Dear Mom,
Hello! Sorry for the day late email haha hopefully you didn't get too worried about me!;) We went to the temple yesterday and we had a super long meeting.
It looks like you have had an amazing week! I am jealous haha I seriously cannot believe that school is out. I feel like I just barely graduated and was preparing to leave on my mission haha this is seriously so weird. Thank you so much for the pictures! I seriously love all of them! I love to see all of you. Send me pictures every week:) haha.
That Maverick is sick! I can't wait to drive that thing. I miss the Falls as well. Ah good times haha I am so glad that you all had so much fun. Brayson was in a super good mood when he emailed me!
Darn Sara, taking away my time with my mother. . . Haha just kidding. I hope that she is doing alright! I miss her as well!
I am so gald taht brays is going to EFY. I have no doubt that he is just going to love it. I remember the first time that I went, my testimony was seriously strengthened and I was so grateful for that opportunity. I can't wait to hear about it!
The work on the farm haha you can't beat that. I do miss working on the farm. Manual labor was always good. It is just spiritual and Mental labor out here mostly. Which to be honest, is a lot more exhausting. I have never been so tired. But I got to take a 2 hour nap yesterday which was much needed haha.
I am so glad that you got to set goals with Bishop I would like you to share those with me if you don't mind:) haha I am so excited and happy for you. It isn't going to be easy! I am so grateful for the blessing that it is to wear my garments. THey truly do ward off sin and temptation and the temple truly endows us with power from on high that I certainly felt yesterday.
I haven't got my packages yet but we will be getting post on friday so hopefully it comes then!
So There is a family here and the dad is called Leland Mayall and he coems out teaching with us. Well his son is serving in Zimbabwe at the moment and he sent him some pictures of us. Well his companion recognized me and it turns out that it is Braccin Tanner from Snowflake haha. Which I think is like my 2nd cousin or something. How crazy is that?? Small world.
Soooooo we got Ipads! Haha it is still a bit weird. We had a Mission Leadership Council Yesterday where all of the Zone Leaders and Assistants got their Ipads. It is going to be a great tool. I was pretty nervous about them and missionaries being disobedient with them. But there are seriously so many safe guards and protections that you will have to actively look for bad things. There will not be any such thing as accidental obedience so there is a distinct line which is good. So now that we have the Ipads I was wondering if you or dad could send me a couple of things ha. I would like a case like the black folding one I got for the Ipad I won back home. Yeah it's the same one. A Brand new Ipad Mini:) haha. I would like a normal sized keyboard as well so I can email with it:) That would be very helpful if you could do that!
I also passed my Practical Driving test this week! I was super stoked about that. I was stressin so bad but I did it in a manual and I only got 3 minors and you are allowed 15 so I was pretty pumped ha. I am so glad to have that over with. I now have an english license that is valid until I'm like 65 or something haha.
It has been another week of crazy experiences. Some very Faith building and some very Faith trying haha. You gotta love it. I just feel like the days have been coming and going and all of a sudden the alarm clock goes off again and we are right back to it. It scares me a little bit, how fast it is going. I cherish, or I know that I will look back and cherish every moment of my mission. No matter how hard.
This week we had a meeting with all of the bishop's in the Stake as well as the Stake Presidency. It was a really great opportunity and privileged to speak with all of them and give a training. We gave our presentation about the Europe Area Plan and it was received very well. We committed all of the Bishop's to get every member one of the goal cards and really implement them in the ward so that every member will have the goals of bringing a friend, Make a spiritual and temporal self-reliance goal, as well as find an ancestor. We also committed the bishops to meet with the missionaries in their ward at least once a month just to have some one on one interaction with them. As I have communicated with missionaries throughout the Zone I have noticed that the relationship between the Bishop and the missionaries has a great effect on the happiness and the desire of the missionaries that are serving in the ward. I am so grateful for bishop Ashworth here in Oldham. He is the man. He is so loving and does all that he can to help us. We hope that as this gets going that we will see a higher rate of member referrals.
We had an amazing miracle last week. I was on exchange with Elder Honorio last Tuesday, who is a serious legend, and we got a call at about 9 at night and it was Elder Webb telling us that they taught this kid from Brazil named Leno. He moved from Brazil about 4 weeks ago to his Aunt's house in Middleton. He had been to church twice and the Elders asked if they could go teach him. They went and taught him with his Aunt on Tuesday and went over a lot of things and felt impressed to invite him to baptism for the 30th! He said yes and since he needs to be interviewed 10 days in advance they set up an interview for the next day. Luckily, or by inspiration, I was with Elder Honorio, and Leno doesn't speak much English so we were able to go over the next evening and I interviewed Leno for baptism as Elder Honorio translated for us. It was a truly amazing experience. Leno had been taught by missionaries in Brazil for a long time and so he already knew everything. He is certainly ready for baptism. Such a miracle.
Sam and Paul passed their interview the same night. The missionary who interviewed them said he was amazed at how ready they are for baptism. As we were teaching them Sam just turned to me and said, 'all of this sounds pretty hard.' It made me smile and I am grateful that she realizes that this isn't easy and just some other church to join. Everything worth having in life takes effort. Sadly, some got severely sick on Saturday night and they were not able to make it to church. Satan is always there. These things never come easily. And now Sam and Paul are experiencing relationship issues again. Ahhhhhhhhh! Hopefully they get everything worked out. I really don't want to push their date back again. They are seriously so ready. As I was praying earnestly for them and I just got a calm feeling. We have literally done everything possible in our power to help them. Everything that I can possibly think of. We have had members do loads as well and they feel the support. All we can do now is to be still and see the Hand of the Lord. They just truly need His help to overcome the adversary. Please pray for them.
Sadly, Lois decided to drop us for now, She has received a witness from the Book of Mormon and she reads it regularly and we have been through most of the lessons with her. But she told us that she just doesn't want to or have the desire to give up the bad habits that she has. It really breaks my heart. She knows that it is true but doesn't want to live the standards.
WE taught kath this week and she really opened up to us about her past and some very personal things that she deals with that really scare her about the existence of God and immersing herself into a religion. She is reading and praying with her husband daily. Her heart is certainly being softened and I hope that it just continues to do so.
As I was reading the scriptures. I read in 2 Nephi 28:29. I have always looked at this scripture and perceived that it is just talking to people who only believe in the Bible and don't accept the Book of Mormon. But this scripture relates to EVERYONE and especially the members of the church. Especially when you add on verse 30. '29 Wo be unto him that shall say: We have received the word of God, and we need no more of the word of God, for we have enough!'
If we have read the Book of Mormon once or five times or even 20 times that is still not enough! It is the gift that keeps on giving. We continuously need spiritual nourishment from the Scriptures.
30 For behold, thus saith the Lord God: I will give unto the children of men line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little; and blessed are those who hearken unto my precepts, and lend an ear unto my counsel, for they shall learn wisdom; for unto him that receiveth I will give more; and from them that shall say, We have enough, from them shall be taken away even that which they have.'
I do not want to lose the knowledge that I have obtained.
I was also reading the talk given by Elder Packer at the last conference and something he said was so spot on. 'The end of all activity in the church is to see that a man and a woman with their children are happy at home, sealed together for time and for all eternity.'
I testify that this is true. That is why we do everything that we do as missionaries and as members. So that every family can be sealed on the House of the Lord to experience Eternal Happiness. This is the desire that I have for myself and for my brothers and sisters. I also would like to bear my witness at this time that Jesus is the Christ. The Savior of all Mankind. I know the Atonement is real and personal and I know that because of his divine Sonship and His ressurrection, we will all live again. Death is temporary. I bear witness of these things in the sacred name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Tell Gage that I said Happy Birthday! I sent him a little card so hopefully he gets it soon. Have a great week mom! I love you:)
Elder Wilcox
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