Week 65

Hello beautiful people,

You should be so proud of me…

I have been trying to live the perfect morning schedule, seeking greater inspiration as we plan and truly being accountable to the Lord. The result is that I am exhausted. There was a day in the last week where we called by fifteen potential investigators in three areas, we tracted streets, I literally spoke to absolutely everyone; street, bus, outside a pub, you name it !

In fact, this is Sister Wilkinson’s outlook of the day, hour by hour:

6am – I got out of bed and said a prayer, read some scriptures, and then I did some exercise for half an hour.

7am – I got ready for the day and ate breakfast.

8am – I planned for the day with my companion.

9am – I was doing personal Study. I read about the Restoration and the Plan of Salvation in Preach My Gospel and read a bit from the beginning of Alma.

10am – We were out the door and on our way to Ewloe to do some finding. We stopped and talked to EVERYONE on our way there.

11am – We tracted a whole street. Knocked on many doors.

12am – We went to 6 different people’s homes that were listed as potential investigators, and updated the information in our area book. We also did a bit of online proselyting.

1pm – Lunch and companion Study. We read some of the new information that we have been given in relation to our technology.

2pm – We made our way to Drury and again, spoke to everyone on our way there.

3pm – We called by 5 different people in that area and updated area book.

4pm – We tracted another street. This one was longer than the first.

5pm – We traveled home for tea.

6pm – We traveled to Pen-y-ffordd (pronounced Penny-forth, yeah… it’s a Welsh name). Once again, talked to everyone.

7pm – We called by 5 more people in that area to update our area Book.

Back to my perspective:
Were there any fruits of our labours ? No. Except, a lovely member did surprise us with a full bag of fresh apples from her apple tree.

Anyway, despite my frustrations, my exhaustion, I knew I was doing the right thing and continued with patience. After everything, we needed to make sure that we took a certain bus at a particular time, otherwise, there was a possibility that we would be stuck in that area. As we were speaking to a less active, we were able to witness our bus driving past the bus stop. We missed it and I wasn’t happy, but I kept going and spoke to everyone in the darkness of the night.

Through Sister Wilkinson’s eyes:

8pm – We ended up missing our bus home… so… we got a bit stuck, but we talked to people on the street and tracted a few doors. We met a woman who was walking a husky. We stopped to pet her dog, and we gave her a card. She started to listen and so we gave her more information and told her a bit about her church. She told us to come see her next week. So that was great to meet her!

9pm – We traveled home and made it back after about 45 minutes.

As mentioned above, eventually there was a tender mercy. A husky. My favourite canine breed. Therefore, I stopped the woman, only to pat her dog, but then she became our new friend for the week. Heavenly Father has a sense of humour.

“Often the deep valleys of our present will be understood only by looking back on them from the mountains of our future experience. Often we can’t see the Lord’s hand in our lives until long after trials have passed. Often the most difficult times of our lives are essential building blocks that form the foundation of our character and pave the way to future opportunity, understanding, and happiness.” – President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

I am very grateful for all the lessons I am learning each day as a missionary. I’ve truly been able to reflect upon each day and to recognise where the Lord’s hand has been in each day. The daily grind can be difficult, but I know that if we place a little more patience in the journey, and a greater amount of faith in the Lord, our challenges will result in successful conclusions.

Anyway, we are off to hike Moel Famau, a literal mountain or hill. Have a wonderful day !

Much love,