September 11, 2105

Sister Kaylee N. Widdison
Houston North Zone

Dear Sister Widdison:

I am pleased to have extended an assignment to you to serve as s Sister Trainer Leader in the Texas Houston South Mission. As I mentioned to you when the assignment was extended to you, I know that this new responsibility comes to you from the Lord. There is much that He expects from you as you become a core part of the leadership of this wonderful mission.

This new assignment comes with great responsibilities.  It is essential that you do your best to be an example of exact obedience, faithful service, and being spiritually led by the Lord.
The way you serve will have a great impact on the whole of the mission and its success. Never forget that everything you do or don't do will have an impact on the work, as the missionaries will look to you to set the standard for missionary service. Accordingly, strive that your area will be the strongest in the zone.

It is also essential that you remember that such a position of authority does not indicate that you are any better than your fellow missionaries. To the contrary, as the Lord taught, "and whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all." In order to fulfill this sacred assignment, you must see yourself beneath all rules, requirements and standards of excellence. You will succeed in being a great leader by being a humble example and the first to do what is right.

Please do everything you can to be worthy to be guided by the Spirit in teaching and leading the work with the sister missionaries under your direction. Remember that you represent your mission president, and more importantly the Lord, in every exchange and conversation you have with the sister missionaries under your direction. After an experience with you, the sisters should feel like they have been with a true and humble servant of the Lord. Seek to know the Lord's direction through prayer and revelation, and become more and more a woman of God as you fulfill your responsibilities.

Remember that a key part of what you do is to build up and train the sisters for whom you have responsibility. Make this a focus of your work. Look for opportunities to bless and inspire them. 

On a personal note, I very much look forward to working closely with you in this new assignment. Please know of my love for you and my confidence in you. I know you will do a wonderful job in fulfilling these new responsibilities and have a lasting impact on the missionaries you will serve.

Sincerely,
Aaron T. Hall
President

                                                                                               September 14, 2015
 PRAY,PEDDLE,PREACH ;)


Hello my beautiful people :)

another week here in good ol Texas.. hahaha

LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT MIRACLES!

I have an amazing new companion. Her name is HERMANA SANCHEZ and we have so much fun together! We have so much fun, like to much fun, it's just fun!  Because we are just talking to everyone and we have already seen so many miracles! We are going to be so busy, it's really neat! :) 

As you can see from the millions of pictures below, she is obviously Hispanic. So hopefully my Spanish gets better.  :)

It was really neat, me and Hermana Sanchez just clicked and got right to work!!

We have some really neat investigators right now :)

We are working with a guy named Angelo, who is crazy (like kind of crazy) but he is so interested. He told us he is just so tired of trying to find the truth, and he is just ready to have it. Then we are like dude we have it. hahah HE IS AMAZING. it's funny, he had us put our hands on his shoulders and had us pray for him.. BAHAHA oh my gosh though, the spirit was so strong.. so strong.. he was like,"I can not breathe."  He can recognize the spirit so well.. its amazing!

We also have a cute girl that we had a super strong lesson with.  Her name is Karla and she just straight up moved here from El Salvador, with no one and nothing and she just wants help and wants to just feel the holy ghost always. She is ready to be baptized, its amazing.   Please pray that we can find somewhere for her to live. She's just lost and lonely and is only eighteen years old. Its crazy!!

 Also, we had a big ward party with about 300 Hispanics. CRAZY!  festiva de patrias! haha uh crazy. It was so fun, everyone from different countries brought all their food and was just so prideful about their country! They did different dances and just had a lot of culture. Hispanics can party.

We also had the privilege of taking our ward mission leaders daughter out teaching with us. Her name is Allison :) she's cute and wants to be a missionary, she is only eleven. Never too young to start em, right/:) hehe 

A week full of miracles, Jehovah Witnesses (ehhh so over them) old men giving us hugs, and biking, biking, biking!  :)

The weather is finally cooling down!! AMAZING!! feels like September.. well a little bit.. still hot. but it's like 70 degrees in the mornings :)

Thank you for all the prayers :)

I can truly feel them!!

enjoy the millions of pictures :)

LOVE YA GIRL,

Hermana Widdison :)

                             
                                             August 31, 2015                     
J DUBS

 This week on Monday we went to go try this referral we received. Then we saw some people moving so we went and asked if we could help, and the guy was like "oh the Mormon girls" hahaha but in  an excited voice!  He had a million questions and asked us for a Book of Mormon. So that was cool in two ways.

1. No one ever lets us help them, but they let us help them move!

2. He asked us for a Book of Mormon and to teach him.

However, he was English speaking so bummer for us.

Then we had some guy come up and talk to us and try to teach us about his new religion called "The Core" haha he was like, "I am doing exactly what you guys are doing." (haha hum not really). So that was weird, we surely  aren't going to help him spread his new gospel.

Then on Tuesday, we got rain and thunder and lightening and black skies and 70 degrees. Then of course within the hour sunshine and 100 degree weather.. so that was weird.

Wednesday we did  service with the Houston food bank!  One of the ladies that we always serve with came to our church on Sunday too! so that's bomb.. 

We had some fun conversations with testigos de jehovah.. uhh jehovah witnesses hahaha ... they are crazy. legit. so weird.. but hey its whatever. 

 We had an awesome lesson with a less active that we found. Well, he found us!  then he came to church on Sunday. It was his first time to church since may 2008. He was so happy to be back.         He said it felt weird but he was glad to be back. So that's good.

 Also, our investigator Angel, We had a good lesson with him  about temples.  He asked us all these insane questions... yup. that was a hard lesson.

I hit my year mark on Thursday!  Ate some waffles and burned a dress.. haha

We also got to help a less active pack up and move, so that was fun.

We spent a solid amount of time in Home Depot researching roach stuff. Because we have super bad cockroaches. So that's fun. We have so many its so  nasty.

yup,

my week

love, ya girl

Hermana Widdison

One year for me!

cockroaches going down!

Gift cards from home so I don't starve.

                                                                                                   August 24,2015

Rain and Thunder                                              

What up?

It's your girl :)

 A lot of you probably missed my email last week... yeah, I just didn't feel like having anything to say. Don't worry, I am still dying of heat here in Texas.. hahaha but its okay because I am here now and you can now jump for joy that you got your email from your favorite hermana ;) hehe (humble much jaja)

SO THIS WEEK.. We had lots of rain, thunder and lightening, so that meant waiting out the rain because we can't bike in lightening. So one day we decided to just go out and try and go teach people in the bad weather and boom Hermana Whitehead got a flat tire! haha oh my gosh. so we learned our lesson. It'ss better to be safe and wait out the rain then to just go biking in it. It's hard be trapped inside. We would get all ready to leave and then the holy ghost is like, NO! so we go back and learn patience. It's like a roller coaster. TEXAS WEATHER IS AWFUL! This week every day is around 105.. haha Texas make up your mind!!

A night of a bike falling off the back of a car, then biking home with no brakes! PRAY FOR HERMANA WHITEHEAD PLEASE, her poor bike.

Biking home at night here is like MOUNTAIN BIKING IN THE DARK. Don't do it.

awful, sketchy, peligroso.

This week we saw a lot of miracles!! (like always) 

we are now helping the cutest little lady from Colombia learn English. It is so humbling because she just looks at us and cries and tells us how bad she wants to learn English and we just sit there and tell her exactly how we feel, because its been so hard to learn Spanish. So we do know how she feels. However, the gift of tongues is real, and she is working so hard! It's a miracle we found her, she moved here from Florida and she was meeting with the missionaries there, so she already knows so much! It was such a miracle!! pray for my girl.. SHIRLEY :)

Then we have ANGEL! this cool guy ( believes in aliens and 4th dimension stuff.. like what?) haha He is probably one of the coolest guys I have met. He loves the Holy Ghost and that's just what he wants  He kind of has some weird beliefs right now and all he wants to do is come to church. HE IS SO COOL, he just wants the light of Christ, and we have it. So that's cool right ;)  ITS COOL! I think  he's going get baptized  when he gets work off. So pray for him. 

Then I would love to share a biking miracle with yall :) 

This happened about 3 weeks ago and I just keep forgetting about it!

So we bike up and down this one road and there are these cement blocks ( like the ones for parking lots.. ya know? )  So there was one of these on the sidewalk. I saw it and within a split second my timing was off, and my pedal was gonna hit it!  I saw that happening  so I closed my eyes, got ready to fall,  tucked my arm in and then a second later I was still on my bike! I opened my eyes  and realized that I  didn't fall.  It was amazing!  When we got to the stop light I looked at Hermana Whitehead and she said,  "how did you not fall?"  I know we have angels with us who are watching over us and protecting us with every step we take, every pedal we bike.. it's amazing. 

The mission is crazy.

Houston... oh, Houston....

This week its going be hot.

When we bike down the roads,  the only way to describe it like, IT'S LIKE BIKING WITH THE HEAT OF A CAMPFIRE CONSTANTLY.   that's all

pray for ya girl :) 

HERMANA WIDDISON
:)

PS. Your girl has been on her mission for a year and my Spanish is still bad. I will keep working on it though.

                                       getting ready to go.. left. had to come back.. so sad.

                                           August 10, 2015

MORDIDA

       

                                                

Happy Birthday to me. August 4th I turned 20!

    

Celebrated at Build A Bear on P-day of course.

 Birthday lunch at Olive Garden with Hermana Whitehead

Family Home Evening, It's a tradition, cake in your face on your Birthday!

Look what everyone did for me on Tuesday when we teach our English class!

Everyone at English class helped me celebrate. I love them!

More cake in the face!

It's pretty fun.

HELLO :)

This week is going to be a lot of pictures :)
LUCKY YOU!!!

My birthday week was a week of miracles!! 

In the Hispanic culture they have this tradition where they smash a cake in your face on your birthday.  It's for good luck! hahaha, so of course this happened a few times.. :)

they chant, "MORDIDA" which means bite, so you have to take a little bite out of the cake then someone just smashes your face into it, so fun!! (or you just do it yourself!!)  :)

So Monday night at FHE is the first time it happened.

Then Tuesday at English class, MY FAVORITE!  I walked in and they had  decorations and they all sad  "Happy Birthday",  I LOVE ENGLISH CLASS :)

My little favorite person, I call her Hermanaita, she brought lasagna and chocolate cake for my birthday, It made me feel so loved. She is amazing. hahaha ( I will send lots of pictures, don't even sweat it haha) ( speaking of sweat its supposed to be 107 today and tomorrow here in Houston. whoot) anyways. ENGLISH CLASS WAS AMAZING!! I even got some birthday hugs from the guys hahahahahahhahahaha and it was cute all the little cards they gave me said,  "Happy Birthday Hermana Widdingson!" haha close enough, right? :) hahaha

THANK YOU FOR ALL MY BIRTHDAY WISHES :) 

It was weird. It was just like any other day.

President Hall called me in the morning and even sang to me. That was a good way to start my day :)

AMAZING MIRACLE!
We made this new friend named Martin.  We always see him at the bus stop. So then on Tuesday we just asked him if he was ever interested in learning about the gospel.  (ooh, background story, 18 years old, from Ecuador, here learning English, going home next Tuesday.) so we always would see him right, well we asked him, and he was like ya! So we went over and taught him, then he said, "Can I come out teaching with you guys? I want to be a missionary."
 BAHAHA WELL HECK YEAH YOU CAN MARTIN!!  So Martin came out teaching with us ALL DAY FRIDAY!! ALL DAY!!!  We gave him some things to study and to watch, and he studied them. like what! cool. Anyways, He said,  "I give you guys so much credit, and I want to go out teaching with the missionaries down in Ecuador when get home because I see them everywhere."
OH MY GOSH. Then he sad, "I know the Book of Mormon is true, why wouldn't it be?
 Basically my jaw was on the ground all day long. haha SO COOL!  He is coming out teaching with us tonight too. so cool right? yeah, cool!  don't worry I took pictures, this really happened. 

Martin, Hermana Whitehead and me

Out biking with Martin

THEN ANA!
I love Ana.  Love, love  her!

We went and knocked on her door, and she opened it and said, "I was praying you guys would come." LIKE WHAT?  Then she was like I have been reading in the Book of Mormon.
(she was on page 58)  WHAT?  She said, "I find so much comfort, and its true!!) AMAZING!!!

We saw her two days later and she was in Jacob.. haha what! She is amazing... amazing! and she is in the worst, most terrible, awful situation I have ever heard of, and shes so positive, and she knows everything will work out. I love her, truly love her.

It's the little things. 

I love being a missionary.

gosh.

KICK BUTT THIS WEEK PEOPLE!!

LOVE,
HERMANA WIDDISON

                                                    AUGUST 3, 2015

 SURVIVED ANOTHER WEEK!

This is why I have the best parents in the world......

My parents are crazy!!

TROMPO -- a Guatemalan game.. my favorite thing in the world.. seriously.. YouTube this thing, Its amazing! I am learning tricks with it. haha and I have a video of me doing tricks, but hey too many gbs.. missionary problems, sorry 

I love my mission, every moment is fun.

 We have now entered into AUGUST! The hottest month of the year!!

whoot whoot.. It's okay 3/31 days down.. hahaha the first two weeks of August are the hottest weeks. So me and Hermana Whitehead literally are mentally preparing ourselves for the sauna to happen! WHOOT!

However, Heavenly Father is blessing us big time :) even if those blessings are those nice summer breezes!! I LOVE WHEN THE WIND BLOWS!! AHH YAY! 

Thank you for all the birthday wishes! I turn  20 tomorrow.. so those of you who missed out.. that's why there is repentance.. HAHA  and of course for my 20th birthday I am gonna do something crazy... So Build a Bear it is for me today ;) I don't wanna grow up!

moments this week..

 We have an investigator from the Dominica Republic.  She has super hard and fast Spanish and she said, "you girls spend to much time in the sun, so let me give you facials." So we went over to visit her  and they had turned her house into a spa. Oh my gosh one of the most random things that has happened on my mission. She gave us facials and they just smelt like throw up!  They were chunky and it turned our skin orange.. haha and then she said, "I have a healthy smoothie to give you". lets not even talk about it...

but hey it was an adventure, then she didn't even come to church.. like what! that's okay, maybe next week.

Then we met this cool guy from CUBA, hard Spanish as well! But he also spoke English (tender mercy)  He was trying to move a mattress so of course we said,  "can we help you?" then he said yes! (crazy because no one here ever says they want our help so it was a miracle.)

We helped him move his new mattress, and he just  kept calling us angels over and over which is always weird because I have never seen an angel as sweaty as me. hahaha but we helped him, then he said, "you guys are the Mormons right?  of course we are, so then he went off and told us about how he has had alien encounters in Nebraska. LIKE WHAT!! Then he was like "I believe in aliens.. so the fact that you guys believe in your saint Joseph Smith guy and how I saw aliens, I am interested.. " BAHAHAHA okay .. so we got a good laugh out of that,  so hopefully he realizes that Joseph Smith didn't see aliens.. but hey, hes interested :) 

The mission is amazing.

I am surviving the heat. 

Its just hot.

love your favorite missionary :)
IN THE WORLDDDDDDDDDDD

Hermana Widdison