Wednesday, December 6, 2017

Part 2: Week 14--The Ocean is my Heart

Here is so different from Manhattan! New Rochelle is suburban city. The area starts in Upper Bronx and then goes more North to Purchase city. There are some neighborhoods with mansions, and some neighborhoods with government housing buildings. There are also a couple small colleges. So we have a lot of variety. We've also had the opportunity to meet a couple people who spoke only Chinese and get their numbers! Two of them we got after making the decision to tract outside our building for 10 more minutes before going in (We arrived home from mount Vernon, but still had time). Exact obedience brings miracles!

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We did service with the Bishop' s wife! We made loads of toffee to give to less active members of the church this Christmas month. And we also made simple lasagnas to give out as well. Their home is so full of light and festive with Christmas decor everywhere. Sister N is such an amazing homemaker! She is always laughing and joyful and her children are so sweet and good. She is an amazing example of motherhood to me, and I've really learned a lot from her. We feel so special and loved to visit their family and help prepare things for others. It is like a mother away from home (like Sister S Wilcox felt this past week as well!). We have the opportunity to do some service with Sister Smith this week as well. What a blessing to have these great examples all around us and to feel a part of their family.

We are so thankful for the cute members of our ward. Our companionship got to teach the youth and the young women's last week and share Light the World message! They all have such good ideas to serve this month, if even in small ways. The small things make a big difference! Sister E, a recent convert, helped fellowship our sweet sister on baptismal date and they were both able to bear testimony and uplift one another! This sweet sister who we are teaching, told of how she had been having a lot of depression when she met the missionaries, and that the days we had been visiting brought such light and a feeling of love and sincerity to her home. She is so excited to read the Book of Mormon and come to our Christmas party this week and to come to church. The lesson was guided by the Spirit through inspired questions and was just what we needed! Members are the best!

Missionary work is hard work!.. I just wanted to let everyone know that the fun pictures sent are from brief Preparation Day moments, but that every other day is filled with tracting and meeting new people and teaching in the homes of many wonderful people. We are giving all of our time- but seeing people who feel the spirit and gain little testimonies make it worth it. And we had another sister accept the invitation to be baptized! It is hard to help people come to church, but our goals to stop by peoples houses briefly during the week when we arent teaching them and on Saturday nights, will help them to come. And helping them each be involved with and learn from members is key. We will help them get their own conviction! What a blessing to visit with so many cute and powerful women during the week. One cute sister reminds me of Mimi!


I'm so thankful for my family. You all are my greatest joy! And Grandpa/Grandma Thompson- thanks so much for always making the missionaries welcome in your home and feeding them and uplifting them. It has been super awesome to feel what it is like to be the recipient side of awesome members like that. I'm also so thankful for the temple. It is pure and perfect. The place for solace and peace and revelation and answers. I'm grateful to always have the ability to go. Blessings. Will you make the goal to go this week?

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Today we visited a little neighborhood near where we live, and the cute little boat docks/ beach near our apartment in New Rochelle. So those are the photos.

And cool fun fact: the man who wrote "Santa Clause is Coming to Town" was from New Rochelle! (I think it was that Christmas song). Let's always have Christ's light with us and our families this Christmas.

Love you all. 我非常爱你们啊啊 💕💗

韦姐妹
Sister Wilcox






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