to see how she was doing and just to check in on her. She let us in and we had a really awesome conversation with her. :) She is amazing. We talked about how Christ is always with us and because of His atonement we are never alone. We asked her to say the closing prayer and it was probably the most tender, genuine, and powerful prayers I have heard on my mission. It just instantly brought me to tears. She thanked Heavenly Father for almost everything that she could think of and then she said "And Heavenly Father, thank you for sending the sister missionaries over on the exact day and time that I needed them" and then she ended her prayer. It was so tender. :) I was so grateful for her simple perspective and love for Gods timing. It was kind of a last minute thing that we decided to go over there and we had no idea that she was feeling alone that day. But Heavenly Father did and we were able to go over at the exact moment that she needed us to come. 

We had the coolest lesson with the M***** this week. :) I have honestly been kind of bummed about them lately because we keep having these way awesome lessons with them and then they say they will do something and then they don't, and then the next week the same exact thing happens. Their home teacher had invited them to read 3rd Nephi chapter 11 and then when we went over this week we were going to follow up on that invitation and talk to them about what they learned. I was secretly praying that they would keep this commitment and read the chapter. :) So we got there and asked if they had read AND THEY HAD. :) We were so happy! They had a lot of questions about what they read and what happened in the chapter, so we were able to answer their questions and help them understand how incredible that chapter is. They were so excited about what they had read and seemed so involved and into the discussion we were having, it was so neat. :) We started talking about how important it is to read the Book of Mormon. Sister Maglio said "You know, I love to read. I bet if I wanted to I could finish it in one day." haha so of course the competitiveness in us said "Wanna bet?" :) Basically we all picked what we wanted if we won the Book of Mormon reading competition and then left and just read as much as we could. :) Sister Raccuia and I listened to it every time we were in the car, during our studies, and during our lunch and dinner breaks. Every free second we had we threw ourselves into the Book of Mormon. :) It was so much fun! We never really heard how far she got, but we know that she did read, which is awesome. But because she lots the bet she now has to come to church. :) So hopefully that will happen soon! It was just so fun to see her so excited about the gospel, during our lesson with them and throughout the week while she read on her own. We were so happy! 

We had a really cool expirience where we were in the right place and the right time and we were able to see miracles come from it. :) The Zone leaders met a man named W**** while he was visiting his granddaughter, who is a member in another ward. They called us after and told us that we had to go over and meet with him. So we went down with every intention of meeting with W*****. But we met his wife, E****. :) She couldn't be more adorable and was so excited and curious about the gospel. She had never heard about the church before so we were able to answer a lot of her questions and talk to her about the restoration. We introduced her to the Book of Mormon and she said "This is amazing! I promise that I will read it. :)" She told us that she was busy this last week, but she really wanted to come to church and was really excited about learning more. We have an appointment with them tomorrow, so we are way excited about that. :) It has been so amazing to me this week as we have had so many experiences where it is so evidenced that we are not doing this work alone. This is absolutely the Lords work and we are just instruments in his hands. We were able to stop by M**** right when she needed us because the Lord knows what she needs. We were able to go find Walter and then end up meeting E**** because Heavenly Father knew that she was ready to hear about the gospel. Everything that we do we don't do it alone. :) It is the most amazing feeling.

I love being a missionary. :) Thank you so much for your support and love and for all of your thoughts and prayers. 

I LOVE YOU. :)

Love, Sister Watts 

Elephant Ear at the fair

LaPorte, IN

#TeamSmile

Yard Work

More Yard Work

Week 19 - The Temple, 4th of July, singing in the park

Hello Family. :) We have had the most exciting and amazing two weeks! We have had a blast and have been so incredibly blessed. :) There were so many things these past few weeks that I just felt so honored to get to be a part of. So many things that happened were absolutely priceless that I hope I will NEVER forget.

Sister Paulson at the temple

Sister Paulson and Sister Raccuia

The highlight of the past weeks and honestly my whole mission so far was the day that we got to go with Sister Paulson so the temple. :) I don't think I have ever felt happier in my whole life than I did while we were in the temple with her. It was absolutely indescribable and a moment that I will cherish forever. Sister Raccuia and I basically woke up with smiles on our faces, It kind of felt like Christmas morning. When we first saw Sister Paulson she was literally shining she was smiling so much. :) Her whole family came to the church to drop her off and they each told her how excited they were for her and how proud they were of her. She has been the most incredible example to her family. I can't even describe the change that has taken place in that sweet family. It honestly is amazing. When we got to the temple Sister Raccuia and I had about an hour where we got to do as many initiatories as we could. It was incredible. We both felt like the spirit got stronger and stronger with everyone that we did. It was such a special experience. I love the temple so much. :) then we got to go into the session and there were lots of members from our ward who came to support Sister Paulson. :) I got to sit by her and while we were sitting in the room waiting for the session to start she gave me the biggest hug and as we both cried, we were so happy. :) After the session we probably sat in the Celestial room for about 45 minutes and just talked about how incredibly blessed we are. She said "I just love in here, I never want to leave.. You really are going to have to drag me out of here." We walked into the sealing room and talked about how incredible it is going to be for her to have her family there with her. The spirit was unreal while we talked about the blessings that will come to her family when they are sealed together as a family. As she cried in the sealing room she said "Thats what I want" It was so powerful and so tender. :) The blessings of the temple are so amazing. I was just blown away from the blessings that we are promised in the temple. I felt to grateful to be able to spend the whole day in the temple, and to be there with Sister Paulson was the most priceless experience I ever could have asked for. :) We got home around 8:45 that night. It really was the perfect day. :) 

I think the biggest miracle that has come through Sister Paulsons courageous example is in her family. :) When I first got here Brother Paulson used to hide from us when we came over, he didn't really want to come to church, and he just wasn't to excited about the gospel. But slowly over the past few months we have been so blessed to watch his testimony just skyrocket. :) He now helps wake everyone up on Sunday mornings, he has worked out his work schedule so that he can be there, he is preparing to bless the sacrament, he baptized his son, and is now preparing to receive his endowments so his family can be sealed forever. :) He is a completely different man than he was a few months ago. It is so humbling to watch the spirit absolutely and completely change people. :) The day the Paulsons are sealed in the temple is going to be the happiest day ever!

Tornado damage

More tornado damage

Sister Raccuia and I survived a tornado this week which was really fun. :) We were having a crazy awesome storm that we were just having a ball watching out our window, when we got a text that told us that a tornado was coming and we needed to take cover! Sirens were going off and it got pretty crazy. I have been saying ever since I got here how cool it would be to see a tornado, so Sister Raccuia and I sat and stared out the window and watched because it was so cool. :) It turns out that that is super dangerous and we really should have "taken cover". The tornado touched down about 5 miles away from our house and caused some major damage. Luckily no one was hurt, but lots of people had trees in their houses and there was lots of damage that we helped clean up a little bit. 

4th of July parade

But After the temple trip with Sister Paulson our attention shifted to the 4th of July. :) We started majorly planning and taking care of what needed to be done so that we could be in the 4th of July parade! We had so much fun getting everything ready so that we could be in the parade. :) Sister Raccuia and I didnt really realize how much work it really took to build a float, so it all kind of came crashing on us this last week. But luckily we had members and the other missionaries who were so willing to help us and support us and it ended up turning out AMAZING. Oh my goodness everything worked so good and just turned out incredible. The float looked awesome, we had tons of primary kids and ward members who road on the float with us, and we were able to see so many miracles and blessings come because we were in the parade! We were able to hand out over 3,000 pass along cards and so many people were so excited about us. Every piece of candy we thew out had "Mormon.Org" written on it and a simple testimony like "I am a child of god" or "Families are Forever" So that way we could reach as many people as we could as we walked past. :) It was such a blast. :) Seriously one of the funnest finding activities ever. Not only did the whole town of LaPorte able to see us and the church, but the parade was televised and on the radio. So a ton of people where able to hear our message and we had so much fun. 

On Saturday we went into the farmers market again and we got to talk to a bunch of people, it was so much fun. :) Us and the other companionship of sisters (Sister Edwards and Sister Green) only had a handful of pass along cards that we could give out because we had used almost all of them in the parade. So after we ran out of things that we could give away we just stood in the middle of the park and sang hymns and primary songs to all of the people who were sitting there in the park. It was so much fun. :) There was this kid named Bobbie who is 16 years old and had come to the park to play his guitar, so we invited him to come and play with us! He was super talented and could totally play everything that we asked him to play. We had a ball and it was so fun because after awhile he started to sing with us and he was having so much fun. :) He told us that he liked playing with us so much and really loved the music a lot so he is planning on meeting us again at the farmers market next week. We are so excited about it. :) 

"I Am A Child of God" in the park

I read a really cool talk from President Monson this week where he says that a mission is something that families and friends do together. And it is so true. I am so grateful for all of the support and love that so many of you are showing me. Thank you so much for everything that you are doing for me. :) I love my mission and I am having so much fun serving the Lord. :) 

I LOVE YOU. 

Love, Sister Watts