Dear family, friends, and Chris,
This week was great!! It sometimes feels like I just blink and then I am writing another email for the week haha. It is crazy, bless my heart. At times I wonder if these emails even do justice with the blessings that the Lord shows me throughout the week, but I try my best regardless!
On Wednesday I picked up my new companion Elder Jensen, and he is straight out of the MTC. What a guy though! He went to BYU for a semester and is from Vancouver, Washington. It is funny because literally a year ago to the day my companion at LSU was named Elder Jensen from the same stake in Washington. They aren't related but knew each other. Small world. He is a funny guy and so I am way excited! Just picture this: He sleeps in a Hawaiin shirt and pajama pants hand crafted/cut at the knees. What more can I say. Reminds me of Sam Bennett at times haha.
The first day we started off hitting the doors and found a couple way cool people along with Elder Jensen's first attempt to share a Spanish restoration pamphlet with a Hispanic guy at the door. The guy just started reading it and we nodded our heads :) Just trying to get this guy on the right track haha. We have really been trying to find people that are prepared for the message and humble enough to listen. The best part about missionary work is that "the Lord looketh upon the heart" and just asks that we give our all.
Last week was the start of some Mardi Gras "festivities" and tomorrow is the official day. Our mission President has allowed us to attend one parade, and the one in Mandeville was last week so I made sure to break in the greenie with a little bit of Babylon ;) Jk the parades up here on the north shore are actually very family friendly so that was a blast! They say go where the people are right? haha. We ended up handing out over 400 pass along cards (before the parade) and talked to sooo many people. (only a couple drunk people haha) What better way to get the elder out of his comfort zone than giving him a stack of pass along cards and saying, "alright elder, good luck!" Haha just trying my best :D
Miracles of week: --We were out with a member contacting some people and everything was falling through. I felt prompted to call a PI that we met many weeks before named Jessica. She picked up the phone and said that today was the only day John (her husband) would be home for the next 4 months and so to come and share a message. We did and they are way awesome!! We had shared about the Restoration, and decided to have a shorter message on prayer. We are still trying to figure out how we are going to keep teaching them, but may end up having to hand them off to the sister missionaries. ---- We have been trying to get in contact with this lady being taught in Picayune that works in Mandeville, and finally Saturday we were in the area at the right time. We met her working at a local grocery store, and she told us she was getting baptized in one week. We were able to bear our testimonies and encourage her a little bit. We then told the missionaries teaching her and they said that they had been fasting for her that day and we answered their prayers. How cool? That was way neat. I love my mission and the opportunity to serve Heavenly Father. I think that one of the greatest feelings of joy comes from being led by the spirit to answer someone else's prayer. President Monson was an incredible example of following spiritual promptings, and I am continuing to see how incredible that really is.
I could continue sharing all day, but just want y'all to know that I know that this is the Lord's work and I am so happy to be a part of it. This week we have run into lots of Anti, and it reminds me of the beginning of my mission. Interestingly feels like a bit of a restart. However, it has only strengthened my testimony and faith. As Alma shares in Alma 33:14, "I would ask if you have read the scriptures? If ye have, how can ye disbelieve on the Son of God?" The truth is right in front of us, but it requires action on our part. We have to read and ask God for the truth. I know the Book of Mormon is true, because I have read it and can't keep from reading it. How could I ever disbelieve when the witness comes every time I open up the book and read from its pages?
I love y'all and hope you have a great week!
Love,
Elder Wilson
