JULY 27, 2016

Wow it is crazy to think I have been at the MTC for a week now! It has been such an amazing experience so far. I have already learned so much about the love our brother and Savior Jesus Christ has for each and everyone of us. I know he wants us to help us in every aspect of our lives, we just have to ask for his help. As long as we are doing our very best and putting forth as much effort as we possibly can, he will provide the rest for us. I know that to be true with all my heart. O felt like the first day I was completely drinking out of a fire hose, and I mean I like water, but holy guacomole haha. Just kidding it has been a fantastic week.  I have definitely not spent as much time studying and reading the scriptures in one day as I have here at the MTC, but it has been so great! It has really opened up my eyes to how much there is for me to learn. I am so excited to be able to continue studying and preparing each and everyday for the people I will be able to teach. My companion Elder Otterstrom and I have had such an amazing week teaching investigators here at the MTC. We have been able to work so well together as we share our testimonies and strive to find the love that God has for each individual person we teach. Every single lesson that we prepare and give has helped us learn something that we need to improve on or figure out what works best. One of the biggest things that we have found helps us teach our investigators is the ability to teach with the spirit. We have definitely taught a couple lessons where we had prepared way too much, and had no space for the spirit to testify to their hearts. Some of our greatest lessons that we taught were where we prepared tons of scriptures and thoughts, but identified our investigators needs and tried to teach according to what we felt they needed to hear. It turns out that teaching by the spirit works so much better than just trying to force a lesson on them. Teaching with the spirit is KEY, but that definitely doesn't mean we don't need to prepare :)

So, crazy story:
My companion Elder Otterstrom woke up in the middle of the night on Saturday and was feeling really sick. Throughout the entire day on Sunday he wasn't feeling good at all, but just thought that he had a major stomach ache. We went to all of the amazing devotionals and firesides on Sunday night, but he was just barely making it through. At about 9 p.m on Sunday night he was in extreme pain and asked if I would give him a priesthood blessing. That was such an amazing experience for me. It was the first time I had ever given a priesthood blessing, but I knew that if I relied on the spirit I would know what to say. That was an incredible experience, because I had never felt the priesthood power so strongly before in my life. I was so grateful that I could have that opportunity. He was feeling a little better after the blessing, but just felt like he needed to see a doctor. We ended up going to the Emergency Room Sunday night and went through all of the blood tests and everything. It turned out that he had Appendicitis and was going to need to go into surgery early Monday morning. To make a long story short, he was supposed to be on bed rest for most of the week, but he was able to make it back to the MTC on Tuesday morning. We picked him up at the Health Clinic yesterday at about 11 and he was looking as good as new. We immediately got back to work and taught 3 investigator lessons. He was walking around all day and I even tried to get him to lay down, but he said he was feeling just fine and wanted to keep working hard. That was such a miracle to see him recover so quickly and have that desire to keep doing the Lord's work. I know that when we are dedicated to learning and preparing to help those around us that the Lord blesses us with the strength needed. I also learned how powerful priesthood blessings are. I know with all of my heart that when we put the Lord first in our lives everything else falls into place, and we are able to have the strength needed to excel. It was such an amazing week of learning and growing to be a better missionary. I love you all very much and thank you for all of the love and support. I can truly feel your prayers in my behalf and I thank you! I love being a missionary already and am so excited to see what the Lord has in store for me. Have a great week!

-Elder Wilson