Email 19 Mar 2006

Excerpts from Sister Welker's email.
oh mom you can tell grandma that i do know sister rowberry: i actually know her really well: she has come with me and my companion several times . . .she is way cool: love her to death: we only have six sisters here so we all know each other pretty well: i like all of them they are all great:. . . i love everyone here:. . . we have two new sisters coming one in april and one in may: the one in april is from tahiti and the one in may is from france and she is 57 years old with 9 children: wow huh: i most likely will serve with her some time before i leave that will be fun: in april is probably when i will have my first transfer: they dont do transfers every six weeks here they just do it when they feel it is the right time: . . . i am also really sad when i think about me and sister freeman parting: i love her to death and i dont want to leave: but we both know it has to happen so we are just taking the time we have and working as hard as we can and having fun: oh the other day we had a dinner appointment with a family and i had to do the spirtiual thought: i was really scared but i just had faith and opened my mouth and the words just came out it was amazing! i was so shocked: my companion was so proud of me she said: hey i have been here 6 weeks tomorrow: i cant believe how fast time has flown by: splits went really well: i had fun with sister duby: and i actually spoke french all day long and i understood everything she said to me: she was really patient with me and she talked very simply and found other ways to say things if i didnt understand her: . . . . so how is everyone in the ward: i miss everyone tons: hows everyone in the family: the temperature here has been crazy: it was raining for days and days and then it all of sudden changed to being really hot and humid: it is so crazy how fast it changed: it is so hot right now it is crazy: . . . i have to do the training for district meeting tomorrow: i am really scared: it is on teaching with more enthusiasm: all in french: if it was in english i would feel more confident: but i am just going to have faith that everything will be okay: i ate calamari this week it was actually really good when i didnt know what it was but once i found out i thought i was going to be sick: . . . every person we eat with forces food on us: i think they are just trying to fatten us up: i wont be surprised if i come back 50 pounds heavier: well i love ya tons i hope everything is going well: i miss ya tons and pray for you everyday: love ya!!!!! p.s. the scripture you sent me in 1nephi talking about we are marked permanently on his hands was a scripture i had read the other day and had shared with my companion: it hit me so hard when i read it: it made me really appreciate the lords sacrifice and helped me realize that he is watching out for me and he loves me:

Email 12 Mar 2006

Excerpts from Sister Welker's email:
how are you? im doing good here in new caledonia: i have a lot to share with you. first off starting with the news i received on monday: i was struggling for a couple of days with the news: i was just so shocked by what happened and it really just shook me up: on tuesday i would just break out in tears for no reason: it was hard for me to try and pay attention when we were teaching people: and that was really frustrating because i wanted to put a hundred percent into my teaching and i couldnt: my companion tried to comfort me as much as she could: but there was one elder who really helped me out: . . . we talked a lot about what had happened and he shared with me his experience:. . . but he just talked with me and comforted me a lot . . .we have talked a lot about it and i feel so much better: i am doing good now it was good to read micahs talk: he is so strong: . . . i ate octupus on saturday:. . . the taste wasnt that bad . . .i have also eaten tahitian salad: which is raw fish: . . . we eat a lot of fish here: . . . they also feed us alot of chocolate: another one of my favorite foods: i have never eaten this much chocolate in my life: we are doing splits on tuesday to wednesday: i am actually really terrified: because i am going to be with a companion that does not speak hardly any english: and i dont know french: it is scary: i am going to miss my companion: but we think that we are going to be transfered soon anyways so this is just preparation for us: we have two baptism dates set one in april and one in may: they are both people that i have helped teach from the very beginning: i am so excited: beyond belief: there are a lot of hitchhikers here: everyone hitchhikes: we even have members in our ward that hitchhike to church: . . . we had a missionary car wash on thursday: that was a lot of fun: my companion and i held a sign the whole time and got peoples attention so they would come to our car wash: it was free but while they were waiting the missionaries would talk to them: it was great: the people here are so nice: they give us things all the time and some of them are so poor: i feel really bad taking it some times: i wish i could give them things back. . . i love you so much and i miss you tons: you are my life: i love this gospel:

Email 01 Mar 2006

Excerpts from Sister Welker's email.
how are you? ive gotta tell you this is the best part of my week to receive mail from you: i love you so much and i miss you so much: mom i am so proud of you for running that race: i knew you could do it: i cant believe you did it in less than two and half hours: thats so impressive: i was thinking about you that day:. . . i cant believe how long my prayers are now they are super long: i just have so much more to be thankful for now that i didnt see before: we pray around 20 times or more a day: it is so great i feel closer to my heavenly father more than i ever had before: i am so glad that you guys have been reading your scriptures every day together: the book of mormon is a great book: i have already started reading it a second time since being a missionary: i find new things every day: oh i did receive your package: thank you so much it was so great it really reminded me of home but in a good way and not in a homesickness way: . . . i received the letters from the primary! they are so cute: . . . our investigators are doing really well we have 6 that are so close. . . . i learned how to drive a stick the other day! it was actually pretty easy! i didnt stall: that is until i tried to start on a hill! that was so difficult! so know i might be in a car for awhile who knows: zone conference was so much fun! i really enjoyed it i had to wear little translation head phones because i didnt understand what was being said! it was really powerful! i met all the missionaries! they are great and i actually talked in french it was great! . . . i got my suitcase thank goodness i was running out of things and i finally got my pictures of you that were in my suitcase! . . . .hey dad the elders thought your mustache was so cool and my companion showed me a picture of her dad and he has a mustache like you! oh my heavens i havent eat so much in my life since being here: we always have a lot of appointments to eat! and they feed you so much! and then they give you seconds. i have come away from appointments so full that i cant move: we had 12 meal appointments in one week! the funny thing about that is that i havent gained any weight but i have lost a lot! i lost 9 pounds since being here! my skirts are getting kind of lose: i dont know why! i received a really long letter from president walker the other day i also received one from antie keola! tell her thanks i am going to try and find time to write back but i dont have a lot of time: i have been having tons of fun with my companion: when we are in the house we dance! i have been trying to teach her how to hula which is kind of hard because i dont really know how: ha ha! we sing a lot too: its great: . . . my area by the way is not just mont dore: it is mont dore and everything south of it: it is really big!
tell everyone i say hi and send my love: i love you guys so much and miss ya tons!