Not too bad of a week!

This week was pretty good. We have a lot of people that we're working with!

We had zone training this past week. It went really well. It was Elder Smith's first one as a zone leader but I think he handled it pretty well. We trained on how we as missionaries need to be proactive and not reactive, and we can do that by planning ahead. We listed a bunch of things we can do to plan ahead, preventing problems before they happen. Then we took them into the gym for "gym time" for an activity on demonstrating what the difference between being pro and re active is. They had a big area with a lot of pieces of paper on it. if they stopped on the wrong paper, they had a dodgeball thrown at them. That was a lot of fun. Then I gave them a piece of paper with a map of the ones that would make them have to dodge a dodgeball. The Assistants came and loved it. I think that it really helped out the zone helping them realize that they need to not go through the motions but really step it up and be proactive!

We also went on exchanges. I went with Elder Lamb again, and he came to my area. He has a lot of potential to be a great leader. I just want him to make sure he gets the language down well enough first. But he will go far I think. It was awesome being on exchanges with him though because we didn't have to leave the apartment until 1pm!!! (8-9 personal study, 9-10 personal study, 10-11 first twelve weeks training, 11-12 language study, and 12-1 lunch! haha.) So we skipped the cold that day. Although it has been warming up lately which makes it feel a lot better. It's probably about 30-35 degrees but I don't even need gloves because it feels so much warmer!! Crazy. 

We picked up a few new people to teach, and they all accepted baptismal dates. One has cerebral palsy and so he was a little scared of the water. Actually a lot scared of the water. But we explained how he would be baptized and that he would be able to stand in about waist high water. And we would hold on to him the entire time, and he would only be under the water for a split second. He was really excited to be baptized after that, because he knows everything is true, he just was a little scared which is completely understandable. Other than that, Tiffany accepted another date after "falling off" date the other week. She is excited for her baptism too. 

We've been having a couple of ward parties which have been a lot of fun. We have been bringing the people we're teaching and they seem to love it. That always makes me happy when i see them fitting in with the rest of the ward here. How's things going back home? Hopefully everyone is ready for Christmas. It's coming up so soon!!

Love ya! Merry Christmas!
Elder Wilson

 Hudson's baptism!

Yeah, winter's finally here.

I don't think it's been above freezing for the last week! But it's all good, that just makes us try to get into doors more. haha. Plus, I was always complaining about it being too hot earlier in the year so I have no room to complain! ;) I haven't slipped once, but Elder Smith has. He ate it on some ice in a parking lot the other day. But don't worry, I didn't laugh. Too hard.

Hudson got baptized!! I'll attach a picture of it. My camera died, but I knew it was low so I had brought my camera charger and so i juiced it up for about 10 minutes and I was able to take a few. He is such a cool guy. He is way smart! And knows everything about the Gospel and the Church. It makes sense though, because he has been coming to church for 6 years. But his mom finally allowed him to be baptized so he was able to. The mom wanted it to be a really small baptism, so we didn't have any talks or anything. We had to convince her to have an opening and closing song even! Pretty crazy. But oh well. He really enjoyed it. Now his brother just needs to make up his mind to be baptized..

I went on exchanges with an Elder from Australia, Elder Bowie. He's a pretty cool guy. He still says some of the Australian lingo like boot for a car's trunk, car park for a parking lot, "no joy" instead of bad luck or no luck, and just some other stuff like that. haha. It's pretty funny to hear the members try and guess what he's talking about. 

Man. Other than that, nothing really happened this week! We did pick up a few new people that we're teaching, Callie and Jesus. (hey-soos) They accepted a baptismal date for January 4th! That will be pretty cool. She has grown up here in Utah but knows nothing about the church. And he is from Venezuela so he doesn't know too much about it either. They wanted their daughter to be baptized as well, but she was only 4. And we didn't want to bring out the big guns in Moroni 8 or D&C yet. ;) They just moved in to the apartment complex we cover.

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas! People are always nicer around this time of year, which is good. People always offer us chocolate and cookies and hot chocolate, it's pretty funny. Don't forget the real meaning of Christmas!!

Love,
Elder Wilson

The Snow Has Come.

The first day of real snow is today. I'm pretty sure it's here to stay, too. Which is not good. We had to shovel our landlord's driveway this morning. But I didn't mind because it is always fun the first couple of times that you do it! I'm sure it will get old really quick.

When Elder Smith and I met up, I first went over the Zone Leader responsibilities with him. He's going to catch on really quick. He's a good missionary. He's also really mature which is good because we need to be as zone leaders. He has already graduated from College with his degree! He is an electrical engineer. But yeah, he's a really hard worker. We have already gone to some meetings together and I can tell that it's going to be a good transfer. I'm pretty sure I said that in the last email but OH WELL.

Thanksgiving was pretty good. We did a 5K called "Beat the President". I'll attach the picture. Even though it's a horrible picture, without anyone looking and I was still trying to get in position hahahaha. Oh well. Maybe you won't spot me. But Elder Reed left some socks here so [after I washed them] I wore them to the race! I ended up placing 2nd overall. And definitely beat the President ;) I'll see if I can get the picture of the winners! If not you'll just have to believe me. For thanksgiving dinner, we went to a member's house. There was a ton of people there! About 30. But there was tons of food so it didn't run out. (so don't worry mom, I got fed well!) ;)

So we tried to play a prank on Elder Smith when he got here. Me and the Millers. We pretended to have a beer sitting out (it was cream soda) and Mike Miller said that he finally got his answer. He knew that this was the right decision. He knows he has to quit drinking alcohol, and so he committed to do it. But then he's like BUT I'll only do it if you drink my last one with me. And poured us a glass. Elder Smith was like uh... no. I'm not gonna do that. haha. But then I tried to reason with Mike for a while. He said that was the only way he would do it. So I shrugged, clicked my glass to his, and together we said "For Elder Reed." It was pretty awesome hahaha. But Mike has been apologizing ever since, he thought that he offended Elder Smith or something! But really he was cool with it haha.
Speaking of Mike, something really really awesome happened with him and his wife. We went over there to talk to them, and just to see how they were doing. Then they had us sit down, and Mike told us about an incredible blessing that he had gotten from his friend Tim. He said it lasted for half an hour (which is extremely long for a blessing), and during it he had a pure knowledge that he NEEDED to be baptized. I don't want to go too much into it because it is pretty sacred to him. But let's just say that he absolutely knows he needs to now. Before, he was just kind of aiming towards it. And then his wife, Janeina, had an awesome experience too. She had a dream that her dad came to her (who has passed away) and she was asking him a lot of questions. The coolest part though was that her dad wasn't able to use his legs in this life, and was confined to a wheelchair. But in the dream when he came to her, he was able to fully use his legs and was standing talking to her. Pretty awesome. One of the questions was if she should be baptized. She told us that after the dream was over, she also had an absolute knowledge that she needed to be baptized. So she told us she wants to be baptized on December 14th. And she wants me to do it, she said. That was awesome.

Tiffany is also really solid for baptism. She is shooting for the 21st of December but she needs to get over a few speedbumps before that can happen. I really hope that we can get her ready in time. She told us that she is really really excited for it and wants to come to church every week. She's really excited to learn about the gospel too. So things are going really well with her!

And the rest of the week was just as good!

I love you!!
Elder Wilson

 Elder Wood, Elder Wilson, and Elder Dean

 My 5K socks!

I beat the president!

TRANSFERS!

This week was so awesome!!!!!

Well, I guess to start off, I'll get the business out of the way first. No, I didn't get transferred so I'm still in this area until at least January 8th! That's when the next transfers are. My new companion is Elder Smith and he is from Iowa. He's 26! Just turned 26 yesterday actually. He's pretty legit. We are going to get a long really well I think this transfer. He's also a super hard worker so we are going to get so much done this transfer. We have a lot of people we're working with!!

Lloyd, one of the people that I was working with over a year ago who got baptized, GOT MARRIED!!!! For time and all eternity, not just until death does him part. That is so comforting to know. That when we get married in the Temple, it doesn't matter what curveball life throws at us. It's forever!! He got married to Allison Tamietti, the one he was dating when I was teaching him over a year ago. They invited us to see it happen, so Elder Reed and I did. They got married in the Draper temple. That is such a beautiful temple. And in a beautiful area, too! A ton of million dollar homes. But yeah that was so amazing. I had been to a sealing before for a family in my ward back home, but I think that this was way better! The actual ceremony was really short, shorter than I expected it to be. But extremely powerful. There was no way that you couldn't know that it was divinely approved. Words can't describe it unless you are actually there.
Then we all went outside, and waited for them to come out so we could ambush them with pictures. Haha! They looked so happy. Even though the wind was blowing and it was probably 30 degrees, they were still glowing. :) I was really honored and humbled that I was able to be invited to see it happen. There wasn't very many people there to support him, so I'm glad that I could. :) Turns out that his dad had  disowned him. :/ He's a baptist minister. He's really against the Church. When he found out that he was getting baptized, he was furious. When he found out that he was dating Allison, he was also really mad. But they broke up for a little bit, and his dad was really happy. He gave him a house of his own, a car, and let him take over the family business. (A car dealership). But Lloyd got back together with Allison, and he took it all away from him when he found out that Lloyd was getting married. He didn't even come to the wedding, or the reception afterwards. :( But that just proves how awesome Lloyd is, still going through with it because he knows it's the right thing to do!! (I hope he doesn't get too mad at me for putting this up here if he reads it, I just thought that it was an amazing experience.)

Then on Thursday we got to go to the temple again! This time as a mission. We went to the Jordan River Temple. That was an awesome experience, full of the Spirit. I got some answers to some questions that I had been having. I love receiving revelation in the temple. If any of you can go through but haven't in a while, get a question in mind, and go to the temple!!!! When I was in the temple, I bowed my head, and asked Him once more to demonstrate His love for me. Before I could get the whole sentence out, I instantly felt an overwhelming peace come over me. Literally it felt as though I was being hugged. It's impossible to describe in words. The scripture came to my mind afterwards. Matthew 6:8. "Your Father knoweth what things ye have need of before ye ask Him". So awesome. :) I love God. I'm so grateful that I am here at this time. I'm so grateful that I'm a missionary!!!


And then the third awesome thing that happened this week was that Ashley Moreno got baptized!! She was really nervous though, so we cancelled our dinner appointment and took her to see a baptism. She was a little less nervous afterwards. Her hsband Jon was able to baptize her though! That was pretty neat. He was just as nervous. But they practiced in the hallway how it was going to happen and when they were ready they came in and sat down so the program could start. But they both did really well. She said she felt really good afterwards. :) Obviously, how couldn't you? You just entered the gate to the strait and narrow path! Of course God will be pleased! ;) She got confirmed the next day at church.

We're also working with the Millers and Tiffany!! They're both working towards baptism and are doing great. I'll talk about them more in the next email!

Love ya,
Elder Wilson

LLOYD GOT MARRIED IN THE DRAPER TEMPLE!!!!!

 Lloyd's wedding was so awesome. So spiritual being in the sealing!

The draper temple is gorgeous!

 A huge mansion up by the draper temple

 Ashley got baptized!

 Elder Reed is going home, and this is a member that wanted to see him before he went home.

 It's the longest-acting patriarch in the whole church! 40 years he's been a patriarch!! 

Elder Reed is officially GONE. haha. It's a weird feeling.

NOVEMBER

IS

ALMOST

OVER

ALREADY.

How is that possible. Anyways, this week went pretty well. Except my journal fell apart which makes it hard to write in and type up for this email. Oh well I'll try my best. The weather is getting steadily colder and colder, too. I think this time it will be here for good. 

Ashley Moreno, someone we're working with, got interviewed for her baptism this last week. She is good to go for this weekend! That will be exciting. Her husband quit smoking cold turkey in order to be able to baptize her. It's been really hard. Within the last few months alone, he's quit drugs, alcohol, AND chain smoking. He's really strong. And they just moved here from Idaho to get away from the bad influences they were having out there. Since then, they've been meeting with us, he's been changing his life, he got 2 jobs to help provide for his wife, kid, and kid-on-the-way, and they are so much happier because of it.

This last week we had district meeting which was pretty awesome. Because it was at our mission president's HOUSE! (Outside of the mission). It's pretty nice. We got to have it there because our district had the most on date out of our whole mission. He cooked us steaks and we had a lot of other super awesome food too.

We had a lot of lessons cancel on us early on this week. We also had a lot of problems come up for our people we're working with, and the missionaries in our zone. Stupid concerns and easy to fix things, but it's still a huge headache. But we didn't let it get us down. What doesn't kill you just makes you stronger, right? It's actually pretty true. You really see what you're made of when you go through the bad. I've seen that in myself, and also the people that I see out here in the mission. 

One of the Elders in our zone had an interview for someone they're working with for baptism. Her name is Nissa Vegh. She met Elder M. Russel Ballard!! How awesome is that? She felt like she needed to go to a certain restaurant she said, and turns out Elder Ballard felt like he needed to as well. That's where they met! He sent her flowers and a signed book, and she invited him to her baptism. That would be cool to have an Apostle of the Lord come to your baptism. Maybe even get a picture with him! haha. :)

But yeah, other than that nothing really exciting or new has happened. And once again, I'm sorry for the lack of pictures. Wait, here's one. I'll attach it I guess!

Love ya!
Elder Wilson

Slow down!!

Zone training meeting happened this week again. I love doing that, because it is basically like our district meeting as a zone. So we can all participate and learn from each other. We trained them on how to help people they're teaching resolve their concerns. They needed that. We all needed it, we learned from it! I have made a list of a lot of concerns that people have and handed it out. They liked that a lot too! haha.

Anyways, this week was a really good week! Elder Reed and I spoke in church. He talked about the restoration of the gospel and I talked about God's plan of salvation. They both went really well! I was relieved. I don't know how many times I have spoken in church, but t's still nerve racking until you get up and actually start talking. Then it's alright. That's when the spirit comes in.

Jonathon and Ashley. Where do I begin. Yeah, Ashley is still on date to be baptized, but she wants her husband to do it and he needs to be obeying the word of wisdom before he can. He's trying to quit, but he says it's really hard. Which it is, I can't blame him. But I just hate how Satan uses small things to become addictions and prevent us from doing good things. It's way annoying. But teaching them at their house is very chaotic. There's a dog running around, about 15 kids, their 1 year old baby, and Ashley and Jon don't have the longest attention spans as it is. Needless to say we are still able to teach, haha. But yeah. I'm definitely not complaining! Right?

Do you remember Erik and Katherine foster? Probably not. It was about 3 months ago in Bennion East stake. (I was still with Elder Reed back then. Crazy.) But anyways she has terminal cancer, and he has dementia. It's a really sad situation. But Erik is getting baptized this Saturday! That's super awesome. But at church this last Sunday, apparently Katherine fainted and was really really sick. They took her back to her apartment, and she was giving her "last words". She thought she was dying. So the missionaries told us and since we had taught them for a while, they said it would probably be good if we went by. So Elder Reed and I went by to visit her and Erik to see how they were doing. He's excited for his baptism which is awesome. He's a big teddy bear. (Literally, he's about 6'2", 280lbs. but has the nicest heart you'll ever meet) And she was doing better by the time we got there. 

We met with the Miller family. (Bryon's family). They are way awesome!! Super nice and all want to come closer to God. And to join His church. How cool is that? We had to get clearance from our mission president for something but it's all good. So we're meeting with them soon. I love that family.

We're working with Bryon Miller, Ashley Moreno, Hudson and Alex Craig, Muwahib and Heam Obied. All of them are working towards a baptismal date. So awesome!!

Hope all's well back home. Later!

Elder Wilson

Halloween!

So for Halloween, I dressed up as Elder Reed and he dressed up as me. Although the only thing we did was switch our nametags. Is that apostate? Hopefully not. How was everyone else's?? Hopefully it was really good. We went knocking doors and people were questioning if we were real missionaries or not. haha.

I HOPE YOU ACTUALLY READ THIS EMAIL INSTEAD OF SKIMMING OVER IT.

So we had a General Authority come to our mission. He's from the first quorum of the seventy. That was awesome! He is really inspired and absolutely sent from and called by God. I can safely say that I KNOW that. We had a one on one interview, and he told me things about me that I had not ever told anyone else. How in the world could he know that if he didn't really have God's power in him? We talked for a while and I learned a lot of cool things from him. Then we went out and he talked to and taught the rest of the missionaries. (He met with some other missionaries one on one, but not very many). He Told us how we can become better missionaries, more effective missionaries, and so forth. He showed us moses 4:15 and asked us where we were going in life. Or on our missions. Were we really doing the things that the Lord would want us to do? He said that this mission is what shapes our future. If we're not obedient to God here while we have nothing to worry about besides serving him 100% of the time for 2 years, then how will we ever be obedient afterwards when life gets in the way again? "We can't just flip on the obedience switch". That makes so much sense. That was an awesome experience to have a servant of the Lord to come and talk with us. I'm definitely starting to realize that this life is seriously SO MUCH MORE than what we think of it right now. Or at least what most people in the world think about it. 

We found a lot of people who are wanting to come closer to God by being baptized. The first is a lady named Ashley and her husband, John. He is a member already, but he doesn't come out very often. He's returning back to church though which is awesome. She wants to be sealed to him in the temple so they can be married AFTER this life, and he definitely does too. They also want their kid to be raised up well and with a solid foundation. So we extended November 23rd to her and she accepted it. She realized that she needs to take those baby-steps towards God, one of those being baptism. She asked us for a blessing, and so we gave her one. She is awesome.

Then also, we found 2 guys who want to be baptized too on Sunday. Alex and Hudson Craig. They have been going to church for 6 years now with their grandparents. But until recently their mom wouldn't allow them to be baptized. She didn't think they understood it well enough or really had the desire. But I think after going for 6 YEARS finally convinced her that they were ready. haha. So they're on date for November 30th. The weekend after Elder Reed goes back home. I can't believe that he's leaving! And I definitely can't believe that I've been with him for 4 MONTHS NOW. That seems so crazy. haha. But it's been a lot of fun.

Things are going well. Our zone is really picking up which is awesome. I love this work!!

Oh, and now we're about to go play glow in the dark volleyball and glow in the dark ultimate frisbee. Should be pretty epic. Gonna tape glowsticks to us and everything.

Love you!

Elder Wilson

So... we found a tongue. Pretty gross. We think it's a human tongue but we don't know. 

You can see the clamp mark where someone clamped it down to pull it out and cut it off even!! Nasty. 

The first of the snow...