And a Happy New Year!

Christmas was great here in little Hiawatha. We had our whole district of 6 missionaries together and we made German pancakes for breakfast. Actually, sister Gunderson made breakfast, I helped open presents. One present from Elder Allen was a flea collar(inside joke) back before I knew that the bites on my arm were from bed bugs. He thought he was pretty clever. We are now all moved back into our house and out of the senior sisters! You know you've been there too long when they start treating you like their own grandchildren. Glad to have a bug free bed/house again.

It didn't feel like Christmas as for the environment- Its cold but there isn't snow or signs of any. :( But the Christmas spirit was very apparent to everyone, we sang christmas carols a lot, gave He is the Gift cards to everyone we saw. It was a very different experience to describe it at best. But, I did get to skype home and see my FAMILY and puppies! I was soooooooo happy to see them! It was the best. Funny story, a while back we had bought tubs for our clothes and grabbed the wrong sized lids. #FirstWorldProblems  But I couldn't find the receipt anywhere! Then one day while reading the Book of Mormon I found it! Answers are in there I promise! So, my fam bam sent me a package and told me not to open it till Christmas. So the Elders opened it- sorry mom. But, there was this pair of cute little pink earrings. I left them in there so I wouldn't lose them. thenn when we were getting all moved into our house again... They were gone. I was heart sick. I was mad at the Elders for even opening it, I prayed to find them and had no luck till I just had to accept that they were lost. Then the morning after Christmas I had my scriptures on my lap and the phone started to ring. I went to get up and as I was setting my scriptures down- they fell out!! BEST DAY EVER! I was soo happy! So if you need answers, they are in the scriptures- no joke.

I'm trying real hard to remember what I do with my days.. Its all just a blur anymore. A lot of people think we are Jehovah Witnesses, and then when we tell them we are LDS....Mormon? Then they tell us what they think we believe. Its really interesting, "John Smith", "Many wives", "What makes you Christian?" That's when sister Gundy burns then with her knowledge of the Bible and Book of Mormon. It is so funny, She can quote many verses and knows exactly where they are and then others tell us some scripture but can't show us "But its in there!"  We get alot of that. On the brighter side! We have 3 people on date!! We have 2 baptisms for January 10th! They came to church yesterday and loved it! Abby and her mom Lynn. They are living the Word of Wisdom and are reading the Book of Mormon, they even offered to feed us this week! YES! They are so great and we love them. Abby told everyone that she talked to yesterday that she's getting baptized (: Her dad is real Catholic but her mom is very supportive and awesome. She loves star wars and animals. haha!

Virginia is our chain smoker who has cut down from 1.5 packs/day to 9! She is AWESOME! Her date is Feb.14th. She really wants to join, she loves us and is soo ready. Its just her habit of smoking. But, I know she can do it.

I love LOVE being a missionary, the past few weeks have been a series of trials of faith for me. To see if I'm really capable of even doing this. But, God trusts me enough for me to be here- I'm beyond thankful and grateful for his patience with me. And everyone else that knows me.. haha. A lot of the time when people don't want to hear our message, I start thinking to myself- what am I even doing, no one is even interested. But then I hear of how something small to me -like singing for someone- made a big difference in their day. I know that God gave us special talents for the means of using them! to help others progress in their own journey for salvation. Everyone is given the opportunity to accept of reject the message of the gospel. Some haven't even heard it yet, but are being taught in the Spirit World. However, without the saving ordinances such as baptism and temple work- how can they enter into Gods Kingdom. Family History Work and going to the temple is something that I wish I had more time for. But all I can do is help others understand the need and urgency for these sacred works to be done. (: I love Hiawatha, I love our Savior, Jesus Christ. I know that when we apply the power of the Atonement in our lives, we come closer to Him. Daily scripture study WILL make the difference in your day. I testify of that. Prayer is real, God is real and the Book of Mormon is true. I LOVE YOU ALL, I'M GRATEFUL FOR ETERNAL FAMILIES AND FOR THE EXAMPLE YOU ALL ARE TO ME.

Have a fantastic week and I hope to hear from you all sooon! (:

Love your favorite missionary (;

Sister Williams