OKC - week 21 Trust in the Lord with all you've got!

Hey ya'll,

Something I learned this week is that we have to trust in the Lord with all we've got! 

We got T-Doc (transfer calls) this morning!! So I am leaving to go to Noble, OK!! My Companion is going to be Sister Kresge!! She came out with me and I am so excited! I am a little torn, to be completely honest, because I have grown to love this area so so much, and the members here in the OKC 7th ward. But I know that this is what the Lord has in store, and I also know that this is inspiration given to our mission president. 

The craziest thing though is that Sister Burley is staying and she is getting 2 other sisters, they are still keeping this Ward, but they are taking our neighboring area OKC 1st. They will combine, making them the OKC 17th Area!!! Our mouths both hit the floor when our Zone Leader announced this!! AHHH this is literally the craziest change!! In the next 2 days we have to pack, clean, and completly pack up our apartment because this one is closing! We are gonna be so busy! This is going to be fun!! But the most comforting part about it is that it is what this area needs the most! The Lord truly knows!!

So on a more, I guess adventurous note. We had Tornado Warnings all last Saturday!!!  We were in contact with our emergency member for the first part of the night! It was insane!! The temperature went from 70 to 40 degrees in very short amount of time! I guess that's a sign of Tornado weather. It was pouring BUCKETS of rain, and the wind was going crazy! The lightning strikes were every 20-30 seconds for an hour straight. I think this was the craziest storm I have ever been in! And I think this is bad, but I haven't experienced the hail and tornados.  That has yet to come;) hopefully no time soon. 

The Main theme for the week has definitely been centered around this scripture in Proverbs 3:5 "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding". The Lord has a plan for each of us, whether that be on a mission, or in our daily lives. He knows best, and if we will trust in him, he will guide us on the path. Our destination will be so amazing! 

Weekly challenge. Find a Scripture that motivates you to change something in your life and draw closer to Christ. Put this scripture wherever you want so you can remember it and see it all the times. Then write in your journal a before and after entry of how you felt before, and then after, how you changed in the week of focusing on that scripture. I promise you will see the Lords' hand strengthen you so much! I am going to take Proverbs 3:5 and put it all over my new appartment:) 

I love you so much!!! Have a really great week!!

Love, Sister Walker

OKC - week 20 Lots of miracles

Hey ya'll,

I hope everyone’s had a fabulous week cuz here in Oklahoma it’s been one heck of a week and it’s been amazing!  You know how you have those weeks where there are so many miracles, and you’re just doing awesome, and then you have those weeks that are crazy and awesome but they’re still good.  Well this was a week of crazy awesome miracles and absolutely no coincidences.  There is so much I could tell you.  First of all, the weather here has been insane. One day it will be really hot and then it will storm the next , then be freezing cold and then it will be 85 again, and then the next day down to 50 degrees.  This is crazier than Idaho weather!  This is insane, next thing you know we are going to have a tornado pass through!  Anyways, the things that have happened this week, literally have been no coincidence, just miracle after miracle and it definitely shows that the Lord watches out for His children and He shows that He always loves them.This last Wednesday we had exchanges and Sis. Jenkins came and Sis. Burley went to OKCU and we had so much fun.  We walked around a few neighborhoods and talked to a whole bunch of people and then went to mutual that night. It was no coincidence that Sis Jenkins is incredible at calligraphy and that is what they were teaching at mutual that night. We were able to build really good relationships with the young women and it was a lot of fun.  We had good things that day and then kinda a sad moment.  We lost one of our investigators, they dropped us (we’re not going to be teaching them) but the cool thing is, she told us that she wants to keep the Book of Mormon and is planning on still reading it.  But no worries, the Lord has been blessing us with so many other people we can possibly teach which brings us to the miracle that happened after we got dropped. One of our members called us and said she had a missionary moment!  The member said she was at a chiropractor appointment and the receptionist asked her a bunch of questions, why are we all born in sin like what the bible says.  And this member was able to explain to her that we are not born in sin but Eve’s decision led to us being able to be here and led to her being able to have children.  So why would God say that we are born in sin? It was honestly the most miraculous thing. This member was explaining this to this potential investigator and then she called us because she thought she had totally slaughtered it and asked us to come help her.   We went over the next day and taught this member the plan of salvation and helped her out with a few questions and it was so cool, because she wanted to teach someone that she barely knows.
We’re actually hoping to get in with the lady she was talking to and hopefully we are going to be able to teach her.  So we’re crossing our fingers and are praying that this lady gets in contact with this member again so that the seeds have been planted will begin to grow. We’re so excited to see that.Friday was insane like crazy like Sis Burley & I didn’t have much of an idea of what to do.  The only thing we had done was to plan a service project later in that day. We started out our day and then got a text message from the Elders and they said you need to call this lady, she doesn’t have your number and she’s in your ward.  So, we call her and she says, “we need you sisters to come over for a service project.  Are you available?”   Yea we’re available and another miracle happened because we were trying to figure out what to do and now had the opportunity to go help a family in our ward prepare a house for their uncle to move in.  We went over and didn’t really know why the member in the ward was doing this but when we got there it was the part member family that we wanted to work with so bad. It was an absolute miracle! We were trying to figure out ways that we could get in with them without making it seem awkward. So we were able to be there with them and talk with them and it was so cool. We formed a better relationship with this family and not only were we serving but we were, getting to know this sister better and hopefully will be able to teach them a little bit more and get in with their family… the Lord just provided in that moment.We had another service project that night.  That day was loaded with service. We came to realize that service is the way to go.  As missionaries we only have limited time for service but we feel, Sis Burley and I felt, like this was what the Lord was giving us so that we could find people to teach or potential people to teach.  This last service project, we had signed up to serve at a pumpkin patch.  This is a cool opportunity because a Methodist family has put together this service like center where they do a food bank, and they also do a pumpkin patch every year.  They just need volunteers to come and help them out. So we signed up and went on Friday and got to know them a little bit better. They were so kind, and we worked really hard at that pumpkin patch and got to talk to a lot of people.  We had lots of people ask about our name badges and what we were doing in Oklahoma. We got to talk to the family in charge too. They said we could come back whenever we want.  So we’re planning on going back next Saturday and we’re excited to see the outcome of this opportunity. We believe the Lord is giving us service opportunities because this is one way to show that we’re not scary missionaries, but we are kind and are willing to just help anyone, so this is such an experience and such a miracle for us.  There are absolutely no coincidences in these service opportunities, they were meant to happen.  Just a funny story about serving at this pumpkin patch. One of my Jobs at the pumpkin patch was to get all of the rotten pumpkins and throw them out. Some of these were like soup, and you couldn't exactly pick them up. It was so nasty!! So I used a shovel. Well the garbage was not too close, so I would scoop up a pumpkin and then walk over to the dumpster. I did this like 5 times and I had no idea what I looked like after this cause I would get splattered, and the pumpkins weren't that light weight haha. Everyone kept staring at me, and I thought it was just the name badge, but then sister Burley saw me and was like "are you ok?!?" Uh yeah I was fine, but I looked like I just ran 3 miles without stopping. 5 trips to the dumpster apparently got me rough! For those of you who know me, I turn red super easy. I was so red that I was more noticeable than those pumpkins! I had my hair up, and you could see my little hairs curling around my face. Haha I wish I had taken a picture of that mess! We got in the car I put my face right next to the air vent cause we had dinner, and I was not showing up looking like that! On the flip side the owners told us to "come back whenever!" we wanted to help out! We are totally doing this again even if it means me looking like a tomato again;) Today we had dinner and dinner was a little bit crazy because it was canceled and then the sister that wanted us over, posted on Facebook, “the Sisters need dinner tonight.” So one of the members of our ward called us and said they would love to have us over for dinner. We went over for dinner and got to know their family better. After dinner, we decided to around the neighborhood a little bit. It was getting a little dark but we thought we’d give it a try. There was this man and his family out playing baseball in the street.  We walked up to them and started talking and Sis. Burley pointed out, “Oh you have an accent. Where are you from?”  and he said, “Oh I’m from Seattle, Washington and Idaho.”  And I’m like “OH! What?  I’m from Idaho.  What part of Idaho?”  and he says, “Well what part of Idaho are you from?”  Me, “Meridian.”  And he’s like, “I’m from Middleton.”  So yeah.   So of course I said, “do you know the Walkers?“  Because you know a few live in Middleton, “yeah I kinda do, like I worked for a Walker.”  And I’m like, “Are you serious?” and it happened to be Larry Walker and I’m like, “Oh my gosh!” like family connections here, so we start talking and like Sis Burley finds out that his family is also from Arizona and so we’re just have these crazy connections.  They know all about the LDS church.  They know what a stake center is.  They know what a ward is.  They know what Elders do and that they serve for 2 years, and they know where the temple is in Oklahoma.  It was honestly no coincidence that we ran into them.  We didn’t schedule an appointment with them, but I told them that I would go home and email about him knowing the Walkers and that I’d get back to them.  We will go back and invite them to the ward trunk or treat.  Another crazy miracles.  Oh my goodness!  This area is doing so well right now.So the last thing that happened this week was pretty special.  So if any of you don’t know, the Oklahoma City temple is closing for 18 months to 2 years because of they are renovating it just like what they did with the Boise Temple, putting new rock on the outside and doing like a bunch of different other things. It’s a great opportunity because when it reopens there are going to be a lot of people that are going to get to go through and do the open house. We are really excited for that.  It closed last Saturday and we had a really cool experience on this day.  We got a call from a family in our ward and they said they were going to be sealed and asked if we would come. It was such a special and incredible experience because this family is so faithful to the gospel and it’s amazing we’re so excited for their choice to be sealed to each other.  Today at church we could definitely see there was a light in their eyes and they were just so happy together.  They have a little girl with disabilities, and she was a little over stimulated. A lot of the temple workers were trying to calm her down, and a little nervous to bring her in to the sealing room. But when they brought the 2 girls in the Spirit was so strong.  I can’t even describe to you the feelings that were felt.  I’ve never witnessed such a special experience and when that little girl walked in she was just taking it all in and was so calm.  You could definitely tell that she was feeling the Spirit and was having an experience. It was amazing to see them there as a family.  Two of the temple workers had to kind of help out but there were angels helping as well. There was definitely an amazing feeling in that room and I’ll never forget it.   That was one of the highlights of the week was to be there for that. They are an amazing family and I’m so grateful we’ve gotten to know them.   And so anyways I just want to say that I love you guys and appreciate all the prayers and all the thoughts and I hope you all have a wonderful week .  Your challenge for this week:  You have a lot of parties coming up.  You’ve got the Christmas parties, you’ve got the Trunk R Treats going on in your wards and you’ve got whatever party you’ve got going on, I invite you to invite a friend and tell them how much fun it’s going to be. I know that a lot of blessings will come from your invitation. Love ya’ll.

Sister Walker

OKC - Week 19 When an apostle of the Lord enters the room...

Hello from Oklahoma!

Love my companion!
(Oklahoma City Temple)

I can’t wait to tell ya’ll about this week.  It has been a week of learning, of growth, and all of the above, and I don’t even know where to start.

I guess I’ll start out with the highlight.  We got a text from our mission president, President Mansell, and he said that Elder Bednar was coming to our mission.  We were so excited!  It wasn’t just to come to talk to us, the missionaries, but he was also coming to talk to all of the recent converts (within the last 3 years), mission wide.  We had this huge devotional with all the recent converts.  So here are the details.

My District
(Oklahoma City Temple)

It began with 200+ missionaries gathered together to get the flu shot.  Last year many missionaries got the flu so Sister Mansell put her foot down and said all missionaries must get the flu shot.  Then we all lined up for a picture.  As we were waiting for Elder & Sister Bednar, we all started singing hymns.  This was the coolest part because you could feel how much music brings the Spirit into the room.  We had about 15 minutes until Elder & Sister Bednar entered the room and as it got closer, you could feel the anticipation of everyone, and the Spirit got stronger and stronger.  I can’t even begin to describe to you what it felt like.  We began to sing his favorite song, “Redeemer of Israel.”  I was so overwhelmed with the Spirit and I could feel his presence in the building, even though he wasn’t in the room with us yet.  I’ve never felt that way before and it was the coolest feeling I’ve ever experienced.  We had to sing the song over again because he hadn’t come into the room yet.  As we began again, he entered the room and we were all in front of an apostle of the Lord, a disciple of Jesus Christ, a true representative of Jesus Christ was in front of us! It was amazing!  As we’ve had conference this last week, I’ve been able to reflect on why do we have apostles and prophets here on this earth?  A lot of investigators have asked us this. Why are there modern day prophets, seers and revelators?  It’s because they speak of Christ, they speak of God and they let us know what He wants us to hear.  It’s amazing because God himself can’t come down and tell us but He has worthy priesthood holders and worthy men to tell us.  It is so comforting.

Oklahoma, Oklahoma City Mission
Pres. & Sis. Mansell and Elder & Sis. Bednar

For 3 hours,  all of the missionaries got to listen to Elder Bednar.  We didn’t really know what to expect, but were all really excited because he is an amazing speaker and he gets your attention.  We all had our notepads out ready to go.  He stood up and said, “Elders & Sisters I have 3 things for you to follow.  First don’t take notes on anything I say.” You could hear all of the pens dropping.   We are going to have a discussion and I want you to be taught by the spirit.  That was so cool because he said some things, and I wrote them down, but it wasn’t exactly what he said, it was the Spirit that taught me.  Reading back through my notes I can see all of the things that I learned and the things that I’m going to apply now to my mission here in Oklahoma.  And that was the point, to allow the Spirit to teach us.  He is an amazing teacher, but the Spirit is the most amazing teacher.

Topo Golf!! (Me trying to hit the ball)

Before Elder Bednar even stood up, Sister Bednar spoke to us and reminded us to never be ashamed about knowing and representing the Savior.  It’s true, we shouldn’t be ashamed for knowing the Savior and knowing what He wants us to be.  This message really stood out to me because you should never be ashamed or hesitate to stand up for what you believe in.  There are a lot of youth here in Oklahoma that have to do this, as they are one of very few members who go to their school.  They have to be that light, that example because other people will see it.  It’s so good to represent the church and the Savior. 

Elder Bednar on the other hand allowed me to really evaluate myself as a missionary.  It was very uplifting. One thing I want to apply to my missionary service is, “Teaching is not talking.”  What that means is when you’re sitting in front of an investigator and just talking, are you spewing information or letting the spirit speak thru?  Also are you connecting with them? Are you allowing the Spirit to tell you what that person needs?  If you are just talking to them it is going right over their head.  But if you are really relating to them, sitting down with them, and asking, "what do you need, and how do I need to teach you?  How does the Spirit need to teach you and how am I going to be able to invite that?  This is what I learned from that talk.  Also, are we willing to do all we can so that the Spirit can draw from that bucket of knowledge?  We have a bucket of experience,  all of the things we have gone thru.  When we teach, is that bucket full, ready, prepared for when we teach?  That is something I want to apply in my studying all I can during our study time each day so the Spirit can help me and my companion be able to teach to their needs. Elder Bednar was so cool because he got down on a personal level with us and allowed us to talk about what we learned in the talks.  This might sound crazy, but I didn’t even feel like I needed to shake his hand and be super close with him.  I felt like He was super connected with us.  As we were in that small chapel it felt like he was our best friend just having a conversation with us, teaching us, counseling us.  Isn’t that how the Savior is? Our best friend willing to guide us, and show us the way?  And that is exactly what His apostle was doing.  I felt so close to him as well as many others in that room.  The Spirit was able to teach us what we needed. 

We definitely beat these Elders😉

After the missionaries devotional,  all the recent converts from the whole mission came to listen to Elder Bednar counsel and encourage them.  All the missionaries were in the back and the whole chapel and gym was filled with people, recent converts of all walks of life. You could just feel the love the Savior has for each one of them.  They all didn’t look the same, and they all came from different backgrounds. The Savior loves every one of those individuals and you could feel it as Elder Bednar stood up to teach.  He let them know that he loved them and that the Savior loved them. He specifically told all of us that, no matter if you mess up, and go back to bad habits, you have a Savior and there is a way back to the path. You’re going to sway on the path, it is inevitable, but you’re going to be able to get back on the straight and narrow.  Always remember that there is a way back to the Savior.

6 Sisters is a Party!!
(We are so popular when everyone coming
from 2+ hours away needs a place to crash)

For the OKC 7^th ward, Jordan was able to come and she brought her parents who are not members.  We were talking to Jordan today and she told us that her parents loved it and they learned a lot from going. We don’t know what will come of it, but we know something good.  We also had another family there whose son was baptized not too long ago.

I want to let you all know that I love you and I'm so grateful for all of your love and support.  I will be honest, it is tough. No, it's really tough, but it is so worth it and so much fun. I love everything about Oklahoma and it makes me so happy to hear all about your activities and missionary experiences.

Your challenge is to fill that spiritual bucket, that bucket of knowledge so you are ready to do what Sister Bednar says, “Stand up for what you believe and represent the Savior.”  The Savior wants you to learn so much, He has so much in store for you. I’ve learned that here on a mission that there is so much you can gain, so never stop growing, never stop learning. Read your scriptures, pray with sincerity of heart, study your scriptures and apply them to your daily life.

Love,

Sister Walker