There are TWO very important days in a woman's life: the day she was born, and the day she finds out WHY"

I love this quote! I was reading in the conference edition in the Ensign and came across this quote earlier last week! I loved it! I have realized that the reason i have been born is to teach the gospel and to live the gospel and to share that joy that it has brought me with others!! I love this gospel! 

    I found out a few days ago that i am being transferred! I have been in this area for my whole mission! hahaha Its crazy! 1/3 of my mission was spent in southern milwaukee county! :) haha now I have been called to serve in the Milwaukee Young Single Adult ward! I am so excited! It will for sure be a different experience! we (from what i hear) will be doing A LOT of street contacting on the campus of Marquette University in downtown milwaukee! I am so excited! This will be WAY different! it will be cool to teach some people my age..ish! hahaha :)

    Our last district meeting was on Tuesday! We each stood and bore our testimonies of the restored gospel and how the atonement of Jesus Christ has changed us! I stood and talked about the people who i have taught! I have seen them go from "I am a vile sinner and can never be forgiven of the wrongs i have done" to see them say things like "It doesn't matter what i have done! He will forgive me! He will make promises with me! He will love me!" and that has been the thing that has kept me goin! The doors slam in our faces at times and we get yelled at....BUT there is NOTHIN better than telling someone that they don't have to be weighed down my guilt anymore! they can be forgiven! and people get so excited when we tell them! 

     Thanksgiving was THE BEST THING EVER!!!!!!!!!! I am so grateful for the opportunity i have to be a missionary! something really cool happened on Thanksgiving! We were at a dinner appointment and i said to sister peterson "after this we should go minister to people!" hahaha so we left the dinner appointment and she said "okay what do you want to do???" as i was driving i saw a mcdonalds and thought! "okay no one wants to work on Thanksgiving!" so we drove to the drive through and got like a parfait or something and as we went to the widnow to pay the girl I rolled down the window and said "Hello! Whats your name?" "Emma" "Emma! Well Emma can we sing to you????" and so we said "Happy Thanksgiving day to you [...]" she was SO EXCITED and her smile was priceless!!!!! and then we gave her a pass along card with our number on it!

     But then later that day i told a bunch of other missionaries about it! And so we all went to a gas station during black friday shopping and went in and sang to the guy working in there! and after we were done the elders talked about the Book of Mormon a little bit! and this guy said "that is crazy because i was feeling SO DOWN earlier today and really missin my family! but you all made me VERY happy! God bless you!" It was the greatest! 

Well this email in a novel! :) i love you all! I know that Jesus Christ lives! As we listen to Him and live by His teachings, it will forever mainstream the Church of Jesus Christ! I love you!

"Because I have been given much i too must give!"
-Sister Wise

"I LOVE THE MORMON TABERNACLE CHOIR"

 So something kind of cool is that sister peterson spoke in church and she used a poem i wrote! And i realized that i haven't shared it with any of you!!!! only my companions and now my ward! I wrote it for personal progress because i restarted personal progress on my mission! Its a poem written from the point of view of the prodigal son!:

              "when i came to myself and changed my ways it was so very hard to see, that even though I had been a disgrace...My Savior, He still loved me.

I do not think i understood the atonement that was made. Nor did I understand by what means and how my guilt and sorrows should fade! But i write to you now as a different man! A man of God on High! And if you ask "How can this be?" I'll assure you the reason why! I have faith in my Savior, The Lord, Jesus Christ and His capacity to forgive! And so from this time, and forever more! I shall look to Him and live."

I was grateful that my companion shared that! It helped me as i wrote it recognize the faith i had in Jesus Christ! She pointed out something interesting in her talk! She said "We focus on the definition given in the Bible Dictionary when it says 'Faith is a hope for things which are not seen, which are true!'" but then she went on to explain that we forget the last part of the definition! It must be centered in Jesus Christ in order to produce salvation! IT MUST BE IN JESUS CHRIST! i could have faith in the greenbay packers or faith in my ward or mission leaders! But if i don't first and foremost have faith in Jesus Christ, it won't matter what other things i do have faith in! I know that! but anyway! hahaha

HOLY SMOKES HOLY SMOKES HOLY SMOKES!!!!!!! Who knew smoke could be so holy right????? hahaha okay! So last p-day sister peterson and i were walking in the mall looking for a place to get snow boots! we walked into Kohls! we get 5 feet in the store and then we hear....as clear as day! "I love the mormon tabernacle choir!" we look at each other and then walk outside! we saw a woman sitting on a bench outside the store! I walked up to her and said "Um hi...do you like the mormon tabernacle choir???" and she said "Yeah why???" and I said "Well we are mormon!!!" and she said "Woah no way!!!!!" anyway! Her name is mary! She thought that we weren't christians and that we hate the catholics! and i said "Nope not true not true mary!!!!" and we taught her the restoration! And then invited her to baptized! She said YES!!!!! WOAH! :) hahaha so cool! It was a mini miracle! ACTUALLY!....who are we kidding!?!?!?? ITS A MIRACLE ! A HUGE FULL BLOWN MIRACLE! hahaha

     well hello friends!!!! How are you!?!?!? It has been QUITE the week! I love being a missionary!!!!!!!! This week was full of a LOT of service! We helped the friend of a member move out of her house! There were 4 other elders there! Sister Peterson and I were quite the team! lifting dressers and mattresses and couches! it was great! This woman needed the help! We and the elders were so glad to help! I love serving!

       It was also really cool to go into downtown milwaukee with the spanish elders and teach a woman who was deaf! We came a long with the donich family! They sign because their daughter is deaf as well!! It was a different expereince, speaking to someone who cannot hear you! however i knew that even though we were not hearing the same things, we were feeling the same thing. the spirit! I am grateful for the universal language of love! I know that is how God communicates with us! 

      I know that this is the true church! I have found it out for myself! Although i was born under the covenant that my parents made in the temple I had to find for myself and 'wrestle with God" (as Enos writes) to gain a knowledge of this gospel and the truthfulness of it! I know that this is the true church on the earth! I know this because I know the one who stands at the head of it! Jesus Christ!

     I wanted to end this email with a REALLY cool story i heard!:

There was a man performing at a theater! Many came to watch him in a play! He had a talent, or even a gift, to speak! He spoke with such clarity and such loudness that everyone in the theater could hear him exactly! After the show the MC came out and said "Wasn't that GREAT!? before we end tonight we would like to invite the star of our show to come out here and to quote "Psalm 23" the man came out and started "The Lord is my shepherd....etc."when he finished the audience was clapping and standing! 

    The Mc came back out and invited an older gentleman to come out of the audience! The man struggled to make his way to the stage, for he was old and weak! The man made it to the microphone and was invited to also quote Psalm 23! As he choked out the verse holding back tears he said "The Lord is my shepherd...etc" he finished and the audience was left in tears! The MC came back out, thanked the man and turned to t he audience and 

 said: "Ladies and Gentlemen, the first man knew psalm 23. The second man knew the shepherd."

I know the shepherd as He has shown me that He wants to know me! we can each know him as we study him and have faith! I know it! I love you all!!!

"Because I have been given much i too must give"

-Sister Ashton Louise Wise

Me- "Do you believe that Jospeh Smith is a Prophet of God?" Her-"uummm TBD" Me- "okay.....ummm.......how can we make that just a ....D?...."

-Here are some awesome socks a member gave us....i thought it was pretty exciting! haha 

Well hello dear friends and family!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

           MAN OH MAN!!!!!!!!!!! this is the true church of Christ! I know that! I know that our Prophet Thomas S. Monson is a man of God and INSPIRED! :) I know that the Book of Mormon is true! I know this for myself! I know that ETERNAL LIFE IS FAMILY LIFE! This concept is stressed SO INTENSELY in the Milwaukee Wisconsin Mission! I know that Joseph Smith is no liar! And if people say he is a liar! They are only fulfilling prophecy which was given my the angel moroni when he said that Josephs name would be used for both good and evil! :) 

            We have an investigator named Sara who has a friend in Utah who is helping her gain a testimony of the Book of Mormon! We invited her to kneel in prayer with us right there and ask if the Book of Mormon was true! That was THE MOST SINCERE PRAYER I HAVE EVER HEARD LEAVE SOMEONES LIPS!! WOW! it was great! I know that God will answer her prayers!

            So to explain the title! We met with Jessica our investigator and we read her the baptismal questions! To some she said yes and to others she said TBD (To be determined)......and after she said TBD, i didn't know what to say! So i paused...and sister peterson didn't say anything....and so i just said kinda slowly and awkwardly. "mmkkayyy....? how can we...make....that go from TBD....to just D?" hahahaha this made me WISH that missionaries were forced to memorize the lessons because I sounded sssoooooooo dumb hahahaha but thats okay! Jess Loves us anyway! Hopefully she gets a D soon! hahaha?

           It is a great life here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love this sweet sweet ward! We had an awesome youth fireside that was on missionary work and we had it combined with the youth and missionaries from two other wards! We showed an awesome mormon message and talked about how being a friend to people is missionary work in its self! 

          We brought a less active girl who is a little rough around the edges to a lesson with us! We had been thinking about her A TON last week! And we talked with her mom ( the girl is our age) and asked what she thought and we came to a conclusion that she should help us teach shelby and abbie (who are being baptized on the 21st My little sisters b-day!!!!)) BUT THIS LESS ACTIVE GIRL DID WONDERS!!!!!!!!!!!! SHE BROUGHT THE SPIRIT that she didn't know she could bring anymore! We are going to dinner at her house later this week! We can't wait to continue to help her faith grow!!!!!!! 

           funniest thing of this week was definitely playing bingo at a nursing home with a woman in our ward! hahahahaha i can see why they like it! Its intense! So here we are playing bingo....and this round was black out! and i got a black out! So i just yell "YYYYAAAAAAHHHHHOOOOOO!!!!!!!" and pretty sure some hearing aids broke! They were like "What the devil!? Who is that young whiper shnapper! oh shes a mormon!!!" haha okay not that last part! but their reactions were PRICELESS! There are many other stories to tell!!!!!!! BUT! Not enough time! Love you all!!!!!!!!!!

"Because I have been Given Much i too must Give"

-Sister Wise

"Persecutions may rage! Mobs may combine! Armies may assemble" and the Greenbay Packers may loose even though they were 6-0..

p.s. here are some pictures of Hermana Casas, Sister Osburn, Hermana Martinez, Sister Quist, Sister Petserson and me! :) 

November 2, 2015
HAHAHA OKAY first of all! It is a REAL THING! people make us get out of their house so they can watch the game! hahaha The streets are empty,The stores have nothing, the bars...haha...those are NEVER EMPTY! haha BUT in all seriousness it has been an AWESOME WEEK!!!!!!!! 

     something SUPER cool happened! So we met up with an investigator at Barnes and Noble! But before we did that we had a dinner appointment with the Leo family! and when were at the leo's i felt a strong prompting to open up a copy of the Book of Mormon they had on their table and to start reading before we ate! I did so! I read in Alma when it talks about the resurrection and life after death! I put the book down and said "okay...?" haha and ate dinner! and then we go to barnes and noble where we were going to read in the book of Enos with our investigator! But before we could she said "Sorry i can't really focus! I went to a funeral earlier this week and just cant get that off my mind!" and i said "WHAT?????? THATS GREAT!" and proceeded to tell her what I had read earlier! it was just TESTIMONY TO ME! that the God cares about EACH of us! but mostly that the book of mormon is TRUE it answers questions of the soul! Really! Truly it does! I love the book!

I AM JUST SO PASSIONATE ABOUT THE BOOK OF MORMON! I was reading in it earlier this week and it was talking about the stick of Judah and stick of Ephraim and it talks about how the bible at once contained to fullness of the gospel but does not anymore! It was prophecy that a book would come forth that did contain the fullness of the gospel! and its the Book of Mormon! So now when i give the book of mormon to someone i now know that i am FULFILLING PROPHECY! SO COOL! 

 

The purpose of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is to help us access the healing and enabling power of Christ's ATONEMENT! I learned this in the MTC! How am i saved? A: Through the atonement of Jesus Christ! How do we ACCESS that atonement?: Through having Faith, repenting, being baptized by someone who holds the authority to do so along with receiving the gift of the holy ghost and enduring to the end (AKA The fullness of the gospel). and Where can i learn or read about the fullness of the gospel? A: The Book of Mormon!  The book of mormon gives us the steps and necessary changes we must make to be forgiven and healed! It is so important for the world to feel this!!! :) Because as we feel forgiven we are more inclined to, like nephi, "Frankly forgive". THIS is what the world NEEDS!!!!

Okay! Something else and then i am done! haha...we had stake conference this past week!!! and our stake president talked about planes and how a plane ride can be likened to our daily lives! when they say "The cabin lights will be dimmed, but you have personal lights above you! Feel free to turn them on at any time during the flight!" He likened this to the darkening lights of the cabin (The world) the world is increasing in darkness! But we need not fear! For we have a personal light above us! I am so grateful for this personal light! His name is Jesus Christ! And he guides ME! Me personally! I have straight access to His grace and His power! 

I love you all!!!! It was a fabulous week! It always is when we are in the service of our fellow man and our God! May we ALWAYS serve Him!!! I love you all!!!!!

"Because I have been given much i too must give"

-Sister Ashton Wise

ps.s. here are the Barley's (senior couple who just went home :) and I

p.s.s.s. here is donna! She is a member who we work with and who has some wicked awesome sewing skills!

"IM BEARING MY TESTIMONY AS HARD AS I CAN!"

October 26, 2015

Hello hello hello friends and family! So the story behind the title is this:

     SO our investigator Richard (who found on the side of the road and who is supposed to be baptized) came to church and then came to a baptism! After the baptism we talked with him and he said "In all honesty i don't want to have to make the changes to be baptized and i was just BEARING MY TESTIMONY SO HARD! like SSOOOOOOOOOOOOOO so hard! he was saying no and i was saying "you sure????" and he said yes and i said "CHECK YOUR EARS ARE YOU SURE!?!?!?!?!?!" hahahahah and i just said "Richard! WE CAN BE BAPTIZED INTO EVERY CHURCH ON THIS EARTH, but if its not by someone who has the authority of God to do so, then we are ignoring the commandment of Jesus Christ when He said "Follow me!" " and he just said "no....." hahahahhhahaha i couldn't help but laugh afterwards even though i was SUPER bummed! Because i was SERIOUSLY exhausted after that lesson! I seriously did bear my testimony sUPAh hard! ahhaha :) oh richard...give it time....he'll come around! :)

    but this week has been a razy week! all of my friends went home! IT WAS TRANSFERS! (insert dramatic music here)! but it was coool because we had the opportunity to take the missionaries going home tracting and out to work with us before they went home! It was really really cool! 

    OH! okay! So it was really cool because we went to go see Charlene (Recent convert of l like a month!) and she said to us "you know...i think being a senior missionary in Salt Lake would be pretty cool and i was doin a part dance in my head! I AM SO PUMPED FOR HER! We are focusing on getting her to the temple right now though!  Hopefully soon! :)

    OH! And as we were walking in to charlenes apartment complex this woman was outside and we were talking to her and she was all like "I need God in my life" and we said "OH WE CAN HELP WITH THAT!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)" hahaha and so we went back to her house and her name is daisy. daisy has had a ROUGH life! and holy cow...i thought i was back at good ol' VALLIVUE HIGH SCHOOL because the woman had the mouth of a sailor! WWWOOOOOWWWWW! hahahaha i was just singin "Be still my soul" In my head the whole time! hahhahahah oh dear daisy! She has potential! haha  

WELL!!!!!! FRIENDS FAMILY LOVED ONES! it was good emailing you! :) i love you all! BUT MOST OF ALL!

I know that this is the ONLY true church! This i know by the Spirit! I  know that Jesus Christ is my Savior! He knows me! and He STILL Loves me despite all of my wicked ways! I will see Him one day! I know that as well! I will not know any better then  than i know now, that He is God's only begotten son in the flesh! He lives! I know it! I know that Jospeh Smith restored the Gospel to the earth! He wouldn't have made all of this up! He is no liar! :I love him and hope to thank him one day! Love you all!

-SIster Ashton Louise Wise

"Because I have been given much i too must give" 

p.s. saw a new sister who flew in on tuesday! Asked her where shes from....Meridian Idaho! Ask her if she knew the Benjamins......Dawn does her hair! I yelled "SHE DOES MY HAIR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)" hahhha it was great!

This is emerson! He left for a mission to albania today! GUNNA MISS THAT KID! we took him to alot of lessons! He will be a GREAT missionary! :)