Don't Let the Bed Bugs Bite

When Missionaries Open the Mailbox...Where's the Mail?

Hello, hello my family and friends!

As y'all know, this week is transfers! Sadly, I am going to be leaving Lynchburg :( I love it here! But I know I am going to be leaving it in good hands! Sister Wevers' hands :) she just finished with her training, and she is going to be training a brand new missionary! I am so proud of her! As for me... I have been assigned to serve as a Sister Training Leader, (its like the sister version of a Zone Leader) and I am going to be going to Christiansburg, VA! I will actually be serving with one of my MTC companions! Sister Miller! I am so excited to be with her again :) I know it will be a great transfer! 

Sister Weavers and I on the Mountain

Mullins Family

Kaela and Dillon

Wow, serving in Lynchburg has been such a blessing! I LOVE this area and everyone in it, I am sad to go, but I know that I am leaving it in good hands :) I am so excited for Sister Wevers! She is amazing and I have seen her change and grow so much! I am so so grateful for all that she has taught me and for this opportunity I have had to serve with her and to help train her! We both have grown a lot and seen miracles together.

This week has been full of miracles and joy! Missionary work brings me so much joy and I am so grateful for every second! We saw some HUGE progression with Kaela and Dillon! DILLON ACTUALLY PRAYED OUT LOUD! Every single time we meet, we ask him to say a prayer, and he always says he isn't ready. But on Monday, we asked him and he said he

 would. It was beautiful!! As he prayed, he talked about how he has come a long way, and he is grateful for the progress he has been making. He also thanked God for the lessons and for all that he has been learning! It was so cool to be there! What a powerful experience :) I am so grateful for the time I have had to teach them and serve them! They are AMAZING! Kaela also told me that Sister Wevers and I are her favorite missionaries! So that is pretty cool!

We were also able to meet with The Mullins Family, and John (our recent convert) was there! It was amazing! We asked John to share his testimony with us and his parents, so he wrote it down and read it to us. It was such a special experience to see the ripple effect of our efforts and how it has changed his life for the better, and how it is touching and changing his parents as well! I love that family and they will always have a special place in my heart! I hope and pray that someday John's parents are able to enter into the waters of baptism :) and that they may be able to be sealed as a family for time and all eternity! That is what its all about! I am going to miss Paul and Cheryl and John deeply, but I am so grateful for this time I have had with them. I know without a doubt that I was supposed to serve here so that I could find John and teach him and help him be baptized. I have had the spirit testify it to me many times, that this is one of the reasons that I was sent here. I know that this is the Lord's work and that He is in charge, and I also know that everything happens for a reason.

No LU, go BYU with the Forest Sisters

I really am sad to leave this area, but I know that there are still good things ahead :) I am also excited/nervous about my new calling, but I know from experience, that the Lord does qualify those he calls. I know that he will help me, and I do not need to be afraid. I keep reciting the first line of my favorite scripture in my mind; "Fear thou not" (Isaiah 40:10) I am just putting my trust and faith in Heavenly Father and I know He will help me. A companion I had once told me, "When you worry, Faith goes out the window" and its true. I know that as I keep my faith in my Heavenly Father, everything will work out exactly as it is supposed to. I don't need to worry or be scared, because "With God nothing shall be impossible" (Luke 1:37) 

Bed Bugs, I am Coming For You

Okay, so y'all are probably wondering by now why I wrote, "Don't Let The Bed Bugs Bite" in the subject line......... Well, there is only one thing that I will miss about Lynchburg, and that is our apartment. First we don't have a working A/C for a whole month, and now we have bed bugs!!! Yep. Bed bugs! I have bites all over. On my legs, my arms, and even my neck.. Sunday night we were at a members house asking about these bites I had all over me and the member told us that it must be bed bugs. Well, okay, first thing y'all need to know is, I didn't even know bed bugs were a real thing! I honestly thought that it was just like a cute little saying. Ya know, people would say "good, night sleep tight" and I thought they would say, "don't let the bed bugs bight" just because it rhymed.... Well no! They are real just in case you are wondering because first thing we did on Monday morning is we stripped our beds and we found one on my mattress! AHHHHH! They get bigger after they have been sucking your blood and this one we found was bigger than it was supposed to be, so that is one that had been biting me! EW! Anyways, Sister Wevers and I have been spending a lot of time, cleaning, washing clothes, and spraying literally EVERYTHING in the apartment with bed bug killer. It stinks, and we have to hang out clothes up to dry after we use it, but if it works, it will all be worth it... Pray that after all of this that I won't take any to my new area with me!

Bed Bug that Was on My Mattress

Love y'all tons! And seriously, don't let the bed bugs bite!

~Sister Kayla Marie Willis

The View from Liberty Mountain

VISION QUEST: Becoming

Hello!

Okay... So you will never guess what happened.... Read the story to find out :)

Sister Weavers and I in our Sunday Best

Sister Wevers and I had some time before our dinner appointment and so we tried to contact a new investigator that we picked up this week so that we could set up another lesson with them. We pull up to their house and park on the side of the road and then we say a prayer. After we said the prayer, we look over at the house, and we see this dog in their yard. We didn't even know they had a dog! So The dog is just chilling there and we get out of the car and start walking towards the door. For those of you that don't know this, I am not really used to dogs, especially big dogs. I don't really like them much. So I am just thinking to myself, "Okay, they can smell fear, Sister Willis. Stay calm, just walk up to the door. Everything will be fine!" You know, I am just trying to give myself a mental pep talk here. I am walking in front of Sister Wevers and the dog starts barking at me. I ignore it for a minute, still trying to stay calm, and then out of no where, this dog (we are pretty sure it was a pit bull or at least a pit bull mix) starts bearing down his teeth at me! He showed his teeth and made some intimidating noises and I was out of there! I ran back to the car and hoped in, with Sister Wevers close behind me. It was scary! That dog would have bit me or attacked me! I am just glad that the Lord protects His missionaries. He sure blessed us with safety!

I got a New Dress from Sister Elder

We had a pretty good week, we have been trying to see Kaela and Dillon. They have been to church 4 times now! It is so awesome! They are also reading  from the Book of Mormon. We spent some time this week and read with them, because they had some questions about it. Dillon told us that after we read and explained some of the things going on, it made so much more sense to him! He explained it to us as before, when he didn't understand super well, it seemed like he was watching a budget film, where some guys got together one day and said, 'hey lets make a movie in the backyard!' Then after we explained more of the back ground and what was going on, he felt like he was watching an IMax movie! I liked that analogy :) It is amazing to see the hearts that are changing right before our eyes! 

We got to meet together with our mission President and his wife this week for Zone Conference! It was amazing!!! It was the best Zone Conference I have been to on my mission. My absolute favorite one! I learned SO MUCH. The spirit was SO STRONG. And I feel such a huge increase of love for my Father in Heaven and His work. 

We Had a Party, Drawing on the Table at our Dinner Appointment

Driving in the Country - You Never Know What You are Going to Find Around the Corner

We did an activity our Mission President calls, "A Vision Quest." We talked a lot about who we are and how we can truly become who Heavenly Father wants us to become. I LOVED it. It really helped me think about who I am and who I want to become. I know that Heavenly Father loves me, and that I was sent on this mission at this time, for this reason. I know that this is his work and that he labors with me. I know that He has great expectations for me and that I can accomplish anything with his help.

#Ponderize Nephi 5:13 "Behold, I AM a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I have been called of him to declare his word among his people, that they might have everlasting life."

Love y'all so much! See you next Wednesday :) 

~Sister Kayla Marie Willis

The Spider that Was on Our Mirror

( I think I am going to get Transferred next week, so if any of y'all write me, send it to the mission office.)

888 Oakwood Road Suit 310

Charleston, WV 25314

Table Graffiti

Righteous Desires

A Cute Basket Made for the Mullins Family

Greetings from Virginia,

Things are going well down here in land of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Sister Wevers and I tried doing this really intense workout.... its called the 100 workout... I have never been so sore in my life! So if you like being so sore it hurts to stand up, sit down, walk up or downstairs, move or breath, try it! 

We haven't had too many crazy things happen lately, we have just been trying find! Knocking on doors all day :) We are so good, we could be saleswomen :) haha. Anyway, we have a couple of cool families that we found that seem like they are interested! We are excited about that. We have also been able to see the Mullins' this week. We brought a 'get well' basket to them, because Paul hasn't been doing too well this week. But it is amazing to see how happy and positive they are about everything, even if bad things are happening :) it makes me want to be better and more positive. We have been trying to help them to be able to understand the Restoration. Once someone really understands the Restoration of the Gospel, they can understand and accept the other truths of the Gospel.

Miget - Of course I am going to take a Picture

Kaela and Dillon came to 

church again! They are so awesome. I don't know how much I have told y'all about them, but they are awesome. They have been dating for 3 years and right now they are living with Kaela's mom. Kaela actually has muscular dystrophy, and so she is in a wheel chair. They haven't really attended one specific church, but they have really enjoyed being able to learn with us! They are loving church, and they started reading and praying almost every day! It has been amazing to see their progression. They are changing and that is the process of conversion! In the Webster's Dictionary under Conversion it says:

[conversion] n. a change in nature or form.

Sister Wevers and I - I love her

Hearts are changing and Heavenly Father is blessing us!

We had an amazing meeting this last week, and we talked a lot about our desires, and a scripture in Psalms. I reflected upon what my desires are and what I need to do to have those desires granted unto me. A desire is something that you want with all of your heart, it is almost like a longing. Desires are also related to faith, as our faith increases our desires become more righteous. I am working on trying to increase my faith, so that I may be able to have more righteous desires, in missionary work.I know that this is truly the Lord's work, and that as I increase my faith, he will give me the desires of my heart.

#Ponderize 

Psalms 37:4 "Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart."

Love y'all!

~Sister Kayla Marie Willis

410 Alta Lane #11
Lynchburg, VA 24502

The Basket We Created

Fields of Wildflowers are My Favorite

Faith and Covenants

Soaked from the Rain

Hello, Hello!

Guess what! Virginia weather is crazy! It's been so hot and then on other days it rains and pours like a hurricane. Sister Wevers and I had a lesson with Kaela and Dillon, and it was going great! We invited John to come with us (our Recent Convert) and it was good to have them get to know one another a little bit and friendship! We talked about the Priesthood and why it was necessary, and why there needed to be a Restoration of the Gospel. We asked John to share his testimony of the Restoration and the Priesthood and it was so cool to hear! John talked about how he hadn't said a prayer for 11 years, since his grandmother had passed away. His grandma was like his best friend, and they were always together. John was angry at God because he felt like He let his grandma die. So when he met us in March, things started to change. He finally started praying again, and he voluntarily stopped swearing. He also stopped drinking and he didn't get super angry like he did before. He shared with Kaela and Dillon, how the Gospel has blessed him to be able to change and become a better person, and even to make him happier. It was an amazing testimony to hear! 

Selfie with a Towel, because I'm Soaked

So back to the rain... after the lesson, we go outside to our car, and there is lightning flashing every other second, and thunder is shaking our bones! It was almost curfew too, so we were trying to be safe and get home on time! I couldn't even see the lines on the road because there was so much water coming down on the window. There were people driving off the road, and some cars were hydroplaning. I was so nervous and so Sister Wevers said a prayer while I was driving and with the hand of Heavenly Father, we managed to get home safely and on time! It was a huge testimony to me that Heavenly Father does listen and answer prayers! He took the wheel from my hands, because I felt the car being guided by something that I could not see. 

We met with a member this week that is very dear to my heart. She hasn't been able to come to church for quite some time due to mental illness. The past couple Sundays she has been coming to church, and it has been amazing to talk with her and see how she has seen the blessings in her life from attending church! She said she she doesn't go to church to be blessed, she goes to church to worship the Lord, but in return of being obedient, she has received so many blessings! This just testifies to me, again and again, how important it is to be obedient to the Lord and his commandments. 

Heat Wave in VA - Temp was 114 with Humidity

These past few weeks I have been studying and pondering about Faith. I have been striving to build and develop my faith. Something in the True to the Faith booklet, really stuck out to me. 

"You can strengthen your faith by keeping the commandments. Like all blessings from God, faith is obtained and increased through individual obedience and righteous action. If you desire to enrich your faith to the highest possible degree, you must keep the covenants you have made."

We strengthen our faith, by making covenants, or promises with God. He will always keep his promises with us, He takes them very seriously. So we have to do all that we can to keep our part of the promise. I know that through covenants, we can gain greater faith and understand of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.

This Squirrel is Upside Down

I want to invite all of you to reflect and remember the covenants that you have made, whether they are baptismal, or temple covenants. Try and recognize the blessings that come from keeping covenants. 

I know that this work is true.  It is His work. I know that the church has been restored to the earth by a Prophet of the Lord. I know that the Book of Mormon is a true book, because I have gained a witness by the power of the Holy Ghost

I love y'all! 

xoxoxo

~Sister Kayla Marie Willis

410 Alta Lane #11
Lynchburg, VA 24502

Obedience: The First Law of Heaven

Hey you all,

Selfie on the Signing Grounds

20 There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated—
 21 And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated.
- Doctrine and Covenants 130:20-21

Sister Wevers and I have had a marvelous week this week. Over the course of my mission I have learned a lot about obedience, but this week we have truly seen the Lords hand in our lives as we strive to be exactly obedient. 

Went with LeAnn and Sam - saw where treaty was signed for Civil War

Went Out to Dinner with Sister Elder - her real name

At the beginning of the week, things were slow and we were wondering why we weren't having much success. On Thursday, during our planning session, we talked and decided that we needed to change something to be more obedient. It's not that we were being disobedient, it was just that we needed to be exactly obedient. Ever since we changed one little thing, our week changed completely! Heavenly Father SHOWERED us with blessings. We had 3 investigators at church yesterday!

We had an amazing lesson in the church building on Saturday with Kaela and her boyfriend, Dillon. They are some investigators we had actually dropped (stopped teaching) not to long ago. They were not keeping appointments or commitments, so we told them that we were going to stop seeing them, and if they wanted to meet again, they can give us a call. Well, this week Kaela texted us and asked us if we could have a lesson at the church! This is huge for her! Before, we felt like we were fighting tooth and nail to get a lesson with them, so of course, we said YES! We met them both at the church and we had our ward

 mission leader with us. We taught the plan of salvation and it went wonderfully! Dillon had lots of questions about everything in the past and he was very frustrated because he could not understand it, but Sister Wevers and I really tried to focus on their needs as we taught, so we would be able to address their questions and concerns. Dillon and Kaela both accepted the truths of the Plan of Salvation and committed to read and pray about it. They also committed to come to church and they did! We talked with them about baptism and invited them to do so, and they were hesitant, but we are going to be inviting them to be baptized again this week and hopefully we will help them to feel good about a date!

Sister Wevers and I

It was amazing. They had a wonderful experience at church, and many ward members came up and met them. They said they felt comfortable and they really enjoyed the classes.

Another investigator, Barbra, actually surprised us by coming to church!! We have been teaching her for a while and she is gaining a testimony of this gospel as she studies and prays, but she can't come to church because she works every Sunday. This past week, when we met with her, she actually told us that she is trying to find a new job so that she will be able to come to church! Yesterday morning, she surprised us when she called us and told us that she had it off work and she was coming to church! (We freaked out!) It was amazing. She enjoyed Sacrament meeting a lot!

House Where the Document was Signed Ending the Civil War

We also had an incredible lesson with the Mullins family! Sister Wever's and I absolutely adore them! They are amazing, and now we are teaching Pam! (Cheryl's sister, who came to John's baptism) We taught the Plan of Salvation and they accepted it so well! Cheryl loves the fact that she and Paul can be married for all time and eternity. They kept saying, "that makes sense"! They have truly been prepared by messengers of God. I love the truths of the Plan of Salvation and that we can be with our families forever because of sacred covenants that we can make in the Temple. The peace that comes from the knowledge of Eternal Families is very close to my heart. Eternal Families is not doctrine that other churches teach. I know that this is Jesus Christ's restored church on the earth today and that families can indeed be forever.

The Room Where it was Signed

I am in Love with the Virginia Country

I know that because of obedience, we are blessed. It is the first law of Heaven and exact obedience truly brings miracles! The Lord is aware of us, and of our efforts to be diligent and obedient. When we do the things he asks of us, He blesses us! He will also provide a way for us to be able to be obedient (1 Nephi 3:7). He loves us, and He wants to bless us! All we need to do is be obedient to His laws. I know that as we live the higher law, as taught by Jesus Christ, we will be blessed more than we can ever imagine. 

I  know this gospel is true and that the work we do is His work. I am so grateful to be serving here in this part of the Lord's vineyard. Great things are happening here and I truly love the people I meet, and I love having this privilege of doing what I get do :)

Love you all so much! 

xoxoxo

~Sister Kayla Marie Willis

410 Alta Lane #11
Lynchburg, VA 24502

It has been hotter than Hades here

Appomattox Count House National Park

The Coolest Doorbell Ever

WILLIS

Lead Me, Guide Me, Walk Beside Me

Hi mom! (and the rest of you wonderful people)

Sister Pugh is Leaving - She is My Pal

This week has been SLOW. So slow. It's been good, but just super slow. Sister Wevers and I decided to stop seeing a few of our investigators who have just not been progressing very much. So we need to find new people to teach. We have spent long hours tracting with out much success. Last week in my email I talked about the 2 potentials that we found, and one of them didn't work out, and we aren't quite sure about the other one. We are doing our best to be diligent and use time wisely, which is, as our Mission President says, "code for do the Lord's will".

We weren't feeling like our efforts were very fruitful this week, even though we were working hard and doing our best. We failed to think that the Lord can bless us in different ways that we might not be expecting. Our church meetings start at 1:00 in the afternoon now in Lynchburg.  So we have time in the morning now to study and even go out and work! Saturday night, we were trying to think of what we should do that could be effective for us before church. Sister Wevers suggested that we try visiting a less-active Sister who we have been visiting off and on for some time. She said that we could try going over and inviting her to church. I felt that it was a good idea and so we planned to do that Sunday morning before church. 

Our New Car - Wahoo!

The next morning, when we went over to this Sister's house, she let us in and said, "I am getting ready for church!" WOW! This sweet sister has not been to church in months! She came to church and had a wonderful experience.  

We also had another young sister who has been less-active for quite some time come to church yesterday as well! Amazing! It was cool to see how Heavenly Father blesses us in ways we don't even think about. All of that door knocking that we did, wasn't for nothing, it was to help these sweet sisters to be able to come to church! It reminds me of what Elder Holland said in the past General Conference. 

"With the gift of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the strength of heaven to help us, we can‍ improve, and the great thing about the gospel is we get credit for trying,‍ even if we don’t always succeed."

All the Sisters in the Lovely Beuna Vista Virginia Zone

In sacrament meeting yesterday, I had a very powerful experience. I have been pondering about what it truly means to be a Child of God. I have been thinking about who I am and where I came from and what this all means for me. We sang, "I am a Child of God" as one of the Hymns, and I felt a confirming witness from the Holy Ghost that I am a Child of God and that He loves me more than I can understand. I felt an abundance of The Spirit as we sang the words:

"Lead me, guide me, walk beside me,
Help me find the way.
Teach me all that I must do
To live with him someday."

He loves us, and he is here to help us. He leads us, and he gives us the Holy Ghost as a constant companion. He is right here with us! He is very aware of all of us and our individual needs. He hears my prayers when I plead for the strength and for comfort. I am truly His daughter!

Sisters Wevers and I with the Forest Sisters

I know that we are all Children of a Loving Heavenly Father and that he has a divine plan for each of us! He watches over all of us and I have never felt the love that our Father in Heaven has for the people around me more, than being a missionary and being able to serve them and bring His gospel to them. I absolutely love being a missionary and I am grateful for every blessing that it has brought to me and the lives of others.

#Ponderize: 1 Nephi 1:20

"And when the Jews heard these things they were angry with him; yea, even as with the prophets of old, whom they had cast out, and stoned, and slain; and they also sought his life, that they might take it away. But behold, I, Nephi, will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance."

Virginia Sunsets Have Stolen My Heart

Love you all so much! Don't forget to write your favorite missionary! ;)

XOXO

~Sister Kayla Marie Willis

410 Alta Lane #11
Lynchburg, VA 24502

1 Nephi 17:50-51

Hey y'all, 

Sister Weavers and I before doing some tracting

How is it going for everyone? If you didn't already know, I am emailing on Wednesday because it is transfers! This transfer I will be staying in Lynchburg/Appomattox with Sister Weavers, since she is still in training. She is doing amazing by the way! She is a wonderful missionary and has taught me a lot! She is so sweet and I appreciate how easy she is to get along with. Sister Weavers is so smart and has such a huge desire to serve the Lord. I know that we still have work that needs to be done here in this part of the Lord's Vineyard!

So I wanted to update y'all on John and his parents! John is doing amazing! He found out that it was transfers and freaked out a little, because he thought I was going to be leaving, but I am here for another 6 weeks at least :) Whoo! We stopped by to see John's mom and dad, and they are doing amazing! John's dad was in an accident a few years ago which left him slightly handicapped, so our lesson focused more on his mom, Cheryl. Here's the big news: SHE READ ALL THE WAY UP TO JACOB IN THE BOOK OF MORMON!! That doesn't just happen everyday! So we had a great lesson with her and she has a huge interest in eternal families and how her marriage can be eternal. It is amazing! I am so grateful for the doctrine we have on Eternal Families. No other church has any real doctrine on that, and it just strengthens my testimony even more that this church is true, and that because of covenants we make in sacred temples, families can be ETERNAL.

Sister Weavers went all the way to the edge of our mission - didn't cross, but took a pict

We had a wonderful Zone Meeting this week and we talked lots 

about Miracles. It was the best Zone Meeting I have ever been

 to on my mission. Sister Weavers and I were fasting for an investigator that day, so that helped us even more to learn from The Spirit. Before the meeting, we were asked to read 1 Nephi 17:50-51:

 50 And I said unto them: If God had commanded me to do all things I could do them. If he should command me that I should say unto this water, be thou earth, it should be earth; and if I should say it, it would be done.

 51 And now, if the Lord has such great power, and has wrought so many miracles among the children of men, how is it that he cannot instruct me, that I should build a ship?

Sister Pugh, Brower, Willis, and Weavers

Got Jesus?

These scriptures really impressed upon my heart. The Lord has commanded Nephi to build a ship and he has never built a ship before in his life! He doesn't know anything about building a ship, but yet, if Heavenly Father commands him to do it, why would he not be able to do it? Heavenly Father provides a way for all of his children to do what he asks of them. He will perform miracles, according to our faith. We talked a lot about goal setting by faith, and exercising our faith in the work. Many missionaries shared powerful experiences of how they exercised faith, by setting a goal they want to achieve, and then relying on faith and diligence to accomplish that goal. I had many 'golden thoughts' or things that I can do to improve myself as a missionary. I have decided to work on becoming a master planner and goal setter. I am going to set a small goal for

 myself every morning, after my studies, just something that I can really focus on for that day in the work and/or my teaching, so that I can become better. I know that as I do this, I will become a better servant in the Lord's Vineyard, and I will strengthen my faith, as I see the Lord's Hand perform miracles.

Virginia is the Prettiest Place on Earth

Sister Weavers and I tried to implement all the things that we learned in the Zone Meeting into our finding efforts. As we planned for the next day, we carefully prayed about EVERY THING. We prayed about the area we need to go to, what time we need to go there, what street we need to tract and how many people are ready to receive us on that street. Heavenly Father

 told us that we needed to Tract 'Coffey Road' (isn't that ironic) and we knew we were going to meet 2 people that are going to be ready to receive us. After tracting Coffey Road, we found 2 people that are interested in our important message! We have some return appointments as well! It was amazing how after tracting for days without any success, as soon as we exercise our faith and seek direction from the Lord, we see miracles!

The gospel is true and Heavenly Father really does provide for His children :) I love being a missionary! I hope President Salisbury lets me stay in the WVCM FOREVER! :)

There were 2 more gross bugs in our house.  I almost died.

#Ponderize 1 Peter 3:14-15 
14 But and if ye suffer for righteousness’ sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled;15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh

 you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:

Love you all so much! Read your scriptures and say your prayers! Daily :)

xoxoxo

~Sister Kayla Marie Willis

410 Alta Lane #11
Lynchburg, VA 24502