Sister Hilary Worthen

Sister Worthen Reporting June 21st

2009-06-19T06:03:00.000-07:00

One last goodbye to companions

Sisters Mahaffey, Crandall and Dahlen 6/7/09

Sister Worthen

will be reporting on her

experiences in the

Massachusetts Boston Mission

on Sunday, June 21st

Hawes Ward--9:00 a.m.

The Hawes Ward is located on Hawes Street

South of Baseline

(between Baseline and Guadalupe).

A get together for family and friends

will be held at the Kennedy Home

in Queen Creek (South of Ocotillo)

at 4:00 p.m. the same day.

For detailed directions to the Kennedy's

home, please contact Judy at

judymom@cox.net

or Hilary at her e-mail or facebook.

The Worthen Family

hopes to see you there!

I AM COMING HOME JUNE 8TH

2009-05-29T17:52:00.000-07:00

Sister Hilary Worthen

will be arriving

at Sky Harbor Airport

on United Airlines Flight 2119

9:20 p.m.

June 8, 2009

YAHOO!

She will be seeing her missionary

blog for the first time--so please

leave her a welcome home message!

Just in from Brighton, MA.

2009-05-18T21:02:00.000-07:00

the craziest thing ever happened on sunday! so we were at church- stake conference, and it was a broadcast. we had been there for like 45 minutes and the fire alarm goes off. no one really knew what it was. some priesthood holders went to go check it out, then came back in and asked everyone to evacuate. then i started to smell smoke. i thought no big deal ya know.i thought maybe i should leave my backpack but i decided otherwise. i left my Book of Mormon in the shelf where the hymns are, to open and look up scriptures they quoted in the broadcast. when we walked outside, there was smoke coming out of the roof but i thought it would be out in like 15 minutes top. then a huge flame came out and not all of the people were out. people in our wards were yelling for people to hurry. it moved so fast. the fire department came and started sawing out holes in the roof. windows were breaking from the heat.. the fire started spreading a ton, and the firemen were asked to evacuate the building. the last 3 firemen walked out and the roof over our chapel caved in! it was so freaky! we could see through the windows our chapel in flames! it was crazy! i could feel the heat on my face.

(haven't confirmed with Hilary--but that

looks like Sister Mahaffey on the left--

with a worried look on her face!)

we were all standing around watching. by now 8 or 9 fire trucks showed up and were aiming the hose at our steeple. we were right across the street and if that would've fallen, there woulda been alot of injuries. the fire would just not stop. they asked us to go down further to a park a little ways away. the neighbors next door were afraid the fire would spread to their house, and another neighbor volunteered their house for storage of their valuables. they brought out all this art work worth thousands of dollars, and we helped them take it into their neighbors home. then the firemen brought out things that were on the lower half of our church that might be valuable to us. like books that were in the institute bldg on the opposite side of the chapel of course. we all formed an assembly line to the quaker church across the street that was kind enough to let us store our books and stuff. among all the books, they brought out some art work. one, was a picture of Christ that was above the couch on the outside of the chapel wall-just before you walked into the chapel. when they brought it out there were no damages done to it! everyone cheered and was so happy! it was amazing. the wall all around the pictures, the wall the picture was on is completely black except this rectangle where the picture was is completely white! amazing! another thing that was untouched was the baptismal font! all around it is black, but no damage to the font. so many little tender mercies. it was neat to share with all the people that were watching little things about our church one in which i wanted to save to the end for the spirit to continue to be here. and i'm now shaking because it was so cool!!!!

so sister dahlin and i walked by the park to pick up our backpacks after we helped the neighbors, and sister dahlin whispers "thats jennifer". so let me take a step back- we had heard how ben is in town, and how he lives close to our church bldg-ben affleck that is. sister dahlin is litterally jennifer garners twin, and #1 fan, so we thought how fun it would be if we saw either one of them! so continuing on, we go and just stand by her, very casually- it was perfect. right place right time i tell you. we start talking about how crazy it is that our church is on fire and we introduce ourselves i say "hi. i'm sister worthen." she goes "hi. jennifer. this is my daughter violet." ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?! WE KNOW!!!! haha but we were really chill about the whole thing of course. then she asked us if we were in there when the fire happened, so we told her the whole story. to jennifer garner-i don't know if i mentioned that. haha jk. but just as i was about to ask her(sister dahlin was silent and kept mouthin to me"oh my gosh!" with a huge grin on her face) if she had heard of our church before, she said "excuse me". and walked away. when we turned away from her, we noticed everyone looking over and smiling. people started to see that it was her. sad. she came out later with violet and stood in the midst of a bunch of mormons and just kinda kept to herself while some ppl around her took some shots(including myself-just the back of her tho... i had to!). mitt romney came as well, but i didn't see him. too bad. so yeah thats my crazy story! the whole day was high intensity! it was definitely journal worthy. but we still don't know where we're going to meet this sunday. our stake president got a call from pres packer, and his son answered and said "he's watching a church burn down." i don't know how old the kid is.. so cute tho. but yeah eventful. this was the first lds chapel built in massachusetts. we're really blessed to have saved all that we did, and that no one was hurt. except my missionaray BOM is gone. once they release the scene to the church, i'm going to go try to look for it. i hope i can find it. all the construction people told me everything in the chapel is gone, but i have hope.ha and we still don't know if it was electrical or arson. it's under investigation. i sure just hope it was electrical-i think it was.

{Editor's note--we will let you know the state of Hilary's scriptures!}

LAST PICS FROM BOSTON !!!

2009-05-16T09:18:00.000-07:00

Sister Worthen will be arriving home

June 8th at 9:20 p.m. at Sky Harbor Airport

and will be speaking in the Mesa Hawes Ward

on June 21st at 9:00 a.m.

President England

of the Massachusetts Boston Mission writes:

"Sister Worthen is a sweetheart; Sister England

and I love and appreciate her diligence.

Her obedience and hard work has paid off

in great personal growth. She teaches with

confidence and has no problem talking

to strangers; much different than when

she first arrived. We are very pleased

with the great service she has performed.

We pray that she will continue to share her

wonderful personality with those around her."

Hilary has consistently written about being a missionary:

"I know there is nothing more important for me at

this time to be doing, than what I am doing right now!

I Love it!"

Hilary's last companion in the mission field,

Sister Dahlen

Current companion: Sisters Dahlen

and (former companions of Sister Worthen)

Sisters Wendt and Bingham

Hilary got to visit the Buckley Family when
Bro. Buckley went to the Temple in late March.
Here are 3 of the 6 Buckley children.
Hilary loves this wonderful Family!

OOPS!!!!!

2009-02-12T05:23:00.000-08:00

okay so i gotta funny story for you all that i keep forgettin to tell yous!! okay so this happened like 3 weeks ago or somethin.. but i was cookin lunch for us and all we had was refried beans and so i thought "hmm i'll make bean burritoes". well we only had 2 tortillas and this is when i was in the trio, so i went back into the fridge and found 2 small corn tortillas so i thought i'll make a tostada. so i pour the oil in the pan to cook the tostadas and turn the stove on high. meanwhile sister mahaffey is making dinner for a less active family who is havin it tough in the financial department.. and she says i need a pan to cook this is in the oven. so i'm like hey i'll go find ya one from the neighbors-well she ended up comin with me and our neighbors right down the hall weren't home, so we went upstairs to a different family(the wilsons). well while i'm up there talkin to them, i think "oh snap-the stove is on high and the oil is in the pan!" but then i think- bingham is a smart chica-she'll know to turn it off. well we came back down to the apt to find smoke like crazy! bingham's in the bathroom bc apparently we left the door open while she was standing there in her tights ironing her skirt! oops!!! so i go to grab the pan and all of a sudden our fire alarm goes off so i put it down to try to fan the alarm so it'll stop. (btw we couldn't open our windows- they frozen shut!!) didn't work so i thought-hmm it's cold outside i'll take it out there. when i walked back into the apartment complex the entire complex' alarm was going off-all the doors in our hallways were shutting and i just stood there and started shaking! i walked into our aprtment and looked at mahaff and said "i'm going to cry!" she starts laughing and is trying to calm me down.. but everyone was evacuating the bldg!! so i go out to tell them whats up and they all just laugh at me! well the firemen show up- 2 actually- sirens and all!! the looked at me and said "you look guilty" so i told them the story and well- they laughed! and brought a big fan in to get the smoke out. but hey- we gotta picture!! :) so here's mahaff and i with the firemen!haha love you all! just wanted to let you know God is looking out for us! :) hah

WONDERFUL BAPTISM ON JANUARY 11, 2009

2009-01-13T19:06:00.000-08:00

hi everyone! we had a baptism yesterday and i just wanted to share the miracle with everyone! so bill fohy-i think i've mentioned him to everyone before. but he's 72 and was catholic all his life. he's the one who worked for john huntsman and met pres hinckley. he had met with missionaries before for a couple of years, but couldn't quite get the tesimony. well when sister wendt and i got the challenge from our zone leaders to see who could find the most investigators we were so stoked! but come sunday-the last day of our challenge, we only had 3.. weak!! oh and i forgot to mention it was pouring rain after church so we were like how are we going to find these investigators?!? well i was pretty determined to find as many as possible.. so i prayed asking how we're gonna do this and the thought came to my mind to call old investigators that were in the area book. so we did and that night we found 9 new investigators! one of which is bill fohy... stubborn old guy! love him to death tho.. anyways after teaching him a couple of times, we knew he was ready. so we committed him to baptism a few times and everytime he denied and said he isn't ready well we set one with him for dec 14th. as most of you know-that was the ice storm weekend! so we went to his house afterwards to bump it to the next week, and he said he wanted to wait till after the holidays. we were pretty upset. but had to respect that. so we rescheduled for the 11th of january and what a blessed day was that!! so on saturday, we went to bill's with the most amazing family-the stokes. and bro stokes said to bill no matter what the weather is like we are having this baptism! bc there was news of a storm soming this weekend. so sunday morning we wake up and whatdo ya know- it snowed! alot! but we had the faith that everything would work out bc God wanted bill to be baptized so bad!! so church was cancelled, but bills baptism was set for 2 bc the storm was supposed to end at 1ish. so we went and filled the font and everything was ready and at 145 it was still snowing- but bill showed up 15 min early to get dressed in his white and he was just glowing! then we had about 10 other people show up. 4 of which were our investigators who commited to come to church for the first time but since it was cancelled they came to the baptism. and at 2 the storm stopped and the sun came out shining bright as ever! the roads were all plowed and it was beautiful! his baptism was amazing! the spirit was so strong, and afterwards he comes to us and says "i'll never forget you girls!" sweetest thing in the world! it was such a testimony to me of "opposition in all things". i know that if we just endure the "storms" in our lives, the Lord can pour His blessings out upon all of us! i love all of you! keep truckin through them hard times! so with the story of how we found bill, we also found a lady named tanya hansen. she came to bills baptism and said afterwards "i feel lighter". she is getting baptized next sunday if all goes well! oh and a family we are teaching are the other ones who came to his baptism. the jafferians. they are very christian at the boston church of Christ but each time we go over to teach them, they are softening their hearts.they came to the baptism and afterwards we had a long talk with our ward mission leader and his wife,the jafferians, and the elders in our ward about the church, and we can feel they are really coming around! i love this church so much! it truly changes lives! i miss you all so much and love you like crazy! continue to be good and share the gospel! nothing will bring greater happiness.. just use the sentence "i love my church because.." with non members.. and let the spirit do the rest. take care!! love, shw

ICE STORM!!!

2008-12-17T21:51:00.000-08:00

At the end of Hils last hand-written letter

she wrote

"just wanted to end w/a joke--I'm driving

in snowy/icy weather." I love you Mom!

The very next night Kyle (Hils brother) says: "Did

you hear about the big Ice Storm in the Northeast?

2 1/2 million people are without power."

I thought "nah--she's probably alright! The storm

most likely affected people closer to the coast."

On Sunday the 14th I e-mailed the mission home and

received this reply Monday: "Yes we did have an ice

storm and your Daughter and her companion are staying

with a member family because they don't have power in

their apartment until Thursday or Friday this week.

They came to my ward yesterday and they look great."

On Tuesday 12/16 we received this e-mail from Hilary:

"what an eventful week i tell ya! one i will never ever forget? i don't know if it's been on the news in the u.s. but last thurs/fri we had an icredible ice storm! It was so crazy! so on thursday night we heard that the weekend was supposed to be really bad and that we would have 'freezing rain'. that night after our dinner appointment we walked outside and we were sliding all over the place bc there was ice covering the streets. so the next morning we woke up to snow plow lights blinkin and beeping like crazy and no electricity! we looked outside (from our 2 layers of blankets covering the windows to block the wind draft) and everything was just COVERED in ice! I mean literally! so we tried messin around with the circuit breaker and uh--no luck. then we went outside bc cmon no heat/electricity, lets at least take pics! so we walk outside and there are trees half broken or completely up-rooted everywhere. and you could still hear like a crack and then a huge tree would fall or one of it's limbs or something which was scary bc we are out in the boonies and there are trees surrounding us everywhere! but don't worry mom we were careful...so we ate icicles alot that morning bc I thought it was just the coolest thing! then we walked over to the park across the street and saw the major damage. power lines were down bc the tree pole they were on had fallen over bc other trees hit them. so we realized why the electricity was not working. then a lady in our ward called and invited us over to her house bc she has a wood stove so it would be warmer than our house and she was able to cook. so we cleaned our apt while the sun was out and then headed over around 4 to eat and every candle was lit in ther house so we could have a little light, and we walked around with flashlights and stuff. oh and by the way there were 2 other families there besides us and the johnsons. one of them was dillon and danielle whose baby i told you all about ...ended up passing away on wednesday. so we had 14 people in a little home with a wood stove as the heat source and 2 new babies and 4 toddlers running around. we managed to get through the night with bout 4 hours of sleep. so we woke up that morning with no shower once again and we didn't know what to do bc people were leaving to go to motels and there just wasn't anything we could do as far as missionary work went...so we called pres england and what does he say? 'go to one of the members homes and take a shower, charge your cell phone, etc.' we're like'pres-no one in our area or ward boundaries has electricity.' no one really knew how bad it was or anything. so after we told him that, he started to understand what was really happening and the fact that we weren't supposed to have electricity back until the middle of next week. so he told us to drive down to the mission home with our clothes and stuff packed for a few days staying out here closer to the mission home. so we went home and packed and expected to be back by monday for the baby's funeral. president found us a beautiful home to stay in with some members in his ward. so we drove to the englands passing through our town with trees fallen down on top of cars and houses to about 20-30 minutes from our town were there was no snow or any sign of a ice storm...no wonder people had no clue what was going on. when we got to the mission home, pres took one look and he says do you want to take a shower here and get cleaned up? we about cried we were so happy! haha then we stayed at their home for a couple of hours and ate lunch and talked with sis england. then the lund's (the cute family pres arranged to let us stay at) called and so we went over and their home was so warm and comfy!! it was so nice of them to just let us stay and feed us. but we have recently found out that our power is back on and so we're leaving to go back home soon... the reason I am writing today is that there is supposed to be another ice storm tomorrow as well!! oh boy--pray for us! i'm so lucky to have been with such an amazing companion! i love her to death! so we have had a WILD week! pics are soon to come and you'll all feel my joy of the beauty of 'freezing rain' but also think and imagine the pain of the literal'freezing' part. I hope you're all okay out in az with your 'cold' 60 degree weather! oh man...don't catch a cold! everyone take care! i will talk to you all soon!! woop woop! love you! love, shw

THANKSGIVING MESSAGE

2008-11-28T08:20:00.000-08:00

On Thanksgiving Day, 2008

I was thrilled to get a phone call from Sister Raymond

who is a member in Cape Cod. She had spoken to Hilary

earlier in the day and Hilary told her that if she happened

to talk to us to tell us that she loved us and

"HAPPY THANKSGIVING".

Sis. Raymond then e-mailed us before and after pictures

of the haircut Hilary gave to her last

companion, Sister Parkin.

Sister P. cuts her hair every other year to donate to

Locks of Love.

Thanks

for the Thanksgiving gift Sisters Parkin and Raymond!

We hope that

all of the Lord's Missionaries

had a wonderful and blessed day wherever in the World

they are serving--even if that country doesn't celebrate

Thanksgiving!

Sister Parkin is on the left
Good job Hils--you haven't lost your hair-cutting skills!

HAPPY 22ND BIRTHDAY SISTER HILDUB!!!!

2008-11-11T13:38:00.000-08:00

The road of opportunity to fulfill a

mission

was not a smooth or easy one for

Hilary.

She survived many different hardships

and became stronger with each one. While

on her mission she rarely shares her struggles

with us at home, but when she does, she tries

to find and share the meaning and lessons

in the situation. She is an excellent student in

learning the lessons of life, and applying them.

Her time in the

Massachusetts Boston Mission

is almost 2/3 complete, and we know that

the realization of this is bittersweet for her. The

Worthen's are so proud of Hilary's strength

and committment and wish to honor her on

this special day.

Hil's life in pictures.......

3 days old

First Birthday

Happy and Loved little girl...who refused to smile

for the photographer!Christmas 1989She could be a tomboy or a tapper!Baptism--11/94

Mesa High Cheer 2002-2005

Have a wonderful and

Memorable Birthday

Sister Worthen!

We Love You!!

Your family

22 BIRTHDAY WISHES WANTED

2008-11-02T07:16:00.000-08:00

22 years ago Hilary was born

on 11/11/86

(This picture was taken when she was one week old so

I could send it in for my 20th High School reunion --

I wanted ALL the kids in the picture)

Here's the re-enactment we did at her good-bye

get-together!

We have analyzed and discussed the old picture over

and over again throughout the years--but one

thing never changes--and that is how happy we all

were and are to have Hilary in our family.

She has been such a joy to each of us, and

with her choice to serve a mission, she is

leading and inspiring her 18 (almost 20)

nieces and nephews who so dearly love

her. Since her birthday is coming up next

week, we would like to send her

22 Birthday Wishes

from the people who read her blog. So.........

please comment and I will send

the Birthday wishes

to her in her weekly e-mail

the day before her birthday.

thank you!!

Please pray for the continued success of Hilary

and all missionaries who are bringing

the hope of Jesus Christ to those

who need to hear it.

Celebrating the 9 Month Mark (in an interesting way!)

2008-10-25T08:11:00.000-07:00

Before Sister Wendt was transferred,

W2 had the opportunity to celebrate

Hilary's 9 month mark

in the mission (1/2 waydone--WooHoo!)

Not to be outdone by events happening at home,

(both sister Lindsay, and sister in law Melissa

are 9 months pregnant--see picture below),

W2 get into costume!!!
here's the REAL THING!!!!

On Hil's 9 month anniversary--the Sisters

got to atttend "Time Out for Women".

"Here's Kenneth Cope singing 'Because

I Have Been Given Much' --reminded me

of my farewell."

(Hil's brother, Kyle, sang this song at her farewell)

Here's the group from our Ward :)

front to back--Sister Bassett, Sis. Carmack,

Merriam Carmack, Sis. Wendt, Sis. Goguen,

and ME. :)

And back to the real reason we're here...

Dillon and Danielle and Sister Worthen

9/28/08

"The baptism yesterday went well!! Her name

is Danielle Bunker. Yes, she was supposed to

be baptized a while ago, but Satan has put so

many trials in life to stop her from being baptized.

He can't win tho--she's too strong! So alls we had

to do was push it back a little bit. She's an amazing

girl. Her Hubby is recently re-activated (ever since

we've been teaching Danielle) and he baptized her

and the poor guy was so nervous he kept messing up.

It took him 3 times but its all done, and

she's baptized!! woop woop!!

Hilary, D2 and introducing for the 1st time--

Sister Parkin--Hilary's companion

Hilary writes "She's from SLC, Utah and she's

been out for 15 months. She's a really good

missionary who has such a good attitude.

She's a fun gal. I'm excited to get to know her more.

She goes home in Dec. So I'll probably be with her

until then and then I'll have a new comp

for a couple months, then go to the city,

as that 's the only place I haven't served."

Latest Happenings in Massachusetts

2008-09-25T05:43:00.001-07:00

We had a fun P-day visiting sites around

Massachusetts. Here we are at the

Salem Witch Museum

Then we visited the

country store @ Kimball's Farm

Look at Elder McCullam in the picture below--

"he is so funny...he gets in EVERY picture &

makes the cheesiest smile. This is when we went

with Bro. and Sis. Phillips to

Lexington and Concord.

We played goofy golf and bumper boats

@ Kimball's Farm--

the BEST ice cream."

Sister Wendt and I at the Phillips' going away party

@ the Stokes Home. Sis. Wendt is holding our favorite

bug repellant.

Mosquitoes are KILLER out here!
Sister Phillips wearing the witch glasses--

isn't she the cutest?

September 10, 2008--

We said goodbye to

the Phillips today.

It was pretty hard.

W2 (Wendt and Worthen) cried

the whole way driving to our next appointment...

but we know we will see them again. They are just

so cute--Sister Phillips brought us in her room And

asked me when my birthday was, I told her in 2

months and she's like "oh--that's close enough"

& brought out gifts for me. One was a beautiful

bracelet--it's like little chains hooked to a heart.

She also made me a scripture book mark

w/jewels @ the ends (so cute) and also a

pearl & brown crystal bracelet.

They're too cute! Just the

nicest people in the world!

And they made us & Elders McCullam &

Lindsay 2 cd's each of our fav. cd's we would listen

to in their car on the way to distict meeting. :)

I just love them!

And they actually love me...

go figure...?

The Missionaries in our Ward at the Phillips' going away party.

McCullam, Lindsay, Bro. and Sis. Phillips, W2

5:21a.m. September 24, 2008--wendt's leaving!

i'm bummed!

She is probably going to the city-singles wards.

She'll do so good!

She's nervous about being in the city tho.

I'm nervous for my new comp and

being the "veteran" in the area!!

pray for me!

W2 (Wendt and Worthen)

CELEBRATE WITH SISTER HILS

2008-09-07T15:20:00.000-07:00

Hilary's 1/2 way mark is just days away!

On Sept. 19th Hilary will be

officially 1/2 way through

with her mission to Boston, Massachusetts.

We are inviting

all those who read

her blog to write her

a short card.

Her address can be found at the top of this page.

This would be a great FHE activity

and would be appreciated and enjoyed!

Thank You!!

BREAKING NEWS!!!!

2008-08-21T21:39:00.000-07:00

WOO HOO!

Sister Worthen's great bud/Hawaii roommate/

dress-up partner/ and confidante

Shawnda Bowden

FINALLY found out where she is going after

her call was lost in the mail for 2 weeks!!!

Kirtland, Ohio!!!

Reporting 10/01/08

Shawnda will be an AWESOME MISSIONARY!!!

congratulations Shawnda!!

Andrew is Getting Baptized

2008-08-17T15:31:00.000-07:00

Andrew,

who is the son of Jim and Jen

(who were baptized on July 20th)

is getting baptized on August 10th.

His Dad received the Aaronic Priesthood

on 8/03/08 and will be baptizing him.

They are an amazing family!

Their testimonies are strong...

although I do need a lil bit of help.

Andrew is extremely

high functioning autistic..

like most of the time you wouldn't be able to tell,

but he's having a really hard time staying calm

during sacrament meeting

because it's so long to not be able to move around.

He just gets bored.

So I need some ideas

for a sacrament packet...

he's 11 and loves magic.

Ha he's awesome!

We do have to teach him differently

than most people...alot of interaction

type of lessons, but he's definitely learning!

He's wicked smart.

Jim, Jen and family at their wedding

July 19, 2008.

Yes, Andrew has his arm around me

...sh....don't tell! Ha Ha!

Andrew LOVES his Dad!

Q and A with Sister W

2008-08-09T08:22:00.000-07:00

{Editor's note: Sister Worthen--gotta love her--just doesn't

write DETAILS.

She'll say "I love my new companion", but won't say why.

Or--"my mission Pres. is the best"--but not add what it is

about him that makes him great? So, as her official

missionary blogger, I sent her a question and answer

sheet with questions typed and then lines for her to

answer and she obediently replied in DETAIL! YEA!!}

Q. Where is Sister Wendt {new comp} from and what is it about her that makes her such an awesome companion?

A. She's from Hurricane, Utah (pronounced hurrican) pretty much Nevada. I don't feel like Sis. Wendt judges me. She continually reminds me of my strengths and motivates me to keep truckin when times are rough. I feel Heavenly Father's love for me through her.

Sister Wendt and Worthen with recent convert

Q. How have you been doing with the summer in Mass? When we watch the weather reports it looks like it rains there a lot.
A. It does rain ALOT here. It's really humid too. Some days I just want to go back into the shower b/c it feels like I never dried off. It's weird. It hasn't been as bad as I had expected tho. But we are in the car most of the time--or in peoples' homes.

Print entitiled "Rainy day in Boston"

Q. How did your interview with Pres. England go last week? Tell us something about his personality and leadership style.
A. He's awesome. If you don't go into an interview with a question, the interview takes a minute. Of course, I learned my lesson and go in with concerns/questions everytime. This past interview I asked him what I can do to reach out on a social basis to ward members and he said I needed to get out of my comfort zone. Then I told him I was scared and he said "what's the opposite of fear? Faith." I need to have more faith in Christ and in myself. He just tells it like it is and I love it..He's not all strict tho, he jokes too. He's just a good good man. His goal is to have missionaries change for the future, so they will have strength their whole life.

Q. How is your new ward?
A. The new ward is just awesome. They feed us quite well. It's fun going around to their houses. The houses here look like Oregon houses. They're all different. I love it! We drive a car--an '08 malibu. red. Her name is foxy. haha I'm hopin--well I prob will--be transferred like january-ish to the city where I will walk--they don't drive in the city and it's mostly singles' wards there.

Q. What is your prediction for where Shawnda is going?{receiving her mission call any time now}

A. BOSTON BOUND BABY! No--I wish! I think S. America. How about ---Argentina--no Peru--no prob Argentina. Final answer. ha

It's your turn now girl!

MOVING ON!!

2008-07-29T05:09:00.000-07:00

Saying Good-bye in Cape Cod to

my dearest Sister Perry!

{Sister Perry has become a friend to our family.

She recently sent us a "Cape Cod package" with

salt water taffy, nautical note cards, sea shells, etc.

We responded with an "Arizona package" with

items related to our "5 C's"--citrus, cotton etc.

Sister Perry LOVES Hilary and called when she

was transferred to tell us that she wants

to stay in touch. She's a favorite!}

I helped plant this @ Sis. Perry's house :)

All of the Sisters @ transfer meeting 7/3/08

A lot of Sisters were transferred this time.
Sister Bingham is to the left of me.

New companion, Sister Wendt, is behind
Sister Bingham and me. Sister Wendt is
from Hurricane, Utah.

Sister Phillips and I. Isn't she the Cutest!

Note my Grandma Deenie pin :)

This was @ transfer mtg. 7/18

The Phillips are the Senior Missionary

couple in our Ward. Senior couples make

the missionary experience so much better.

Missy's baptism 7/5/08

Missy's Mom is recently activated and several

members of their family have been baptized .

This was a great start in a new area for me.

Missy has 3 daughters.

July 19th, 2008

Jim and Jen P. were married and divorced

and got back together before they were

converted to the Gospel...

we had an amazing experience with Jim

and Jen who were neighbors to a family

in our ward who referred the

missionaries to their home and they

have never stopped progressing since!

They were married by Bishop Whitcomb

on Sat. the 19th! Talk about a good 7

month mark celebration! It was a way

small wedding with like no more than

15 people there, but it was just perfect.

Sister Wendt and I made the refreshments.

haha it was so fun!!

Jim and Jen and Family 7/20/08

The next day, July 20th, Jim and Jen got baptized

as did Anastasia L. who is Missy's daughter.

My testimony is growing more and more every day

and I can't imagine not knowing right now the

things I'm learning out here...and there's SO

much more to learn! I've been so blessed!

I know I'm called of God to come out and

teach these people and that He needs me

and my personality to get into the hearts

of these people!

It's so neat to have always pictured who I want

to become and now out here on a mission,

I'm becoming that person!

I LOVE IT!

Happy Letter

2008-07-11T17:34:00.000-07:00

Received a happy and cheery letter today.

Sister Worthen loves her new companion,

Sister Wendt,

but sent no information where she was from or anything

about her other than she is AWESOME

and that there is a ton of

great missionary opportunities

in her new Ward.

{Scroll down to Lexington Post to see a picture of

Sister Wendt}.

Sister Worthen's words: "When Sister Wendt

and I saw each other at transfers and found out

we could serve with each other, we were so

excited/scared it wouldn't happen,

but they called our names together and

WE ABOUT DIED!

We just thanked Heavenly Father so much!

But we know we're together because there

is alot of work to do! I'm so ready to

work HARD! We've already been able to

see a glimpse of what's to come with some

teaching appointments that

HAVE BEEN AMAZING!

The Spirit was so strong!

Heavenly Father knows what

He's doing and He treats me good!"

{A Mom can't asked for better than that!}

GOOD-BYE FOR NOW CAPE COD!!

2008-07-07T22:50:00.002-07:00

On Wednesday, July 2, two ladies from the Cape Cod

area called to say that Sister Worthen was being

transferred. We haven't heard where she is yet, but are

anxiously awaiting her first letter and all of the

details. Here are her last pictures of Cape Cod.

"Cape Cod Canal with cute sailboats" :)

Falmouth Heights

The ladies who called were so appreciative of

Sister Worthen's work in their area. Our family

is grateful to the wonderful people of Cape Cod

who treated Hilary and the other missionaries

so royally. She has been greatly blessed to

know you and work amongst you.

All's Well in Cape Cod

2008-06-28T06:11:00.000-07:00

Yea! New Pictures!

"This is what you see coming off the Bourne Bridge.

We were at the IHOP on the corner so I was able

to snap a pic :) ."

(Top Picture) Sister Bingham and I visit Boston
(Above) Here we are at a park in Plymouth on P-day
Taking the ferry to Naushon Island

{Naushon Island is part of the Elizabeth Islands. It is

7 miles long and is just off Cape Cod to the Southwest.

The island is owned by the Forbes Family and has a

permanent population of 30 persons --according

to the 2000 census. It is private property and closed

to the public. There are no paved roads but many

miles of trail through the mostly beech woods}.

{Sorry--googled a picture of Naushon Island

and couldn't get it to go any bigger.

I think the Sisters were visiting

a member who lives on the Island}

"Me cutting Larry's hair. I got

permission from Pres. England

don'tworry. Not a good pic--

neither of us were looking."

Sister Worthen's 6 Month Anniversary

2008-06-01T14:37:00.000-07:00

(Posted by Mom)

Sister Worthen has been a little slow in getting

her latest pictures developed and sent home

so I thought this might be a good time for a

family six month anniversary post!

Sister Worthen

did the funniest thing as a goodbye/

Christmas present. She had her friend

Ashley Ramirez take the above picture

and then she enlarged it and gave me

strict instructions

to put it by the front door at the

family get together on Christmas Day

and then ring the doorbell...

This was the reaction!!

Now "Hilary" goes to all

family gatherings.... Calee's Baptism

Valentine Slumber parties.....

(they are making valentines to send to Hilary)

"Hilary" isn't is this picture--but her

clothes are. The girls raided her closet!

(but they put it all back!)
Molly Cummard and Gracie say hi to

Hilary while visiting Grandma during

their birthday date

Easter Family Reunion with the Corbetts

Our Las Vegas cousins who came down

to see the Easter Pageant, Reflections

of Christ and have a fun reunion.

here are most of the Worthen and Corbett grandkids with Hils

Talking to Sister Worthen--Mother's Day 2008

Hilary's big sis Wende and BoBo (Brody) Foster

(Missionaries can only call home 2 times a year--

Mother's Day and Christmas Day)

We had everyone who talked to Hilary

sign the back of "Hilary". At the end of

the 2 hours we had 21 signatures! This

is Wesley Chamberlin, Hilary's oldest

nephew.

Dad, Kohl and Keith Kennedy talk to Hilary

on Mother's Day Sydney and Cooper Cummard on Mother's Day

(see that more people have signed the back)

Kyle and Melissa Worthen (below--with Hilary at the

2007 Easter Pageant) are currently in Virginia working

for 6 months. Hilary called them and then they called us

in Mesa and stayed on the line the full 2 hours!

Here are the grandkids writing to Hilary

while they were at the Cummard's Cabin--

Macy Foster and Molly Cummard

Molly and Wesley and Luke Chamberlin

Sydney and Cooper Cummard, Lindsay and Grace Kennedy

(Below)Lindsay, and Paige and Courtney Chamberlin

Last, but not least, here is Hilary's plaque which is hanging

up at the Hawes Ward. All her life Hilary has looked at and

read the missionary plaques in Wards and now she has

her own--it's a really nice one too! Thanks Hawes Ward!

To Hilary--one year from now, when you

read this, I hope you will realize how much

we all love you and are remembering you

and all missionaries in our prayers. Stay

strong, sweet and humble and you will

continue to serve a successful mission for

The Church of Jesus Christ

of Latter-day Saints.

This is SERIOUSLY the BEST MISSION for p-days!!

2008-05-18T14:17:00.000-07:00

The Beautiful Boston Temple
Sister Bingham and I with Deb

a former wiccan and recent convert

Me, Sis. Bingham, Elders Merril, McKinnley

(his fake dreads),

Dixon, Martineau, Mahe and Sato in Nantucket!

Skeleton of a sperm whale that came to the shore on

Nantucket and died. It was only 14 years old and look

how huge it is! This is at the Whaling Museum.

My dreamhouse on Nantucket

Gayhead Mountain Lighthouse.

Isn't it so cool? It's BRICK!

Action Shot.

LOVE the beach--HATE the cold!!

A Girl's Gotta do what A Girl's GOTTA do!!!

2008-05-10T06:42:00.000-07:00

Eating at member's homes can be interesting!!!

This is some sort of TONGUE

The only picture I have of me and THE TONGUE

YEP! I ate a lil bit of that nastiness!
Sister Burgess-Koukol trying to talk Sis. Bingham

into trying it--Sis. Bingham's getting stressed out!

HAHA!!!

Sister Bingham much happier celebrating her 6 month

mark with Worthen's Favorite Pancakes I made for her

breakfast---YUM!!!

Historic and Memorable Day!

2008-05-08T19:18:00.000-07:00

Patriot's Day (April 21st)

For P-day today (you're going to be jealous) we got up

at 3:00 a.m. and went to see the re-enactment

of the 1st shot of the Revolutionary War at Lexington.

It was AWESOME!!!!!

We went around to a bunch of different tour sites &

parades w/bag pipes, bands, etc. in Lexington

and Concord. There is so much history here!!

It's so awesome! You all are going to love it! :)

A lecture/Question and Answer session we had with

this group of men

The battle--afterwards the red coats marched off

to "Yankee Doodle". Sis. Olsen, Sis. Wendt, Bingham and I

Patriot's Day

Can you believe that? It's in Lexington--

I about DIED when I saw it, but hey--

I gotta represent. :)

Momentary Mission Meltdown

2008-05-03T11:07:00.000-07:00

{Editor's Note: After over 4 months of multi-exclamation

point reporting of the excitement of serving a mission,

it was bound to happen--

a meltdown.

On April 14th
Sister Worthen wrote a letter in which she expressed her

first negative feelings. Rather than "sweeping this under the

rug" we thought it might be helpful to see how the situation

was resolved.}

Hilary wrote:

"I don't know what to say. I'm having a hard

time. There's a lot of expectation here, and ever

since I got here it's dropped, and I can't help

but feel it's my fault...I'm trying to remain

positive but it's getting harder and harder".

{The letter was short and not so sweet--a call went out to

the family to pray for her. After many prayers and hours

of worry and 8 days of not knowing how things were going,

the next letter came. I had made up my mind in advance

that if her letter contained pictures, then everything was

alright--a truly depressed person wouldn't bother getting

their pictures developed! I reached in the mailbox and got

the letter in my hand..................

YEA!!!--I could feel Pictures!!

In her letter Hilary referenced a story about the above picture

she told at her "farewell talk".

Here's the story she told:

At work Mom showed a family picture to her co-worker and he said,

"Judy, if I didn't know you and your family better, I would think this

guy (pointing to our bearded Boyd) was a drug dealer". Later Mom

was talking to Aunt Jeri {Moody}, about what her co-worker had said

about Boyd, and Jeri said that earlier that day she had shown the

same picture to her 3 year old grandaughter, Ella Huber, and

she had pointed to Boyd and said "Jesus".

In her talk Hilary said that she wanted to go on her mission

and look at people like Ella did and try to see their Christlike

qualities and love them as a Child of God and not judge their

outward appearance.

In the follow-up letter to her "meltdown"

Hilary wrote:

"Yours and my prayers both were answered.

I feel alot better. My district leader, Elder

Sato, asked me to give the spiritual training

(I know he always prays about who should

do what--aka he was inspired) and to do it on

one of the Christ-like attributes. So I prayed

about it & decided to do it on charity.

I told the story of your co-worker & Ella

seeing our family picture & realized that I

need to see the divine in myself and recognize

my divine royalty! I AM a daughter of God!

So, no, we're not any more successful in the

teaching dept--in fact EVERY appt. cancelled,

but I am feeling good about it. We're doing

a lot of work, and I know it'll work! :)

I really get tempted to doubt who I am, what

I stand for and my blessings/talents. But I,

like Nephi, "know in whom I have trusted: My

God hath been my support"! (2 Nephi 4:18-20)

My bro Boyd in Mesa Easter Pageant--

sometimes he's "shaggy",

but he's definitely not a drug dealer!

Honoring My Ancestors

2008-05-02T22:23:00.000-07:00

Hilary is a descendant of two men who crossed the

Atlantic Ocean on the Mayflower and landed in...

Massachusetts

William Bradford

and William Brewster

Here she is at "National Monument to the Forefathers"

in Plymouth, Massachusetts.

She is pointing to a quote by Governor William Bradford.

Sister Worthen wrote to her Dad

"I thought you'd love to see that".

New Concept of "THE BEACH"

2008-04-25T06:20:00.000-07:00

"Like a Lighthouse..."

Nobska Lighthouse in Falmouth, Massachusetts

Isn't it cute?

Located between Buzzard's Bay and Vineyard Sound

on Cape Cod

Sister Bingham and me at the beach...in 3 layers of

clothing including a wool jacket. No flip flops, swim suit,

tan or sun--something's not right about this beach...

It's still pretty tho.

We were tractin' & came to this door. I was freezing & tired

while these peeps were bakin' in the sun/catchin' waves.

This is up by a member's house.

It's a huge cliff & beneath is the beach?

Isn't is pretty?!

Who knew yardwork was FUN?

2008-04-25T06:13:00.001-07:00

We helped this lady rake her leaves for 3 hours.

hard work, but fun!

her name is Diane

Pics Finally in--Here's my New Companion!

2008-04-04T23:52:00.000-07:00

These are all of the Sisters who were at transfers 2/28

Sister Duncan's new companion is front center in tan.

My new companion is front far left.

Her name is Sister Susan Bingham. She's from Jerome,

Idaho. Really neat!...We have alot in common. It's

awesome how much we've grown together already!

She's only been out 4 months and was nervous about

being a Senior Companion, but prayer works!

The wind does what it wants to with my hair!

Sister Bingham, Bro. Rosbach, Robert Vigliotti,

and me at Robert's baptism March 9, 2008

Bro. Rosbach baptized Robert.

Easter Bunny Finds Me in New England

2008-04-04T23:05:00.000-07:00

Sister Raymond, who has MS, brought

us Easter baskets full of trail mix, tooth-

paste, razors, shave gel, chocolate bunny,

jelly beans and a cute flower thing...oh

and banana bread. She's so nice!

I missed doing the Easter Pageant but on

Saturday I read in the Bible the different

versions (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John) about

the Last Supper and so on. I could just

imagine the scenes happening in Easter

Pageant! Easter was so awesome! Last week

Sister Bingham and I were pretty disappointed

with our numbers (meaning new investigators,

referrals, and lessons taught)...so this week

we were really focusing on finding people.

We told the Lord--we're gonna go out and

tract and work, but that He needed to place

the people in our paths...and let me tell you

the Lord provided. All week we had worked

and tracted, so come Sunday we prayed with

everything we had left in us to see the fruits

of our labors. Here's what happened:

Sister Raymond brought a family

of 8 and they want to know more!

Sister Manos brought her husband

who is Greek Orthodox and as stubborn about

the Church as you can get. But we have

gained a friendship with him.

Sister Wagner, one of our recent converts

brought a nonmember friend to

Church. There were just alot of little

miracles that happened at Church on Easter!

I love it out here!

"Oh that I were an ANGEL and could have the wish of my HEART"

2008-03-23T16:22:00.000-07:00

...that I might go forth and speak

with the trump of God,

with a voice to shake the earth,

and cry repentance

unto every people!

Alma 29:1

1/21/08 We tract all day. Its pretty fun.

At first I didn't feel comfortable talking

so my companion would. She's super

patient with me.

(Audiotape) Gave a talk in Church today.

Still not comfortable doing that.

Sister Duncan said it was good.

3/10 I got asked to speak in Church

on Sunday... I do not like talking but it

was actually OK. I'm starting to feel

more comfortable on the stand.

3/17 Man, on our way to Church

the lady who teaches gospel essentials

called because she was sick and asked

if we'd teach. We can't say no.

So we taught Sunday School on the

millenium, Relief Society on repentance,

then a man named Robert Vigliotti got

baptized and OF COURSE wanted the

missionaries to speak at it.

So, yeah, we sure were tired when we

got home.

"Have a wonderful time at the Easter Pageant..."

2008-03-21T07:03:00.000-07:00

Thanks for the Easter Pageant pics! {of 2008 practice}

I SO wish I could some how be in it

as well as be here, but no can do :(

{Hilary has been a cast member every year but once since 1999}

1st Transfer--Cape Cod, Massachusetts

2008-03-18T22:13:00.000-07:00

"Welp, Cape Cod it is! Can you believe it?"

You always said you wanna come to the cape! :)

Well, it's beautiful here! I'm in a little village (isn't that cute?)

by a bay...it's tiny but cute. It's awesome when it's the

sunset over the Cape Cod Canal.

The people here are awesome! It's really booming out

here right now! A lot of potential & hard work! It's gonna

be GREAT! My companions name is Sister Susan Bingham.

She's from Jerome, Idaho. Really neat! It's awesome how

much we've grown together already. She liked her last city

but LOVES Cape Cod! I'm gonna feel the same, I already do!

The Ward here is AWESOME!

They come to appointments w/us, give us referrals, & feed us

every night. There have been a lot of baptisms b/c of the ward &

their desire to do missionary work! It's great! The youth are

amazing! There's this girl named Jennifer T. who talks to her

friends about our church, then has us over to teach them,

then they get baptized, it's awesome! She's awesome.

But things are going great! I know the Lord needs me here &

I'm excited to find out why! I love being a missionary!

This is going to be the area

I "forget myself and

go to work!" :)

Can't wait!

We are teaching a wonderful family...

2008-03-16T22:32:00.000-07:00

(transcribed from audiotape)

"After President Hinckley's funeral, Sister Duncan and I were tracting

and we started talking to some young girls on the street. They asked

what we do and we told them that we teach families about Jesus Christ.

They got excited and all said 'Come to my house, come to my house!'

One of the older girls wanted us to come over right then and when we

did we could hear her Mother say to her, 'I am not interested.' But the

youngest girl, Danielle Buckley, said 'Please come meet my Dad',

so we went to meet him but he wasn't home.

Danielle Buckley and me

Later in the week, Sister Duncan and I were having a companion planning

day. We needed to set our goal for how many people we would have

ready for baptism by 3/2. We weren't teaching any investigators at this

time. We prayed together and decided to put our hands behind our

backs and indicate a number and then bring them out in front at the

same time. We did this and we both had the number 2. We were so

excited that we got the same number that we were jumping up and

down and hugging. However, when we sat back down, Sister Duncan

said 'I really wanted to say 4 but I thought that was too many since we

aren't teaching anyone right now.' I said, me too, I really was thinking

4. So we prayed individually this time and we both felt like the number

of baptisms we would have by 3/2 was four.

A few days later we saw Danielle Buckley on the street

and she again invited us to her home to meet her Dad.

(letter 2/11)

His name is Sean Buckley and he is a single Dad with 6 kids. We invited them

to Church and they came. They LOVED church--they are all so sweet. The Dad

seems excited about the whole thing. We teach him tomorrow for the first time.

(audio tape)

Today we taught the Buckleys about tithing. I was very nervous about it

because they have a large family and things are tight for them.

But when we started talking about it, Sean said 'Tithing. That's one-tenth.

I would be happy to pay tithing because I think it shows Heavenly Father

that you really believe in Him.'

We were talking at District meeting that all people really know

the truth, and if they will listen to the Spirit, it will tell them

when truth is being retaught to them. Sean is really just being

reminded of the truths he already knows.

(letter 2/18) That family I told you about is getting baptized March 2nd.

I am so happy for them!

They are so humble!

(letter 2/27) Well I guess you already got the e-mail that I am being

transferred. I'm really sad because the Buckley's baptism is this

Sunday. We called them and they invited us over for good-byes.

Man it was hard! Sean hugged me when we came in and asked

if he could offer a prayer with us and his prayer was so sweet!

He simply thanked the Lord for sending Sister Duncan and I

to him and for preparing him to find the truth...

I just love that family so much!"

saying good-bye to the Buckleys

Dylan-11, Rachel-6, Danielle-9, Nick-5, Ryan-13, Hayley-5
with Sister Worthen and Sister Duncan

3/2/08 Sean, Ryan, Dylan, and Danielle Buckley at their

baptism--with Sister Duncan and Elders doing the baptisms

yes, that would be FOUR--

the same as Sisters Worthen and Duncan's GOAL!

(Thanks to Sister Duncan for sending the pictures
and for being a wonderful trainer/companion)

Arizona Girl in the Snow!

2008-03-16T21:58:00.000-07:00

This was Sunday 2/10. We were tracting & all of a sudden

a huge wind of snow came along. NO GOOD! I had a short-

sleeved shirt on and knee high tights. I was FREEZING! But I

learned a lesson--that is never trust Massachusetts weather--

always be over prepared!

Sister Duncan and I are ready to play in the snow this time!
Hey! This is fun!
Gotta make a snow angel!
I'M SERIOUSLY FREEZING HERE!

My New Apartment in Revere

2008-03-16T16:52:00.000-07:00

"This is my apartment in Revere--yes the town is

named after Paul Revere--mine is the right door.

It goes straight upstairs as soon as you walk

in and we are on the whole top floor.

The landlords live on the bottom floor."

You find really cool door knockers here. haha
They kiss everytime you knock.

Hilary and Flat Stanley Make it to BOSTON!!!

2008-03-15T11:33:00.000-07:00

1st trip into the city

Hilary and Flat Stanley check out the Atlantic Ocean

for Brig Foster's kindergarten class

Sisters Worthen and Duncan

getting a history lesson on P-day

Sister Duncan--My trainer/companion

2008-03-14T11:26:00.000-07:00

"Because we believe
that a missionary's first
companion is extremely
important, we have
assigned one of our most
faithful and dedicated

missionaries, Sister Kelsie
Duncan, to be your
daughter's companion."
(President England)

"My companion/trainer is Sis. Duncan from Springville,
Utah. She's awesome. We get along great! We work
really hard. We tract all day. It's pretty fun. @ first I
didn't feel comfortable talking so she would, then she
had me do it. She's super patient with me. Which is
so nice for me! :) (Sister Worthen)

"Sister Worthen arrived safely, a little tired..."

2008-03-14T08:16:00.000-07:00

"We want you to know that all is well in the Massachusetts

Boston Mission! Sister Hilary Worthen arrived safely, a

little tired, but full of excitement and anticipation. How

thrilled we are to have her here with us. Enclosed is a

picture of your great missionary, Sister Worthen,

Sister England and me. We count it among our

choicest blessings to share this time with your daughter

as personal representatives of the Lord Jesus Christ.

We will do our best to build upon the wonderful

foundation that you have already laid. She will bless

the lives of many here in New England as she brings souls

unto Christ through dedication, sacrifice and love."

Sincerely,

President Edward C. England

MASSACHUSETTS BOSTON MISSION

Boston Bound for Real!

2008-03-13T14:39:00.000-07:00

" It was fun to be able to talk to the family today! I really miss

everyone! But I know this is where I need to be right now. Our

family is awesome...Well I'm on the plane now and on the navigation

screen in front of me it says we're just flying over Lake Michigan. It

also says the weather is -14 degrees outside sometimes it goes up to

-20 degrees. Crazy! Who knew it could get that cold cuz I sure didn't!

Man this is going to be fun! Really!I'm gonna have a blast!

I can't wait to get to know Boston! I read through my patriarchal

blessing when I got on the plane and I was comforted with the feeling

that Boston is where I need to go and that I will bring the Gospel

to the people there. I love my patriarchal blessing.

I'm pretty tired and I better take a quick nap before our plane lands...

I can't wait to tell you how Boston is! (besides the 4 ft. snow :( ) ha"

About the MTC...and other important truths...

2008-03-12T11:40:00.000-07:00

"I was having a bit of a hard time in the MTC the first

couple days because to be honest it is REALLY hard!

& humbling @ the same time. Like, you're literally

pleading

w/the Lord to have the Spirit w/you & to get
what people are throwing @ you (literally throwing).
It's hard to take everything all @ once,

they kinda just slam it in your face. But b/c
Heavenly Father loves me & hears my prayers,

I'm doing alot better!
I am beginning to actually believe in myself! :)
It's a great feeling."

"Mom I could not be any happier!
It feels so good to know

the Lord will provide

when you're not so sure of certain things!

But I've seen that all my life...

just here, the adversary
only comes in when you let it. Like we live in a bubble.
It's so nice!" :)

Read D&C 84:87-88, John 14:16-18, and Matthew 14:22-36

"He not only is there,

but is w/His arm stretched out for us to grab!
I really am learning so much!"

2008-03-12T11:29:00.000-07:00

January 14, 2008

Two days before leaving the MTC the doctors removed a
plantars wart from the bottom of Sister Worthen's foot.

The MTC thinks of everything!

Walking in a Winter Wonderland

2008-03-12T11:12:00.001-07:00

January 9, 2007--Last P-day in MTC

"Dad this picture reminded me of you:

at BYU--your favorite school

wearing your warm-up pants that

Boyd also took on his mission

in the snow--I remember you telling

me that you loved the snow so much

you would sleep with the window

open even on snowy nights."

Santa will find you at the MTC!

2008-03-12T10:20:00.001-07:00

"Thanks so much for the Christmas package! I LOVED it! :) Those toe & hand warmers will come to get alot of use, I know. ha...We don't have any classes today because of Christmas...

I just got back from a devotional & Elder L. Tom Perry spoke along with his wife & daughter& her family. It was really good."

"I love my stocking"

MTC District

2008-03-12T09:08:00.000-07:00

"I'm being treated like a princess up here in the

MTC.

All the Elders open all our doors, get up out of

their chairs anytime Sisters enter a classroom

or the eating table

and stay standing until we sit down.

It shows so much respect it's amazing!

I (heart) it!"

Elders Olsen, Royer, Sisters Perry, Liston, and Worthen,

Elders Lloyd, Andreason, Bateman and Jerren

in front of Provo Temple

January 9,2007

"We got to go to the Temple as a zone for the first time

because it's been closed since we got here. The Spirit

was so strong, and it's like I got rejuvenated for Boston!

I can't wait to go!"

My MTC Companions (yes, that is a plural)

2008-03-11T13:18:00.000-07:00

12/19/07

"My companions are Sister Perry from Washington

and Sister Liston from Sandy, Utah.

They're great!"Sisters Liston, Perry and Worthen
12/24/07
Why isn't the Sister from Arizona wearing a coat?

Visiting Sister Liston at Sick Bay "One less companion for 2 1/2 days!

"get this, we have companion inventory every week where we say things that are bothering us as well as wut they like about me & one of them was, i kid you not!...but she liked how organized i was! I immediately thought of you! and my room...haha i knew you would (heart) that!"

This really CRAZY girl...

2008-03-10T23:20:00.001-07:00

(Mom's words) Oops...I said I wasn't going to add anymore...

but I forgot about this Sister. She was a Canadian going

to Florida and was sitting next to us in the meeting they

have before the missionaries and their families go their

separate ways.

It is a BITTERSWEET time and very EMOTIONAL.

But this friendly gal was ready to get started

and after Hil and I had one last hug, she grabbed

onto Hil's arm and said 'Let's go!' and they got in

the missionary line and I walked out the door.

Hilary's words: "This is Sister Smith,

the girl I met before I left you.

I am so grateful for her!

She was an answer to my prayers!"

December 19, 2007--Entering the MTC--At Last!!!

2008-02-23T06:36:00.000-08:00

Hilary had a relatively short time between her call and reporting to the MTC--about 6 1/2 weeks. She had lots to do to get ready and no real semblance of understanding the real "COLD" she was preparing for. She talked to people who "knew" New England, made lots of lists and checked things off; got her necessary shots, made purchases according to the instructions sent from Salt Lake, received her Temple Endowments, spoke in Church and and had an open house for friends and relatives, wrapped things up at Hair-do, celebrated Christmas early and had a memorable setting apart by Stake President Russell Thornock. Then she packed and said her good-byes. She had accomplished all she needed to do in Salt Lake and had made the last two trips to Target for things she needed.

Sister Worthen was asked to report at 12:30. It was raining and cold.

She was exhausted but excited.

THE TIME HAD COME!

Sister Worthen signs in

Gets Instructions

Gets her Missionary badge--A Mother's Dream!!!

And one last hug.....So Proud of You!!!

The last picture we took was the one by the international Christmas tree at the top of this blog. We were then asked to put our cameras away as we proceeded to her first meeting.

This will be the last post in my words. From now on I will be sharing only Hil's thoughts and pictures as she sends them to the family. To all who read this and care about Sister Worthen, we love you and thank you with all our hearts for the love and support you have shown to her. We are so grateful that she has an opportunity to serve the Lord and represent our family in this glorius work. (Posted by Mom)

One Last Person to See

2008-02-23T06:03:00.000-08:00

Uncle Dic and Aunt Jennifer are wonderful hosts and know how to give missionaries a proper send-off! They made their wonderful homemade waffles for breakfast as we prepared to take Hilary to Provo and she loved it. Dic and Jennifer are also a wealth of information about the mission field, what to take, where to get it, how to send stuff--they know all the tricks. Thanks to the Johnsons for making us feel so welcome and seeing Hilary off with lots of love.

Before she entered the MTC there was one more person Hilary really wanted to see. Bekah Parker has been such a wonderful friend and role model to Hilary for the past 8 or so years. For those of you who don't know Bekah, she is one of those people who could still smile and find things to be positive about as she battled cancer, had chemo, lost her hair etc. etc. Her amazing attitude about life and the Gospel are nothing short of inspiring. Yes, a good dose of "Bekah" was what Hilary and I needed as she prepared to enter the MTC.

(at Bekah's office at the Creamery)
And of course, she didn't disappoint!
Uplifting, Positive, Encouraging, Interested, Caring Bekah

We love you!

Last Day Before Entering MTC

2008-02-19T16:40:00.000-08:00

The airport scene was hard on Hilary--but the good news was that the rest of the day went perfect. We walked right on the plane, Aunt Jennifer picked us up at the airport and delivered us at Temple Square. Hilary really wanted--no--NEEDED to see Sister Tiffany Lloyd, a good friend who was in school with her at Toni and Guy, and who was now a Temple Square Missionary. But when we got to Temple Square we found out it was her P-day and she wouldn't be back on Temple Square until 6:00 p.m.--about 7 hours away. We decided this would be the perfect time to go to the Salt Lake Temple and we enjoyed a peaceful "live" session. It was just what we both needed to be rejuvenated physically and spiritually and to remember why Hilary was choosing to represent this wonderful Church. On Temple Square a real transformation took place in Hilary and she commented on it too. When the Sister Missionaries asked her who she was so they could tell Sister Lloyd, Hilary didn't hesitate to say "Sister Worthen". From that time on it seemed that she thought of herself as a missionary.

Temple Square is always beautiful, but it was especially

beautiful that night with the Holiday lights in the trees.

We spent the afternoon shopping for some warm clothes (Hilary was totally freezing), and then we went to find Sister Lloyd. We searched in all the different locations where Sister Mission-aries serve on Temple Square. Uncle Dic was going to be picking us up soon, so we only had a few minutes to find her. We hunted everywhere and time was running out.

Only one place left to look before we had to give up and............

THERE SHE WAS!!!!!

They hugged and cried and were so thrilled that they both were seeing their goals of being missionaries actually happen. Sister Lloyd gave Sister Worthen some much needed advice and let her know that even though you still will love your family, you will be too busy to be thinking of them all the time. Seeing Sister Lloyd so happy and excited about her mission was just what Hilary needed. After visiting for about 10 minutes, Sister Lloyd had to get back to work, and we left Temple Square to hitch a ride to the Johnson's house with Uncle Dic where we had dinner, visited with cousins, slept, and hit Target two more times for last minute "stuff".

Sister Worthen's Address

2008-02-17T10:32:00.000-08:00

The missionaries in the Massachusetts Boston Mission are not allowed to e-mail or use the computer to correspond in any way. She would love to hear from you!! Her address is:

Sister Hilary Worthen

Massachusetts Boston Mission

385 Concord Avenue Ste. 100

Belmont, MA 02478

Parting is such "Sweet Sorrow"

2008-02-16T18:44:00.000-08:00

Hilary has been out in the mission field for 2 months and she is having a really wonderful time. Her letters are full of great experiences and the photos she has sent home are priceless. We wanted to share this information with her friends and loved ones on this site. We will try to use her words as much as possible.

I would just like to say one thing in this first post. We are so proud of Hilary. Leaving home and the people who love you is never easy. Those of you who know her well know that Hils has had some pretty unique life experiences for a 21 year old. These trials have been wonderful learning opportunities for her and with each trial she tried very hard to figure out what lesson she needed to learn. One thing she knew for sure and expressed to me was that she knew the Lord was by her side throughout each trial. When the opportunity to serve a mission got closer, she knew that was what she wanted and needed to do. So many blessings have come already. There is no way she cannot know that she is very much loved and supported by so many of you who have been so dear to her as she has prepared to go and for these first two months. Please know that she is being very obedient to every mission rule and feels that she represents her family and friends as well as the Lord. Because of her strict obedience, she is having much success as we will document.

Posted by Mom

Syd and Sally come by to see how the packing is going

Linds and all the Kennedy Kids

Wes will tower over Hil when she gets back!!!

Everyone wanted to be close to her

Hopefully the Foster girls won't start cutting their own hair again!

G-Love is smiling now because she really thinks she is going with Hilary

Our Baby Princess!!

The last group picture--time to go through Security.

Court's face says it all!

However, the worst was yet to come!!

G-LOVE'S MELTDOWN WHEN SHE

REALIZED SHE WASN'T GOING TOO!!!

boston bound

2007-12-17T23:35:00.000-08:00

well i'm off to good ol(freezing) boston! i love all of you and am grateful for your support! i hope 1 and a 1/2 treats everyone good and i can't wait to see everyone when i get home! but i gotta few unfinished business(dramatic)..

shawnda- be good girly! write me every week, i promise i won't write you off! haha have a good time in provo! it'll be awesome write and tell me everything! don't get married.. well if u do u know where to get the hook ups for a hils remake-lets call it #2. also get goin on your mission papes, the Lord needs you out there! i love you! and i'll miss you!

shout out to my brothers/sil's/sisters:

i know tomorrow i won't get to say what i want to so i wanna say it now. i just love you all! i really could not ask for better brothers and sisters and perfect sil's that fit right in! its crazy cuz you all are the reason i wanna stay but at the same time i wanna go for you guys! i'm gonna miss you guys the most! you've been my protectors and guardians and my life support! i feel bad i can't return what you all give to me.. i would be absolutely no where without you all! i love you nin lonny courtey todd la kk syd dave boyd niki kyle and melissa! i can't think of what i did to deserve all the awesome people in my life, specifically you guys! i love you! don't forget to write!

love #7

p.s.THE CHURCH IS SO TRUE!!

i'm gonna miss em..

2007-12-12T16:08:00.000-08:00

i'm leavin here in 5 days and i am so excited but i'm going to miss my nieces and nephews so much!

clay g love and ems makin cute faces! their fav kinda pic
me and the bo bo he looks sweet but don't let him fool you! he's naughty. but i love the kid!
us at tay mace and kaitybug's choir concert thing. it was so cute!

sally would eat sand then cry cuz she had sand in her mouth so then she'd put more.. she just didn't get it.. haha but i mean i enjoyed it..

g love showin off her moves during hsm2.
i told her to pose while she was dancing and this is what she delivered! i love it!
i just love sally girl! with her chubby cheeks and the rolls in her arms/legs. her big ears are the cutest and her blue eyes are dreamy!
we buried lukey boy in the sand. he was doin fine chillin in there til he realized he couldn't get out.. he panicked but kyle came to the rescue and got him out..
baby alice.. i really just love her!
oh boy.. tryin to getta pic of the grandkids after our post thanksgiving softball game wit the collins' didn't work out to well.. haha

worthen grands and cummard grands together for decorating gingerbread houses wes got a 100 bucks for not drinking soda for a year and a 44 soda from sonic! atta way!
all the boys

the girls

shout out to my nieces and nephews who read this.. do good and remember to always choose the right! i'm gonna miss you guys but i'll be back in no time! know that i love you but more importantly know that your Heavenly Father loves you! write me! i'll miss you! i love you guys more than anything! don't forget your favorite aunt hils/hiry/hiwy/oli(oldie from wes)!

alright.. i'm literally crying while writing this.. i gotta stop! this is gonna be a rough week..

i'm outta here..

2007-12-03T16:13:00.000-08:00

well not quite.. got 2 more weeks.. but i was just lettin everyone know my farewell is this sunday, dec 9th @ 12:30. the church building is inbetween sossaman and the 202 freeway on hawes. it's north of guadalupe and south of baseline. then we're also going to do a lil 'gathering' at kyle and melissas right after sacrament. have anymore ?'s lemme know..

here we go..

2007-11-26T16:25:00.000-08:00

1. sometimes i like to think i know how to speak spanish and converse with people.. or sing songs in spanish. truth is, i only know like uno, dose, guadalupe, verde, and rojo. oh and the song "saludo's saludo's amigos, greetings to my friends.." but i put a lil accent on it and it makes it sound excellen-tay! haha

2. i have the worlds best brothers and sisters and the cutest nieces and nephews! i'm the youngest of 7 and growing up i was like a doll for my older sisers and a punching bag for my brothers. but now that we're older/i can defend myself, we're all just good friends. i'd rather hangout with them than anyone else.. and i really don't know what i would do without them. and my nieces and nephews are to die for! they just say/do the funniest things they make me feel so loved!

3. i love my brothers dog big boy. i swear to you he's half human and he really is part of our fam. i love him..

4. in 3 weeks in going to be a missionary!! i'm going to boston and cannot wait!

(this pic is a good one.. )

5. speaking of boston.. i hate the cold! but i better get used to it i'll be slammed right into snow for the next few months.. lemme tell you i'm so excited...

6. i love celine dion! shawnda and i went to the celine dion concert last january and it was amazing! i mean her dancing and singing was so good! k i gotta be honest.. i cried when she came out.. i tried to hide it.. no.. didn't work. haha but she is just so good! haha don't tell ANYONE! ha

7. i have the worlds biggest sweet tooth! (if you can't tell by my rockin body! haha) anything with sugar/unhealthy, i'm down with.. literally.. well except black licorice. NAST!

welp, thats my 7 things. this is the longest one i've ever done. if u can't tell i got sick of typing by the end so they're real short towards the bottom.. eh, what can you do..

c'mon!

2007-11-07T06:29:00.000-08:00

i was looking at my sisters blog and found this picture of my niece alice. she was showing this to us at ppp(peter piper pizza) for calees bday on monday and it really is the cutest thing! she like bows her head just for a second but you can totally tell she knows to bow her head! i just LOVE her! i'm going to miss my family!

2007-10-28T00:30:00.000-07:00

opened my call and it's boston massachusetts baby! i report december 19th(ya heard.. 7 wks and THREE DAYS!!) i'm so stoked! i love boston already! ha

2007-10-21T18:17:00.000-07:00

my niece emma had to get her appendix taken out last week and my boyfriend, matt leinart, went to go visit the fam.. he's the best!

chris farley lives!!

2007-10-08T12:36:00.000-07:00

nuff said.

2007-10-04T20:53:00.000-07:00

welp today is my blogging day i guess.. i posted 3 new ones! THREE! but i had to do a shout out to l dubb. its his bday! happy birhtday pops! (this picture is from like3 years ago if not more)

this is the cutest!

2007-10-04T20:49:00.001-07:00

my sister in law showed me this a few weeks ago and i just can't get over it! its the cutest thing i've ever seen! turn up ur volume and watch it!

vampires are waiting for me in heaven..

2007-10-04T07:42:00.001-07:00

k so on tuesday shawnda and i went and did baptisms for the dead. it was just a normal day.. shawnda had already been confirmed and everything and now it was my turn in the hot seat. well it was totally serious and in tune and everything then he says "for and in behalf of ALICE CULLEN"! i almost jumped outta the chair (cuz i mean in my head the people in this book are REAL! i swear to you! and now it was proof.) instead i jus waited til "amen" and kinda peeked at shawnda to see if she heard what i heard and she had a huge smile and i knew she was thinking the same thing.. when the man confirming me was done, it was pretty much the first thing that came outta our mouths. we decided vampires can make it into salvation. so, i have made the decision to stay free of marrying and am going to wait until the next life where edward and i can be together.. forever. haha oh boy!

2007-09-18T14:43:00.001-07:00

tribute... 3 years ago yesterday! crazy! real cute pics, i know!