❗️BREAKING NEWS❗️

{Two sister missionaries have gone missing in Damariscotta, Maine. Their whereabouts are unknown. Last seen in Boothbay at around 6:30pm with a less active member from their church. Investigation continues, stay tuned.}

^^^^ You were all about to hear this on your television sets, on your social media news feeds, and throughout your radio stations. 

Our week was going so well until about 12:10am last night. There we were, sleeping soundly and deep in pleasant dreams when suddenly we both wake up to loud and obnoxious banging coming from our wall right next to Sister MacDonalds bed. Extremely confused, we yelled through the wall to ask what was going on and our neighbor yelled to us that people were on our porch waiting for us to answer. What?? I threw my glasses on my face and we both ran to the front door...that's when i died internally. 

There stood two men from our ward, two police officers, elders that serve in the Topsham ward which is the closest to us but still an hour away, and President Blair on the phone that was being held in one of the member's hands. We both stood there wishing we were dead. It then clicked that we had forgotten to text "in and safe" to our leaders which is something we have to do every night. Our phone had been in Sister MacDonalds bag on silent so when 48392 people tried calling us, we didn't hear it. President Blair then spoke to us on the phone saying that he was so overjoyed to hear our voices and know that we were okay. 

He had contacted Salt Lake and him along with other mission leaders had been praying for those couple of hours to get a hold of us and to know if we were safe. He also said that he was 3 minutes away from calling our parents and having one of the members literally break our door down. Just typing this i want to run away so fast and so far and never return in hopes that people just forget about this entire situation. Today, Sister MacDonald and I had some type of "midlife crisis" and decided to wax our eyebrows and dye our hair. This was in hopes that nobody would recognize us and we could just hide from this horrific event. 

OUR LESSON HAS BEEN LEARNED! Our safety out here is of complete importance to not only our mission president, but to fellow missionaries and ward members. There were several members also praying for us and asking us if we were okay. As mortified and humiliated and sorry as we are, we both now have a firm testimony of texting "in and safe" and paying more attention to the little things.

We had a Branch Social a couple nights ago and it was my first time meeting most of the members formally. They are all so sweet and welcoming and I love them! There is such a feeling of home with them and it's wonderful. We had a BBQ cookout and tons of apple/pumpkin pie.

GENERAL WOMEN'S CONFERENCE. i could easily go back and watch it all again a hundred times. I felt like they were speaking directly to me and it was such a humbling experience. I am so thankful for the chance we had to watch it and be spiritually uplifted by the women of the church (and president uchtdorf)! It got me so so so so excited for general conference next weekend. This will be the third general conference i'll get to watch on my mission and i get more excited for it every time it comes around :) it's seriously like a Missionary Christmas!

We were so busy with teaching and lessons this past week and it was SO great. There literally came a point where we were running to our next appointments...Nothing better than that! All my days are blurring together and time doesn't make any sense and I have taught more in this area than any other area in my mission. The Lord is truly blessing me in allowing me to finish my journey strong :)

What else...i honestly can't think past last night. Everything before it is a haze as if it never actually happened. It was almost like an out of body experience! Ah! 

Well, i'll just leae it at that. Sorry that you won't be hearing about me on the news!

Love, Sister Watson

Brother and Sister Smith from the Tophsam ward showed up at our branch social!!! Hooray! :)

This is looking out of one of the members back porch.

We got matching joggers. We kind of LOVE them...

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D-SCOTTA

Aaaand, boom. My first week has already gone by in the beautiful land of Damariscotta! This area is seriously so gorgeous...we are living in Newcastle, Maine and if i look outside my bedroom window, i see the ocean!

Damariscotta is right next to us so we walk down there quite often and the ocean surrounds us on both sides. IT IS HEAVEN. There is the coast, then there are rolling hills and beautiful country as well. It's not city like some of my area of Georgetown, but it's also not a little tiny town like Bethel was. It's the perfect mix and i loooove it!
My companion is Sister MacDonald and she's from Sacramento, California! She is such a hard worker and we've been getting along great :) i love her!

This past weekend was basically just me sitting in a chair getting thrown around and dunked into spiritualness. On Saturday we had the adult session of stake conference, on Sunday we had the general session of stake conference, and Monday we had a "mission tour" where Elder Randall K Bennett and Elder De Feo from the Quorum of the Seventy came and spoke to us for 7 hours straight! That totaled up to 11 hours of sitting and being spiritually fed in a span of 3 days. It...was...AMAZING.

We were so blessed to be given the privilege to have TWO general authorities training us and helping us know how to become better missionaries. I learned so much and i am so excited to apply what i learned to become a better instrument in the Lord's hand! Change is hard though, it takes a lot of dedication and work. Before that meeting i thought that i was fine where i was at. I would have kept trudging along until the last day of my mission doing the same things i've done the entire time. No change, just patience and endurance.

That was until Elder De Feo told us at the beginning of the meeting to draw a line down the middle of our journals and write the things we hear with our ears on the left side, and the things the spirit tells us on the right. When he first said this, i almost didn't do it because i was sure i wasn't going to be noticing little promptings of the spirit. I knew that I couldn't recognize and discern which was my thoughts and which was the spirit, but i did it anyway. To my complete surprise, the spirit taught me so much yesterday! I almost had more on the right side than i did on the left. I came out of that meeting having so many things that i needed to improve and work on so that i can finish my mission strong. I learned more from the spirit than i did with my ears and it was something that really hasn't happened before, at least that i've noticed.

Guess who was at stake conference? Members from both the Topsham ward AND the Oxford ward!! (Bath and Bethel, Maine areas). I got to catch up with so many people that i absolutely love and adore. There came to a point where i honestly could not handle the joy that was in my heart. It was the weirdest, happiest feeling i've ever felt! I was surrounded by people that i have grown so close to and it hit me how deep my heart was rooted here in New England and in my past areas. These people i have met are so special to me and they will always be a part of me...it's also a great reminded that i DID make a difference here. My efforts are noticed and i'm not just a robotic missionary. I have made relationships with people that i will keep for the rest of my life and that is one of the many things that i LOVE about serving a mission. Gosh, it's the best.

Something that i've noticed and thought about recently is the word "hard" and how it's Satan's favorite word that we use. As soon as it comes out of our mouths, it's almost like it does something to us physically. It makes us more tired, it makes us unmotivated. It causes our thoughts following the word more negative. The word almost sounds final, like there is no solution to whatever is so "hard". This is one of the smaller changes that i'm going to make, and it's going to be me saying that word a lot less. The Lord didn't make this mission in a way that will torture me and make me complain about it being "hard" all the time. He made it challenging instead, which is a word that helps you realize that there IS a solution. There is an option of changing, improving, and growing in such a way that we can look at our situation and see a glimmer of hope. It doesn't matter what "hard" trial you're passing through, it is surmountable. Take it as a challenge and involve the Lord to help you. Call down the powers of heaven to give you the strength you need to push through.

YOU CAN DO IT.

i love you all. i love this area. i love my mission. i love the ocean and the trees and the squirrels everywhere and the humidity.
and i hope you love my pictures.

Love, 

Sister Watson

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BIND the Lord

Dun, dun, dun....this could quite possibly be my last week in G-Town! I could cry just thinking about it, both happy tears and sad tears. I'm in need of a change since I've been here since March, but I've also grown closer to the people here than all of my past areas combined. I consider these wonderful people my family and the thought of leaving them kills me! Stay in tune next week for the transfer reveal..

This past week was a good one. Lots of great things happened and I'm here to share just a few of them with you! 

1. We had exchanges with our Sister Training Leaders in Portsmouth, New Hampshire which was good and dandy. I was with Sister Davies and she's just amazing...I definitely learned a lot from her! I kind of went in with a stubborn/prideful attitude since "I've been serving longer" and "she shouldn't be showing me how to work if I have more experience than her". That was a huge mistake on my part because I really look up to her now! She's a fabulous missionary and she taught me the 'why' of my missionary service. Why did I leave my family for 18 months? Why do I choose to obey all these strict rules? Why am I out here on my own enduring many trials and suffering lots of persecution by the people of New England? 

It's because I love the Lord and I love this gospel. I left my family and flew across the country to an unknown land with people I don't know because I wanted to. I wasn't forced onto the plane. I wasn't pressured into filling out my mission papers. Nobody is dragging me out of bed by my hair every single morning at 6:20 am. I do all of this because I know it's what I need to do. Sister Davies didn't say all of this, but as I was around her...it all came together for me. My mission truly is what I make of it and I am so glad that I'm here :)

2. On Friday we went to deliver a cute quote that we made to a less active family. We met with them a few weeks ago but we haven't been able to get a hold of them since. As we parked outside thier house, we saw cars in the driveway and lights on inside the house which told us they were home. This didn't mean they would answer the door though...we had this happen before and nobody came. So, we decided to try something new. Our sister training leaders told us about "binding the Lord" which is basically praying for something and EXPECTING Him to bless you with what you're wanting. Binding Him with a promise saying that you're there on His errand, but we expect Him to make something great happen. They promised us it works, so we gave it a try. We prayed in front of their house and said that we are here at this couple's house that we've been trying to meet with for months, and all we want is for someone to finally answer the door. We told Him we expected it, and ended the prayer. When we walked up to their kitchen door and knocked, nobody came. We heard voices, all the lights were on, etc...but no answer at the door! All of a sudden, Sister F. walks into her kitchen while talking on the phone and doesn't even notice us. She never heard us knocking. It was so awkward because it was night time outside and I didn't want her to look over at the door and see me standing there in the darkness with her kitchen light shining on me! but as soon as she started walking out of her kitchen, we hurried and knocked one more time and SHE CAME! She was happy to see us, took our quote, and said she'd call us to set up a dinner appointment. What!
We couldn't believe it. 

As soon as we got back into the car, we were speechless. I immediately told Sister Brown that we were saying a gratitude prayer and we did. I am so certain that Sister F. was led to the kitchen at the perfect time so that she could hear us knocking. I know that He heard our prayer and blessed us according to our faith and I am so happy that we had that experience!

3. Last night we went with Sister Adams and the Nuons to a Lantern Festival and it was SO MUCH FUN! It was a fundraiser for ovarian cancer and we had a picnic, decorated our own lanterns, lit them, and set them out on a big pond along with everyone else's. It was absolutely beautiful. 

At the beginning, someone was introducing the event and they made it very religious. They weren't LDS, but they were talking about how people taken from this illness are happy where they are and they aren't gone forever. He said that death isn't the end of this life. He also invited the spirit to dwell with us as we send off our lanterns. As he said these things, it occurred to me that many religions do have a lot of truth to them. 

I look at it like this: The gospel of Jesus Christ is like a beautiful, perfect, stain glass window. When the Great Apostasy happened, the window was broken into thousands of pieces and it wasn't possible to put it all back together properly. Different people picked up some of the pieces and tried making a new window out of it, but they couldn't figure out how to make it back to the way it was without all the other pieces. Their windows had the same pieces, but it wasn't completely fixable. Then, Joseph Smith came and under the direction of Heavenly Father and our Savior, he was able to take every single piece of glass and renew it to its original perfection and beauty. 

How blessed are we to be enjoying the fullness of this gospel? We have every last wonderful piece of this mirror. Churches around us have parts of the truth, but we have it all. I am so thankful for my knowledge of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon and of the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I know that this church is true and I am thrilled to be given the chance to share that testimony with others.

IM SORRY THIS WAS SO LONG but I'm just so full of gratitude :)

Exchanges!

Us with the Adams and the Nuons at the festival 

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crazy jesus-fanatics👭

Hellooooo! it's so hard to believe that it's already been ANOTHER week here in G-Town. I came to the realization that I've officially spent the entire summer of 2016 in the best area to spend a summer in. I have oceans everywhere, beautiful sceneries, and yes...even horrific humidity. BUT I wouldn't take back a single sweat-dripping second of this past summer here! it'll be a summer I'll remember for the rest of my life. 

let's start this email out with a cool miracle, shall we? so sister brown and I ran out of money pretty early this month so for a few weeks we were going off of about $5-10 between the two of us. we got to the point just recently that we were down to $.09 this past week so we were really living off of nothing. it was a struggle. but this past wednesday, we had district meeting at the church and we stayed there afterwards to do some companionship study. as we were sitting there planning, a lady comes in to chat with us. she and her husband originally attend the Manchester ward in New Hampshire but they were in Georgetown to do some building maintenance or something.

anyway, so she came and chatted with us for a while and would leave and come back often. one of the times, she came in and handed us a $20 bill and said, "people would do this to my kids while they were on mission. take this money and go buy yourselves some food!" WE WERE SO THANKFUL! she left for a second to do something with her husband but when she came back again, she had another $20 bill for us. we couldn't even believe it. she counseled us to share it with the elders! I love the members of this church...we truly are one big family :) we felt so loved that day and it was so neat to see the love of the Lord reaching out to us through somebody else. it's just a testimony builder to me that He does care about us and He loves His missionaries! well, He loves everyone. but especially His missionaries ;) 

here's a story that made it straight into my journal...we called our investigator a couple of nights ago to have a lesson with him since he lives pretty far out in our area and as we were talking to him, it became more and more evident that he was more interested in me than the gospel. yep. 

"you should come back after your mission and Jesus can do a miracle"

"I think you're the one for me"

"I'm a simple man, but I can give you everything you need"

blah, blah, blah, blah....stuff like that. it was too hilarious! he's from Honduras and he seemed like he had interest in coming closer to Christ, but we aren't sure that's the case anymore. sister brown and I
were trying not to bust out in laughter as I tried telling him that I'm 100% focused on my mission and I'm not interested in anything else right now. I tried being super churchy and Jesus-fanatic-crazy but he seemed to really like that. he "wants someone that loves Jesus as much as I do" 

on saturday we got together as a ward and did service together at Gloucester which was fun! we cut cheese, filled window boxes, and worked in their community garden. service is one of my absolute favorite parts of serving a mission...it brings a kind of happiness and fulfillment that you can't really find anywhere else! and I was doing it with members of the church that have become my family out here. it was wonderful :) 

something that has been on my mind lately has been the word "Remember". It sounds strange, but I often think about how important it is for a missionary or a member of the church to have a good memory. we can attend church meetings or temple sessions which can overwhelm us with the spirit, we partake of the sacrament and feel cleansed each week, we fall to our knees seeking comfort and direction from our heavenly father and we often receive it which also overwhelms us with that same spirit, we have undeniable experiences that, at the time, we feel as if we could NEVER deny. but, life happens...stuff gets in the way...and we start to forget. we forget those crucial testimony-building moments in the mist of the worldly barricades of life. WE MUST REMEMBER. whatever it takes, keep yourself in tact with those spiritual moments. find time to pray, read your scriptures, or find ways to serve. seek to keep the spirit in your life. I promise you that you will never lose sight of those wonderful times and those firm building blocks given to you by the spirit which come through doing the things asked of us. 

this church is so good.

the gospel is so good.

God is so good.
missions are so good.

I love you all.

love, sister watson

Our mission mama (Sister Adams) took us to Newburyport last P-Day and spoiled us like crazy!

We had a goodbye breakfast for Elder Williams this morning. he's leaving on Thursday which is a few weeks early in this transfer so that he can get to college. Sister Adams made the theme like a graveyard since this is his "dying" area (missionary lingo). your first area in your mission is your "birthplace" and your last is your "dying area". the buoy in his hands was a gift from the Adams because he helped "keep this ward afloat!" 

I kind of love Sister Adams.❤️

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