Hey y'all,
This week was so great and just packed with miracles!!
We got a phone call on Monday afternoon from Sheryl saying that she had prayed about baptism and wants to set a goal for this Saturday the 19th along with our investigator Shane. He was really nice about it and said that a joint baptism would be all the better! Please keep them in your prayers this week as it always seems to be like herding cats the week of the baptism haha. It wouldn't be rewarding if it wasn't though, so bring it on!
We have been able to meet with both Sheryl and Shane several times in the last week and they are both doing so great! What Shane told me the other day about being a monumental key in his life to understanding and keeping the word of wisdom really touched my heart and there are no words that could describe the peace and joy that I felt. Along with that, an African American member and convert of about 20 years, Sister Dade, invited us, her daughter/son, and Sheryl over for diner last Friday. We were able to share conversion stories and hear how Sister Dade was invited over for dinner at a member's home with the missionaries and ever since has been an active member. It was soo cool, because she remembers how she came to know the truth and is doing the same for others! It was really special. Sheryl also shared with us that she had a dream years ago of two young men in white shirts and ties that she didn't recognize then waving at her as they passed on a train and beckoning her to come aboard. She said she never knew who we were until now, but it was like she had seen us before, and that was where. That was so powerful and amazing to hear how her conversion story has started.
Another miracle story was while on exchanges with a couple other missionaries in the northern part of our mission. I guess the middle of Louisiana, a small town out in the country called Pineville. We have been a bit worried about the work in this area and the missionaries seemed to be struggling a bit. We decided to set goals before we started the exchange and to make a long story short, the other missionary wanted to be realistic and apparently finding 1 new investigator wasn't too realistic bless his heart I guess. Anyways, he didn't seem to be too believing, but I wasn't there to sit back and sip some holiday egg nog ;) Ain't nobody got time for dat haha. So we got on those bikes and rode! After a couple rejections came the miracle. There was a couple standing outside their house talking and so we started to approach them. As soon as we started walking up, the man was like, "No, no we ain't interested. We are baptist, we know your purpose. Get out of here, we aren't looking to convert." But as we started testifying of our purpose to invite others to come unto Christ and that Heavenly Father was the father of our spirits and had a plan for us, he stopped and said, "hmm yeah we believe that." And then began to shake our hands and introduce himself. We ended up sharing the "Because of Him" video and he said that one of his friends/coworkers had showed him the same video a few months prior. It was such a miracle. The wife, Savannah, said, "Next time y'all come we will have a lesson inside with our 3 kids. The 15 year old really needs it." haha it was so great! It was just such an answer to prayers because we had the faith to go out there knowing that if we believe then Heavenly Father will provide for us. Faith always precedes the miracle! My confidence was in the the Savior Jesus Christ, and he hasn't let me down yet :D
Funny Story: On Saturday, we were out contacting with an older gentleman in the ward, Bro Mills. We got in his car and started driving to our appointment. Well, halfway there we got a little lost in the big city and realized that we had forgotten our GPS. In turn we had to resort to what he was calling a "Map" which we haven't seen a paper copy of that for a while ;) We weren't sure what that was haha. Anyways, the map turns out to be a very zoomed out map of the entire state so that didn't help us very much. Well, long story short we ended up finding the house after what seemed to be a thousand U-turns and many horns being honked at us haha. As we walk up the drive-way to the house Bro Mills receives a phone call and answers it. We look back and he is talking on his iPhone HAHA. He had his iPhone with a gps on it the entire time LOL. It was so funny. You could say it was almost like we were stuck in the Rockies, and he had two pairs of gloves on while we were freezing with our bare hands. Movie quote :D haha good times.
That's it for this week! We have a general authority visiting the mission this coming week, a couple baptisms to prepare for, and also transfers next week, so it is going to be pretty crazy for us! If you don't hear from me in a bit don't worry, I am most likely safe, but probably a little nervous :)
Hope everyone has a great week and good luck with school starting up! Love y'all from the bottom of the south.
Love,
Elder Wilson
Tuesday, August 15, 2017
AUGUST 7, 2017
This week was so great!! From, having Zone Conferences, to baptism dates being set, to eating some fried alligator/stuffed mushrooms/frog legs/squid/catfish/ and speckled trout, to making a fool out of myself trying to say that a chile pepper off the vine looked spicy and accidentally using the wrong adjective instead of picante, it was a fantastic week!! You know what they say, it's all part of the experience Russ. So that's what I will look at it as haha bless my heart. I have to admit though that was pretty funny with the chile pepper.
Miracle: We have been teaching the Richard family who are total Cajuns from the country. Shane has been taking the lessons for several months now, but just had the hardest time giving up coffee and tea. Believe me we told him several times to just make some redneck cajun ghetto punch instead, but apparently that wasn't working too well. Well, a few weeks back we had an incredible W.O.W lesson and just mapped out the details of the revelation given to Joseph Smith in 1833. That helped clear a few things up, but he was still hesitant. So, his wife decided they were going to take a trip out to Palmyra, New York. What better place to ask God then there!?!?! They came back last week and Shane called us saying he wanted to be baptized! We were so excited. He had some amazing experiences praying, but the most incredible part he said was feeling the spirit in the family member's home of a stake Patriarch. He said it was like walking outside in the south and hitting that wall of humidity, except for spirit. Which, I can bear testimony that that feels a whole lot better :) The spirit told him he needed to be baptized. So incredible. We set the date for August 19th and all their family are coming from out of town. The truth is that when we have the gospel in our homes the spirit can reside there and it can become a sanctuary from the world not only for us, but for those that enter therein.
Shane's dad, Blain has got to be one of the funniest Cajuns I've ever met. Being in the city you don't get to meet as many as you would like, but man they are funny. Here's one story he shared with us: you know you are a cajun when you buy a Thermos expecting to use the full purpose. It keeps the hot things hot and the cold things cold. So, obviously if you want to use it's full potential, you put some hot gumbo on the bottom and some cold icecream on top. Haha you gotta love it!
Also, Sheryl made it to church this week and loved it yet again! She said that she wants to pray for another date to set for her baptism. In the meantime we are going to reach out to her family members and help decrease that burden on Sheryl. She is doing really well though! She told us that she just felt something was missing as she missed the last couple Sundays of church. Thank yall for your prayers in her behalf!
We were able to attend Zone conferences this week in Baton Rouge and New Orleans and were so inspired by the instructions. It has been so great still being a full time proselyting missionary even though we have the occasional AP responsibilities to attend to. I don't think I would last being stuck in an office all day haha. We were able to do some exchanges and really get out there with the inspiration from zone conferences. I wish I could share everything, but the highlight was having people read pages of the Book of Mormon and underlining every reference to God and Jesus Christ. There were so many miracles with that.
I love this work, and I know that it is true. Have a blessed week yaherd! I love y'all
Love,
Elder Wilson
Miracle: We have been teaching the Richard family who are total Cajuns from the country. Shane has been taking the lessons for several months now, but just had the hardest time giving up coffee and tea. Believe me we told him several times to just make some redneck cajun ghetto punch instead, but apparently that wasn't working too well. Well, a few weeks back we had an incredible W.O.W lesson and just mapped out the details of the revelation given to Joseph Smith in 1833. That helped clear a few things up, but he was still hesitant. So, his wife decided they were going to take a trip out to Palmyra, New York. What better place to ask God then there!?!?! They came back last week and Shane called us saying he wanted to be baptized! We were so excited. He had some amazing experiences praying, but the most incredible part he said was feeling the spirit in the family member's home of a stake Patriarch. He said it was like walking outside in the south and hitting that wall of humidity, except for spirit. Which, I can bear testimony that that feels a whole lot better :) The spirit told him he needed to be baptized. So incredible. We set the date for August 19th and all their family are coming from out of town. The truth is that when we have the gospel in our homes the spirit can reside there and it can become a sanctuary from the world not only for us, but for those that enter therein.
Shane's dad, Blain has got to be one of the funniest Cajuns I've ever met. Being in the city you don't get to meet as many as you would like, but man they are funny. Here's one story he shared with us: you know you are a cajun when you buy a Thermos expecting to use the full purpose. It keeps the hot things hot and the cold things cold. So, obviously if you want to use it's full potential, you put some hot gumbo on the bottom and some cold icecream on top. Haha you gotta love it!
Also, Sheryl made it to church this week and loved it yet again! She said that she wants to pray for another date to set for her baptism. In the meantime we are going to reach out to her family members and help decrease that burden on Sheryl. She is doing really well though! She told us that she just felt something was missing as she missed the last couple Sundays of church. Thank yall for your prayers in her behalf!
We were able to attend Zone conferences this week in Baton Rouge and New Orleans and were so inspired by the instructions. It has been so great still being a full time proselyting missionary even though we have the occasional AP responsibilities to attend to. I don't think I would last being stuck in an office all day haha. We were able to do some exchanges and really get out there with the inspiration from zone conferences. I wish I could share everything, but the highlight was having people read pages of the Book of Mormon and underlining every reference to God and Jesus Christ. There were so many miracles with that.
I love this work, and I know that it is true. Have a blessed week yaherd! I love y'all
Love,
Elder Wilson
JULY 31, 2017
Hey y'all,
This week turned out to be a great week! Not a whole lot of time to write this week, but I will share a few updates and highlights.
We had been meeting with Sheryl almost everyday this week to prepare her for her baptism on Saturday, but unfortunately Satan creeped in on the latter days of the week... yet again. Sheryl's family started giving her a ton of grief about getting baptized and telling her how much of a mistake it was. What was even crazier was that she started receiving phone calls from her long lost "prayer friends" that wanted to "pray" with her, but apparently just ended up bashing on us and trying to convince Sheryl not to go through with it. Anyways, long story short on Friday night she had a panic attack and had to rush to the emergency room. She had been having them years prior, but of course all of a sudden they started coming back this week. It was definitely very disappointing at first, but it has only since strengthened my testimony. It is only expected on baptism week to have major struggles since Satan is trying his very hardest to stop it from happening. However, it will only make the event that much more special when it happens. Sheryl is so prepared and could make an immense difference in the community in bringing the gospel to so many people, and that is why it is going to be a battle. I know the gospel is true, it wouldn't be hard if it wasn't. It would just be some other church. They say that Mormons have a church building on every corner over in the West, but I can tell you that Louisiana has a church building on every corner in the South, but they are all entirely different haha. The church is true though, so it makes it all worth it. I am so grateful that I get to see the miracles of missionary work every single day no matter the struggle. Please keep Sheryl in your prayers.
We have been working with several part member families and gaining so much progress. So many of them have been coming to church as well, so there is some serious potential stirring up. One of them, Reggie, met with missionaries about 10 years ago even before his wife did, but lost contact with them. We have started to teach him again, and the miracle was when we decided to open up to Alma 32. We asked if Reggie would start reading in verse 21 and when he opened it up on his phone he found that verses 21-44 were already marked. How could that be? Well, because miracles are real and Heavenly Father is there. He told us he really needed to start reading and praying now! Let's goo.
Our investigator Allison, the one that received her first bible the day before we met her, has been doing so well. We met with her twice this week and she is such a seeker for truth. Both times we met at a young family's home and had the lesson there. The last lesson was so powerful. She came with a list of questions and as we answered them we gave her a B.O.M. The spirit was so strong and her friend Danielle who was there for "moral support" started asking questions. It was so cool.
Well, nothing super crazy this week but it was still great! Oh, except for piling up 6 mattresses on the back of the truck and somehow tying them down to drive on the highway. I wish I would've snapped a photo, that was unreal. #Onlyinthesouth
Love y'all, hope you have a faaantastic week!!!
Love,
Elder Wilson
This week turned out to be a great week! Not a whole lot of time to write this week, but I will share a few updates and highlights.
We had been meeting with Sheryl almost everyday this week to prepare her for her baptism on Saturday, but unfortunately Satan creeped in on the latter days of the week... yet again. Sheryl's family started giving her a ton of grief about getting baptized and telling her how much of a mistake it was. What was even crazier was that she started receiving phone calls from her long lost "prayer friends" that wanted to "pray" with her, but apparently just ended up bashing on us and trying to convince Sheryl not to go through with it. Anyways, long story short on Friday night she had a panic attack and had to rush to the emergency room. She had been having them years prior, but of course all of a sudden they started coming back this week. It was definitely very disappointing at first, but it has only since strengthened my testimony. It is only expected on baptism week to have major struggles since Satan is trying his very hardest to stop it from happening. However, it will only make the event that much more special when it happens. Sheryl is so prepared and could make an immense difference in the community in bringing the gospel to so many people, and that is why it is going to be a battle. I know the gospel is true, it wouldn't be hard if it wasn't. It would just be some other church. They say that Mormons have a church building on every corner over in the West, but I can tell you that Louisiana has a church building on every corner in the South, but they are all entirely different haha. The church is true though, so it makes it all worth it. I am so grateful that I get to see the miracles of missionary work every single day no matter the struggle. Please keep Sheryl in your prayers.
We have been working with several part member families and gaining so much progress. So many of them have been coming to church as well, so there is some serious potential stirring up. One of them, Reggie, met with missionaries about 10 years ago even before his wife did, but lost contact with them. We have started to teach him again, and the miracle was when we decided to open up to Alma 32. We asked if Reggie would start reading in verse 21 and when he opened it up on his phone he found that verses 21-44 were already marked. How could that be? Well, because miracles are real and Heavenly Father is there. He told us he really needed to start reading and praying now! Let's goo.
Our investigator Allison, the one that received her first bible the day before we met her, has been doing so well. We met with her twice this week and she is such a seeker for truth. Both times we met at a young family's home and had the lesson there. The last lesson was so powerful. She came with a list of questions and as we answered them we gave her a B.O.M. The spirit was so strong and her friend Danielle who was there for "moral support" started asking questions. It was so cool.
Well, nothing super crazy this week but it was still great! Oh, except for piling up 6 mattresses on the back of the truck and somehow tying them down to drive on the highway. I wish I would've snapped a photo, that was unreal. #Onlyinthesouth
Love y'all, hope you have a faaantastic week!!!
Love,
Elder Wilson
JULY 24, 2017
Hey y'all,
I can officially say it is toasty toast down here in Louiville!! It was pretty intense last week, but now it is just over the top haha. It is soooooooooo ooooooooo hot down here. It is insane. I never thought I could sweat from every pore until I came down to the South, heaven for betsy!!
I don't know how I'm going to survive. Luckily I'm not on a bike like the beginning of my mission last summer. That was something else. Those local store handkerchiefs just couldn't even keep up haha. I may have to invest in a Do-rag. The white handbook does say to adapt to the culture am I right? We'd probably get in every door at that point. Why haven't I thought of this before. Vision of the South here we go!
This week was really great! Sheryl was able to make it to church again this week, and gave some awesome input in the Gospel Principles class. Everyone was like, jee wizz she is right on point. Bishop introduced her in Sacrament meeting as well and announced her baptism for this Saturday the 29th!! Please keep her in your prayers, because she is feeling a bit nervous. It is totally expected, but we are just helping her work through it. She is really excited, "to get in those white jump suits and get in the water." Let's goooo!!
We were also able to go back to that bible study that Silvia (one of Sheryl's friends that went to bible school with her) was putting on at her house. We took President Varner with us and it was so great! It was President Varner's first experience with a local bible study haha so you can only imagine. Direct quote, "that was nothing like I expected." Haha bless his heart. It is always so nerve wracking trying to find the perfect time to start sharing our beliefs/Book of Mormon with them since it is their bible study, but let's just say I went for it like it was butter and someone else was paying for it! We started reading in Hebrews 11 about faith and Silvia kept sharing about planting seeds of faith to grow. Well, what perfect time to share Alma 32 then right then and there! Long story short, we ended up opening up to it and all the 6 non-members in the room had a copy of the B.O.M to read from. We read almost half the chapter and it was so cool/hilarious that like the whole time Silvia was like, "come on now. Mhmhmmm. Oh yeah, come on now. give it to me now." Haha it was the best!
We had Mission Leadership Council this week and that was great discussing the needs of the mission. It was cool just having a very open conversation about so many things. President Varner's vision of the future of the mission is incredible. He is focusing on being examples to the new missionaries After MLC were able to go on exchanges with the zone leaders down in New Orleans and I got to stay down in my old stomping grounds! It was crazy stopping at the Metairie Stake center on our way down. Just the smell of the building brought back so many memories, thoughts, nervousness, excitement, and everything in between. Since one of the elders was sick I was able to go out with a few different missionaries throughout the exchange. It was great just being able to learn from them and share a few insights with them from Pres. Varner.
Last week I hit my 1 year mark out in the mission field. I can't even believe it. I have learned so much about myself and my Savior Jesus Christ. I am having a hard time putting it in words. He has always been there for me even when the answers to my prayers for strength came with boulders to jump over. Or you find yourself praying for patience and then pop 3 bike tires in a week. But each and everyday he has given me the strength to jump a little higher and be a little better. Our Heavenly Father always seems to push us out of our comfort zones knowing that it will be the best for us. However, that doesn't mean it is going to be easy. I have sure seen that on my mission. This has been the greatest 1 year for my life, and I can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for me next. I know that the gospel of Jesus Christ was restored on the Earth through the Prophet Joseph Smith. It doesn't matter how many people come up and say, "I'm not here to condemn yall or argue, but I just don't agree with anything you teach." Famous first words right there before a bible bash. The reason it doesn't matter is because it is true. The gospel is true and the Book of Mormon IS TRUE! Heavenly Father loves all of us so much. What more is there to say. I know it, and I know y'all know it.
I love y'all and hope you have a blessed week! and shout out to Big Papa J, Happy Birthday broseph! Stay low and frosty :D and good luck trying out for the middle school cheer squad.
Love,
Elder Wilson
I can officially say it is toasty toast down here in Louiville!! It was pretty intense last week, but now it is just over the top haha. It is soooooooooo ooooooooo hot down here. It is insane. I never thought I could sweat from every pore until I came down to the South, heaven for betsy!!
I don't know how I'm going to survive. Luckily I'm not on a bike like the beginning of my mission last summer. That was something else. Those local store handkerchiefs just couldn't even keep up haha. I may have to invest in a Do-rag. The white handbook does say to adapt to the culture am I right? We'd probably get in every door at that point. Why haven't I thought of this before. Vision of the South here we go!
This week was really great! Sheryl was able to make it to church again this week, and gave some awesome input in the Gospel Principles class. Everyone was like, jee wizz she is right on point. Bishop introduced her in Sacrament meeting as well and announced her baptism for this Saturday the 29th!! Please keep her in your prayers, because she is feeling a bit nervous. It is totally expected, but we are just helping her work through it. She is really excited, "to get in those white jump suits and get in the water." Let's goooo!!
We were also able to go back to that bible study that Silvia (one of Sheryl's friends that went to bible school with her) was putting on at her house. We took President Varner with us and it was so great! It was President Varner's first experience with a local bible study haha so you can only imagine. Direct quote, "that was nothing like I expected." Haha bless his heart. It is always so nerve wracking trying to find the perfect time to start sharing our beliefs/Book of Mormon with them since it is their bible study, but let's just say I went for it like it was butter and someone else was paying for it! We started reading in Hebrews 11 about faith and Silvia kept sharing about planting seeds of faith to grow. Well, what perfect time to share Alma 32 then right then and there! Long story short, we ended up opening up to it and all the 6 non-members in the room had a copy of the B.O.M to read from. We read almost half the chapter and it was so cool/hilarious that like the whole time Silvia was like, "come on now. Mhmhmmm. Oh yeah, come on now. give it to me now." Haha it was the best!
We had Mission Leadership Council this week and that was great discussing the needs of the mission. It was cool just having a very open conversation about so many things. President Varner's vision of the future of the mission is incredible. He is focusing on being examples to the new missionaries After MLC were able to go on exchanges with the zone leaders down in New Orleans and I got to stay down in my old stomping grounds! It was crazy stopping at the Metairie Stake center on our way down. Just the smell of the building brought back so many memories, thoughts, nervousness, excitement, and everything in between. Since one of the elders was sick I was able to go out with a few different missionaries throughout the exchange. It was great just being able to learn from them and share a few insights with them from Pres. Varner.
Last week I hit my 1 year mark out in the mission field. I can't even believe it. I have learned so much about myself and my Savior Jesus Christ. I am having a hard time putting it in words. He has always been there for me even when the answers to my prayers for strength came with boulders to jump over. Or you find yourself praying for patience and then pop 3 bike tires in a week. But each and everyday he has given me the strength to jump a little higher and be a little better. Our Heavenly Father always seems to push us out of our comfort zones knowing that it will be the best for us. However, that doesn't mean it is going to be easy. I have sure seen that on my mission. This has been the greatest 1 year for my life, and I can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for me next. I know that the gospel of Jesus Christ was restored on the Earth through the Prophet Joseph Smith. It doesn't matter how many people come up and say, "I'm not here to condemn yall or argue, but I just don't agree with anything you teach." Famous first words right there before a bible bash. The reason it doesn't matter is because it is true. The gospel is true and the Book of Mormon IS TRUE! Heavenly Father loves all of us so much. What more is there to say. I know it, and I know y'all know it.
I love y'all and hope you have a blessed week! and shout out to Big Papa J, Happy Birthday broseph! Stay low and frosty :D and good luck trying out for the middle school cheer squad.
Love,
Elder Wilson
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