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Sunday, November 16, 2014

Too many miracles to write

First things first, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE PACKAGES! I was not the only one to say I was the luckiest missionary and had the best family! :) As I mentioned in the other email, you are going beyond and above what any missionary even deserves!!! Thank you thank you thank you!

Ironically, we had stake conference as well!! ours was over an hour away... but It's fun to know we're still doing the same things! Thanks for sharing all your insights, I wrote a lot of them down and will cherish how perfect they were for me right now. 

Even though it took me 2 weeks to finallllly remember how to say miracle in Korean.. I couldn't even begin to tell you how many miracles we've seen since getting to Korea. The first .. my ability to even speak Korean at all. Holy cow, no kidding I never learned it until now. Korean is HARD. The more I learn the more complex it gets.. the more vocabulary I learn, the more times I mistake a word for something completely else! Twice now... I've told an investigator a prayer is a competition with God instead of saying conversation... aka, Korean is hard. BUT! it's coming, and I can't thank Heavenly Father enough for the gift of tongues.. to feel as if I can more so fulfill my purpose as a missionary now. 

My companion and I decided to start a purification process this last week.. To rid ourselves of the natural man and become the missionaries Heavenly Father needs us to be.. I urge you to figure out who your natural man is... and then to kill it. there's a famous quote by C.S. Lewis that I don't have time to type (haha sorry.. stop emailing when i'm trying to write this!!!! ;)) That perfectly describes the process of killing the natural man and becoming made new by Christ. It's one of my favorites and I read every other day or so. As hard as it was to figure out what my natural man was... it's been even harder changing my nature to overcome it. However, as we've taken a step closer to Christ everyday.. the miracles we've received have been without number.

-Last Wednesday, as we set out for the day... in order to locate ALL of the less-actives in our ward (with no map, and without an exact location) the task seemed pretty impossible to complete.. and I hit myself several times wishing for my iphone... hahha. Mind you, I had only been here for 2 weeks.. i still have no clue how the address system works over here.. and my companion, as she's stated 34895602356 times, "I have zero sense of direction." By 7 pm that night, after having found all but 2 houses... having skipped lunch and dinner, we were pretty worn down... we were jacket-less (by the way, it's FREEZING here.. We went to Seoul the last two days for Stake conference and I started sweating the instant we got off the subway since we need to be so bundled up here.. But.. I was called to serve here, and I'm doing it with a fat smile.. regardless of how perfect it is in Seoul ;)) Anyways, you will NEVER guess what happened. As we were waiting to cross a sidewalk, a man walked across from the opposite direction.. Although sisters aren't allowed to approach men and elders-women, I always smile at the people we walk by. Wellllllll, the man stopped and smiled back and asked what my name tag stood for. (we can talk to them if they approach us first) Well.... we then began to share our message and halfway through.. his eyes lit up and said, "This is my wife's church, she's been looking for it." DING DONG DANG - one of our less-actives!!!!!! Holy cow, i started crying once we heard her name. Heavenly Father loves all of His people! I know it!! We ended the night by not only making it to the last house, but meeting with the family... Although she told us she is no longer interested in the church, we were able to accomplish what we set out to do... I know that the Lord will always help us complete our righteous endeavors! 

-As we were walking home from an appointment.. my companion starts booking it.. all 82 pounds of her.. faster than I have ever seen anyone run.. and we run.. block after block.. all while she ignores my questions as to why in the WORLD WE WERE SPRINTING... until finally.. we get to a house.. and she tells me.. the person that had rid her bike by us... was an Investigator who they lost all contact information for.. well.. we now have her address and number and an appointment :) 

-although this isn't directly relevant to missionary work... it's a miracle nonetheless! I've been working with MASSIVE headaches the last week and we finally went to the doctor today.. my vision has improved +.50 since I got to Korea and my contact prescription has been too strong.!! I am now at -1.50!!! huge improvement from my once legally declared blind eyes!! EHEH??? 


I've said this in previous letters home.. but I need to work on so many things. Sometimes I think it can't be done.. That I can't change my nature.. that it's simply just part of me... That sometimes.. when my companion wakes up in the middle of the night because she can hear a mosquito (I have no idea how she even hears it...also, I've been bitten a million and 7 times) and by the time we've finally killed it (an hour and a half later) and I say to myself... there's no way i'll be able to wake up tomorrow... I realize.. This is how I should feel every day. The energy we exerted today to bring others unto Christ.. is exactly how much energy my brothers and sisters deserve.  And then I push a little further.. I trust a little more... I trust that the atonement will carry my weaknesses.. I recognize His hand in every detail.. I give thanks for the moments when I don't think I could get any closer to my companion.. I love my Savior a little more.. I break habit after habit.. and then miracles come.. the weaknesses are made strengths.. the atonement cleanses me.. and then with strengthened faith.. I continue to move forward.

Family, it can be done. Regardless of who I've been in the past.. the "strengths" I proudly carried.. and the weakness I shyly hid..  They can all be made new in Christ. We are enabled through the atonement of Jesus Christ.. and I know that we can become like Him. (mor 10:32) I know that as we become what our Savior needs us to be, we will be able to do what he needs us to do. Regardless of whether it's serving a mission, providing for a family, taking care of children, working, going to school... We can do it all... WITH the help of our Savior. He has literally carried me.. and I know that if you looked back and realized throughout about it.. He's carried you as well. Trust in Him!

Family... there have been so many times where I felt so lost.. being in a completely new city.. COUNTRY.. not being fluent in the language.. having a native companion who didn't know English before starting her mission... The feelings of loneliness often creep in.. But I have gained a firm testimony in the power of bearing my testimony. Whenever I feel lost.. whenever I don't know how to teach sometime.. whenever I feel sad.. All I need to do is bear my testimony and instantly, I know who I am and why I'm here. Whenever you feel that way.. I encourage you to do the same. It's made all the difference! 

I love you all!!! Thank you so  much for your prayers and emails, letters and packages!!

I continually pray for you.. work your hardest this week! I promise you won't have any regrets!!

All my love, 
Sister Willcox
 
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The wanted me to try the selfie stick- imagine a go pro stick for anything - phones, cameras.. Koreans do it all. I love this family so much! and our two girl investigators :) They're so good and ahh, I love their desire to learn more.
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Halloween :)
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My last pic with the temple... see ya Provo!
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the three-in-one. if it wasn't slightly disturbing, I'd want to take this home with me.
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kim ear young... the investigator i literally felt prompted ( with a strong force) to talk to.. she ignored me the first 3 times.. i persisted.. we've met 8 times in two weeks. pray for her. also, my first time at baskin robbins. it's great, but they glorify it! hahaha
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When I passed off lesson 1 to my companion.. she always writes notes and it stresses me out... resorting to a half wall. once again, this is what I stare at for the first half of every day. I love her.

 
 

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