Sister Wuehler is in Alaska! (Monday, March 12, 2012)

HERE SHE IS!

    Sister Wuehler called early Monday morning from the Salt Lake City airport--ready to leave and all excited!  She sounded so good and positive; again reiterating that the work is hard and full-time, having no spare minutes to do much else other than study, learn, practice, and prepare to be a missionary in the field.  She said it was hard to leave the other two sisters who had been in her district who were going to other countries.  Also, she would have more time to email (one hour instead a 1/2 hour) and write.  She is doing her best to write letters!  It was a nice, short phonecall and so good to hear her voice again. 

Four Sisters in District together--Sister Wuehler and her companion, Sister Peterson, are on the right.

Sister Wuehler loves to take pictures and be in pictures!  Mustaches??!!

 Eight of them were traveling together; her companion, Sister Peterson and six Elders.  They would spend Monday afternoon and night at the Mission Home.  We checked the weather to see what it would be like when she arrived there--8 degrees!

 Sister Wuehler's MTC District -- All going to Alaska Anchorage Mission!

   She emailed a quick email Monday night telling us that she had arrived there:
 
    "Alaska is Beautiful!!! I am going to be serving in the Turnagain ward in the Anchorage North  area.  Hope all is going well back home and I will write more soon."
   Love, Sister Wuehler

   Scripture: 1 Nephi 3:7   (I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.)  

  "by the way, monday is p-day"

 
  We 'googled' the street maps of her area--it looks like a normal residential area with lots of farm-equipment driving down the roads.  She is not that far from the Mission Home or the Temple.  I think they are all in her stake, as well as the Institute building.  There are quite a few chapels in Anchorage.  We hope to get an actual address of where she will be living --  we'll see! 

Sister Wuehler leaves MTC Monday, March 12

Sister Wuehler will leave early, early Monday morning, March 12th to go the airport and head to Anchorage.  We will get to talk to her on the phone (yippee).  So, if you are writing a letter, you probably should send it to the new address on the sideboard to Anchorage.  If you are writing on DearElder.com and having the letter delivered to the MTC, the last you could write would be Friday morning before 11 am for her to receive it.  Emails probably won't be seen by her until sometime after she gets to her mission, for family to write.  A letter is still 45 cents.  And she LOVES letters!!

Thank you for all your support for her!  

Love, Jeanne (Julie's mom)

Second Week in MTC--Not a "Greenie" Anymore!

Dear Family and friends,

    First of all, I would like to say that it is amazing to wear my jeans after having to wear a skirt all week. It has been snowing on and off all week, but mostly it looks like spring (In Provo?!?). I am now down to the last few days in the MTC as next time I check my email I will be in ALASKA!!! Crazy, i know! Most of our district will be going at once- 8 of us, but the other two girls who are going to Germany are going to have a while longer here.
   As this is P-Day for my zone, it is also MTC entry day for many, and as we see many with their new nametags, we see the red sticker indicating them as new, but we love to greet them. First day is stressful beyond belief because you are trying to figure out everything, where you're supposed to be going, doing and learning the rules of mission life; it is so deserved by these fresh missionaries to hear that they are welcome. By the way, look up the mormon messages "civility experiment" (http://www.lds.org/pages/the-civility-experimentlang=eng&query=mormon+messages+civility+experiment) -- we watched this in class and over the weekend and did our own civility experiment. My companion and I got two grunts over the weekend when we greeted other missionaries (rather than hellos) which was better than the Elders had gotten. I am probably not explaining it very well, but i hope you see the point.
  This last Sunday, Alex Boye spoke at our fireside, and he was absolutely wonderful. He sang for us, and told his own conversion story. Elder Holland came last week. We role play life situations every day here and it is amazing to put yourself in the shoes of those you teach and ask questions that they may ask, and feel the things which they would as you speak to them. Part of this is that the missionaries teach each other.



MY DISTRICT!

   To say the ABSOLUTE least, this week has been a tough one. This is where the endurance has kicked in. Between sleep and sick roommates, 19 year old elders, and learning to be with our companions 24/7, it has gotten a little bit stressful, but I know that there is nothing that the Lord has asked me to do that he does not help me in doing or that he doesn't prepare me for. The Lord doesn't call the qualified, he qualifies the called according to their faith in him. Our teachers and branch presidencies are truly inspired in their council and teaching here. We set goals after a turn of a lesson this week that have put things into a clearer perspective. They have turned my persective around in a way that I could not do unless they had been listening to the spirit in helping me understand how to do it, but it all comes down to our purpose: why do we do things, why are we driven in the way we are, and here, it is because of the people. The people who we can help, and to the people who are earnestly seeking truth. To be able to give that to them is worth all the struggles. We taught a man this week in TRC who was a simple man, but his spirit was bigger than a giant, you knew that he had been prepared to hear our message. "Onward, Christian Soldiers, this is our work now". (insert from Mom: The TRC is the Teaching Resource Center. All missionaries visit the TRC each week. Volunteers who speak the language role play as investigators in these teaching situations. For the missionaries, it is an invaluable experience to learn how to teach with the Spirit and from their hearts.)

BY THE WAY: There is never a time a missionary does not appreciate a letter. It is difficult to answer them in good time, and slowly, but surely, I am working on it.

Love,

Sister Wuehler

MTC-isms: "I looked out the window and what did I see- two sister missionaries lookin' at me" (to the tune of popcorn popping)

Scripture of the Week: Enos 1. We are here to feed his sheep.

"When we know in our head moves to our heart, by the power of revelation, that's the beginning of understanding" -Elder Bednar

Excerpts from a Written Letter -- March 2, 2012

(Letter edited by Mom with a few excerpts) 
    Hey!  It's me again! It was really stressful emailing because in the MTC you only have thirty minutes to read them and write back althogether....The Sisters here are amazing--I can't get enough of it --also the Elders....The Provo temple--inside, is probably the most beautiful place ever--if you haven't been recently, go! (When you're in Provo!)

...Well, it really is wonderful here--it can be difficult at times and I really miss you all. My companion and I had two amazing lessons today (FINALLY), and where we are still at the beginning, we are in a good place. Also, going to the temple with the missionaries is one of the most amazing experiences. You really receive personal revelation there--always go with a question.

   "The food can either be really good, or not so good here, but there are always salads--but they have BYU Creamery ice cream Thursdays!!! Yes!--Lunch AND Dinner! (Just thought I would let you know--I'm not gaining weight like crazy--don't worry about it)....Look up the fundamentals of the Gospel--we are learning those and they are so amazing.

Love, 
Sister Wuehler

“My First Week”

Dear Family and Friends,

  First of all, I would like to say thank you for all your love and support! You have no idea how a missionary really appreciates it, especially because of the separation, you move away from all that you knew and were, and you are expected to change. There are so many wonderful people I have met already, and there is not one regret in my heart and I know that this is the best possible place I can be right now. The first week has been a bit hard, especially for the sisters in the district but we have learned to rely on each other for the comfort and guidance we may need to hear from one another.

  My companion's name is Sister Peterson and she is going to Alaska as well! It did not take long to figure out that we are both so similar, and it is easy to get along with each other as we like to quote movies, make fun of each other, and so on. This week has been a whirlwind! There is not always time to write- either in my journal or letters. I am learning that the Lord sometimes lets us figure things out on our own before we can feel his hand at work in our own lives. It becomes a test of self to help us in becoming more fully converted so that we might have this knowledge and understanding so deeply engrained in our soul so that it might never ever ever be taken away from us (A little bit of a quote from Elder Holland last night at devotional- AHH! I KNOW!) You cannot invite a person to come unto Christ unless you have been there yourself.

  Our District, well, let's just say we call ourselves a DISTRACT instead. I love my district so much which has 6 elders, all going to the Alaska mission, and four sisters- my companion and i in Alaska, and our other two sisters going to Germany, Frankfurt and Berlin. One of the sisters is from England, and it is so fun to hear her accent (our teacher is from South Africa, and also has a similar accent, we just love it!)

  Everyone in our district were asked to prepare a talk for this last Sunday in our branch, however, not all of us were going to give that talk. It was about how we can recognize the holy Ghost and they wouldn't let us know who they were going to ask until the talk came. Lo and behold, guess who was one of the speakers, me.

  At devotional Elder Holland came and spoke to us last night. Really, it was amazing to be in a room where we all recognized a witness of the Savior and how much he expressed his love for us. As he walked in the room, we all stood with more of a resolve to teach with power and love.

  I love you all! Hope you are doing well and I am excited to hear more from you all! Seriously, I love the letters.

Love,

Sister Wuehler

Scripture of the week: Ether 12:6, 27

    

6 And now, I, Moroni, would speak somewhat concerning these things; I would show unto the world that faith is things which are hoped for and not seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith.

27 And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.

MTC-isms: "Inappropriate sister, inappropriate!" (don't worry mom, everything's fine!)

Off to the MTC. . . Wednesday, February 22, 2012

4:30 AM - Ready to leave for the Oakland Airport--packed, and going out the door! I'm a Sister Missionary now!

Ready to say goodbye...to Mom and Dad and home.

Heather and Lila Fellows picked me up at the airport.  We went out to lunch with my roommates, and now I'm at the MTC--Missionary Training Center--in Provo, Utah for almost 3 weeks.

Two Elders came out and escorted me into the MTC.  I'm officially beginning my mission!

Two weeks and counting!

There are now two weeks before I say goodbye to my family and friends and enter the Provo MTC, and time has definitely flown by. Deciding to go on a mission and spend the next eighteen months of my life in service came as a unique experience to me. It is something that I will always hold as very special to me and I am doing this because of the blessing that the Gospel of Jesus Christ has been in my life. Sharing this good news with others as a missionary is a blessing, and I know that the Lord guides his people according to his will.

This blog will be used for my family to post my weekly letters to share for the next 18 months. I would love to hear from you all and I will do my best to respond! The best way to reach me would be through snail mail, which addresses are on the side of my blog. Thank you for all your love and support!