Dear Mom and Dad,Oh my goodness it is so good to hear from you. It sounds like you are both doing so well and it brings happiness to my heart. Ok before I forget to tell you, I won't be able to email you until next Tuesday because we are having a Christmas dinner at the mission home all day Monday. So don't panic when you don't get an email on Monday:) haha.
Mom thank you so much for sharing that story with me. I love you with all of my heart and I am so grateful that you are my mother! God truly is in charge. He is the gradener here and He knows what he wants us to be! That is my favorite Mormon Message of all time haha I think I have quoted it to you like 7 times but I truly love it. It is called the Will of God. Isn't revelation just so amazing? This church is the 'only true and living church on the earth' and that is because of modern day revelation. And we can all receive answers, personal answers from the most powerful being in the universe. How truly amazing is that? I pray that we might all sell ourselves out to Christ. That we will never sit on the fence again or play for the other team. We know what team is going to win so we should probably play for Christ;) haha.
I actually haven't received any of my packages yet! I think they are keeping them in the mission office so that we don't open them before Christmas haha but I am pretty sure that they are here! I am super excited to get them all. It sounds like I am getting spoiled haha.
How weird as it that I am going to be 19? I remember always looking at the missionaries and thinking gosh they are so old and they probably know so much! I definitely don't feel old and I certainly feel like I don't know very much haha. So luckiest thing ever. Our District gets to go to the temple tomorrow! And it just happens to be on my birthday!!! Hahaaa ah I am so stoked. It is going to be such a good experience. I haven't gone since the MTC and my soul longs to be there.
Ah that is so good to here about Brays and Gage. I am so glad that Gage is wrestling and it sounds like Brayson is tearing it up. Ah I love those 2 boys. I can't wait to wrestle them when I get home haha I'll be all chubby and old;)
So with skyping we are probably going to do it Christmas evening over here so it will be around like 10 in the morning and Noon for you. I have an hour so it should be good:) I am excited to be able to see you all!
It was definitely a bit of a trying week for us here in Stockport. I think my Faith was tested a few times haha but hey, that's how it grows right? If it isn't tried then it will not progress and become stronger just like us as individuals.
So Mark was doing really well we thought. He was scheduled to be interviewed on Wednesday for baptism but he had to get interviewed by our Mission President because of some of the problems that he has had in the past. We had everything set up and he seemed ready and excited. The time came and he didn't show up. My heart was broken. We called him a bunch of times and we even went to his house with President but he either wasn't in or just didn't answer. We actually have not been able to get in touch with him since the night before his interview was to be. We have no idea what the problem was or is. He seemed so solid and so excited the night before his interview. He expressed his nervousness but also his excitement for baptism. I hope and pray that we will be able to get in contact with him sometime soon.
I was feeling pretty down and I found this poem that Tal sent me.
Whenever I start to hang my head in front of failure’s face,
my downward fall is broken by the memory of a race.
A children’s race, young boys, young men; how I remember well,
excitement sure, but also fear, it wasn’t hard to tell.
They all lined up so full of hope, each thought to win that race
or tie for first, or if not that, at least take second place.
Their parents watched from off the side, each cheering for their son,
and each boy hoped to show his folks that he would be the one.
The whistle blew and off they flew, like chariots of fire,
to win, to be the hero there, was each young boy’s desire.
One boy in particular, whose dad was in the crowd,
was running in the lead and thought “My dad will be so proud.”
But as he speeded down the field and crossed a shallow dip,
the little boy who thought he’d win, lost his step and slipped.
Trying hard to catch himself, his arms flew everyplace,
and midst the laughter of the crowd he fell flat on his face.
As he fell, his hope fell too; he couldn’t win it now.
Humiliated, he just wished to disappear somehow.
But as he fell his dad stood up and showed his anxious face,
which to the boy so clearly said, “Get up and win that race!”
He quickly rose, no damage done, behind a bit that’s all,
and ran with all his mind and might to make up for his fall.
So anxious to restore himself, to catch up and to win,
his mind went faster than his legs. He slipped and fell again.
He wished that he had quit before with only one disgrace.
“I’m hopeless as a runner now, I shouldn’t try to race.”
But through the laughing crowd he searched and found his father’s face
with a steady look that said again, “Get up and win that race!”
So he jumped up to try again, ten yards behind the last.
“If I’m to gain those yards,” he thought, “I’ve got to run real fast!”
Exceeding everything he had, he regained eight, then ten...
but trying hard to catch the lead, he slipped and fell again.
Defeat! He lay there silently. A tear dropped from his eye.
“There’s no sense running anymore! Three strikes I’m out! Why try?
I’ve lost, so what’s the use?” he thought. “I’ll live with my disgrace.”
But then he thought about his dad, who soon he’d have to face.
“Get up,” an echo sounded low, “you haven’t lost at all,
for all you have to do to win is rise each time you fall.
Get up!” the echo urged him on, “Get up and take your place!
You were not meant for failure here! Get up and win that race!”
So, up he rose to run once more, refusing to forfeit,
and he resolved that win or lose, at least he wouldn’t quit.
So far behind the others now, the most he’d ever been,
still he gave it all he had and ran like he could win.
Three times he’d fallen stumbling, three times he rose again.
Too far behind to hope to win, he still ran to the end.
They cheered another boy who crossed the line and won first place,
head high and proud and happy -- no falling, no disgrace.
But, when the fallen youngster crossed the line, in last place,
the crowd gave him a greater cheer for finishing the race.
And even though he came in last with head bowed low, unproud,
you would have thought he’d won the race, to listen to the crowd.
And to his dad he sadly said, “I didn’t do so well.”
“To me, you won,” his father said. “You rose each time you fell.”
And now when things seem dark and bleak and difficult to face,
the memory of that little boy helps me in my own race.
For all of life is like that race, with ups and downs and all.
And all you have to do to win is rise each time you fall.
And when depression and despair shout loudly in my face,
another voice within me says, “Get up and win that race!”
It has been a bit hard on me but what do I do now? We can sit around and pout about it or we can keep being diligent to find those people who have been prepared by the hand of the Lord. I would like to control people's agency sometimes hahaha but that certainly is not the plan that our Father in Heaven has for us. We all have our own choices to make in this life and we have to deal with the consequences whether good or bad. I guess it is really up to Mark now. I hope and pray that we will be able to get in contact with him sometime soon. He was doing so well and had quit smoking and everything. I guess we will just have to see what happens.
Bryan is doing so well. We had a lesson in Gospel Principles yesterday on the Word of Wisdom and it went so well. Bryan expressed his opinion on the Word of Wisdom and how much he believes that it will help him in his life. He is showing so much Faith and I believe that the Spirit is beginning to work inside of him. He wants to change and he wants to be clean. It is the most amazing thing to see the Lord change peoples lives. It certainly isn't easy! And it won't be easy for Bryan. But it is possible and that's what matters.
Courtney came to church as well. She is showing a real determination to basically be a faithful member of the church without being baptised. We actually had the opportunity to meet her mother which was good! She isn't the happiest lady in the world haha but I think she is slowly accepting what Courtney desires. If she has to wait then I guess so be it! We talked about the power of prayer and every time we do I fell the Spirit Bear witness of that power. I absolutely love the words in the Bible Dictionary on prayer. It puts it in a light that I never even considered before my mission. Prayer isn't a means of changing the will of God, but obtaining the blessings that He is ALREADY willing to grant but are conditional on our asking for them. They also must be worthy things that we ask for.
We actually street contacted this man this week and as we stopped him his eyes got enormous with astonishment and then he just started laughing to himself. Elder Bradley and I weren't sure what was happening. He then explained to us that he is a member but has been inactive for like 10 years. He said he was thinking this morning about how he needed to clean up and get back to church. And then he ran in to us! He isn't on our records so we are going to start working with him and hopefully get him back to church.
We found this new investigator named Allee who is from Iran. He is in his 60's and used to be a wealthy man. He owned a nursing home and some night clubs. Suddenly he lost everything and was pretty much brought to his knees and humbled. He is searching for truth and we love those type of people!! haha Because we have the truth if people really want to know it. We can go through the scriptures and basically prove to people that our church is true but they won't be converted until they receive that spiritual witness. Allee thought that a modern day prophet was the most amazing thing in the world haha.
Conversion is an entire change. We can't just believe, we have to do. It is truly amazing how we can be helped in changing the very desires of our hearts in to purely righteous ones. That is when true conversion can take place. When we have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually. Our needed conversions are often achieved more readily by suffering and adversity then by comfort and tranquility.
I love you so much and I am soooo grateful for each and every message that I get from you! I sent you a package home a couple weeks ago so hopefully you get it this week. I hope that you have a truly amazing week and remember that I love you with all of my heart!!
Love
Elder Wilcox
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