This week was great! I was very glad I was able to meet the man, the myth, the legend, President Hansen on Friday haha. He is such a cool guy from Idaho,(Boise), the home of the brave. I look forward to working with him in this wonderful work of sharing the gospel.
A few highlights of the week:
On Saturday we were able to attend a Nigerian barbecue! Haha it was intense. We were just biking along Lake Pontchartrain and we saw a big part across the street. A bunch of black guys just waved us over and told us we could be Nigerian for the day haha. They fed us some good ribs and such too bless their hearts. Totally classic.
We helped this lady, Miss Yavonka, move into her apartment. Apparently she has been homeless for 11 months living in a van down by the river quite literally. She kept telling us how we need to have "joy in the journey and be grateful for everything" (James 4 I think). That was really neat to see how even with the hard times she has still remained faithful in Christ. We had to pass her off to some other Elders in that area, but we think she will be a great investigator for them.
I got my first baptismal commitment!! The guy is a stud. His name is Odell Chambers and he is a total gangster haha. He really wants to change up his life and be better. The date is for September 24th, so hopefully we can get him ready for that. Unfortunately it seems like he has quite a few things (drugs/alcohol) to fix, but nonetheless we are setting a goal!
Last week for P-day we went as a district to the French Market. Man that place is something else. Super cool. There are tons of shops and little swap meat booths to buy/sell stuff. Elder Glissmeyer and I are thinking about setting up camp one of these days and make a little extra cheddar on the side haha jk. Our district stopped at one of the shops called Pepper Palace. They had the #1 hottest hot sauce in the U.S.called Flashbang. It consists of ghost pepper, carolina reaper, habajenero, and moroja scorpion I think. They give free samples and it is 1 drop per gallon of water haha. A lot of us grabbed chips and went for it. HOLY COW!! SOOO HOT! I was in complete tears within seconds. It was hilarious. They gave us stickers though so that made it worth it. I have a video documentation of it too so y'all will love that I am sure.
I absolutely love the opportunity to get to know such a diverse variety of people down here in New Orleans. It has been so fun, because everyday is something completely new. Through sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ I have further come to the realization that everyone has their own circumstances, problems, and concerns that at times hinder growth and progression. However, as I have been able to look for ways to serve these people such as sharing a brief testimony or message of the Plan of Salvation, I have seen people's eyes open and a desire to learn grow. These people are further enlightened and envision hope for their future. This is the part of missionary work that brings true joy and happiness. I love it. What a blessing the Gospel of Jesus Christ is in our lives. I am so grateful for the knowledge of the Restoration. Even just after a couple weeks in the mission I can't stop thinking how grateful I am to have been raised by a wonderful family that loves God. I have seen countless people struggle because they have fallen into worldly traps like drugs and alcohol. I know there may be numerous reasons, but I truly believe that one of the biggest reasons is that they were raised in a family that didn't know any better. I hope we can all take a minute and be grateful for all that we have been given. What a blessing it is to be brought into a family with the Gospel and live in a place where there are people that believe and live the same way. God loves each and everyone of his children. I am so grateful for the opportunity that I have to share that message with the people down here, because that truth is so important and we all need that truth in our lives.
One experience I would like to share from this week was when we were teaching a man by the name Ketera. She lives with her Grandma who is Jehovah Witness. She had ordered a bible online and so we called and scheduled an appointment to deliver this Bible. Upon arrival at her home, her Grandma answered the door and told us she was sick and asleep. We respectfully left and told her we would come back again. We called Ketera again and she gave us a time and so we went there again. This time her Grandma (Jehovah Witness) was waiting on the porch. We told her that we were there to deliver a bible to Ketera. She told us more forcefully this time to leave and not to visit Ketera again, because she was sick. We had no other choice but to leave. Ketera called us about 15 minutes later and asked if we were coming. We turned around and went straight back. This time Ketera was waiting for us on the porch. I am hoping that she is a golden investigator, because she told us that she didn't believe what her grandma had told her and that she wanted her and her daughter to be baptized in our Church. We taught her the Plan of Salvation and told her we would love to keep teaching her to prepare for baptism. I am super excited to continue teaching her, but hope that her Grandma doesn't hold her back. We are going to try and set a date this week!
Have a great week! Love you all.
-Elder Wilson
