Embrace It!

Hola Amigos!

Man. I found myself procrastinating starting this email... I just don't want another email to come and go.... :) I want many many more weeks of emailing. BUT alas, thats not going to happen!! Unless President allows me to extend- I have an interview with him tomorrow and I will let you know what he says ;) haha! But seriously....

I love my mission. I love the schedule- the sticky humidity- the sticky investigators- hoosiers with no teeth- clothes that dont fit- feet that ache- out of control laughing when we are just utterly exhausted. I love to serve my Savior all day, everyday. I love the constant revelation. The assurance that what I am doing and who I am is acceptable before God. I love my companions- even the cranky ones. I love witness miracles and saving ordinances take place. And ultimately I love the power of the Priesthood- the Sealing Power restored by Elijah. I know my family is forever- without end. I am grateful for my family and to be able to nourish those relationships in the coming weeks. The Family- is the most important unit on the face of the planet. The most important work we can be involved in during this life!!!!!

Anyways....

This week was good. We spoke about our experience serving at the Temple Open House yesterday- it was a great preparation to speak in sacrament. They asked me to speak for 10 ish minutes or "however long you want" soo.. it was more like 17... 20 maybe... haha! I love to share the gospel... prepare yourself because I am sure long winded! haha! 

Couple lessons I learned this week:

We had a district meeting that kinda rocked my socks. In a negative fashion.... I walked away with the message "You are not working hard enough" It was lame of me to get worked up about it, but I did. But the time I got home I was visibility shaken (there were some other factors that contributed to my shakiness fyi) and I plopped down on my knees and lifted my voice to our Father in heaven and had a good heart to heart. What was beautiful was after I spilled my heart to him (i am doing ALL that I can. I am to my limits etc) and I started to form the thought "Am I doing enough? Is my offering acceptable before you?" In that instant- God came to me and filled me heart with peace. Filled my chest cavity to the brim of its capacity with goodness and warmth. I was amazed. No hesitation- I didn't even finish the thought!! I knew I was doing enough. I love God's mercy. I love how He always answers prayers. I know He is real. and I know the heavens are not closed. We cannot rely on the flesh- -we receive SO many messages from the world that are just not true. Its false and Satan is at the head of it. 

Another-- As we were walking to our car park several blocks away from the temple on Saturday- we had to walk past the protesters. I did really good at being Christlike until a man holding a sign advertising his anti website yelled at us as we walked past- something to the affect that he loves Mormons and wants to save our souls.... which is in and of itself humorous but It didn't feel that way in that moment. This gospel runs through my veins-- I KNOW this church is true and that Christ is at the head of it. and when I hear others telling me, essentially, its all a ruse. Its all fake- Its a bit hurtful. But as I was thinking to God on the walk-- I realized how grateful I was for opposition. Those people- have strengthened my convictions-- all the people on my mission condemning me to hell have strengthened me. and my relationship and closeness with my Savior. Just sayin.

An update: An amazing miracle with Justin this week. VERY much progressing. keeping commitments- reading the Book of Mormon and praying. Commited to church and even started inviting his family to his baptism. but we went to his door to deliever breakfast before church and he left us a drop note... man... we will see what happens this week. We are planning to stop by tonight to see if we cant get to the root of his concern :)

LOVE YOU!!! See you in a few :)

Sister Watts

Things Will All Work Out. Be Happy. Be Believing.

Family!!!

President Hinkley has a special place in my heart. Things will work out. I love his optimism.

SOO.

When there is a marvelous work moving forward- there also is a mischievous one. WOW. SO much opposition. Investigators anti-ed right and left. Being so open and interested and the next moment shutting the door in our faces. Even the boys... progression swallowed in doubt and complacency. 

BUT what is so cool-- yesterday during PEC I was looking back at my notes from ward Council last week. Bishop Gibbons said "It's not going to be easy, but we have to be willing to be mocked!" When he said it- I remember it sinking into my heart. I forgot it throughout the week's tribulation but it brought me sweet peace as I read it once more. Taking notes is so vital. That simple phrase reminded me of God's goodness and grace. He prepares us for each experience we pass through. We were mocked daily. A woman shook her finger at me and yelled "YOU ARE WRONG!" in the reception tent... tough doctrine stings.... 

God reminded me this week that ALL we can do is pray to perform the acts that these people need to come closer to Christ. to help them on their path in their personal Plan of Salvation. Everyone has their own path to Christ. but that path will always require faith in Christ, change and baptism of water and fire. I know I am doing that- although people have been not to nice.

A moment of grace to share--

Friday as a Car Fast day- another preventable accident happened in the mission-- we did not prepare.... man. so We called 17 different people to come and pick us up for our 3 appointments that morning..... It was down to the wire. We were thinking we'd have to do service around the house or something before our shift at the temple. BUT then a member called back and picked us up and we went to see Todd and the lesson was awesome. They member connected perfectly with Todd and Todd came to church. Cool huh?? God is so good. One of our most successful weeks numerically. Just really tough. 

We had a heart breaking lesson with the Boys on saturday.... super bad. like I don't think we'll be able to visit in the future... so Sister P and I are still a bit down trodden- but the beautiful thing is- whenever I start thinking to God- I have complete peace. His plan cannot be thwarted.

I love you family. As bad as the world is- it is only getting worse. We have to ask ourselves- Am I willing to be mocked? Will I choose to rise above it? We can choose God or we can choose Satan- we have full ability to choose. How beautiful?

Love,

Sister Watts

God Is Powerful!

Wow... this whole time thing is going really fast. 

A missionary's last transfer is the biggest tug-o-war ever. My mission is the most precious experience in my life thus far. This is home. I love my mission. But there is apart of me that is preparing/excited for the adventures ahead. It is all about balance- and that is not my forte! haha!! Heavenly Father is teaching me a lot.

I am very low on time- LOTS of BIG things happening at home right now. I love to witness and hear how Heavenly Father is directing each of your lives right now. It is just another testament of God's love. 

I will share my favorite story this week- I've been wanting to tell everyone!!!!!

We went to the Temple Open house with "The boys" on Thursday. Afterwards I asked Justin how he felt inside. Mind you He is 15 years old- a bit of a learning disability- speaks very slow and precise. He answered (i wish I had his exact words- I love how he speaks) 

"I felt a force outside of myself." 

"What do you think that was?"

"It was possibly the Holy Spirit."

"What do you think that means?"

"I believe I have found the source of true happiness."

I said, maybe a bit too loudly "HE MELTS MY HEART!"

God is powerful. He speaks to His children in a way they can understand- even if they are disabled. I love the temple. I love to witness miracles there. We were able to go to the temple 5 times last week- two times working. 

On Saturday there was an estimated 7000+ guests at the Open house. Our biggest day. We had a special training before out shift because of an Anti-Mormon party was teaching a sermon out of the lawn about the mormon's view about Race/blacks. We were taught the doctrine and how to treat others if they are being aggressive. What is so beautiful is that there was no one we saw at that sermon. There was no animosity. A sister had an experience with a fellow- on his way to leave he shook this sisters hand and left papers filled with questions. He said "I was paid to ask you these questions, but after that- the temple- I cannot." 

God is more powerful than the adversary. As we trust in him- do the little things- we will be protected in these tumultuous times. 

I know that God lives. He will speak peace to our hearts. "Peace I leave with you. Peace I give unto you, not as the world giveth give I unto you. Let not your hearts be troubled. Neither let them be afraid." John 14:27 "These things I have said unto you In me you will have peace. I the world you shall have tribulation. But be of good cheer, I have overcome the world" John 16:33

The answers are in the scriptures. Memorize them. They have been the best of friends. They are a defense against garbage thoughts. 

I love you family. God is in control of it all.

Love,

Sister Watts

THE BOYS!!!!

Pictures in front of the Morse Reservoir on the way home..

 AT the Temple

 In front of our house:)

 There was a surprise bug on our rear view camera.....ewww

 The Boys at the Temple Open House

Mark didn't want to take of his booties:)

Miracle Meyhem...

This is crazy... emailing 3 of my companions that are already home! Wow. That just hit me like a ton of bricks! haha!! Shout out to HAYLEY, JULIE and KAELEI... love saying your first names :)

HELLO FAMILY!!!!

This week has been absolutely life changing, beautiful- exquisitely filled with the Holy Ghost. So much revelation and guidance and grace filled moments.

Temple Goodness--

Monday we received training from President Cleveland from the Indianapolis mission before meeting with Elder and Sister Richards, Elder and Sister Sinclair and the Temple President and his wife- the Chismans? Sister Richards invited us to take the time as we walked through the tour with them to ponder about ourselves- what the temple will mean to ME- in my life in the lives of my family. Wow. It was a whole new experience than the day prior. He counseled us to not focus too much on the symbolism or the motif throughout but on the power and blessings of each ordinance. It was a great lesson for me to learn because I always get lost in the symbols-- It is magnificent. The pictures DO NOT do it justice. The feeling-- whenever I speak with people in the Reception Tent after their tour I try to bring up the FEELING- How did your FEEL? One non-member woman said she felt a spirit of serenity. I loved to witness people not of our faith testify of the temple without realizing they are. But back to Monday- my brain has not been very organized of late ;)-- I realized once again that there is nothing more important on this earth than the work that is done in the temples. I will never jeopardize the privilege of entering the Lord's house.

We had another training with President and Sister Porter on Thursday- He asked me to conduct which was a cool experience. He is very much led by the spirit. It is so amazing working with him so closely. The training was letting us in on the Church's standard for Temple Open House sisters-- pretty intense ;) haha! I am working on being more articulate... and not TOO energetic... haha! Don't want to scare the people away... :) 

We worked Friday and Saturday presenting the pre-tour video-- "Welcome everyone! My name is... and my companion is..." It is all scripted and we pretty much have to say it word for word. All with SMILES on our faces and such... I really enjoy it... I LOVE working the tent!! What struck me the most is I was led to specific people- the spirit was move my body to who I needed to speak to- put words in my mouth and they would reply and the spirit was so STRONG!!! Everything we do has a specific purpose. I am so blessed. I am overwhelmed with gratitude. Only 2% of sisters get to work in a Temple Open House-- 12 of 60 in our mission are able. Its a great responsibility. The training invited us repent- to never allow the spirit to be lessened in us-- to study and ponder the blessings of the temple.. So we can have that light in our eyes. They promised us specific things- We would have more Godly confidence, we would have the light in our countenance and we would have sincere interest in each person who attend the Open House. I can go on and on... I just love the temple. 

OH-- Sister Peatross is doing amazing!! We have officially learned sometimes you just have to go and do it and learn from mistakes!! :) Thank you all for your advice and love concerning training!!

Investigator Update-

Miracles. The first people we met- when we were lost in Arcadia, stopped for gas and saw some people on a porch- are our most progressing investigators. Bryce, Mark, Justin and their uncle -who is their same age- Race. We taught them about the Book of Mormon (lesson 2) on Saturday and they committed to be baptized on August 15th!! Which doesn't really hold unless they come to church... which they did!!!! We love these boys-- they are BIG. Long hair down their backs, dirt in their fingernails, cut off shirts- smoking bearded boys. all around 20 yrs old. They came to church. You should have seen the congregation when they walked in... Bishop told us afterwards he loved watching the open looks of astonishment and old ladies grabbing their bags! haha! A member after church came up to us and said it was a miracle they came. The boys have a well known reputation of being hooligans. One didn't finish his 9th grade year.. It was amazing to see all the ward council come and swarm them after sacrament-- they were like 15 minutes late to sunday school because everyone wanted to meet them. What is so wonderful is they may be hooligans and have a dark past- BUT they want to know for themselves if there is a God. They have never been taught. They know the world- all it offers. and they are unhappy- they want to know if there is more. We love teaching them because they never miss an appointment. They know how to work-- they work full time at a factory- probably since they dropped out of school-- they are good boys. They have ooey gooey insides. We received some negative jabbs towards their character- but man. they have been one of the most welcoming people we've met since being here. Even more in some cases, than members. Jesus loves the sinner and condemns the hypocrite. Just sayin. 

We were worried how they would respond to such a structured, reverent church-  I was praying for them with all my heart during the sacrament. and I felt such an overwhelming sense of peace. I heard the words- "they'll make it." they will make it all the way- it may not be next month but these boys will be baptized. Bryce texted us last night and said he wants to share his experience he had at church- it was a positive one. Prayers are answered. I don't think these boys ever said a prayer before 2 weeks ago... God is so powerful-- He hath all power to the fulfilling of ALL his words (2 Nephi 9:6) 

Well I could go on another 2 hours on these kids but I will refrain. WE are going to the Temple Open House on Thursday with them so pray they'll recognize the spirit :)

We're working with several other families but I'll have to share their stories with you next week :) I noticed how much I used the word Overwhelming..... lots of emotions. There was a time on my mission where I turned off feelings... yeah. overloaded- my heart just thrashed so I pulled back because it hurt too much. and I was absolutely miserable. We HAVE TO FEEL! and cry. and hurt because then we know we've loved. Pain is a Christ like Attribute. Caring enough for others to mourn with them- about their broken lives, relationships and bones. Just like what Kell taught at church this sunday- that is what we covenant with God to do when we are baptized. 

I love you family. I know God has the power to change hearts. He is changing mine- I know He is real.

Love,

Sister Watts

TEMPLE MANIA!

FAMILY!!!!

I have so many thoughts-- Firehose information coming your way....

I am in Noblesville. The little knub on the western side of the mission-- we attend church in Fishers, which is outside the mission. Pretty legit. Loving the ward- very welcoming!

We are living with Members- The Arnolds own a whole bunch on Jimmy Johns and Papa Murphys and such. They offered us to go swim in their indoor pool and hot tub.. yeah. We declined dont worry :) We are out in the boonies but they are so sweet it is so worth it :)

SISTER PEATROSS (Petris like Tetris) is my NEW NEW NEW companion! She is from Salem Utah-- so sweet. and VERY chill. and beautiful. I KNEW i would make pretty babies ;) haha!! She is doing incredibly well! I am now learning how to not be a helicopter mom!! I want to do everything for her... but I have to be okay with her making mistakes and learning.... SO HARD!! Man.

So much grace this week-- We are reopening this area= no investigators..... it has been a blast to Talk To Everyone and get LOTS of new gators. God blessed us. None of them came to church... which is always a blow to the heart :( but we did just meet them like 3 days beforehand haha!! We have a handfull of promising prospects... we will update next week on their progress. Pray for Bryce... He is my favorite... (but don't tell the others) 

Because of the Open house we are asked to focus on Part-member families and Long term investigators... those who need just a little extra push to take the big plunge!

SOOOO with the Open House-- The Indianapolis Temple is absolutely gorgeous. I love how ech temple has its own little feel to it. The motif for this temple is a simple flower- its in the stain glass windows- the chairs and tables-- all throughout. OH! We got to go through- the 2nd tour ever- yesterday with all the missionaries and investigators. It was a awesome experience. Kristy from Muncie was there! She had major concerns about the temple- we saw her afterwards and she pretty much said I should prepare to come to her baptism on the 15th of August!!! YAY!!! I am within an hour from Muncie so I can go! :) 

I am the Ohio Cincinnati Mission Representive/liason/coordinator for the Temple Open house... so that is pretty much the best thing ever. Met with President Cleveland in the Indianapolis mission yesterday before the Open house and got the low down. Its a pretty simple responsibility-- I am coordinating shifts for the 6 sets of sisters in the Muncie Stake. We are going to be able to serve every weekend. We'll be presenting the video in the beginning and we'll be in the tent/mini visitor center answering questions at the end of the Tour. I'll figure out temporary housing and such too... So that will be fun. I know all the sisters in the zones im working with so that is a treat. Because we live so close- 30 minutes away- we will be covering a lot of shifts.... i think im okay with that :)

I've been studying D&C 109 in preparation- verse 13 is my favorite.  "And that all people who shall enter upon the threshold of the Lord’s house may feel thy power, and feel constrained to acknowledge that thou hast sanctified it, and that it is thy house, a place of thy holiness."

That's ALL people-- everyone that enters... so we have high hopes of success in the work this transfer. 

OH! I went to the doctor this week. We were worried that i had bed bugs... bites all over my body... so thats fun. My leg got the worst of it- i took some pictures but it doesnt do it justice ;) haha!! The doctor said is was an allergic reaction to some kind of a plant! PHEW! No bed bugs... :) She gave me some steriods... I've been puttin on the muscle this week;) haha! and some steriod cream and its improving a great deal. Spreading still and the marks on my leg feel like its dead and stuff!! the doctor wants to see me again tomorrow :)

TODAY!!! We are going to the Temple again! Elder Richards of the 70 is going to train all the sisters and take us through the temple. SO excited. 

Thought. "But I know him: for I am from him, and he hath sent me." Jesus's words in John 7:29. I KNOW HIM. I am from him and HE hath sent me. I know thats true. I have known my Savior personally since I was a little girl- it is absolutely a priviledge to represent Him. I know He has sent me here at a specific time with specific people to further His work. What can be more glorious than that?? Think about what He has sent YOU to do. Heavenly Father knows you- he loves you and has a perfect Personal Plan of Salvation for you to get back to Him. 

Never forgot Who you are and Whose you are.

I love you Family.

Sister Watts

The Doctrine of Christ is Real...

SO.

I am leaving Muncie for my last transfer!! It is super bittersweet. 

Anyways,

This week was the highlight of my whole 3 months here in Muncie. Heavenly Father taught us many of the reasons of all the trials we experienced-- I know we will continue to realize why as we move forward.

Sister Dunford and I have experienced the whole realm of marriage... slash no. we havent- BUT our companionship has SO many parallels to a marriage... there ya go. I now understand how divorce happens! haha!! We love each other so much, from the very beginning BUT there began to be contention and yucky misunderstandings and such.... it was miserable and we couldn't understand why it kept happening!!! This week it finally clicked!

THE BOOK OF MORMON!!!

That book truly has power to disperse contention, envy and discord. We have struggled to have relevatory studies with the environments we have been in-- and it reflected!! SO that is the first step to a divorce. Next step-- Stop showing your love. Love is a verb. If you don't do anything to show it-- you dont love. By small and simple things! 

When we focused on our Book of Mormon reading and were able to finally study at desks- it started to heal us! SO... try it. It'll help :)

We also had an amazing lesson with Kristy Tuesday. She received her answer to be BAPTIZED!!! after over a year of investigating. Her husband Jim is asking her to wait until he is ready-- she doesn't want to move forward without His support. WHICH I love-- You can't make any decisions that will weaken a marriage. A marriage

JUST GOT THE CALL!!! I AM TRAINING A NEW MISSIONARY!!!!!! GAH!!! SO PUMPED TO THE LIMIT OF THE WORLD AND BEYOND!!!!!! 

I have been praying every transfer- "Heavenly Father is this when I get to train?? Oh. My. Goodness. I can't believe it. This will be so good and so hard!!! :)

Anyways,

... A marriage is important. I can't even think now! haha! :)

I love you family!!! Read the BOOK!!

Love,

Sister Watts

Kristy, Sister Dunford and I. Kristy will be getting baptized soon!

The Influence of the Restored Gospel...

Well it is monday again Family,

weird huh?? Do you feel like its already been a week for you??? ...I guess when I think about all that transpired throughout this week- it feels like eons but I guess that makes sense with the whole Mission time warp schtuff.

The lesson that stands out to me in my mind this week happened on Tuesday. It colored the rest of the week but seriously I pray it will influence the rest of my mortal probation ;)

Every Tuesday we volunteer at a Battered home shelter. We go in and bake for the residents there-- a member of our ward is an Advocate for domestic violence stuff.... It is an awesome opportunity. This week was a slightly different experience. There was a Puerto Rican woman that came into the kitchen and stood in front of us as we were making some carrot cupcakes. I asked if she liked to bake-- which resulted in about a 30 minute conversation about her life. She was police escorted from out of state for safety-- I will refrain from using name/places for her safety. She has lost custody of 2 children because of abusive boyfriends. Her mom is a coke addict and has custody of her children. Her 1st boyfriend is a gang chief and has almost killed her several times-- She spoke with more profanities than I have ever heard. She was hardened. So tough until she started talking about how much she loved and missed her kids. She spoke of murders- how she wouldn't flinch to kill her pursuers. She looked right at me as she said these things and I knew she wouldn't bat an eye if she wanted to end my life-- I was taken aback. I was so badly wanting her to stop describing this life so foreign to me. What hit me the most is that she is 21. She has her first child at 13. She is my age-- As we left the spirit began to direct my thoughts to gratitude. Gratitude for a safe neighborhood to grow up in. For a family that loves me and doesn't plot against me. For an environment to learn and grow without FEAR!! Man. The lesson I learned was the INFLUENCE of the Restored Gospel. I did not realize fully how the commandments of God keep us safe. and HAPPY!! I saw in stark contrast This woman and myself/any Latter Day Saint. Its just the basic commandments. Chastity, Word of Wisdom, "Thou shall not kill"-- They FREE you. They release you from bondage. Commandments prevent pain, heartbreak and despair. I know because of this gospel I have full hope that I can attain all my dreams for my future-- there is not one thing holding me back. That is the power of this gospel. The ability to use our agency to follow Christ back home to our Father in Heaven. For that I am ETERNALLY grateful. 

I also determined not to watch and movies with gang violence/any violence.... cause man. How aweful is that? we sit and watch people killing one another for entertainment. To relax and enjoy each other's company we sit on our couches and watch as human beings- God's children kill. I just so desire instead- to do something about it... No clue what. But something-- anything to help violence end. Even if it is just not watching movies that depict it-- or teaching my children to love others. Anything. 

God is so good... I was studying the Book of Mormon during my personal study and he taught me what I need to do with this. 

Moroni 9:25- the whole chapter depicts cruelty and violence and barbarianism- which is happening right now in the world today. Patterns eh?? Mormon is speaking to Moroni his says after he describes this yuckiness-- 

"My son, be faithful in Christ; and may not the things which I have written grieve thee, to weigh thee down unto death; but may Christ lift thee up, and may his sufferings and death, and the showing his body unto our fathers, and his mercy and long-suffering, and the hope of his glory and of eternal life, rest in your mind forever."

We must increase our faith in Christ. Because of him- we may have hope. 

We saw many miracles--- A family of 8 came to church. They are absolutely insane and I LOVE THEM! We found out the parents aren't married but they asked US if our church would marry them this week.... yeah. Pretty cool. They met with Bishop and we were in the hall with their 2, 3 and 4 year old (with the ward clerk too) and wow. the whole hallways looked like a tornado ran through it. I took a video of Sister Dunford tackling Man Man (the 2 year old.) What makes it better is that they're black-- I had my first experience trying to do african american hair-- It is not as easy as it looks... I will send pictures. The oldest 4 of the family are planning on being baptized. 

Also- We have been working with a woman named Kristy-- she has a Ph.D in Microbiology? and a medical degree--- in her 3rd year of residency-- extrememly smart. She didnt believe in God when she first started meeting with missionaries a year ago. She has had quite the journey-- recently President and Sister Porter have driven up to teach her a couple of times to help her with her concerns. ALL her questions are so good!! Makes me really think. Please pray for her on Tuesday-- We are all fasting in preparation for our lesson that night!! She knows its true-- We just have to take that leap of faith and choose faith over doubt. 

Love you family!! Keep the commandments and you will be happy!! Mosiah 2:41.

Sister Watts

Going to Church...

Sister Pratt's husband... we bought him this shirt..

Indiana's country side

SISTER DUNFORD'S BIRTHDAY!

Photo opportunity during Personal study:)