🎵You Gotta Dig a Little Deeper🎵

 Sister Gwilliam's Email, Monday March 29, 2021

This past week I got to switch companions for a day and go up in the mountains to Sweet, Idaho. 

I was having a good time up until me and Sister Weber went to get ready for bed. As I started to say my prayer, I heard a loud rustling motion behind me. When I opened my eyes I saw my companion frantically swiping her hand back and forth over her sheets.

 I asked her what she was doing, and she calmly informed me that every night when she gets into bed, she usually finds several bugs crawling in her bedding. She swipes them out, vacuums them up them up, and then wakes up to more crawling out of her pillowcase.

Like any normal human, I was HORRIFIED, and asked her if she had told someone about this. She just shrugged her shoulders and said "They live in the mountains, they're used to it."

I do not live in the mountains, and I am NOT used to it. And it was a testament to how tired I was that I just shrugged my shoulders and went to bed.

Looking back that was a horrible decision, but I guess I was blessed for my faith (or pitied for my stupidity?😂) because when I woke there was none to be found.

So that was a fun adventure. I have to admit I was pretty relieved to return to my bug-less bed in Star.

One of my favorite experiences this week came from a lady who I'll call Kara. She's one of the first people we met in Star, and I absolutely love her to death. 

It is so easy to be impressed by her. She is kind, generous, attends church every week, and is faithful in her church calling as a humanitarian representative. 

When we came into the area, the missionaries told us how awesome Kara was, but they also said that they had stopped meeting with her because she never seemed very interested. They would invite her to feel closer to her Savior by reading the scriptures, and every single time, she would promise to do so, and then decide not to. 

I was very confused. Based on what I saw, Kara seemed so interested in learning more about Jesus Christ - why would someone who was so anxious to come closer to Him choose not to read from the scriptures?

In our first meeting with her, we had a great discussion. We talked all about healing through the Savior, and Kara was actively participated. I left the lesson confident that she would read the specific chapter from the scriptures we had invited her to. 

The next week we returned, and I was so excited to hear what she had learned. After a few minutes of talking, she told us that she hadn't gotten to the reading. 

 I admit, I was pretty disappointed. My very first thought to myself was that maybe the other missionaries were right. Maybe she really didn't want to learn. 

But as we talked to her more during that meeting, we realized something that both us and the other missionaries had overlooked.

Kara can't read.

I know what you're thinking. How could we somehow miss that that?? Honestly I was thinking the same thing - I have never felt dumber in my entire life (actually that's debatable...but I definitely felt dumb😂). 

To be fair, she does technically KNOW how to read - she actually used to be a fairly avid reader, however due to some health problems, Kara now gets vertigo when she reads on her own. She hates listening to audio books because, due to those same health problems, she is deaf in one ear.

Once we realized this, everything made a whole lot more sense. She wasn't refusing to read because she didn't want to, she just couldn't. 

And no one had dug deep enough to find out why.

As soon as we discovered her struggle, we told Kara that we don't want her to miss out on the power the Book of Mormon can bring into her life. We offered to call her a few mornings a week and study with her. She happily agreed, and we have loved spending 15 minutes together just relating the scriptures to our lives. It has helped us grow even closer to her and to Christ. And we just love Kara!!

I'm so grateful that we were able to follow that prompting to dig a little deeper, and to go to the root of her problem. Especially because I've seen myself how powerful it is when you take the time to learn more about Christ.

I've had a lot of ups and downs in my mission, but two solid truths have stayed constant for me:

1) I love my Savior 

2) I love things that bring me closer to Him.

The Book of Mormon has been one of the BIGGEST things that have helped me to learn more about His character and His love for us. And I feel that comfort and love from my Savior every time I read that book. 

My favorite part about the whole experience with Kara is that after that first time we read together, one of her friends in the congregation messaged us and said 

"Sisters!!! {Kara} and I hung out today and she brought up how you guys were reading {the Book of Mormon} with her. She said that it was one of the best experiences she has had!"

She went on to say about how much Kara loved meeting with us, and ended with 

"*You are making a difference *"

I was so grateful to recieve that text. It was so good to know that reading together had touched Kara just as much as it had touched me.

There is power when we read God's word!! It wasn't me who made a difference, it was the Savior. And he can do the same in your life!  I invite you all - this Easter weekend especially - to take time to read a little bit more from your scriptures each day.

Take a few minutes extra with your Savior, and I PROMISE you, that the power that comes from that will make a tangible difference in your levels of happiness and in your life. 

I've seen it in my own:))

I love you all!

-Sister Gwilliam 

Pictures:

-Drinking from the Sweet natural spring

-The District😎

-Me and Sister Weber

-Ice cream at 10pm👀

-The Elders pranked us with this apple. Long story.

Makeovers

I ordered bamboo dividers for this kitchen drawer probably two years ago.  Sadly, they were the wrong size, and I never purchased the correct size.  About 6 weeks ago, I was done with this crazy drawer and figured out which dividers were the best fit and price.  

It's so much better!  I actually had one divider left over so I put it in another kitchen drawer and moved few items from this hug mess into that drawer as well.

Honestly nothing in this big drawer really has a set place because these items are all kind of random.  The smaller drawer has items used with meats.   These drawers really so much more manageable  all the way around and they make me happy.

In March, I decided to give our entertainment center a makeover.  Here is the best "before" picture I could find.  (Too bad I didn't think to take one.)

The week before spring break I asked the boys to move it to the back porch for me.  I purchased paint to make chalk paint so I wouldn't need to do as much prep.  Making my own chalk paint was a huge mistake.  It turned out more like concrete, and I diligently tried to paint it on anyway.  Then the stand was a glob of grossly textured paint.  It was really bad.  I sanded, prepped and kind of painted and then we left out of town.

The week we got back I realized I was hosting a baby shower at our house that weekend.  YIKES.  I had so much to do to catch up with being out of town.  Plus I needed to clean the house and get other things ready for the shower.  Brian had a great idea to bring it back in and put a table cloth over it.  That took off a lot of the stress.  I ended up making time to work on it though and mostly finished it.  I sanded a little more and then ditched the chalk paint.  The final coat color was pretty but randomly bumpy due to the concrete paint job I started with.

Overall I will call it a win.  I love how it lightens our room.  Aubrey pointed out how it brought out the lighter shades in the carpet.  She also mentioned how much she liked it without the glass doors.  I love her eye for decorating.  I realized the room looked brighter, as expected, but would never have realized the affect the paint color had on the carpet.  Also, I love the entertainment center without the doors, but honestly, I would have just dutifully put them back on without thinking about it.

A week after the shower, I decided to lightly sand some of the bumpy/concrete paint issues, but I kind of regret it.  The light sanding took off some paint down to the former brown.  So then I tried to make it all sort of rustic looking.  I think I liked it more just solid.  I'm not done with it yet, but it will do for now.

1993 to Now, Love those Martins

Chris sent this throwback picture to the extended family Vore text group.  This was December of 1993.  My parents, my grandma (Dorothy Vore), Brit and Beck drove up for Christmas to be able to be with the first grandbaby, Adam Vore.  I love how our two families are even more connected now then they were then.  Here is a quick catch up of the Vore and Martin family history.

Martin and Vore families  Back row: Jeremy M, Shari M, Nathan V, David M, Middle row: Britney V, Becky V (6 ish), Chris V w/ baby Adam, Me (Erin V), Angelique Martin Vore, Gran Dorothy V,  and then Laurel and Steve V. (my parents)

John and Shari Martin lived in Odessa during the 80s for several years.  Our families were friends through church.  John and my dad served in a bishopric together.  Angelique (Angie back then) was one of my closest friends.  She had a crush on Chris.  They moved to Houston when she was 13, and I was 12.  We were both so sad, but actually grew much closer over our teen years.  We would vacation with each other's families and go to Academy for Girls, a summer church camp at BYU, together.  Angelique was interested in other boys, and Chris was head over heals about her. 

The Martins moved from Houston to Utah and their boys spent their teen years there.

Chris and Ang wrote while he was on a mission.  Once he came home, they dated a few months, married and eventually ended up back in Odessa.  Several years later, in 2000, Brian got into Physical Therapy grad school at Texas Tech, and we ended up at the program extension in Odessa.  Probably about 10 years after that, Ang's brother David and family moved back to Odessa and started a home building business.  Then, David and Ang convinced their parents to move back.  

My sister Britney went off to BYU, graduated and eventually moved back to Odessa, Texas and married her high school boyfriend, Adam Bird.  They have lived here ever since.  

These are our people!  The Martins and the Vores are still connected through friendship and through marriage and through church.  David and family live a house away from Britney and family.  He is the Bishop of their ward.  

My mom and Shari work out at Curves and walk in the mall.  They share two new great grandsons in addition to six grandchildren.

Chris, Ang, Brian and I are good friends and our children have been raised together.  I love that Ang is my sister in law, and that our kids are great friends.

Brian worked for Permian Homes, David Martin's company, for five years.  We have all gone on Permian Home vacations together.  The Martin family recently joined in on the extended Vore family Disney Cruise.  Emily and I have served in a RS presidency together and been assigned to visit teach (now ministering) one another.  

We spend almost every holiday together with the Martin family.   I love seeing this throwback picture and realizing how intertwined our lives are now.

 

Christmas Eve Nativity.  Kiddos from David and Emily, Chris and Ang, Me and Brian and Britney and Adam's families.  How is that for being connected so many years later?!

March 15, 2021

Happy 24th Anniversary to US!  I was 24 years old when I married Brian.  I have officially spent more time married to him now than when I was single.  I love him.  

He is my rock.  

He helps me stay grounded.  

He is thoughtful.  

He is wise.  

He is a great father.  

He loves God.  

He teaches our family the gospel.  

He makes me laugh everyday. 

"Unforgivingly Myself"

I sure LOVE talking to my girl every Monday.  She is a ray of sunshine.  I love the opportunity she has to serve a mission.   It is a life changing experience.  I'm also proud of her for making the sacrifice for 18 months and happy for those she gets to teach.  

Here is her letter from this week.  (March 15, 2021)

Hello everyone! Hope your weeks were amazing!

This past week was actually really good. I finally feel like I have a *small* idea of what I am doing. The transition to 4 new congregations has been an adventure for sure!!

The people here are amazing. Everyone is so kind! And also hilarious😂 The other day we went to a congregation member's house to pick up dinner, and their 16 year old daughter answered the door. The next 30 minutes me and Sister Maycock said maybe 10 words combined. I've never seen anyone with more personality. It was AMAZING. She went from talking about missionary work, to pigeons being fake, to Japanese anime without taking a single second to breathe in between. At various points in the conversation she would set down her phone so she could throw her hands and head back for dramatic effect. Trying to follow her train of thought was almost like a mental workout😂 I think at one point she must've seen the intense confusion in our faces as we tried to figure out what she was talking about. She stopped for a second and said

 "I'm sorry, I'm what I like to call *dramatic pause* unforgivingly myself."

1.2 seconds later she was on to a new topic😆, but that phrase stuck with me. "Unforgivingly myself."

I've decided that's going to be my new life motto. I think that's what I've really enjoyed about Star so far - everyone I've met is "unforgivingly" themselves. No matter how "out there" their hobbies are, they do them and they share them without holding back. It makes it such a cool place to serve already, because these people also don't hold back when it comes to their belief in God and in their Savior. And their friends are listening!  

I love this phrase even more, because when you think about it, the Savior was  "unforgivingly Himself" as well. Throughout most of His ministry, He was not popular. In fact, some people hated His ideals so much that they eventually crucified Him. But even with all of the judgement, He said what He had to say anyway. 

He never held back. He talked to sinners and He threw merchants out of temples and He healed on the Sabbath, even when everyone around Him told Him He shouldn't.

The more I think about it, the more I want to apply that to my own life. For so long, I held back part of who I was because I thought I'd be judged. Over the years I've opened up in a lot of different ways, but I still want to do a little more. I want to be "Unforgivingly myself" for Him

And that's my invitation to you all as well this week. Be open about your beliefs! Talk about the Savior. Be open and unashamed. People respect confidence, and whether they agree with your values or not, I think you'll be surprised by how much they'll respect you for sharing them.

I know this is a long one, but I wanted to share one more special experience from this week.

In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Temples are very important to us. We see them as houses of God where we can learn more about Him and learn to become more like Him. 

Because of COVID, I've only been able to attend one time, and it's made me sad because I can't remember a lot of things I learned. A month or so ago, me and my last companion realized we had been sad that we can't go to the Temple, but we haven't been doing anything about it! After talking one night we decided we'd use every prayer to ask Heavenly Father to open temples again so we can attend.

I was sharing that experience with some Elders in the zone, and I didn't think much of it, but then the next day we got a call from those same Elders. They said that someone in their ward is going to the Temple for the first time, and she felt prompted to invite 2 sister missionaries to join. They said after hearing my experience they felt that me and Sister Maycock should be the ones to go!!

Although Temples aren't open yet, I know Heavenly Father has heard my prayers! I will be attending next Saturday and I am so excited to come even closer to the Savior there.

I love you all! 

-Sister Gwilliam

Pictures:

- Recreation photos》 who did it best?

-Bowling

- Our "Watch Him Work" (WHW) Board. 46 new people who wanted to learn more about Jesus Christ in our zone!

-District Selfie:)

Spring Break!

March 8-12th

We were so excited to plan a trip with the Vores and go somewhere, anywhere, for Spring Break.  We rented a big house/cabin in Ruidoso, New Mexico.  It had four bedrooms and bathrooms, one large kitchen/family room area.  

Brian needed to stay home and work at his new job.  He was missed.  The night before we left, we invited Holden to join in the fun.  Here are a few pictures from our week.

The girls, who were driving up with Chris and Ang, sent this picture to the boys.  They recreated and sent back.

Parker was a stud, even if he is wearing girl sunglasses.  He drove the whole 5 plus hours to get there.  It was mostly nice for me.  (It was a little stressful too though.  He has two years driving under his belt, but he thinks he is a pro.  He does not like me saying anything, and I tried not to for the most part.  A couple of times I commented on his speed and/or how closely he was driving to the car in front of us.  Way To Close)

Once we got there, I enjoyed a walk around the beautiful neighborhood.  I saw some animals and also a lovely bear warning sign.

The kids enjoyed the hot tub that afternoon and also many times on our trip.

Parker, Tanner, & Holden

Aubrey & Lauren

This is the sitting area in the main room.  We played a few games (Secret Hitler, Banana Grams, Family Feud), watched some basketball and had scripture and prayer here.

The view from my bathroom....kind of random but still so pretty.  (I had my own room and bathroom two night, and then Aubrey joined me for two nights when Charity came into town.)

Each room had one king size bed.  The three boys slept on it together, but one morning Tanner gave up trying to claim his space and just slept on the floor.

We went to the tubing park one day.  So fun!  I especially enjoyed trying out my new snow boots.  Why didn't I invest in some years ago?  They made being out in the slushy snow so much more doable.  I felt badly for Tanner though.  He was the only one in our group who didn't have waterproof shoes.  He took it like a champ.

The kids and I are on the far tubes.  They made chains almost every time.  Ang and I joined them a couple of times as well. (Park, Tanner, La, Aub, Holden, Me)

I went on several walks.  I felt so much peace and just like I could breathe deeply.  Being in nature is healing.  Ang, La and I went to a trail one morning.  I walked and they ran.  They are training for a half marathon!

We went into town and did the shops one day.  We also went horseback riding one evening.

Back row: Ang, Parker, Me  Front row: Aubrey, Lauron, Tanner & Holden

Charity and her boyfriend Jake decided to drive up for the last day so they could join in the skiing fun.  It was fun to have them and mix things up a bit.  Jake got some poker going one night.  Nobody really knew how to play exactly, but they all had fun.

Thursday was the ski day.  I am not a fan of skiing.  (I have only tried it once or twice, and it was not pretty.  Also, I hate being cold.  It takes me forever to warm up again.)  Luckily, Chris and Ang were more than willing to load up the group and go.  Chris spent the morning teaching Aubrey since it was her first time.  He also helped Tanner in the afternoon since he hasn't had much experience either.  Thanks Uncle Chris!

La, Tan, Holden & Park (Holden and Parker decided to snowboard.  It was Holden's first time.)

Charity and Jake

Aub and La

And get ready for a few of the saddest pictures ever.  We have a very stubborn boy who refused to put on sunscreen.  I asked him to before he left.  At the resort, Chris and Ang reminded him to and Chris even told him a day on the snow is equivalent to being outside on a 105° day.  Sometimes some people just have to learn the hard way.

Thursday night picture

Friday morning picture.  I called the nurse hotline and the nurse told me the yellow liquid oozing from his face was not pus but the top layer of blood called serum.  (Tanner walked around with a washcloth for a few days so he could dab his face every couple of minutes.)  

All in all we had a great time.  I enjoyed playing games, relaxing, visiting with Ang and watching the cousins interact.  As always, it was nice to be back home with Bri.

Goodbye beautiful New Mexico.