Monday, April 3, 2017

The Best 18 Months

Well...this is it.

These past 18 months have flown by so fast. I dont even remember what it is like to not be a missionary. Tomorrow I will be traveling with President to Ocotal, where 18 months ago I started my mission. It will be a day of tears and memories!

I am so blessed to have been able to be a missionary. For my whole life it has been a dream and goal of mine. As of next week, that goal will be completed. When I first started my mission, I lived with a sister named Hermana Wilkins, who was about to finish her mission. One of her last nights we stayed up talking and she said, "I just want to know if I did everything I was supposed to and If i have changed enough." As the weeks have gone by, I have found myself with the same question in my heart. Have I done everything the Lord wanted me to do?

In the MTC I heard a talk by Elder Holland. He shared a story about a man on a cliff that heard the voice of God. God said,

"Come to the edge."

"No, I'll fall.", responded the man.

"Come to the edge.", God said again.

"No, I'll fall."

"Come to the edge!" God told him one last time.

And in the story the man says, I came to the edge.

He pushed me.

And I flew.

As I have thought about the people I have met, the miracles I have seen, and the spirit I have felt, I truly have flown. Before we do something great, we always feel fear. Fear always tries to hold us back. But our Heavenly Father pushes us to limits we can't even imagine so that we can become more like Him. Like Jean A. Stevens said, "The gospel is not weight. It is wings." On my mission I have seen Heavenly Father work miracles, change hearts, and bless those who obey his commandment.

I know that I have done what I needed to do here in Nicaragua. But it doesnt end here. President Nelson has said that as you teach the gospel, you will learn more. It is the Lord's way of helping us comprehend the gospel. After teaching about Jesus Christ for 18 months, I understand a lot more about who my Savior is. I understand a lot more about the plan of Salvation and how important the gospel is. I am excited to continue to share this message even though I will be doing it without my plaque.

I know that Jesus is the Christ. And I know that God is a God of miracles. And like Nephi,

... my soul delighteth in the things of the Lord; and my heart pondereth continually upon the things which I have seen and heard.Rejoice, O my heart, and cry unto the Lord, and say: O Lord, I will praise thee forever; yea, my soul will rejoice in thee, my God, and the rock of my salvation.

They say that you can take the girl out of Nicaragua, but you can't take the Nicaragua out of the girl. The experiences that I have had here have changed my life forever. I will treasure the memories that I made here for the rest of my life because on my mission I truly came to understand the beautiful plan of our loving Heavenly Father.

See you all next week!

--

Hermana Willes



Me and my MTC comp, Hermana Speas

FHE with the Poncios

Watching Conference

Reading the Book of Mormon with Fransisco

Monday, March 27, 2017

Puerto Cabezas

Hi Everyone! 

This week was SO awesome!

I was able to travel to Puerto Cabezas!! Woohoo! It is a place on the coast of nicaragua. We flew there in the tiniest plane ever, only 10 passengers, and got to see the missionaries there. It was so cool. The houses there are on little stilts and you have to walk up wooden stairs to get up to enter the house. It is so cool! And there is no running water so everyone has a little well outside their house. I helped one of the women there pull up water from her well and it was so fun! I would have loved to serve there. But it was fun to be there for a couple days! I loved seeing how humble the people are. If you only thing you have in your life is the gospel..that is enough!

This week we will be traveling to Chinandega and Matagalpa! It will be really fun because I will able to see Hermana Zafra, my old comp! woohoo!!

I loved the Womens Conference this week. President Eyring said that if we cant see our weaknesses, we cant progress. I love that! President Poncio always says that in the mission we see a dashboard of our weaknesses, because all the distractions of the world are gone. So when President Eyring talked about it, it made me feel a lot of peace. The mission has helped me see all the things that I can do better, so that when I go home I can apply everything I have learned and become the person that Heavenly Father knows that I can be. 

-- 

Hermana Willes

Inside the little airplane

Getting water from the well

Watching closely

The Hermanas

Monday, March 20, 2017

Miguel Got Baptized!

Miguel got baptized!!!!!!

It was such a special baptism because it was the birthday of Hermana Jimenez too! So fun. Miguel is so funny. He was so happy to be baptized ðŸ˜Š

This week was really fun! We did all the interviews for the zones that are here in Managua. I love being able to talk to all the missionaries. All of the missionaries are so cool and have something special to bring to the mission.

This week will be a week of traveling! Tomorrow we are headed to Leon, on Wednesday we are going to Matagalpa, and then at the end of the week I will be headed to Puerto Cabezas!! I am SO excited to go to Puerto! I will be headed there in a plan on friday morning and coming back sunday after church. Woohoo!

We also had the multizone for the three zones here and I had to share my last testimony in front of everyone...I cried haha. I talked about how when my older sister got home from her mission she shared the quote about how we dont have to walk the shores of Galilea or the streets of Bethlehem to know the Savior, but how she went to Bolivia. And how I came to Nicaragua ðŸ˜Š There are no words to express how grateful I am for every minute here in the promised land! I love Nicaragua!

I hope everyone has a great week! Love you all!

-- 

Hermana Willes

Miguel's Baptism

Monday, March 13, 2017

Fransisco Got Baptized!

This week was SO wonderful! So busy and so wonderful.

On Tuesday, we headed up to Chinandega for the multizone there. I was able to see my old companion, Hermana Zafa. It was so fun! Chinandega is SO hot. I love traveling to see all the missionaries. The missionaries from one zone did a musical number that was a mix of Joseph Smiths first prayer and praise to the man..it was SO beautiful. Music has a special power to touch peoples hearts.

On Wednesday, we had the new missionary meeting. I love being with the new missionaries! I taught about the manuals of the first 12 weeks! We built a tower of cups with all the fundamentals of missionary work with the top cup representing baptizing. The new missionaries shared some of the spiritual experiences they have had already in the mission and it was so fun to hear about what they think about the heat here in Nicaragua! All of them are sweating like crazy snakes.

On Thursday we headed up to Esteli! It was so much colder there..we were all in heaven! The meeting went really well and the drive home was so fun. We were all so tired that we were just laughing the whole time. I am so blessed to be with the Poncios. After the meeting we were playing with the soccer balls that we use for an activity in the meeting and Hermana Poncio kicked the ball and it hit me so hard on my wrist! She just started apologizing and apologizing but we were all just laughing our heads off. Hermana Poncio has good game!

And last but certainly not least...on Saturday Fransisco got baptized!!!!!!!! It was such a beautiful baptism. He was waiting for us at his house when we picked him up, all ready. The bishop baptized him and they were both just so happy.Watching him enter the font was so special. Fransisco came to church yesterday in a white shirt and tie. ðŸ˜ƒ He is so excited for General Conference in April!  

This week I was studying about service and I read a quote by Elder Carl B. Cook that I loved. He said, Service is not something we endure on this earth so we can earn the right to live in the celestial kingdom. Service is the very fiber of which an exalted life in the celestial kingdom is made.- I can testify that missionary service is the best form of service! Haha. I love being a missionary SO much. I was talking to Hermana Lee, one of our office missionaries, and I was explaining to her that on the mission everything is put into perspective. The plan of our Heavenly Father really in the most important thing. So the most important thing that we can give to someone is the knowledge of this plan.

I love you all and have a great week! Shout out to my little brother spencer that will be cumpliendo anos this week! Love you!

-- 
Hermana Willes


Fransisco's Baptism

Celebration after with crackers and soda

Love my Companions!

Monday, March 6, 2017

Love my New Companions

Hola!

This week flew by fast and was SO FUN! I was able to work with my new companions, Hermana Apen and Hermana Jimenez for most of the week and it was so fun. We spent most of the time laughing and finding new people to teach in the early afternoon and visiting our investigators in the evening. This week we are going to baptize an Hermano who is named Fransisco! He is so cute. He is like a Nicaraguan Grandpa! Haha. He has stopped drinking coffee and loves the church. We showed him one of the churchs videos about Joseph Smith and He just loved it. He said that when he is with us and when he goes to church he just feels in his heart that it is true and that when he goes to church he feels something out of this world. I am so excited for him!

I found two quotes that I LOVED this week. One by President Monson that says, Joy if a gift for the faithful. I love that. We can have joy in every circumstance, as long as we are faithful to the covenants that we have made! Also, Faith is trust. Trust is that God sees what we cannot and that He knows what we do not. :) Isnt that so beautiful? I know that our Heavenly Father has so many plans for each one of us, and we cant even imagine how great those plans are.

I love working with my cute comps! This week I will be traveling to Chinandega and Esteli for multi zone conferences! I am excited to see the sisters! I have taught one of my companions a phrase in english this week..God is Good. God is great. :) I know that God lives! And He has great things in store for us.

-- 
Hermana Willes



My cute Companions!

Having Fun at our apartment

Americanos


Sunday, February 26, 2017

Changes

Buenas!

I hope everyone had a great week! The weeks are going by faster and faster and I dont know how to stop the time from going so fast.

I was able to work with a lot of different sisters this week because Hermana Zafra was traveling to her zones for interviews. It was so fun to see how they work and get to know them a little bit more. We are teaching a man named Fransisco right now and I just love him so much. He is the sweetest man. He drank a lot when he was younger up until about a year ago. Now he is looking for God and is preparing to be baptized. He was able to come to church with us today and see a baptism this week. We have had really spiritual lessons with him and I just love seeing him! He loves reading in the Book of Mormon and is just soaking it up. Teaching people like him just makes my heart so full it could burst!

Well we got news of our changes! Tomorrow all the missionaries will be running around like chickens with their heads cut off trying to get to their new areas :) haha changes are always fun! My companion, Hermana Zafra, is getting changed to Chinandega. I am sad she is leaving but happy for her to go start throwing fire in her new area! She is a killer missionary. I will be staying in the office but now there will only be one TL! Zafra was a TL of the mission with me but President has changed things a bit and so I will be in charge of all the sisters in the mission. Crazy snakes!! I hope that I will be able to show each of the sisters how much I love them. I am so humbled to be able to finish my mission here in the office working with President and being able to get to know the sisters of the mission. I will be in a trio with two sisters from Guatemala! Their names are Hermana Apen and Hermana Jimenez! They will be able to cover the area when I will be gone traveling with President. I am excited for this change! I cant believe that it is my last...where did the time go?

This week we will be having all of our regular meetings with the new missionaries, the leaders meeting, and everything! It will be loads of fun! Things are getting HOT here in Nicaragua and I am sweating like crazy snakes trying to work hard and give everything I have every day.

I love you all so much! I know the church is TRUEEEEEEE. So true. I love being a missionary!



-- 
Hermana Willes

I love being a Missionary!!

Sunday, February 19, 2017

Elder Rasband

Hey everyone!

This week flewwwww by so fast. It was full of spiritual experiences!!

Elder Rasband came and talked to our mission and the south mission! As soon as he entered the room I could feel the spirit testifying that He really is a special witness of Jesus Christ. He came with his wife and they wished us a Happy Valentines Day! It was so cute. Sister Rasband blew us a kiss and said, Thats the only kiss you will get today! Hahaha. They actually talked about marriage? It was really interesting. Elder Christensen, who also came, talked about how the mission helps us prepare for after..and that the most important day of our lives is when we get sealed in the temple. President looked at me from the stand and started nodding..HAHA but I am still thinking about how much time I have left here and how many more of Gods children I need to find!

Elder Rasband talked about how we need to always be finding new people to teach and it is so true! There are always more chosen people to be found! Last night we has SO many good lessons and I was just full of the spirit. We were teaching a young woman named Veronica and her mom, Martha about Joseph Smith and as I shared the first vision (I always cry when I share the first vision because its the first thing I learned in spanish) I just had a thought that I was so grateful that the gospel just makes sense. Everything. I just love this gospel so much! I know that the same church that Christ established has been restored to the earth and that we have the same authority that He had. What a blessing!

I read a quote by Elder Ballard that I LOVE. He says, "How is it that we show the Lord that we have symbolically put ourselves upon today's sacrificial altar? When we overcome our own selfish desires and put God first in our lives and covenant to serve Him regardless of the cost, we are then living the law of sacrifice."

This week this change ends. I will be starting my final 6 weeks of being a missionary. I had an interview with President Poncio and we talked about how the participants of a race always sprint towards the end..I am ready to give everything I have a put everything on the altar of sacrifice to show the Savior how much I love him. I know that I am not the perfect missionary, but I love the Savior with everything I have. 

Cuidanse mucho and have a great week!


--

Hermana Willes


Love my Comp!

With Elder Lee in the Office

MTC district reunites at the Mulit mission conference


Sunday, February 12, 2017

This week flew by

Buenas!

This week was SO great! It flew by so fast.

Interviews in Chinandega were quite the adventure with just me, President, and the APs! It was really fun to get to know all the missionaries and travel with President. He kept teasing me the whole time about not having a companion..hehe. So luckily on Thursday when we went to Leon I was with Hermana Poncio, Yoselyn (The Poncios Daughter), and Hermana Poncios mom! When We finished checking the area books and the agendas and then went to see the sights of Leon! It was soooo beautiful there. There are a million cathedrals..talk about Catholics! I have so much respect for the missionaries there. But it is GORGEOUS! It was so fun! 

When I got back to the area we were so happy because we were blessed this week to see a miracle baptism! Last sunday a young man came to church that we had never seen before, but we went to his house after church and it turns out that he has been going to church for years, he is enrolled in seminary, and has seen baptisms! But he had never been baptized! His parents live in an area called Puerto Cabezas..the farthest area in our mission! So we called his parents and they gave us permission to baptize him. He was baptized yesterday and ALL the young men came to show their support! It was so beautiful. Today he was beaming in church and his older sister came too! We are so grateful because we have been struggling a lot in our area but the Lord just gave us this little miracle. The Lord is in the details of our lives!

This week Elder Rasband is coming to visit the mission! Woohoo! I am so excited. We will be having a meeting the with south mission and I am so excited to hear about what he will be speaking about! 

I dont think I will ever be able to put into words how much I love the mission and being a missionary. It just isnt possible! I am so amazing at how fast time is flying..whenever I think about it I get emotional! I LOVE this work. I know that the Savior suffered, died, and now lives. I know that the marks in His Hands and Feet are evidence of His love. He will never leave us alone, and He will always lift us up to higher ground. I am grateful for someone who will never give up on me, no matter how many mistakes I make. I am humbled to be able to wear his name on my chest every day as I fall in love with his children here in Nicargua! 

Cuidanse mucho y les quiero!

-- 
Hermana Willes



Miracle Baptism!!

Best Day!!

Leon with Hermana Poncio and her Mom

More with Hermana Poncio

with Yocelyn

Working with the Hermanas in Chinendega

I got to visit Mairon and Maritza

Monday, February 6, 2017

Working Hard

Hey Everyone!

This will be short but this week was really good. Things are going great here and we are working hard in the area.

We had consejo with all the leaders this week and so many things are changing in the mission! Now we only have 4 indicadors to send to the church so we dont have to count lessons or anything like that..so different! We are trying to work more with the spirit to be led to the people that are ready for the gospel!

This week I am headed to Chinandega this week with President!! Yay! I am excited. He will be interviewing the missionaries and I will be checking agendas..haha so fun! Also Hermana Poncios mom is coming today so i will get to meet her!

I will take lots of pictures and send a better email next week!

Love you!!

-- 
Hermana Willes


Sister Training Leaders

Found this little scorpion in our apartment :/


Having fun with Yocelyn

Sunday, January 29, 2017

I Love this Work

Bueno...

This week flew by!! I was able to work with a lot of different hermanas this week and it was so fun getting to know them. My companion also had to accompany president to Puerto Cabezas so his daughter, Yocelyn, worked and slept with us! It was so fun getting to know her better! She is so cute and will be such a great missionary! 

This week I studied a lot about the Atonement and Jesus Christ. In one of the meetings that we had this week Hermana Poncio said that she loved how Jesus Christ never once said, "Do what I say!" He just said, "Come, Follow Me." The Savior really is such an example to all of us in the way that He teaches, the way that He loves, and the way that He is. I am so greatful for the atonement and for our Savior Jesus Christ!

I love this work and I love this gospel!

--
Hermana Willes

Me and cute Jocelyn

Monday, January 23, 2017

Mairon and Maritza Got Married & Baptized!

This week was GREAT!

Mairon and Maritza got MARRIED & BAPTIZED!!! WOOHOO!!! :) They are the cutest, most pilas couple ever. The week was full of meetings and we were running all over town and could barely work in our area..and then we were fully blessed this weekend with the help of members and seeing a family enter the waters of baptism. They were so excited! So many people came to the wedding on Friday night and Mairon and Maritza both looked so great!  On Saturday, at the baptism they were both grinning ear to ear. They have already started talking about the temple :) I love them so much. People like them make all the hard days and moments of no success totally worth it. Moments like this weekend make me never want to stop being a missionary!!

Yesterday in Sacrament meeting I gave a talk about the Savior's atonement and repentance. I shared the famous story that my Dad tells about when I thought his job at Nestle consisted of mixing chocolate, and they all thought it was pretty funny. I shared about how sometimes we don't understand the "work" of our Heavenly Father. His work really is to help us become like Him..and repentance is essential in that plan. The Plan of Happiness can't function without repentance. I have learned on my mission to repent every single day, because when I do, the Lord helps me be better. I have such a long way to go to become like Him, but I am forever grateful for the Atonement of Jesus Christ. The plan of our Heavenly Father is perfect. So perfect that it brings me to tears sometimes! After my talk a cute sister in the ward came up and told me, "You spoke so beautifully. I turned to my husband and said, that's a reflection of the things her parents taught her!" I was like AMEN! Haha Birthday shout out to my Dad, the man who has taught me so much. He really does teach and love like the Savior. I have looked up to him my whole life. Thanks for being such a great example and a worthy priesthood holder. Mom you got a good one! (I'd give a shout out to my mom too but I will wait until her birthday to make it more special:))

I love this work. I love this gospel! 

-- 

Hermana Willes


The Wedding


Baptism of Mairon and Maritza
Such a beautiful day!







Sunday, January 15, 2017

A New Change is Starting

Buenas!

This week FLEW by and I can't believe that a new change is starting. I am so excited to grow closer to my Savior and keep serving here in Nicaragua :) 

This week Mayron and Maritza scheduled their wedding and their baptism!! We are over the moon excited! :)

We also had the multizone in Matagalpa this week and it was so powerful. I felt the Spirit so strong. I have really tried to recognize more spiritual experiences that I have so that I can see the little tender mercies more. I read this quote that says, "Repetitive daily contact with Christ is like sandpaper to the soul that eventually smooths and polishes a celestial character." I know that I have so many weaknesses as a missionary but little by little He helps me. 

This week we have so many meetings and the baptism! It will be such a great week!

I know that The Savior lives and that being a missionary is the best decision I have ever made!

Love you all!

-- 

Hermana Willes


I love my companion!


Sunday, January 8, 2017

Meylin's Baptism

This week FLEW BY!

Seriously the time is flying I cant even believe that this change is flying by so fast!! This week we went to Chinandega to do a multi zone conference there! It was so fun to drive up with the Poncios! The meeting was so powerful. They are showing this video that is so awesome..it makes me cry every time that I see it. I love it! We ate pupusas after the multi zone and had a great time laughing together. I love getting to see a different side of President!

This week we baptized a girl named Meylin. Her mom got baptized about a month ago! She was so excited to get baptized and the service was beautiful. She was beaming..grinning ear to ear the whole time! And today when she came to church she was basically skipping. Her joy was contagious! Also we are working with this couple named Myron and Maritza that are AWESEOME! They saw Meylin's baptism and we are working hard with them so they can be baptized next week!

Well this week I think we might me going to Ocotal!! Yay!! I am so excited to see all of my family there! I will make sure to take lots of pictures!!

Love you all!


Hermana Willes


Meylin's Baptism

Me and my comp with Hermana Poncio

Sunday, January 1, 2017

Feliz Ano Nuevo!

Feliz Ano Nuevo!

I'm actually writing on an english keyboard so I can't spell that right..oops.

Wow! I hope everyone had a great christmas and new years! Christmas here was so fun. We had dinner at the Bell's house (the mission nurse) and they fed us ham and potatoes. I felt like I was back in the states :) We finished the night by singing Christmas carols and it reminded me of Christmases as home!

Last Week I was also able to go visit Chinandega for the first time to help out some sisters! It was so fun to see a new area. We had lots of fun contacting and looking for new people. I love getting to know more sisters in the mission! 

New Years was pretty mellow for the most part because we still had to be home by 9:30 :) I was so tired that the fireworks didn't even wake me up at midnight! 

Things are going really great here in the greatest mission in the world. I am in shock that the year 2016 went by so fast. I can't believe that it is 2017! This year I have eaten my weight in rice, walked so many miles in one pair of shoes that I call my "golden shoes", and have given out so many pass along cards with the church's website on it. I have testified of the Son of God every day and seen so many miracles! My one full year as a missionary is over and I am so grateful for all the experiences that the Lord gave me this year. I really have felt the enabling power of the Atonement in my life this year and have grown closer to my Savior. I love Him with all the energy of my soul. I will forever be grateful for my decision to serve a mission! 2016 really did change my life. 

Cuidanse mucho!

--

Hermana Willes

Christmas with President and Hermana Poncio

Christmas dinner at the Bell's apartment

Divisions in Chinendega

Happy New Year!!