I have been on my mission for a month. I am a little bitter about it still... This is going by so fast I can hardly believe it. I feel like I have been here forever...but at the same time I feel like I haven't been here at all...It is a really surreal feeling that I cant even begin to explain..Missionaries and RMs....You feel me...right?
THIS WEEK HAS BEEN A WEEK OF MIRACLES. And Sister Goodrich and I have really seem the fruits of our labors! We have been working so hard to see results...just to feel as though we were sliding backwards. Which is the most discouraging thing you could ever imagine for a missionary. hmmm where to start...okay! here...
MIRACLE ONE: We had an investigator Adam, that we were at the point of almost needing to drop (aka stop teaching) due to lack of progression. But the Lord made it very clear that we should continue to teach him. We couldn't get him to church which was really the next step for him..he had already been twice but things kept getting in the way of him going more than that. We went to his house to have a lesson, and he himself brought up still wanting to be baptized and knowing that he needed to get to church...and most of all he seemed happy while in other lessons more stand off-ish. We left that lesson beaming and full of gratitude for the way that Heavenly Father has worked on him through the spirit. The miracles continued as we walked into the chapel Sunday morning to see Adam sitting in the congregation.
MIRACLE TWO: We had another investigator...Cotton and his 3 boys. Who were doing really well! Actually..it was just the boys that were progressing really well.. Cotton, their dad was a different story. He didn't want to go to church or anything, and just wasn't really moving forward. Which is frustrating. On Saturday we had a ward BBQ and we invited this family..and Cotton said that they MIGHT come, that they weren't going to promise anything..of course when we walked in...BAM. Who was there? Oh ya know...COTTON AND HIS SONS. BLESSING. When it was over we said that we were going to see them later that night for a lesson! they agreed. We went over later that night...and saw a note on the door. Sister Goodrich and I panicked naturally thinking they were ditching the whole thing. NOPE...what did the note say... "Sisters we went swimin see you tomorow at church. Love you (last name here) :)"
MIRACLE THREE: Cotton and his sons were at church....as well as Adam and our other investigator Michael.... What in the world. BLESSED.
MIRACLE FOUR: We have been trying and TRYING and TRYING to get in contact with this man, Danny who wanted us to teach him. We were going to go yesterday at 6:30 and swing by his house right when we got home from our meeting in Lexington before another lesson.. but we were stuck in traffic...HORRIBLE traffic. for an extra hour. Not leaving our house till 7:30 on our bikes. We bike there...and who do we see...DANNY. On his porch. AS we get talking to him he has just got home from Lexington as well...and if we had stopped by earlier.. he wouldn't have been there.
MIRACLE FIVE: With that same situation we had another lesson with a man name Jerry. at 7. And of course that didn't happen..we ended up getting over there at 8 to find him in his car with another man. Who was that man? His brother Ronnie. and they were about to leave. As we got talking a little, we asked Ronnie if we could teach him another time..He said sure! and now we are going to be teaching both Ronnie and Jerry! If we had come by earlier...Ronnie wouldn't have been there.
I know that the Lord made all of this happen for us. That he saw our efforts and blessed us for them. We could have gotten discouraged with lack of results and slacked off, but that wouldn't have done anything for us. The Lord saw our efforts.. and when he sees our righteous efforts he is bound to give us those blessings that he has promised us in the scriptures. Hence the title...BIND THE LORD. Be so righteous...so obedient...that the Lord has no other choice but to pour those blessings upon you, and he will.. I can testify of that first hand.
THINGS PEOPLE SAY IN CORBIN KENTUCKY:
"Gentile, I thought they were just gentle people"
a missionary asked what is the purpose of life?...a member said "to experience earthly pleasures!" (***NOT TRUE***)
I asked a member what happened to their glasses.."I didn't get in a fight, they just fell apart one day, and I wasn't drunk!"
"Teeth are for the weak"
"Living the Jesus life"
"Clowns don't bother me, like, nothing in floppy shoes can run that fast"
"I'm only afraid of three types of snakes, live ones, dead ones, and crooked sticks that look like snakes."
UPDATE... I think I am getting better at this whole biking thing...I THINK. I haven't fallen off.. Which is amazing. but the bruises are still there from the pedals..Sister Goodrich gets a kick out of my non-existent biking skills.
YESTERDAY Elder Craig A. Cardon toured our mission :) He is of the quorum of the 70! It was so good to hear from him and be uplifted by his messages.. It was a spiritual FEAST. He asked random missionaries to come up and speak! I was really nervous that he was going to point at me and be like Sister Wagner, if you could come up here and share a little bit from Preach My Gospel (the guide to all things missionary) we would really appreciate it." OH WAIT. HE DID. Yup...officially half of the GKLM has now heard me speak on something I barely know anything about... But honestly, I relied on the spirit and everything turned our well. I spoke on how fear and nervousness can totally mute out the spirit. And that we can't have confidence in our own teaching skills, but instead rely souly on the spirit of the Lord to talk through you to all those you teach or simply contact on the street!
I love y'all so much it's unnatural! Thank you for all your love and support that I get continually. How did I deserve such a blessing as all of you?
Have an amazing week and keep smiling!! You are in my thoughts and prayers!
Much Love,
Sister Wagner
SHOUT OUT TO MY MUM, STEVE, HAYLEY, SARA, MIKE, And MATT for sending me a card in the mail this week!
SHOUT OUT TO LIN and BILL (Master Yoda) For sending me a informative letter answering those tough biblical questions and for the little something else they put in the package as well!
(If you want a shout out.....send me something in the mail :) that is truly the best thing ever! )
Tuesday, August 26, 2014
Friday, August 22, 2014
Blood, Sweat and Miracles!
What an amazing
week in the GKLM!!! !(great Kentucky Lousiville mission). I love this
and hate this keyboard so my apologies in advance for the craziness of
this email!!
So we had an investigator sleep on our porch! What?! You ask....ya I know I ask myself that too! So we have an amazing investigator. I wont use her name for security purposes. She has come from a really hard life. She has had a serious problem with drugs..and when I say drugs I'm not talking about the light stuff...anyway she got herself in a really deep hole. She came in contact with the missionaries, and she is learning of the gospel and REALLY wants to get baptized. She stopped drugs a about a month ago with no help from anything besides God. She truly is amazing! so she comes to our house, at 10:25ish...and we had been worried about her because we were supposed to have a lesson with her earlier that day. Anyway we hear a knock at the door...and there she is. She was standing there apologizing over and over and over again for missing our lesson, and she said that she showed up to the park that we meet in 2 hours early just to read her scriptures! But things happened and her friend came and got her because her friend needed help with something. So she went. And when she did she took her somewhere shady, and on their way back, he was beaten up by this man in a parking lot that had a gun and was trying to get money from her due to her past with things. It was insane. So she came to us with a dislocated arm and sore all over. We couldn't really do anything for her...ALSO you should know...1) investigators aren't supposed to know where you live. (another missionary told her)..2) they aren't allowed in your house 3) you are supposed to be in bed by 10:30. SO we talked with her for about 2 hours while blowing up an air mattress getting blankets and providing this woman who couldn't go to her house because he roommates allow drugs in the house and she is trying to get away from them. We sang with her, read scriptures with her, and prayed with her and allowed her to sleep on our porch. It was a crazy situation. She has been trying so hard to turn her life away from her past and move forward, but hard times always come when you are trying to do what is right. The Lord kept her safe, she could have easily died or gotten way more hurt than she did. I have seen such a growth in this woman it is insane, she has given up so much to be where she is right now and all in such a short time. But the Lord has really snatched her from the place that she was. And if she can quit smoking cigarettes she will be on her way to baptism and changing her life forever. We want to get her out of this town because she needs a fresh start but she is amazing and the sweetest woman you could ever imagine. And NO me and my companion are not in any danger :)
I am also now a professional knife thrower...so that's no big deal.. our Ward mission Leader.. Brother Johnson, is the best! We went out to his house last monday and he had a wooden target, and we started throwing knives. Like...BIG ONES. 12 inch long knives... I hit the target and made it stick in twice...so be warned..No one is gonna be messing with Sister Wagner. I got the skills. But not really. I probably threw the knife at least 50+ times.
This week I also got a chance to talk to a dog whisperer for an hour on the side of the road. He didnt want to hear about Jesus Christ, but he was really concerned with how we will treat our future pets and making sure that we knew to be the LEADER OF THE PACK. So with all your dogs...be the leader of the pack. He also told us how to be financially aware in the world we live in.. so that was pretty cool! Mom you would have loved to hear what he had to say about the dogs, and Dad you would have loved his little political financial rant :) He was a really awesome guy for sure!
OH! so quickly in ending this email...sorry it's so short this week! EEKS! an explanation of the subject:
Blood: The bike I am riding scrapes my legs like no bodies business. OW.
Sweat: My bike causes some serious body water to fall out from my pores. And the humidity here is like...a bathroom when you get out of the shower...at night you can breath in water particles. and you can see the humidity in the air. What is that all about?
Miracles: Being a missionary allows you to see so many miracles. I don't even have time to mention them all. But the Lord truly does provide. His work and his miracles have not ceased. Day after day after day it is a constant reminder that GOD LIVES. He provides us with lessons when we can't find anyone to teach. He shows us people who are prepared, people who are willing to listen, even when you think that there is no one that care. This is his truth, and people want to hear.
I just want to leave with a quick scripture: Alma 5:60
And now I say unto you that the good shepherd doth call after you; and if you will hearken unto his voice he will bring you into his fold, and ye are his sheep; and he commandeth you that ye suffer no ravenous wolf to enter among you, that ye may not be destroyed.
He is calling you, he is calling all of his children on this earth to come unto Him, unto Jesus Christ, that he can protect you from the dangers of this world, from the dangers of trials and tribulations, from dangers of life, physical and spiritual. But you need to trust him, the good shepherd, you need to take action. When he said run away from something, run, and he will fight them off. Just like sheep running from a wolf while the shepherd protects. But that sheep that doesn't run, that doesn't trust in the shepherd, is going to be taken. I hope and pray that all may look to the good shepherd, to Jesus Christ and head his call to turn and run from those things that hurt you. He will protect you. But remember we must always do our part.
I love you all more than you can know. And I support you in all the things you do. I couldnt be more blessed to have such awesome people cheering me on.
God Bless, and in the worlds of Brother Johnson, "Praise the Lord!"
Love always,
Sister Wagner
ALSO
SHOUT OUT TO MY AWESOME COUSIN TANNER! Who has officially started his mission in Peru, and I can't wait to hear all about that!
SHOUT OUT TO MY OTHER AWESOME COUSIN SHANNON who has been updating my blog! woohoo!
And to both of my awesome families at my Mums, and my dads for making sure I have delicious food to snack on!
And to Haleigh and Lindsey for sending me letters in the mail this week!
And a CALL OUT to my lovely brother Matt..who wrote me a note and SPELLED MY NAME WRONG...and also put bagel-bite sauce on it..so that was cool. And He also has really awesome 'Q-tip people' making skills. Ask him for a Q-tip person..you won't regret it. It made my whole week. ALSO! Matt! this is for you....Missionaries that I serve with actually call me Sister Swagner.. Which is pretty great and it always makes me think of you. ( and please dont eat in my bed)
So we had an investigator sleep on our porch! What?! You ask....ya I know I ask myself that too! So we have an amazing investigator. I wont use her name for security purposes. She has come from a really hard life. She has had a serious problem with drugs..and when I say drugs I'm not talking about the light stuff...anyway she got herself in a really deep hole. She came in contact with the missionaries, and she is learning of the gospel and REALLY wants to get baptized. She stopped drugs a about a month ago with no help from anything besides God. She truly is amazing! so she comes to our house, at 10:25ish...and we had been worried about her because we were supposed to have a lesson with her earlier that day. Anyway we hear a knock at the door...and there she is. She was standing there apologizing over and over and over again for missing our lesson, and she said that she showed up to the park that we meet in 2 hours early just to read her scriptures! But things happened and her friend came and got her because her friend needed help with something. So she went. And when she did she took her somewhere shady, and on their way back, he was beaten up by this man in a parking lot that had a gun and was trying to get money from her due to her past with things. It was insane. So she came to us with a dislocated arm and sore all over. We couldn't really do anything for her...ALSO you should know...1) investigators aren't supposed to know where you live. (another missionary told her)..2) they aren't allowed in your house 3) you are supposed to be in bed by 10:30. SO we talked with her for about 2 hours while blowing up an air mattress getting blankets and providing this woman who couldn't go to her house because he roommates allow drugs in the house and she is trying to get away from them. We sang with her, read scriptures with her, and prayed with her and allowed her to sleep on our porch. It was a crazy situation. She has been trying so hard to turn her life away from her past and move forward, but hard times always come when you are trying to do what is right. The Lord kept her safe, she could have easily died or gotten way more hurt than she did. I have seen such a growth in this woman it is insane, she has given up so much to be where she is right now and all in such a short time. But the Lord has really snatched her from the place that she was. And if she can quit smoking cigarettes she will be on her way to baptism and changing her life forever. We want to get her out of this town because she needs a fresh start but she is amazing and the sweetest woman you could ever imagine. And NO me and my companion are not in any danger :)
I am also now a professional knife thrower...so that's no big deal.. our Ward mission Leader.. Brother Johnson, is the best! We went out to his house last monday and he had a wooden target, and we started throwing knives. Like...BIG ONES. 12 inch long knives... I hit the target and made it stick in twice...so be warned..No one is gonna be messing with Sister Wagner. I got the skills. But not really. I probably threw the knife at least 50+ times.
This week I also got a chance to talk to a dog whisperer for an hour on the side of the road. He didnt want to hear about Jesus Christ, but he was really concerned with how we will treat our future pets and making sure that we knew to be the LEADER OF THE PACK. So with all your dogs...be the leader of the pack. He also told us how to be financially aware in the world we live in.. so that was pretty cool! Mom you would have loved to hear what he had to say about the dogs, and Dad you would have loved his little political financial rant :) He was a really awesome guy for sure!
OH! so quickly in ending this email...sorry it's so short this week! EEKS! an explanation of the subject:
Blood: The bike I am riding scrapes my legs like no bodies business. OW.
Sweat: My bike causes some serious body water to fall out from my pores. And the humidity here is like...a bathroom when you get out of the shower...at night you can breath in water particles. and you can see the humidity in the air. What is that all about?
Miracles: Being a missionary allows you to see so many miracles. I don't even have time to mention them all. But the Lord truly does provide. His work and his miracles have not ceased. Day after day after day it is a constant reminder that GOD LIVES. He provides us with lessons when we can't find anyone to teach. He shows us people who are prepared, people who are willing to listen, even when you think that there is no one that care. This is his truth, and people want to hear.
I just want to leave with a quick scripture: Alma 5:60
And now I say unto you that the good shepherd doth call after you; and if you will hearken unto his voice he will bring you into his fold, and ye are his sheep; and he commandeth you that ye suffer no ravenous wolf to enter among you, that ye may not be destroyed.
He is calling you, he is calling all of his children on this earth to come unto Him, unto Jesus Christ, that he can protect you from the dangers of this world, from the dangers of trials and tribulations, from dangers of life, physical and spiritual. But you need to trust him, the good shepherd, you need to take action. When he said run away from something, run, and he will fight them off. Just like sheep running from a wolf while the shepherd protects. But that sheep that doesn't run, that doesn't trust in the shepherd, is going to be taken. I hope and pray that all may look to the good shepherd, to Jesus Christ and head his call to turn and run from those things that hurt you. He will protect you. But remember we must always do our part.
I love you all more than you can know. And I support you in all the things you do. I couldnt be more blessed to have such awesome people cheering me on.
God Bless, and in the worlds of Brother Johnson, "Praise the Lord!"
Love always,
Sister Wagner
ALSO
SHOUT OUT TO MY AWESOME COUSIN TANNER! Who has officially started his mission in Peru, and I can't wait to hear all about that!
SHOUT OUT TO MY OTHER AWESOME COUSIN SHANNON who has been updating my blog! woohoo!
And to both of my awesome families at my Mums, and my dads for making sure I have delicious food to snack on!
And to Haleigh and Lindsey for sending me letters in the mail this week!
And a CALL OUT to my lovely brother Matt..who wrote me a note and SPELLED MY NAME WRONG...and also put bagel-bite sauce on it..so that was cool. And He also has really awesome 'Q-tip people' making skills. Ask him for a Q-tip person..you won't regret it. It made my whole week. ALSO! Matt! this is for you....Missionaries that I serve with actually call me Sister Swagner.. Which is pretty great and it always makes me think of you. ( and please dont eat in my bed)
(For some reason I am not able to upload the pictures that Sister Wagner sent me from August 11th and August 18th When I put them in the post, it just tells me that an error occured and the post couldn't be saved or published. Any ideas why this might be?)
Monday, August 11, 2014
HE MAKES THE PLANS
HEY Y'ALL
So I am officially in the great state of Kentucky! I live in the town of Corbin..at the most southern point of the whole mission! Pretty much the boonies. Well actually.. definitely the boonies. But I love it! the town part of Corbin is actually kind of like Bangor! Which is nice to have somewhere the looks familiar! This place is definitely the souths version of Maine. Small town, some thick accents(I UNDERSTAND IT) and lots of trees! I am for sure blessed not to live in a place that is just insanely dry or huge..
My Trainer is Jillian Michaels. Not really...but pretty much. Sister Goodrich is seriously the most amazing trainer I could have ever asked for. I couldn't have hand picked someone any better if I tried. She is from Kaysville Utah! And she is a beast. both spiritually and physically. Hence why I called her Jillian Michaels. She eats super healthy...and she is trying to get me to the dark side.. but it hasn't happened yet. I like my carbs way to much! But she is like super strong and competed in fitness competitions before her mission! WHO DOES THAT? Haha Needless to say..when we bike... I die. and she is way out ahead of me, but I will get there! I love her! She keeps me sane and helps me to continually improve on everything I do. And is so patient with everything! THANK GOODNESS. OH! And get this. I knew she would be my trainer! Like...before my mission! I was looking on the Old mission presidents blog, and I was looking at past missionaries when they first got to the mission, and I saw her picture and thought to myself, "I hope she is my trainer!" And she is! The Lord knew way back then that she would be my trainer, HE MAKES THE PLANS. And I know that he knows the beginning from the end. He knew I needed her. Seriously she is amazing. I could rave and rave about how lucky I am!
The people here are amazing! The members are so kind and funny! And they are more than willing to feed you. And they give you a hard time about things which is amazing! The other people around are REALLY religious, and almost everyone has some kind of belief in God. Which makes talking to them not that bad..
CONTACTING STRANGERS ON THE STREET IS HORRIFYING. And speaking of that I almost got hit by a car. That was cool. We at a stop sign and Sis. Goodrich was like "GET OUT AND CONTACT THOSE PEOPLE" Who were across the street. So I hop out and start running and I looked and there was a car! It was super awkward because it slowed down and I tried to run around it and then it stopped and it was just a bad situation haha but it really wasn't even that close. And I contacted these two people. Which is sweet! and we are going to visit them later this week! My contacting skills have improved BIG TIME though..and they are still really bad, but they could be much much worse. Tracking (door knocking) is a whole-nother story. I pretty much want to dive behind a bush when I knock on a door. the first door I ever knocked ever..this grumpy man came to the door looked up and was like " no no no I'm busy I don't have time for this" then shut the door. Oops. So that was pretty fun! Makes me want to laugh!
This week Sister Goodrich and I got caught on our bikes in the pouring rain. We left our apartment on our bikes with a member, E.... (Whos is a sweet guy and spoils us sisters!), and it was raining a little, Sister Goodrich insisted that it would stop before we got there...it didn't! It was pouring for a good two mile bike ride. There was not a dry spot on us! We were soaked! And when we got to our investigators house, she wasn't there! Sister Goodrich made an excellent point when she said, "I feel that it was important for those people on the street to see us biking in the rain." I completely agree! Those people saw the lengths that we are willing to go for this work, and that isn't even the extent of it! I am just so blessed for that little chance we had to show those people who knew who we were, or not, the extent of which we would go.
Before I forget! LETTERS AND PACKAGES!!
Sister Wagner
509 west 4th street
Corbin, Kentucky
40701
SEND ME MAIL. please :)
ONLY IN KENTUCKY DO YOU HEAR:
"how was your day today"..."oh it was pretty good, ate some cookies that tasted like watermelon"
"the younger generation, they just go places we just don't tread...bromance."
"You can't shut the door on God, he will just kick it off it's hinges"
"I'm surprised people pray anymore you'd think with all this technology He(God) would just call it God-el" (like google..but God)
"I cant wait to talk with God, 'why'd you make man? It's like the most dysfunctional thing you made'"
Love these crazy people!
On a more spiritual note. Jacob 4:4 "For, this is the intent have we written these things, that they may know that we knew of Christ, and we had a hope of his Glory..."
I have come to know Christ more than I ever thought I could in the past few weeks, and I have a hope in his glory. We study the atonement of Jesus Christ A LOT as missionaries. I know that through Jesus Christ that we can become strengthened in our weaknesses and be strengthened in our pains, and sicknesses, our fears, our sorrows. Every bad feeling that we can ever experience can be taken away and relieved as we rely on Jesus Christ. He suffered so we don't have to. It is as simple as that. As we pray, and lay all of our worries on him, we can find a happiness that we never thought was possible. THAT is why I am here in Kentucky. and THAT is why this gospel means absolutely everything to me. I wouldn't be who I am without it. I know that what I am doing right now is because I know with every fiber of my being that this is the Lord's work, and I am bringing these people into his glory and goodness. (Mosiah 27:29) My soul hath been redeemed from the gall of bitterness and the bonds of iniquity. I was in the darkest abyss; but now I behold the marvelous light of God. My soul was racked with eternal torment; but I am snatched and my soul is pained no more." LET HIM SNATCHED YOU. Let the light of God come into your life. He wants to lift you.
I love you all so so much! thank you for all of your support and your love!
Sister Wagner
So I am officially in the great state of Kentucky! I live in the town of Corbin..at the most southern point of the whole mission! Pretty much the boonies. Well actually.. definitely the boonies. But I love it! the town part of Corbin is actually kind of like Bangor! Which is nice to have somewhere the looks familiar! This place is definitely the souths version of Maine. Small town, some thick accents(I UNDERSTAND IT) and lots of trees! I am for sure blessed not to live in a place that is just insanely dry or huge..
My Trainer is Jillian Michaels. Not really...but pretty much. Sister Goodrich is seriously the most amazing trainer I could have ever asked for. I couldn't have hand picked someone any better if I tried. She is from Kaysville Utah! And she is a beast. both spiritually and physically. Hence why I called her Jillian Michaels. She eats super healthy...and she is trying to get me to the dark side.. but it hasn't happened yet. I like my carbs way to much! But she is like super strong and competed in fitness competitions before her mission! WHO DOES THAT? Haha Needless to say..when we bike... I die. and she is way out ahead of me, but I will get there! I love her! She keeps me sane and helps me to continually improve on everything I do. And is so patient with everything! THANK GOODNESS. OH! And get this. I knew she would be my trainer! Like...before my mission! I was looking on the Old mission presidents blog, and I was looking at past missionaries when they first got to the mission, and I saw her picture and thought to myself, "I hope she is my trainer!" And she is! The Lord knew way back then that she would be my trainer, HE MAKES THE PLANS. And I know that he knows the beginning from the end. He knew I needed her. Seriously she is amazing. I could rave and rave about how lucky I am!
The people here are amazing! The members are so kind and funny! And they are more than willing to feed you. And they give you a hard time about things which is amazing! The other people around are REALLY religious, and almost everyone has some kind of belief in God. Which makes talking to them not that bad..
CONTACTING STRANGERS ON THE STREET IS HORRIFYING. And speaking of that I almost got hit by a car. That was cool. We at a stop sign and Sis. Goodrich was like "GET OUT AND CONTACT THOSE PEOPLE" Who were across the street. So I hop out and start running and I looked and there was a car! It was super awkward because it slowed down and I tried to run around it and then it stopped and it was just a bad situation haha but it really wasn't even that close. And I contacted these two people. Which is sweet! and we are going to visit them later this week! My contacting skills have improved BIG TIME though..and they are still really bad, but they could be much much worse. Tracking (door knocking) is a whole-nother story. I pretty much want to dive behind a bush when I knock on a door. the first door I ever knocked ever..this grumpy man came to the door looked up and was like " no no no I'm busy I don't have time for this" then shut the door. Oops. So that was pretty fun! Makes me want to laugh!
This week Sister Goodrich and I got caught on our bikes in the pouring rain. We left our apartment on our bikes with a member, E.... (Whos is a sweet guy and spoils us sisters!), and it was raining a little, Sister Goodrich insisted that it would stop before we got there...it didn't! It was pouring for a good two mile bike ride. There was not a dry spot on us! We were soaked! And when we got to our investigators house, she wasn't there! Sister Goodrich made an excellent point when she said, "I feel that it was important for those people on the street to see us biking in the rain." I completely agree! Those people saw the lengths that we are willing to go for this work, and that isn't even the extent of it! I am just so blessed for that little chance we had to show those people who knew who we were, or not, the extent of which we would go.
Before I forget! LETTERS AND PACKAGES!!
Sister Wagner
509 west 4th street
Corbin, Kentucky
40701
SEND ME MAIL. please :)
ONLY IN KENTUCKY DO YOU HEAR:
"how was your day today"..."oh it was pretty good, ate some cookies that tasted like watermelon"
"the younger generation, they just go places we just don't tread...bromance."
"You can't shut the door on God, he will just kick it off it's hinges"
"I'm surprised people pray anymore you'd think with all this technology He(God) would just call it God-el" (like google..but God)
"I cant wait to talk with God, 'why'd you make man? It's like the most dysfunctional thing you made'"
Love these crazy people!
On a more spiritual note. Jacob 4:4 "For, this is the intent have we written these things, that they may know that we knew of Christ, and we had a hope of his Glory..."
I have come to know Christ more than I ever thought I could in the past few weeks, and I have a hope in his glory. We study the atonement of Jesus Christ A LOT as missionaries. I know that through Jesus Christ that we can become strengthened in our weaknesses and be strengthened in our pains, and sicknesses, our fears, our sorrows. Every bad feeling that we can ever experience can be taken away and relieved as we rely on Jesus Christ. He suffered so we don't have to. It is as simple as that. As we pray, and lay all of our worries on him, we can find a happiness that we never thought was possible. THAT is why I am here in Kentucky. and THAT is why this gospel means absolutely everything to me. I wouldn't be who I am without it. I know that what I am doing right now is because I know with every fiber of my being that this is the Lord's work, and I am bringing these people into his glory and goodness. (Mosiah 27:29) My soul hath been redeemed from the gall of bitterness and the bonds of iniquity. I was in the darkest abyss; but now I behold the marvelous light of God. My soul was racked with eternal torment; but I am snatched and my soul is pained no more." LET HIM SNATCHED YOU. Let the light of God come into your life. He wants to lift you.
I love you all so so much! thank you for all of your support and your love!
Sister Wagner
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