10/21

 Sisters Mayer, Howard, Chilson, and Parke

 Landed safely in Rochester

 My niece representing my mission

Kloe's baptism (I got to teach her some of the lessons before I came home; she got baptized in January 2020)

Trust in the Lord

Hello!

This week turned out to be very unlike what I thought it would be. Wednesday we had zone conference and gained insight from President and Sister Andrews. They spoke on the Christ-like attribute of patience and how we can apply personal revelation into our lives. 

Thursday was Noah's baptism!!! The room was packed! So many ward members and missionaries came to support him. I love Noah and his family so much. I have spent many nights eating dinner with them and laughing with them on my mission. I'm so proud of Noah and the choice he made to follow Jesus Christ. I know the only way to Christ is by being baptized by someone holding the priesthood (or power from God) to do the Lord's work. He also received the gift of the Holy Ghost on Sunday. Yay Noah!!!

I went on exchanges (different companion for 24 hours) on Friday and I spent the day with Sister Parke in her area. We had a great day together. We met with some wonderful people and helped spread the light of Christ. Sister Parke reminds me of my older sister, Sarah, so that is cool :)

Saturday was a very hard day. I am heading home from my mission early due to medical reasons. I am heartbroken about leaving Mesa and the people I have met on my mission. I am still trying to understand why God's plan for me has turned out so different than I imagined. I am trying to remain strong in my faith in Him and praying to find answers and guidance. My mission has been one of the most difficult things that I have done in my life but I do not regret it one bit. Those moments of joy, seeing people accept Jesus Christ and his Gospel, filled my heart. Seeing 3 amazing people enter the waters of baptism has made me realize how important making covenants (promises) with God are. I'm not exactly sure what is next for me but I do know our Heavenly Father lives. He has a plan for me. I have grown in my testimony on my mission and I plan to continue growing throughout my life. I know Jesus Christ is our Savior. His love is perfect and infinite. I want so badly for everyone to know that! He suffered, he died, and now he LIVES. His grace is sufficient for all of us. 

Much love,

Sister Chilson

My zone at zone conference

Noah's baptism 

Sister Parke, a skeleton, and I

10/14

 My district

 Hair troubles are real

Sister Howard & I

David got Baptized!

Hey all,  

It has been a decent week. We met someone new! She has coworkers that are members of the Church and has lots of questions for us. She is very sweet and works a lot but we have an appointment to see her again on Thursday! 

David got baptized!!! It was such a great evening. Lots of members came and supported him and some of his nonmember friends came too. David has one of the strongest testimonies I have ever heard. It has been such a pleasure teaching him. He received the gift of the Holy Ghost on Sunday and bore his testimony in sacrament meeting. He is amazing!!

Saturday we helped at Jacob's mission again. We knocked down a wall which was fun. 

Last night we had our monthly Why I Believe fireside. People give talks and missionaries do musical numbers. I got to accompany one of the choir pieces which was actually a lot of fun! Playing piano is one of my refuges on the mission for sure. 

Our friend Noah's baptism got moved to this coming Thursday so I will tell you all about how that goes next week! There are amazing people in this area that are willing to hear about the gospel of Jesus Christ. I know this gospel changes lives and can bring true joy. 

Hope y'all have a fantastic week!

Love,

Sister Chilson

 David's Baptism

David's Baptism

The crew at Wendy's (i still have a frosty obsession:)

Squinting in the sun

Milkshake at Fuddruckers

Cooking, Hikes and Conference!

Hi!!

Tuesday my district and I had a cooking class with a non member who wanted to teach us. It was pretty fun even though cooking isn't my thing. We made some delicious Asian food.

We met someone new this week! She met with our Bishop and he referred her to us saying she was interested in learning about the church. We talked to her about the Restoration of the gospel and she accepted a copy of the Book of Mormon and said she would read and pray about it! Hopefully we'll meet with her again soon.

This morning I went on a hike with my zone. It was interesting doing a hike in the desert verses in New York or Canada. It was a lot of fun though! Pictures below :)

This weekend was general conference when we got to hear from President Nelson, the current prophet, and other church leaders. One thing I took away from conference was that God wants us to experience joy on this earth. If I'm being completely honest, I have had trouble finding joy on my mission. I know I am doing the Lord's work but that doesn't make all your problems go away. Finding joy daily is something I want to work on and hope to study from the conference talks and messages I heard this weekend. 

Hope you all are doing well and enjoying cooler weather because it is still about 100 degrees here...

Also! Transfers is tomorrow but I will be staying in my same area with my same companion :) for at least the next 6 weeks. 

Love,

Sister Chilson 

Cooking class

Me with steak I made

Me jumping in apparently what Arizona calls a cave...

 Sister Mayer, Sister Howard, and I

 Lots of cacti

  My zone

 My district plus a few people

10/7