WONDERFUL BAPTISM ON JANUARY 11, 2009

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!!!

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

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!!!!

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

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!)

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

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

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!!!!

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

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

{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!!

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

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!!

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.