Hey y'all out there,
This week was another way great week! First things first Happy 4th of July! Hope y'all had as much fun as I did. We had a blast going from outdoor park concert to outdoor park concert just spreading the Good word and handing out pass along cards like hotcakes. It was great just talking to so many people out in the community honestly! And then of course jamming out to some country USA music with the folks. Let's just say I may or may not have made a scene dancing on one of the background platforms ;). Just getting the name out there. If you see anything I promise I wasn't trying to go viral, sometimes it just happens. What can you do right? And when the music hits the feels and you're preaching the word, it just gets the best of ya sometimes :D Believe it or not we actually found several people that wanted to learn more about the Book of Mormon. One girl from Costa Rica was like, "I have seen y'all all over in my home country. I have always been interested in learning more." Let's goo!! I like to call it "Moving and grooving with the word." In a trio it is even better, because I get to make 2 other elders feel uncomfortable in public haha. You know what they say, "If you feel comfortable as a missionary you're doing something wrong." (Maybe they don't say that... but I do haha) Bless their hearts! and mine too probably ;) People were giving us food and water left and right though so that was a blessing! Just living in the blessing.
Patrick Orange gave his first talk in church and it was incredible! Bishop asked him if he would be willing to give a 5 minute testimony/share his conversion story. Well, bless his heart it ended up being a 25 minute talk HAHAHA!! But he totally killed it. He only mentioned his medical school about 8 times too so that was good haha jk. He is awesome though. He shared testimony of how it took over 30 years to find the true church, but finally found it. He gave us some shout outs too :) He also shared his favorite scripture in Mormon 9:27. "Doubt not, but be believing." We are trying to get him prepared to go to the temple with the ward at the end of the month and be a leader for the youth trip. It was funny though, because the concluding speaker had 5 mintues to speak, and hasn't been able to give his talk that he prepared 3 weeks ago, because this lady spoke for 35 minutes a few weeks ago hahaha and then stake conference/fast Sunday. This poor man has been nervous and sick and just wanted to give his talk he diligently prepared weeks ago haha. It was pretty funny. Good man!
We had a couple great lessons with Michael and also Donovan. Both come from different families and circumstances, but are just such spiritual kids for their families. I know they will be examples for them. They are both on for their baptisms on the 14th and we are just going to combine the two and hopefully still have a very special experience for both of them individually. We taught Michael the Word of Wisdom and he was all for it. He struggled a little with Tea and called us the next day wondering about it. We shared more of the expectations of being God's covenant people and the blessings of being different and standing out. He is a stud and said he wants to "follow God's way, because he knows it is always better than our way." On Sunday he gave such an incredible closing prayer after we talked more about baptism with Brother Soluki and shared his desire to take upon himself the name of Christ. I loved his quote, "I am grateful and excited to be a future member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints." He is going to be an amazing example and leader to many down here I just know it.
Donovan is 16 and has been doing great as well, and we had a couple lessons at members homes with him this week. The Donegan family had us and him over for crawfish ettouffee and a lesson on the G.O.J.C. and it went great. He has been sharing the message with his family, but unfortunately they haven't been too receptive. He is still trying to convince his Mom to let him go to the temple with the ward too, but we'll see what happens. Such a great kid!
Miracle: Through teaching the stop smoking workshop lesson to Juan, we were able to start teaching another LA family with a couple kids that haven't been baptized. It is Brother Larsen's daughter and he has attended the lessons with Juan. The Mom (Melanie) struggles with smoking and the kids want to help her stop. It was amazing to see the love they had for their Mom in wanting her to stop. One of the nephews was visiting as well, and took a pass along card to have missionaries come help his dad do the same thing when he goes back to Florida. He is 13 and pulled out his wallet, stuck the pass along card inside, and was like, "I am going to keep this safe so I can help my Dad stop smoking too."
I have been thinking a lot about finishing my mission stronger than I started. As difficult as it may sound, I am reminded by the many things I learned (and now get to look back at) when running races in High School. Training was hard at first, but became more manageable as my body adapted to the high athletic performance. I believe this same process occurs in the mission field and in many aspects of life---The race is a constant battle. Some of the hardest courses I ran were the ones with the many hills found throughout the race that we had to run up and then back down. For example the Tiger Griz course in IF with its many hills or the Behemoth Soda Springs Hill. (Those were brutal!) Now granted Louisiana is a pretty flat place, but the spiritual hills are most definitely found haha. Although the treks up the hills are daunting and at times feel impossible to climb, once the summit is reached it may begin an invigorating descent. The descent, especially if taken at a fast pace, feels refreshing and exhilarating. I believe this happens often in the mission field, and has definitely happened on my mission. It is the times of trial and testing that feel like an uphill battle, but once the summit is reached and the downhill begins then the feelings of accomplishment and joy fill the body and give that boost of speed to continue forward. When looking back at the many amazing experiences on my mission, if it weren't for the hills along the way I wouldn't treasure those times filled with happiness and joy as I felt myself flying down a massive hill. In addition, I have seen that the greatest runners not only started the race fast, but finished even faster than they began. Their final "Kick" (running at a faster speed during the last part of a race) pushed them to reach goals they never thought possible, and strengthened their resolve to run another race, even if that meant charting a different course. I hope and pray that I can give my all to the Lord and finish stronger and faster than I began, because I believe that will give me the added strength to continue forward with faith.
I love y'all! Thanks so much for all your support for me serving a mission. I love it so much, and will forever treasure my experiences. I love my Savior Jesus Christ and serving Him. Hope you have a great week.
Love,
Elder Wilson
