Hello everyone! It's been another great week here in Sierra Vista. We had a little miracle on Saturday. We had an investigator named Ana who we dropped because she wasn't keeping any commitments, and we could never get her to come to anything. She always said she was going to come but never would.
Well on Saturday there was a child of record baptism and we were running around crazy trying to invite everyone we know (something like 90% of investigators who attend baptisms get baptized) and something made me think that we should invite Ana. So we went and we did invite Ana and she came! She loved it and told us that she wants to be the next one to get baptized! Awesome! We're going over to her house to eat popusas tonight (It's a really famous food from El Salvador, which is where she's from).
The zone is doing awesome, we had 5 baptisms yesterday and if we can get all of our investigators with baptismal dates baptized on their scheduled dates, we'll set a zone record for number of baptisms in one month!
Well things are great around here. I love you all and will see you soon!
Love,
Elder Wilson
Monday, August 3, 2009
Monday, July 27, 2009
The end? No, death is not the end....
Hello one and all! It's been another great week here in Sierra Vista. I played the organ for church in the Spanish branch on Sunday. I don't know how to play the organ, so I basically forgot the pedals, and played it like a piano but tried to slur everything as much as possible. No one noticed any difference and it was good!
Our recent convert, Raymundo, hasn't made it back to church yet because he's been in and out of the hospital with his mystery disease. At first the doctors just thought it was his diabetes getting out of control but they are starting to think that there might be something else at work. So please pray for him. The good news is that his wife, an investigator, is still coming to church, even when he can't. Good to know she's not just hanging on his coattails.
This morning we went hiking up into the dragoon mountains. Beautiful. Brother Tanner, the member who drove us and came with us, showed us how to find water in the desert, how to make a fire out of a Yucca plant, and how to clean and eat a prickly pear. Useful stuff you know. You never know when you're going to need to fend for yourself in the Arizona desert.
We've been taking cold showers for most of the last week (Our propane ran out), and I've decided that I like serving state-side and that cultural experiences are over-rated. I like warm showers. We were talking with our branch mission leader about his mission, which he served in Malaga, Spain/Canary Islands. He was talking about how crazy it was to serve on some of those islands with a bunch of danger, witchcraft, people spitting on you, difficult living conditions, etc. We sat their listening and after a few seconds of silence I said "...sometimes our dinner appointments cancel on us." A trial which he, strangely, considered less challenging.
By the way I have a secret confession to make. People always tell me how hot it is in California and then say "But I try to not feel to sorry for myself knowing that you're suffering in the sweltering heat out there in Arizona." The honest truth is, the weather is great out here. It's really hot and unpleasant until about 1PM when the monsoons kick in and they keep it really cool and pleasant the rest of the day. Imagine mid 70s with slight cloud cover. So just letting you know that you're sympathizing in vain, I'm enjoying way better weather than you are.
Anyways things are going great out here in the Vista. The work of the Lord continues to go forward unhindered. I love you all very much! Thanks for the continued love and support (and for the granola! Best batch yet!)
Love,
Elder Benjamin Wilson
Our recent convert, Raymundo, hasn't made it back to church yet because he's been in and out of the hospital with his mystery disease. At first the doctors just thought it was his diabetes getting out of control but they are starting to think that there might be something else at work. So please pray for him. The good news is that his wife, an investigator, is still coming to church, even when he can't. Good to know she's not just hanging on his coattails.
This morning we went hiking up into the dragoon mountains. Beautiful. Brother Tanner, the member who drove us and came with us, showed us how to find water in the desert, how to make a fire out of a Yucca plant, and how to clean and eat a prickly pear. Useful stuff you know. You never know when you're going to need to fend for yourself in the Arizona desert.
We've been taking cold showers for most of the last week (Our propane ran out), and I've decided that I like serving state-side and that cultural experiences are over-rated. I like warm showers. We were talking with our branch mission leader about his mission, which he served in Malaga, Spain/Canary Islands. He was talking about how crazy it was to serve on some of those islands with a bunch of danger, witchcraft, people spitting on you, difficult living conditions, etc. We sat their listening and after a few seconds of silence I said "...sometimes our dinner appointments cancel on us." A trial which he, strangely, considered less challenging.
By the way I have a secret confession to make. People always tell me how hot it is in California and then say "But I try to not feel to sorry for myself knowing that you're suffering in the sweltering heat out there in Arizona." The honest truth is, the weather is great out here. It's really hot and unpleasant until about 1PM when the monsoons kick in and they keep it really cool and pleasant the rest of the day. Imagine mid 70s with slight cloud cover. So just letting you know that you're sympathizing in vain, I'm enjoying way better weather than you are.
Anyways things are going great out here in the Vista. The work of the Lord continues to go forward unhindered. I love you all very much! Thanks for the continued love and support (and for the granola! Best batch yet!)
Love,
Elder Benjamin Wilson
Isaiah 41:14
...bet you never knew that "worm" is a compliment
Hello everybody! It's been another great week here in Sierra Vista. Except for our septic tank backing up because of the monsoon season causing out trailer to STINK! But besides that, everything great.
Raymundo, our recent convert, is in the hospital because of his diabetes again. But we went and saw him yesterday and he was in really good spirits and it looks like he'll be out today. His wife came to church anyways, which is a very good sign.
We got a referral from Brother Thompson, a member of a different ward, for a Hispanic couple to teach in his home. We did and it was a great lesson. Brother Thompson's wife is a convert who used to be Catholic, so she could really relate to these people we were teaching. "Wait, you used to be Catholic just like us? and you converted? why? what was it like?" Perfect teaching situation.
On Saturday, we got contacted by two people who wanted to hear the gospel. Not something that happens everyday. We were driving on our way to dinner and some 19 year old kid waved us down and said he used to live with some members of the church and wanted to learn more. Then we got a call from a man who had talked with missionaries a couple of years ago, Elder Miller and Elder Whimmer, and he told us that he wanted us to stop by and teach him a little bit more. It's not every day that people are coming to you instead of you going to them! The Lord is really blessing us out here.
There's been a less-active, recent convert who has been coming back to church lately named Jaime. He comes from a seventh day Adventist background and even though he's a convert, he WILL NOT give up Saturday as the sabbath. He also brought his father to church on Sunday. Well we go into the gospel principles class and the teacher says "Open up to chapter 24" and I open up my book and the chapter is about... THE SABBATH DAY. I'm not going to lie, things got kind of ugly for a while with arguments and disagreements, but it turned out alright.
Things are going great out here, I love you all. Thanks for the letters, love and support.
Love,
Elder Wilson
Hello everybody! It's been another great week here in Sierra Vista. Except for our septic tank backing up because of the monsoon season causing out trailer to STINK! But besides that, everything great.
Raymundo, our recent convert, is in the hospital because of his diabetes again. But we went and saw him yesterday and he was in really good spirits and it looks like he'll be out today. His wife came to church anyways, which is a very good sign.
We got a referral from Brother Thompson, a member of a different ward, for a Hispanic couple to teach in his home. We did and it was a great lesson. Brother Thompson's wife is a convert who used to be Catholic, so she could really relate to these people we were teaching. "Wait, you used to be Catholic just like us? and you converted? why? what was it like?" Perfect teaching situation.
On Saturday, we got contacted by two people who wanted to hear the gospel. Not something that happens everyday. We were driving on our way to dinner and some 19 year old kid waved us down and said he used to live with some members of the church and wanted to learn more. Then we got a call from a man who had talked with missionaries a couple of years ago, Elder Miller and Elder Whimmer, and he told us that he wanted us to stop by and teach him a little bit more. It's not every day that people are coming to you instead of you going to them! The Lord is really blessing us out here.
There's been a less-active, recent convert who has been coming back to church lately named Jaime. He comes from a seventh day Adventist background and even though he's a convert, he WILL NOT give up Saturday as the sabbath. He also brought his father to church on Sunday. Well we go into the gospel principles class and the teacher says "Open up to chapter 24" and I open up my book and the chapter is about... THE SABBATH DAY. I'm not going to lie, things got kind of ugly for a while with arguments and disagreements, but it turned out alright.
Things are going great out here, I love you all. Thanks for the letters, love and support.
Love,
Elder Wilson
Monday, July 6, 2009
....and don't call me Shirley
Hello one and all! It's been another week here in Sierra Vista. We played basketball this morning. It was some really good ball. A member of our ward opens up the chapel and guys come to play every Monday, Wednesday, Friday at 5:30 AM. Some good ballers come. This morning there were even a couple of black guys that play at the local college, Cochise college. Needless to say, when the Wilson Family Olympics 2009 finally arrive, I will be prepared.
Raymundo is all set to be baptized this Saturday. I think we finally figured out his wife's doubt in that she's just scared of the actual ordinance of baptism and wants to see one and what happens before she gets baptized. So I think after she sees her husband get baptized she'll be ready.
Drama still continues with our investigators Ana and Jacqueline, but Ana is moving into a new apartment (and away from her abusive husband) tomorrow so things should get better after that.
This morning at basketball there was a guy visiting some family here in Sierra Vista who actually lives in San Ramon. Small world.
Yesterday at church I was translating for all of the English speakers during sacrament meeting (All the english speakers pick up ear phones coming in and I talk into a headset) and there were a lot of them because a lot of people had family in town for the 4th of July. Anyways, there was a lul in the testimony meeting where nobody was getting up and so I whispered "C'mon English speakers... you're slacking." They all started cracking up and the rest of the congregation was a little confused about why 20 people scattered throughout the chapel started laughing at the same time.
Then I got up and bore my testimony. Mostly to bare my testimony, but partially because I wanted my companion to translate the rest of the meeting (which he did).
I also have a sign off now "This has been a product of Wilson broadcasting, please tune in again next week."
Well this last week we received a referral for Bisbee (we cover Bisbee in Spanish) that was only available on Saturdays. So it was that on the 4th of July we ended up in one of the most bizarre towns in the world. First of all, it's an old, dead mining town (whatever they used to mine is all gone now) and there's a gigantic pit in the middle of the town. I mean huge. Obviously it's fenced off so you don't fall but it's pretty crazy to go and look at.
Also, because people were selling off their property cheap when the mine stopped (The town went from 60,000 to 5,000 I'm told) a bunch of hippies moved in so that they could have cheap property and barely have to work. So the place is filled with hippies, all natural co-op stores, weird murals, and every other strange thing you can imagine. Needless to say, contacting there was a little rough.
To make the situation even MORE bizarre, it was the 4th of July and they have some 4th of July traditions that have been going on there since forever. They had dry rock drilling contests (where they see who can hammer a nail into a rock the furthest in 10 minutes) and rock shoveling contests. It was just weird to see the old miner traditions and influences combined with the uber-hippy tendencies of the city now. It created a legacy that can only be described as bizarre.
4th of July was good. We watched fireworks from our roof. Other than that it was just pretty hard. People were in the mood to party, not hear about the restored gospel.
Well I'm in good health and spirits. I love you all very much. Thanks for all of the support.
Love,
Elder Wilson
PS Dad, I did get your letter, thanks.
Raymundo is all set to be baptized this Saturday. I think we finally figured out his wife's doubt in that she's just scared of the actual ordinance of baptism and wants to see one and what happens before she gets baptized. So I think after she sees her husband get baptized she'll be ready.
Drama still continues with our investigators Ana and Jacqueline, but Ana is moving into a new apartment (and away from her abusive husband) tomorrow so things should get better after that.
This morning at basketball there was a guy visiting some family here in Sierra Vista who actually lives in San Ramon. Small world.
Yesterday at church I was translating for all of the English speakers during sacrament meeting (All the english speakers pick up ear phones coming in and I talk into a headset) and there were a lot of them because a lot of people had family in town for the 4th of July. Anyways, there was a lul in the testimony meeting where nobody was getting up and so I whispered "C'mon English speakers... you're slacking." They all started cracking up and the rest of the congregation was a little confused about why 20 people scattered throughout the chapel started laughing at the same time.
Then I got up and bore my testimony. Mostly to bare my testimony, but partially because I wanted my companion to translate the rest of the meeting (which he did).
I also have a sign off now "This has been a product of Wilson broadcasting, please tune in again next week."
Well this last week we received a referral for Bisbee (we cover Bisbee in Spanish) that was only available on Saturdays. So it was that on the 4th of July we ended up in one of the most bizarre towns in the world. First of all, it's an old, dead mining town (whatever they used to mine is all gone now) and there's a gigantic pit in the middle of the town. I mean huge. Obviously it's fenced off so you don't fall but it's pretty crazy to go and look at.
Also, because people were selling off their property cheap when the mine stopped (The town went from 60,000 to 5,000 I'm told) a bunch of hippies moved in so that they could have cheap property and barely have to work. So the place is filled with hippies, all natural co-op stores, weird murals, and every other strange thing you can imagine. Needless to say, contacting there was a little rough.
To make the situation even MORE bizarre, it was the 4th of July and they have some 4th of July traditions that have been going on there since forever. They had dry rock drilling contests (where they see who can hammer a nail into a rock the furthest in 10 minutes) and rock shoveling contests. It was just weird to see the old miner traditions and influences combined with the uber-hippy tendencies of the city now. It created a legacy that can only be described as bizarre.
4th of July was good. We watched fireworks from our roof. Other than that it was just pretty hard. People were in the mood to party, not hear about the restored gospel.
Well I'm in good health and spirits. I love you all very much. Thanks for all of the support.
Love,
Elder Wilson
PS Dad, I did get your letter, thanks.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Ether 12:40
Let it be known that Sierra Vista is at a higher altitude than Portland and San Francisco combined, so while you old men (and even young guns) are huffin' and puffin' I'm going to be sailing to a tennis, basketball, ping pong, running, cannon ball sweep. (Golf I will concede just so I don't hurt any feelings)
It's been another week here in Sierra Vista. I have a new companion. His name is Elder Bagley and he is a STUD. He's a really solid missionary, pretty young but he's got everything together. He's also a pretty good ball player, and that, combined with the fact that the bball ban was lifted this morning, should make a pretty fun transfer.
Our zone was strengthened in pretty much every companionship this last transfer and we're already seeing the results. This is going to be an awesome last transfer. As for us, we have four progressing investigators right now, good ol Raymundo (Who is finally out of the hospital and preparing to be baptized on July 11) and his wife, and two new investigators who were invited to church by their friend Trent Barkdall.
Elder Jones, my former companion and good friend, is serving just down the road in Douglas, and it's good to have him near. He's on fire right now and has done some pretty awesome things in the week that he's been there.
Quote of the week is from a former investigator of one of our district leaders. They taught a Jehovah's Witness a first lesson which they seemed to accept, but when they went by the next day there was a note on their door saying that she was only trying to be nice and didn't really want to listen. Sad. Anyways, quote of the week is a sentence that comes midway through her letter. This is the complete sentence: "I honestly believe I have an understanding of what you believe, but unfortunately, I do not." If you can decipher what that means, please let me know.
I won the official Sierra Vista Zone Wimbledon this morning, which isn't saying much since they were all pretty weak players (Like Evan Carlile).
I love you all very much. I'll try to write more next week!
Much love,
Elder Wilson
It's been another week here in Sierra Vista. I have a new companion. His name is Elder Bagley and he is a STUD. He's a really solid missionary, pretty young but he's got everything together. He's also a pretty good ball player, and that, combined with the fact that the bball ban was lifted this morning, should make a pretty fun transfer.
Our zone was strengthened in pretty much every companionship this last transfer and we're already seeing the results. This is going to be an awesome last transfer. As for us, we have four progressing investigators right now, good ol Raymundo (Who is finally out of the hospital and preparing to be baptized on July 11) and his wife, and two new investigators who were invited to church by their friend Trent Barkdall.
Elder Jones, my former companion and good friend, is serving just down the road in Douglas, and it's good to have him near. He's on fire right now and has done some pretty awesome things in the week that he's been there.
Quote of the week is from a former investigator of one of our district leaders. They taught a Jehovah's Witness a first lesson which they seemed to accept, but when they went by the next day there was a note on their door saying that she was only trying to be nice and didn't really want to listen. Sad. Anyways, quote of the week is a sentence that comes midway through her letter. This is the complete sentence: "I honestly believe I have an understanding of what you believe, but unfortunately, I do not." If you can decipher what that means, please let me know.
I won the official Sierra Vista Zone Wimbledon this morning, which isn't saying much since they were all pretty weak players (Like Evan Carlile).
I love you all very much. I'll try to write more next week!
Much love,
Elder Wilson
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Higher Up! Farther In!
Hello everybody! It's been another great week here in the Vista. I'm slightly in mourning, because of the Lakers' victory, but other than that I'm in good spirits.
This morning we climbed either an extremely large hill or a very short mountain. It's right next to our house and you can get a view of the whole valley from it. I'm attaching some pictures.
We also went to a funeral this morning for a man named Arthur Mountjoy. I never knew him except for a couple of blessings we gave him when he was about to die but from the funeral it seemed like he was a very very good man.
Monsoons are starting (YES!). I love monsoons, they're probably my favorite thing about Arizona. They aren't in full swing yet but we've had a couple of monsoon-like rains. A couple of nights ago we got a storm that came through at about 3AM. Some lightning hit right next to the house and it was LOUD! I'm talking my ears were ringing for hours afterwards loud.
Thanks to Brig for the oplatkys (spelling?). They were amazing. Not quite as good as getting them hot off the stove in the CR but still quite amazing. I appreciate you thinking about me. They reminded me of when were going to leave the Czech Republic and Petr and Barbara sent their kids to buy us some of those as a gift right before we left. Good people, good memories.
Our branch president called me on Saturday and told me that I'm going to be speaking on Sunday (Fathers day). It's only my second time giving a talk in Spanish, and my Spanish has gone down hill a little bit since I've been here struggling to find Hispanics to teach, so pray for me that it will go well.
We had interviews on Thursday. President Walker is the best. He's so inspired. It's amazing to see someone sooth all of your fears, answer all of your questions, and put all of your doubts to rest, without ever voicing those fears, questions or doubts. That interview definitely gave me the boost that I'm going to need to make it through the rest of the transfer.
We have a new branch mission leader, a guy who returned from a mission in Spain just a couple of weeks ago, and he's awesome! His name is Trent. He invited five Hispanics that he met at work to come to church last week. Totally still got the missionary fire. A story to illustrate:
We were knocking doors, having trouble finding Hispanics. So I decided that instead of just knocking doors hoping to find some spanish-speakers, I would use my keen Hispanic-finding skills to pick out a house. So we drive for a minute and I pick the house, we go up and knock the door and it's actually a black young man. We begin to talk to him and he says "Yeah I was in your church just a few days ago to play basketball, my friend Trent invited me." Well we continue talking to him and find out that he's actually just living at that house for a few days with his friend Enrique. (My Hispanosense was right!) We call Trent to see if he knows who Enrique is and he says "Yeah, I talked to him this morning and invited him to church." So we're definitely excited to have him in the branch.
So the work continues to move along here in the middle of nowhere. Thank you for all of your love, letters, and support. Transfers are a week from Wednesday but it's almost a lock that I'll stay here for my last six weeks.
I love you all. The gospel is true!
Love,
This morning we climbed either an extremely large hill or a very short mountain. It's right next to our house and you can get a view of the whole valley from it. I'm attaching some pictures.
We also went to a funeral this morning for a man named Arthur Mountjoy. I never knew him except for a couple of blessings we gave him when he was about to die but from the funeral it seemed like he was a very very good man.
Monsoons are starting (YES!). I love monsoons, they're probably my favorite thing about Arizona. They aren't in full swing yet but we've had a couple of monsoon-like rains. A couple of nights ago we got a storm that came through at about 3AM. Some lightning hit right next to the house and it was LOUD! I'm talking my ears were ringing for hours afterwards loud.
Thanks to Brig for the oplatkys (spelling?). They were amazing. Not quite as good as getting them hot off the stove in the CR but still quite amazing. I appreciate you thinking about me. They reminded me of when were going to leave the Czech Republic and Petr and Barbara sent their kids to buy us some of those as a gift right before we left. Good people, good memories.
Our branch president called me on Saturday and told me that I'm going to be speaking on Sunday (Fathers day). It's only my second time giving a talk in Spanish, and my Spanish has gone down hill a little bit since I've been here struggling to find Hispanics to teach, so pray for me that it will go well.
We had interviews on Thursday. President Walker is the best. He's so inspired. It's amazing to see someone sooth all of your fears, answer all of your questions, and put all of your doubts to rest, without ever voicing those fears, questions or doubts. That interview definitely gave me the boost that I'm going to need to make it through the rest of the transfer.
We have a new branch mission leader, a guy who returned from a mission in Spain just a couple of weeks ago, and he's awesome! His name is Trent. He invited five Hispanics that he met at work to come to church last week. Totally still got the missionary fire. A story to illustrate:
We were knocking doors, having trouble finding Hispanics. So I decided that instead of just knocking doors hoping to find some spanish-speakers, I would use my keen Hispanic-finding skills to pick out a house. So we drive for a minute and I pick the house, we go up and knock the door and it's actually a black young man. We begin to talk to him and he says "Yeah I was in your church just a few days ago to play basketball, my friend Trent invited me." Well we continue talking to him and find out that he's actually just living at that house for a few days with his friend Enrique. (My Hispanosense was right!) We call Trent to see if he knows who Enrique is and he says "Yeah, I talked to him this morning and invited him to church." So we're definitely excited to have him in the branch.
So the work continues to move along here in the middle of nowhere. Thank you for all of your love, letters, and support. Transfers are a week from Wednesday but it's almost a lock that I'll stay here for my last six weeks.
I love you all. The gospel is true!
Love,
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
They go together like lamb and tuna fish
Hello everyone! It's been another good week here in Sierra Vista! Yesterday was stake conference and it was really good. Except that there were problems with people forgetting to bring the translation equipment so there really wasn't any translation and so our investigators didn't understand anything... but besides that it was awesome! The best part about it is that a recently returned missionary called us last night and told us that he had invited a hispanic lady that he had met at work to come, and she did, along with her kids and a friend that she invited! It's always nice to have five people drop out of the sky and come to church.
Ok, a story from last week that I promised I was going to tell. We have an investigator who lives out in the boonies in a little place called Whetstone. His name is Raymundo. He has a lot of vision problems, including that he's going blind. Because of all of his health problems he had developed anger towards God, and had doubted His existence. Well anyways, the missionaries before me were getting ready to drop him because he wasn't showing much interest or keeping his commitments. Well Elder Hodson and I decided that what he needed more than anything was to pray. He said he was praying but wasn't willing to pray in front of us. It's kind of a well known fact of missionary work that anyone who isn't willing to pray in front of you isn't praying in private, at least not in such a way that they're going to be able to receive answers to their prayers.
So we just threw down a prayer lesson and told him that he had to pray. He wouldn't. So we battled and battled and finally I just said "Okay Raymundo, we're going to kneel down, okay?" Okay. "Now say Heavenly Father and then whatever comes to your mind." At which point Elder Hodson and I crossed our arms and closed our eyes so that he couldn't say no.
Raymundo then began to pray and offered one of the most prayers that I've heard on my entire mission. It was amazing to see the change that came over him as God took out his stony heart and replaced with a heart of flesh on the spot. The spirit descended upon him, his countenance was changed, and he was purified, head to toe. Prayer works. Miracles happen.
Raymundo and his wife have baptismal dates now and they came to church yesterday.
One of my favorite things about this area is the Tanner family. They're a member family out in Whetstone. They feed us once a week and they give us my kind of food: Raw goat milk, homegrown fruits and vegetables, homemade bread and jam, etc. Of course they're a little more hard-core than me (They think the federal reserve is an abomination, they don't have the internet or a phone, and believe in vast government conspiracies) but the food there is awesome, and they definitely strike a note with the hippie side of me.
I don't know if I ever told you, but a couple of weeks ago, President Walker banned basketball. Apparently there were some injuries in other zones. I don't know what to do with myself. A world without basketball is a world without hope. Speaking of which, what's happening in the playoffs? To be honest I ask everyone who looks like they might be somewhat interested if they know what's going on with the NBA playoffs when we're knocking doors, but even so, a surprising number of people have no idea. Don't worry, I try to preach the gospel to them, too.
I got the package. Thank you thank you thank you. Delicious granola, the best batch yet! And thanks for the pre-stamped envelopes... I guess... I'll try to use them.
This last week we had zone conference together with the Gila Valley zone. We went up to Thatcher for it. I always thought that the Gila Valley was a decent sized place, but it's a TINY little farming community. You're going to be able to see that temple for MILES!
I hope everyone else is doing well. The gospel is TRUE! Write me back when you get a chance.
Con amor,
Elder Ben Wilson
P.S. I was on exchanges and there was a missionary who had a magazine/pamphlet thing on temples that I would really like to get. It's not the little pamphlet by Boyd K. Packer but it kind of looks like a full sized magazine and has a bunch of beautiful pictures of temples from around the world and articles by various church authorities. If someone could tell me how to get one, I'd love to be able to show that to investigators and converts. Thanks!
Ok, a story from last week that I promised I was going to tell. We have an investigator who lives out in the boonies in a little place called Whetstone. His name is Raymundo. He has a lot of vision problems, including that he's going blind. Because of all of his health problems he had developed anger towards God, and had doubted His existence. Well anyways, the missionaries before me were getting ready to drop him because he wasn't showing much interest or keeping his commitments. Well Elder Hodson and I decided that what he needed more than anything was to pray. He said he was praying but wasn't willing to pray in front of us. It's kind of a well known fact of missionary work that anyone who isn't willing to pray in front of you isn't praying in private, at least not in such a way that they're going to be able to receive answers to their prayers.
So we just threw down a prayer lesson and told him that he had to pray. He wouldn't. So we battled and battled and finally I just said "Okay Raymundo, we're going to kneel down, okay?" Okay. "Now say Heavenly Father and then whatever comes to your mind." At which point Elder Hodson and I crossed our arms and closed our eyes so that he couldn't say no.
Raymundo then began to pray and offered one of the most prayers that I've heard on my entire mission. It was amazing to see the change that came over him as God took out his stony heart and replaced with a heart of flesh on the spot. The spirit descended upon him, his countenance was changed, and he was purified, head to toe. Prayer works. Miracles happen.
Raymundo and his wife have baptismal dates now and they came to church yesterday.
One of my favorite things about this area is the Tanner family. They're a member family out in Whetstone. They feed us once a week and they give us my kind of food: Raw goat milk, homegrown fruits and vegetables, homemade bread and jam, etc. Of course they're a little more hard-core than me (They think the federal reserve is an abomination, they don't have the internet or a phone, and believe in vast government conspiracies) but the food there is awesome, and they definitely strike a note with the hippie side of me.
I don't know if I ever told you, but a couple of weeks ago, President Walker banned basketball. Apparently there were some injuries in other zones. I don't know what to do with myself. A world without basketball is a world without hope. Speaking of which, what's happening in the playoffs? To be honest I ask everyone who looks like they might be somewhat interested if they know what's going on with the NBA playoffs when we're knocking doors, but even so, a surprising number of people have no idea. Don't worry, I try to preach the gospel to them, too.
I got the package. Thank you thank you thank you. Delicious granola, the best batch yet! And thanks for the pre-stamped envelopes... I guess... I'll try to use them.
This last week we had zone conference together with the Gila Valley zone. We went up to Thatcher for it. I always thought that the Gila Valley was a decent sized place, but it's a TINY little farming community. You're going to be able to see that temple for MILES!
I hope everyone else is doing well. The gospel is TRUE! Write me back when you get a chance.
Con amor,
Elder Ben Wilson
P.S. I was on exchanges and there was a missionary who had a magazine/pamphlet thing on temples that I would really like to get. It's not the little pamphlet by Boyd K. Packer but it kind of looks like a full sized magazine and has a bunch of beautiful pictures of temples from around the world and articles by various church authorities. If someone could tell me how to get one, I'd love to be able to show that to investigators and converts. Thanks!
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
You're a wonderful human being, Jabba
Hello everyone! All of the libraries were closed for memorial day, hence I'm writing today. Right now I'm in Douglas, a border town right next to Aguaprieta, Mexico. I'm with a brand new Elder, Elder Jenne. He's a really good new Elder with a lot of energy so it's been a fun day. Douglas is a fun little town. Anyways, since we are on exchanges and it's not pday I'm trying to waste as little time emailing as possible. I wrote a hand-written letter to the parents yesterday, to all of the rest of you: Sorry! You're getting another really short email this week.
But it sufficeth me to say that the Lord's work continues to go forward.
I have a really cool story about a miracle that happened yesterday with an investigator saying a prayer. Make sure to email me and remind me not to forget to tell you all about it next week.
Love you all!
- Elder Wilson
But it sufficeth me to say that the Lord's work continues to go forward.
I have a really cool story about a miracle that happened yesterday with an investigator saying a prayer. Make sure to email me and remind me not to forget to tell you all about it next week.
Love you all!
- Elder Wilson
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Monday, May 11, 2009
Not Much Today
Explanation: This non-letter came the day after Mother's Day, so we were all talked out. Ben sounded great on the phone. Revealed that he is not trunky but aware that things are winding down. Staying focused. He "owns the Mt. Franklin zone." Has been there 6 months. We'll see what tomorrow's transfers bring. We will let his fans know if there is a new address as soon as we get word. This note from him is mainly notable for its creative spelling of the common English word "hello."
Helloe everyone! I'm not quite sure what to say. I talked to the family last night, and I'm not sure that I have much else to add. It's still really hot out here, the zone had a pretty good week. We're getting transfer calls tonight and I'll write you tomorrow to let you know if I'm getting transfered and, if so, where to.
I love you all!
Elder Wilson
Helloe everyone! I'm not quite sure what to say. I talked to the family last night, and I'm not sure that I have much else to add. It's still really hot out here, the zone had a pretty good week. We're getting transfer calls tonight and I'll write you tomorrow to let you know if I'm getting transfered and, if so, where to.
I love you all!
Elder Wilson
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
"I didn't kill my wife." "I don't care."
Note from Ben's mom. This letter came while we were in Israel and so it didn't get posted to the website. It actually was written April 27th.
Hello everyone! It's been a good week this week. Veronica Varela got married on Saturday and she's getting baptized next Saturday. She invited my companion and I go to to the wedding and we did, along with the two missionaries in Chaparral. It was a Catholic wedding, held in the local Catholic church in Chaparral. The Priest was very kind and said hello to us. We got stared at, A LOT! Most people think we can't speak Spanish because we're white so a lot of people were making comments about us right next to us.
"What are the Mormons doing here? Are those Mormons? Aren't those the guys that knock doors? Can they be here?"
Anyways it was a good wedding despite all of the stares. We got a little worried when they were passing the bread and wine around to all of the married couples. Veronica politely said "No thanks" to the wine. She and the priest exchanged a few words afterwards but I couldn't tell what they said. Some people noticed and there were some whispers but it wasn't too big of a deal.
It was definitely a different experience, but I enjoyed it. Everyone was very polite to us. Catholic people are, for the most part, good people, and their religion is, I feel, mostly a good one. I get so frustrated with missionaries who are always going on about "How FALSE" other churches are and how horribly wrong their doctrines are. Granted, many of their doctrines aren't true, and sometimes they are WAY off, but I'm impressed, mostly, with how TRUE they are. It all depends on our perspective, I suppose. The first thing one missionary commented about upon leaving the wedding was how gross the life-sized statue of the crucified Jesus was, and another's first comment was about how beautiful the priest's words were when he personally adressed the couples (Five couples got married in the same service)
We ought not look for the falts in a religion any more than we ought to look for the falts in one another.
We met with the Bishop of our Spanish ward yesterday. For the first time in 6 months I feel like we're really on the same page as him so we're excited to see how the work in the Rio Grande ward will progress,and we got a new WML in 5th ward, Brother Bowden, who just got released from the Bishopric as well! So we're really excited about that. It's not every day that you get a member of the bishopric as your new ward mission leader.
So things are going well. It's hot. And it's going to get hotter. A lot hotter. Even so, everything is well here in sunny El Paso/ST/SP. I appreciate the love and support. Even though I didn't get any letters, I can feel the prayers. But letters would still be nice (hint hint).
Love,
Elder Ben Wilson
Hello everyone! It's been a good week this week. Veronica Varela got married on Saturday and she's getting baptized next Saturday. She invited my companion and I go to to the wedding and we did, along with the two missionaries in Chaparral. It was a Catholic wedding, held in the local Catholic church in Chaparral. The Priest was very kind and said hello to us. We got stared at, A LOT! Most people think we can't speak Spanish because we're white so a lot of people were making comments about us right next to us.
"What are the Mormons doing here? Are those Mormons? Aren't those the guys that knock doors? Can they be here?"
Anyways it was a good wedding despite all of the stares. We got a little worried when they were passing the bread and wine around to all of the married couples. Veronica politely said "No thanks" to the wine. She and the priest exchanged a few words afterwards but I couldn't tell what they said. Some people noticed and there were some whispers but it wasn't too big of a deal.
It was definitely a different experience, but I enjoyed it. Everyone was very polite to us. Catholic people are, for the most part, good people, and their religion is, I feel, mostly a good one. I get so frustrated with missionaries who are always going on about "How FALSE" other churches are and how horribly wrong their doctrines are. Granted, many of their doctrines aren't true, and sometimes they are WAY off, but I'm impressed, mostly, with how TRUE they are. It all depends on our perspective, I suppose. The first thing one missionary commented about upon leaving the wedding was how gross the life-sized statue of the crucified Jesus was, and another's first comment was about how beautiful the priest's words were when he personally adressed the couples (Five couples got married in the same service)
We ought not look for the falts in a religion any more than we ought to look for the falts in one another.
We met with the Bishop of our Spanish ward yesterday. For the first time in 6 months I feel like we're really on the same page as him so we're excited to see how the work in the Rio Grande ward will progress,and we got a new WML in 5th ward, Brother Bowden, who just got released from the Bishopric as well! So we're really excited about that. It's not every day that you get a member of the bishopric as your new ward mission leader.
So things are going well. It's hot. And it's going to get hotter. A lot hotter. Even so, everything is well here in sunny El Paso/ST/SP. I appreciate the love and support. Even though I didn't get any letters, I can feel the prayers. But letters would still be nice (hint hint).
Love,
Elder Ben Wilson
Puma! Not in front of the kids!
Hello everyone! It's been another good week here in sunny El Paso. We found quite a few new investigators and set some baptismal dates. We found a family of four on friday, and we set baptismal dates with them and they're coming to church this Sunday. The Rios family. Fernie, the Dad, is really popular with all of the kids in that part of Sunland park because he's really good at fixing bikes so they're always bringing their bikes over. So usually when we teach lessons over there, we teach them in their front yard and there's at least 3-4 random kids who listen who wandered in off the street. Yesterday there were more and we played a game of touch football in the street after the lesson. We got a lot of weird looks from passer-bys. I guess most of them find it weird to see Mormon missionaries in shirts and ties playing football with little Mexican kids in Sunland park. Upside: Every single one of the kids gave us their address and want us to teach their family.
We had a really cool experience last Monday evening. Tuesday we had a zone conference and we were assigned to train about church tours. Well we were going to give our zone a church tour and show them an example of how to do it, so we wanted to check out the Stake Center first to see what we were working with. Well we pull up Monday night at 8:30 and there's a random lady walking through the parking lot. We asked her if she wanted to see the inside of the church and she said "sure!". So we gave her a church tour on the spot. (We were kinda making it up as we went since we haven't spent much time in that building but it worked out.) It went really really well and she left there with a Book of Mormon, and a commitment to pray about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. She also wanted to refer us to all of her friends but didn't have their addresses. It was amazing to see how the Lord put her right in our path so that we could have that experience and be prepared for our training the next day.
Well that's about it for this week. I did get the letter sent from JFK. Thank you! And I got the emails from Israel as well. Not to fear. Kate: Thanks for the SwFlu advice although a real letter/email would be nice sometime.
The work of the Lord continues to move along. I know that this is His gospel and I am so fortunate to see the hand of the Lord guiding me every single day as I strive to serve him.
Much love,
Elder Benjamin Wilson
We had a really cool experience last Monday evening. Tuesday we had a zone conference and we were assigned to train about church tours. Well we were going to give our zone a church tour and show them an example of how to do it, so we wanted to check out the Stake Center first to see what we were working with. Well we pull up Monday night at 8:30 and there's a random lady walking through the parking lot. We asked her if she wanted to see the inside of the church and she said "sure!". So we gave her a church tour on the spot. (We were kinda making it up as we went since we haven't spent much time in that building but it worked out.) It went really really well and she left there with a Book of Mormon, and a commitment to pray about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. She also wanted to refer us to all of her friends but didn't have their addresses. It was amazing to see how the Lord put her right in our path so that we could have that experience and be prepared for our training the next day.
Well that's about it for this week. I did get the letter sent from JFK. Thank you! And I got the emails from Israel as well. Not to fear. Kate: Thanks for the SwFlu advice although a real letter/email would be nice sometime.
The work of the Lord continues to move along. I know that this is His gospel and I am so fortunate to see the hand of the Lord guiding me every single day as I strive to serve him.
Much love,
Elder Benjamin Wilson
Monday, April 20, 2009
Houston, we have a problem
Hello everybody! It's been another week here in sunny EP/ST/SP. Elder Jones and I are still hard at work. The Antunezs got to go through the temple for the first time this last Wednesday to do baptisms. They loved it! The 5th ward is such an amazing ward. All we have to do is say "Frank and Grace need to go to the temple ASAP" and it gets done!
We had a cool experience on Saturday night. We went to our 8 o'clock appointment and they weren't there. We had visited everyone else earlier in the day, and Elder Jones and I were just kinda wondering... "Well, what do we do now?" Just then a young man, Eddy, walked past and we contacted him. He said "I really have to go, but where's your church, I'll go tomorrow." Yeah...right kid (Even missionaries get cynical sometimes) But we gave him the information just to humor him. Well who comes walking in the doors the next morning at 11:20 but Eddy! Double bonus, he works at Men's Wearhouse so if we baptize him we could probably get some sweet discounts on ties (I know I shouldn't be thinking about these kinds of things but I can't help it).
Last monday we went on exchanges with the assistants and had an amazing day, we found seven new investigators in half a day.
Yesterday at church I got about 10 comments "Elder Wilson, you're still here? Haven't you been here for a really long time?" Which isn't cool because then I always get the related question "How long have you been on your mission?" and then the "Oh wow! That's a long time. What are you planning on doing when you get back? Are you going to college? Do you have a girlfriend?" etc. etc.
Our investigator Carlos, is having a tough time working up the faith to ask for Sundays off from work. What makes it worse is he says he hates being pressured, and completely closes off any time you try to apply even a little pressure. So if anyone has any suggestions, please do tell.
Well that's about it for this week's edition. I love you all very much!
Love,
Elder Ben Wilson
We had a cool experience on Saturday night. We went to our 8 o'clock appointment and they weren't there. We had visited everyone else earlier in the day, and Elder Jones and I were just kinda wondering... "Well, what do we do now?" Just then a young man, Eddy, walked past and we contacted him. He said "I really have to go, but where's your church, I'll go tomorrow." Yeah...right kid (Even missionaries get cynical sometimes) But we gave him the information just to humor him. Well who comes walking in the doors the next morning at 11:20 but Eddy! Double bonus, he works at Men's Wearhouse so if we baptize him we could probably get some sweet discounts on ties (I know I shouldn't be thinking about these kinds of things but I can't help it).
Last monday we went on exchanges with the assistants and had an amazing day, we found seven new investigators in half a day.
Yesterday at church I got about 10 comments "Elder Wilson, you're still here? Haven't you been here for a really long time?" Which isn't cool because then I always get the related question "How long have you been on your mission?" and then the "Oh wow! That's a long time. What are you planning on doing when you get back? Are you going to college? Do you have a girlfriend?" etc. etc.
Our investigator Carlos, is having a tough time working up the faith to ask for Sundays off from work. What makes it worse is he says he hates being pressured, and completely closes off any time you try to apply even a little pressure. So if anyone has any suggestions, please do tell.
Well that's about it for this week's edition. I love you all very much!
Love,
Elder Ben Wilson
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Brick, where did you get a grenade?
Hello everybody! It's been a great week out here in the desert. We had some wonderful services for Easter. We sang "Creo en Cristo" (I believe in Christ) in the Spanish ward along with the other two missionary companionships. I don't have a long history of singing in sacrament meetings so that was a little bit nerve racking for me but it went really well I think!
Also, we had quite a miracle this week. The Varela chronicles continue. We were scheduled to go on exchanges with the Chaparral elders this tuesday. Elder Jones was going to head out to Chaparral and I was going to stay here. Well the spirit kept impressing me "Go to Chaparral." I kept saying "No that doesn't make any sense, Elder Jones just got in the area and he doesn't know how to get around town yet, I can't leave the area." But the impression just kept coming "Go to Chaparral." So we called up the Chappy town elders and told them that there was a change of plans, that I would be going over there with them. Now we need to step back a second. Veronica Varela is an investigator that my companion and I found a year ago who has wanted to get baptized for forever but her significant other of 13 years hasn't been willing to marry her until a few weeks ago. The wedding date is set for April 26 and the baptismal date is May 2.
Well while we were on exchanges we went to teach Veronica. As soon as we got there to the house I could tell that something was wrong. I asked her how things were going and she said " Chewie* (her husband) says that if I keep meeting with the missionaries and going to church, he won't marry me. I'm not going to keep going with it. I'm not even sure if it's true anyways, it's just not worth it to keep going."
Well that was devastating to say the least. But in that moment I was able to do what no other missionary currently serving in the Arizona Tucson Mission could have done. I looked her in the eye and said "You do know it's true, I was there and I know you received an answer from God." and she couldn't deny it. We then went on to talk about trials and sacrifice (We read about Abraham from Genesis, it was pretty intense) and by the end she said "I'm willing to do whatever God asks of me." Veronica has met with the missionaries every day since then and she came to church yesterday. She doesn't know what's going to happen with her husband(or whatever you want to call him) but she does know that she's going to follow through with her comitment to the Lord to be baptized.
Do you remember the feeling of when you were a kid and you would stand on your Dad's feet and he would grab your hands and he would walk you around and move your arms kind of like a puppet? In the best of times, you feel like that in the service of the Lord. You act, but not on your own ideas. You talk, but the words aren't yours. You move, but it's someone else who's moving you. It gives you a new perspective on Jesus' prayer that we may be "One, even as thou, Father are in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us"
We also had an amazing experience last night teaching an investigator whose father died a few years ago. She wanted to know where he was, and if there was any hope for him since he hadn't ever accepted what we are sharing with her. We had already planned to teach her the plan of salvation, and it was incredible to see the peace and understanding that filled her as the spirit descended and comforted and testified to her.
To answer your questions... we normally teach about 15-20 lessons a week. For easter we had a good dinner with one of the families from the 5th ward... and then went out and worked. The weather is warm and sunny, but not too hot. We don't have a branch, we have two wards, and they're both normal sized wards. How are my clothes holding up? They're not. However, somehow I'll manage to make it to the end with what I've got. No use in buying more missionary clothes with 4 months left. We eat with members 6 days a week, and one of them usually forgets so really about 5 times a week. I have learned to LOVE Mexican food except for Chicharrones and Menudo. In a p-day we have to wash the car, do email, do laundry, go shopping, clean the apartment, and today our P-day ends at 2 because we're on exchanges with the Assistants.
That's all for this week's edition. I love you all very much.
Love,
Elder Ben Wilson
*Chewie is a nickname in spanish for Jesus... don't ask me how.
Also, we had quite a miracle this week. The Varela chronicles continue. We were scheduled to go on exchanges with the Chaparral elders this tuesday. Elder Jones was going to head out to Chaparral and I was going to stay here. Well the spirit kept impressing me "Go to Chaparral." I kept saying "No that doesn't make any sense, Elder Jones just got in the area and he doesn't know how to get around town yet, I can't leave the area." But the impression just kept coming "Go to Chaparral." So we called up the Chappy town elders and told them that there was a change of plans, that I would be going over there with them. Now we need to step back a second. Veronica Varela is an investigator that my companion and I found a year ago who has wanted to get baptized for forever but her significant other of 13 years hasn't been willing to marry her until a few weeks ago. The wedding date is set for April 26 and the baptismal date is May 2.
Well while we were on exchanges we went to teach Veronica. As soon as we got there to the house I could tell that something was wrong. I asked her how things were going and she said " Chewie* (her husband) says that if I keep meeting with the missionaries and going to church, he won't marry me. I'm not going to keep going with it. I'm not even sure if it's true anyways, it's just not worth it to keep going."
Well that was devastating to say the least. But in that moment I was able to do what no other missionary currently serving in the Arizona Tucson Mission could have done. I looked her in the eye and said "You do know it's true, I was there and I know you received an answer from God." and she couldn't deny it. We then went on to talk about trials and sacrifice (We read about Abraham from Genesis, it was pretty intense) and by the end she said "I'm willing to do whatever God asks of me." Veronica has met with the missionaries every day since then and she came to church yesterday. She doesn't know what's going to happen with her husband(or whatever you want to call him) but she does know that she's going to follow through with her comitment to the Lord to be baptized.
Do you remember the feeling of when you were a kid and you would stand on your Dad's feet and he would grab your hands and he would walk you around and move your arms kind of like a puppet? In the best of times, you feel like that in the service of the Lord. You act, but not on your own ideas. You talk, but the words aren't yours. You move, but it's someone else who's moving you. It gives you a new perspective on Jesus' prayer that we may be "One, even as thou, Father are in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us"
We also had an amazing experience last night teaching an investigator whose father died a few years ago. She wanted to know where he was, and if there was any hope for him since he hadn't ever accepted what we are sharing with her. We had already planned to teach her the plan of salvation, and it was incredible to see the peace and understanding that filled her as the spirit descended and comforted and testified to her.
To answer your questions... we normally teach about 15-20 lessons a week. For easter we had a good dinner with one of the families from the 5th ward... and then went out and worked. The weather is warm and sunny, but not too hot. We don't have a branch, we have two wards, and they're both normal sized wards. How are my clothes holding up? They're not. However, somehow I'll manage to make it to the end with what I've got. No use in buying more missionary clothes with 4 months left. We eat with members 6 days a week, and one of them usually forgets so really about 5 times a week. I have learned to LOVE Mexican food except for Chicharrones and Menudo. In a p-day we have to wash the car, do email, do laundry, go shopping, clean the apartment, and today our P-day ends at 2 because we're on exchanges with the Assistants.
That's all for this week's edition. I love you all very much.
Love,
Elder Ben Wilson
*Chewie is a nickname in spanish for Jesus... don't ask me how.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Bonesaw is ready....
Hello everybody! It is indeed transfer week and I am... still here in El Paso/Sunland Park/Santa Teresa! I have a new companion, his name is Elder Jones. He's from Iowa City, Iowa (Hawkeye territory). Elder Bennion is headed over to Chaparral! That's pretty exciting. Three months ago he was an English Elder enjoying University wards and steak and potatoe dinners, and now he's headed to the ghettoest part of the mission.
This last Saturday we had the baptisms of two brothers, David and Edgar Colmenero. They're thirteen and fourteen years old, we had to reactivate the Mom and we're still working on their older brother (inactive) and their Dad (Non-member). It was a great baptismal service, and they're wonderful young men.
We had a couple of investigators at church. Carol showed up which is awesome. I think I already mentioned her, she's 17 years old, and she called for a book of Mormon from a pass-along card that she found in her door. Her Dad won't let us teach her in the house, so we had the 2nd lesson at starbucks and we have an appointment for tomorrow at Whataburger. (We're debating whether or not we should go back to Starbucks when we teach the word of wisdom). She's got a baptismal date for this month and she's progressing well.
We're all excited for Conference this weekend. We're all taking our guesses on who the next apostle is going to be. I've got:
1) Neil Andersen
2) Cesil(sp?) Samuelson
3) Richard G. Hinckley
I tried to convince Elder Bennion that we should take bets but he wasn't a big fan of that idea. But now he's gone and Elder Jones is her so we'll see what he says. Just kidding... (but seriously)
Frank Antunez received the Aaronic priesthood on Sunday. That was a very special experience. He was so excited. It was so refreshing to hear his perspective on the priesthood. After church he just kept asking us "How can I use this? How can I serve? How can I help my family with this?" I love hearing outsiders' perspectives on things such as this. It makes you realize how much you take for granted. You've got to realize how others look at the word priesthood. Grace was so proud to have a priesthood-holder as a husband.
We had to tell an investigator to stop praying to Joseph Smith. Catholic habits can be hard to kick. We found out he was using the picture of the first vision from the first lesson pamphlet as an imagen. (image? idol?) I know that that's bad and really not that funny but I had a really hard time keeping a straight face when he told us all that.
The Varela family drove out from Chaparral on Saturday. They remembered that it was my birthday and they took me to lunch. That was awesome. Veronica's 11-year boyfriend is finally marrying her on April 25th (The same one that I taught a year ago when I was in chappytown). She asked if I would do the baptism if I was still around, and I will be! Yay!
Well that's about it for this week. Thanks to whoever sent me those white pants and that white tie. I really appreciate it. And thanks to Grammie for the birthday card.
The work is going great out here! I love being a missionary!
Love,
Elder Ben Wilson
This last Saturday we had the baptisms of two brothers, David and Edgar Colmenero. They're thirteen and fourteen years old, we had to reactivate the Mom and we're still working on their older brother (inactive) and their Dad (Non-member). It was a great baptismal service, and they're wonderful young men.
We had a couple of investigators at church. Carol showed up which is awesome. I think I already mentioned her, she's 17 years old, and she called for a book of Mormon from a pass-along card that she found in her door. Her Dad won't let us teach her in the house, so we had the 2nd lesson at starbucks and we have an appointment for tomorrow at Whataburger. (We're debating whether or not we should go back to Starbucks when we teach the word of wisdom). She's got a baptismal date for this month and she's progressing well.
We're all excited for Conference this weekend. We're all taking our guesses on who the next apostle is going to be. I've got:
1) Neil Andersen
2) Cesil(sp?) Samuelson
3) Richard G. Hinckley
I tried to convince Elder Bennion that we should take bets but he wasn't a big fan of that idea. But now he's gone and Elder Jones is her so we'll see what he says. Just kidding... (but seriously)
Frank Antunez received the Aaronic priesthood on Sunday. That was a very special experience. He was so excited. It was so refreshing to hear his perspective on the priesthood. After church he just kept asking us "How can I use this? How can I serve? How can I help my family with this?" I love hearing outsiders' perspectives on things such as this. It makes you realize how much you take for granted. You've got to realize how others look at the word priesthood. Grace was so proud to have a priesthood-holder as a husband.
We had to tell an investigator to stop praying to Joseph Smith. Catholic habits can be hard to kick. We found out he was using the picture of the first vision from the first lesson pamphlet as an imagen. (image? idol?) I know that that's bad and really not that funny but I had a really hard time keeping a straight face when he told us all that.
The Varela family drove out from Chaparral on Saturday. They remembered that it was my birthday and they took me to lunch. That was awesome. Veronica's 11-year boyfriend is finally marrying her on April 25th (The same one that I taught a year ago when I was in chappytown). She asked if I would do the baptism if I was still around, and I will be! Yay!
Well that's about it for this week. Thanks to whoever sent me those white pants and that white tie. I really appreciate it. And thanks to Grammie for the birthday card.
The work is going great out here! I love being a missionary!
Love,
Elder Ben Wilson
Monday, March 23, 2009
There was NO subject line! What's happening!
Hello everybody! It's been a great week out here in the desert. Things are starting to heat up already. Mid to high 80's all week long. That might sound like good news to you, but honestly, it's kind of foreboding when you're wearing a shirt and tie all week long.
Frank and Grace were baptized on Saturday and confirmed on Sunday. The baptism was great and we had a lot of support from the ward. Brother Meek (A convert from a couple of months ago) gave a talk at the baptism. He was a little nervous, I think, but he did a GREAT job. It's so fun to see him get up there, he was a baptist for a looong time and was very active, so his talk was kind of like a good 'ol Baptist sermon (I think, I've never really seen one) but with Mormon doctrine. He and his wife have been really active in fellowshipping and helping Frank and Grace.
By the way, I'm getting a little bigger. I lost my baptism pants a while back, so I asked an elder in our zone if I could try using his. They were 32s, which I knew would be a little snug for me but I thought I'd still be able to fit... wrong. I had to end up using a pair of pants that were miraculously just sitting there in the changing room and pretty much fitted me perfectly (seriously!)
We have two baptisms this coming Saturday. Two young men from a part-member family that we've been reactivating.
I got Chris and Kate's package today. Thank you so much! Those ties are AWESOME!
Thanks to Dad for keeping me updated on MV Basketball and being the most faithful writer on the planet.
And thanks to anyone and everyone else who wrote me. Brig, Mary, it was good to get emails from both of you. Grammie and Poppa, thanks for taking the time to think of me. Ryan Curtis... good to hear from you.
The work is amazing out here! Thanks for all the support!
Till next week,
Elder Ben Wilson
Frank and Grace were baptized on Saturday and confirmed on Sunday. The baptism was great and we had a lot of support from the ward. Brother Meek (A convert from a couple of months ago) gave a talk at the baptism. He was a little nervous, I think, but he did a GREAT job. It's so fun to see him get up there, he was a baptist for a looong time and was very active, so his talk was kind of like a good 'ol Baptist sermon (I think, I've never really seen one) but with Mormon doctrine. He and his wife have been really active in fellowshipping and helping Frank and Grace.
By the way, I'm getting a little bigger. I lost my baptism pants a while back, so I asked an elder in our zone if I could try using his. They were 32s, which I knew would be a little snug for me but I thought I'd still be able to fit... wrong. I had to end up using a pair of pants that were miraculously just sitting there in the changing room and pretty much fitted me perfectly (seriously!)
We have two baptisms this coming Saturday. Two young men from a part-member family that we've been reactivating.
I got Chris and Kate's package today. Thank you so much! Those ties are AWESOME!
Thanks to Dad for keeping me updated on MV Basketball and being the most faithful writer on the planet.
And thanks to anyone and everyone else who wrote me. Brig, Mary, it was good to get emails from both of you. Grammie and Poppa, thanks for taking the time to think of me. Ryan Curtis... good to hear from you.
The work is amazing out here! Thanks for all the support!
Till next week,
Elder Ben Wilson
Monday, March 16, 2009
Your beard is so...twisted
Hello everybody! It's hard to believe that it's been another week out here in sunny El Paso. Things are going well over here and we're excited for the things that are happening.
We have found A LOT of really good investigators. With one investigator, we left 3 Nephi 11 to read and when we got back, she asked "What do I need to do in order to be ready to get baptized?" We have another appointment with her tonight. We actually had that happen with another investigator as well. Very, very prepared people.
We have two baptisms scheduled for this Saturday. We were supposed to have two more but they went on Spring Break to San Antonio and we have to wait a couple of weeks (kind of a bummer).
We have another investigator named Carol, her Dad kicked us out of her house but says that we can still teach her as long as it isn't in his home. So we try to teach her as much as possible at tables at fast food restaurants and Starbucks' and the likes.
Besides that, not too much is happening. I wish I had more stories to tell but I'm drawing a blank right now. To answer some questions:
I'm not taking as many pictures as I should, so I'll change my ways and transfer day is on April 1st. (wait, President, is this a joke?)
I love you all very much. Congrats to the MV BBall team for getting to Norcal finals.
Much love,
Elder Wilson
We have found A LOT of really good investigators. With one investigator, we left 3 Nephi 11 to read and when we got back, she asked "What do I need to do in order to be ready to get baptized?" We have another appointment with her tonight. We actually had that happen with another investigator as well. Very, very prepared people.
We have two baptisms scheduled for this Saturday. We were supposed to have two more but they went on Spring Break to San Antonio and we have to wait a couple of weeks (kind of a bummer).
We have another investigator named Carol, her Dad kicked us out of her house but says that we can still teach her as long as it isn't in his home. So we try to teach her as much as possible at tables at fast food restaurants and Starbucks' and the likes.
Besides that, not too much is happening. I wish I had more stories to tell but I'm drawing a blank right now. To answer some questions:
I'm not taking as many pictures as I should, so I'll change my ways and transfer day is on April 1st. (wait, President, is this a joke?)
I love you all very much. Congrats to the MV BBall team for getting to Norcal finals.
Much love,
Elder Wilson
Monday, March 9, 2009
Fool of Took
I'm sorry to say that this is going to be one of those disappointing, short emails. I've only got 10 minutes so I didn't read all of the emails that you sent me (sorry!) so sorry if I don't answer all of your questions.
It's been raining yesterday and today. The weather is very VERY nice right now.
Some of the English elders in our zone found a golden investigator from the young ambassadors performance. Some friends invited her and she loved it and she's currently progressing quite well, so way to go YAs!
We have five investigators progressing right now. Enrique is going to get a baptismal interview some time this week which is a complete MIRACLE! He's come a Looooong way.
My companion beat me in a heart breaker this morning:
6-3, 4-6, 7-5
Ouch.
Last week's quote comes from Galaxy Quest.
Our Zone Leader Council Meetings are held in Lordsburg, New Mexico. It's the half-way point of the mission.
For my birthday I wouldn't mind a couple of CDs. That three hour ride to Lordsburg is a great opportunity to listen to some talks. I love talks. And also that new Motab cd "Praise to the man" Looks pretty awesome so you could include that. And socks.
In priesthood, Bishop asked if anyone had any announcements and one of our investigators, Frank, stood up and said "My Baptism is on March 21st and you're all invited." So that was pretty AWESOME!
Well it's about that time. We're having a little zone get together to play some ball in two minutes so I'm gotta leave right now. Much love!
Love,
Elder Tree Wilson
PS from Elder Ben's Mom: His birthday is March 28th. He will be 21!
It's been raining yesterday and today. The weather is very VERY nice right now.
Some of the English elders in our zone found a golden investigator from the young ambassadors performance. Some friends invited her and she loved it and she's currently progressing quite well, so way to go YAs!
We have five investigators progressing right now. Enrique is going to get a baptismal interview some time this week which is a complete MIRACLE! He's come a Looooong way.
My companion beat me in a heart breaker this morning:
6-3, 4-6, 7-5
Ouch.
Last week's quote comes from Galaxy Quest.
Our Zone Leader Council Meetings are held in Lordsburg, New Mexico. It's the half-way point of the mission.
For my birthday I wouldn't mind a couple of CDs. That three hour ride to Lordsburg is a great opportunity to listen to some talks. I love talks. And also that new Motab cd "Praise to the man" Looks pretty awesome so you could include that. And socks.
In priesthood, Bishop asked if anyone had any announcements and one of our investigators, Frank, stood up and said "My Baptism is on March 21st and you're all invited." So that was pretty AWESOME!
Well it's about that time. We're having a little zone get together to play some ball in two minutes so I'm gotta leave right now. Much love!
Love,
Elder Tree Wilson
PS from Elder Ben's Mom: His birthday is March 28th. He will be 21!
Monday, March 2, 2009
By Grapthar's hammer, by the sons of Warband, you shall be avenged!
Hello everybody! It's been quite a week here in El Paso. The work continues to roll forward in this little part of the vineyard.
This week was stake conference and we had a video broadcast from Salt Lake. Is the church starting to do that for all stake conferences? It's been that way for the last two that I've attended. Anyways, President Uchtdorf spoke as well as Elder Cook, Brother Oswald from the Sunday school presidency, and Bishop Edgley from the Presiding Bishopric. It was very cool and spiritually uplifting although a few of our investigators thought it was weird to watch church on TV.
Other big news, the BYU young ambassadors came through town this past week. We were allowed to attend their performance on the condition of having some investigators present (Which we did), and it was INCREDIBLE! I'm still rather baffled at how someone can sing so perfectly while running around and dancing. Our investigators loved it, too.
Tuesday night, we got a call from the institute director here in El Paso telling us that they were going to have a luncheon at the institute for all of the young ambassadors and that we were invited as well. Well we had a district meeting that was going to end at that exact same time so we just moved the district meeting up to the institute building and stayed for a little lunch.
Well when the young ambassadors showed up they started introducing themselves and getting to know us a little and I was talking to one of them who asked where I was from. "San Francisco" I responded, he said "Oh that's cool, we got a guy here who's from a little town called Danville." I look over and it was none other than Josh Bromley! The Auman girls were there too and I think Jordan Bromley might have been there, (He was on the program) but I didn't see him. It was nice to see a familiar face and catch up a little bit on what's going on back home. Josh is a really good guy and I felt guilt pangs while talking to him for having made fun of Show Biz growing up. (But those bright shirts with the star are just so easy!)
Anyways, afterwards they sang to us and a few other people who happened to be at the institute and it was INCREDIBLE! There's no way I can describe the feelings that were invoked by those heavenly voices. They sang some well known semi-hymns (Such as "Come Thou Fount") and then finished off with I am a Child of God.
I had an experience this week where my sports knowledge payed off. We taught a 15 year old young man named Bryan a week ago and when we went to the return appointment we got yelled at by his Dad for knocking on the door too hard. So we were on less than perfect terms with the father when we went back to try to teach Bryan again. The father answered the door and looked like he was about to unload on us but before he could get anything out I commented about his Notre Dame hat. We talked about the Fighting Irish and Charlie Weisz and their current woes for about ten minutes and he really opened up and when we left we were on good terms and he wanted us to come back to teach his son more (About the gospel, that is). What can I say? You knew watching an hour of sportscenter a day had to pay off at some point down the road.
One more experience and then I'm done. Elder Bennion and I were asked to give a training at ZLCM (Zone Leader Council Meeting), which was kinda scary. We give a lot of trainings but it's a little different when you're in front of 16 of the mission's best missionaries, along with the assistants and Mission presidency. We were asked to train on "Getting back to the basics". Well we studied and studied for hours in preparation but nothing really seemed to work out quite right. Finally, the day before I felt inspired to look through my binder of old letters. I found a handout that Dad had sent me a while ago called "Essential Principles for Missionary Work" (or something like that) by Elder M. Russell Ballard. Well it was perfect. It was EXACTLY what we needed and were looking for. My companion presented it "We received this handout from Larry Y. Wilson of the 70" which was pretty funny. (Although technically incorrect) Anyways, the handout is sweeping the mission and the training was met by rave reviews and has become the focus of the mission for this transfer cycle. It just goes to show that seemingly small acts (Like including a handout in a letter to your missionary son) can make rather large differences in the world.
Well anyways, I've written quite a lot and that's about all I have to say for this week. The gospel is true and this is the greatest work to be a part of. Keep writing, I appreciate the letters.
Sincerely,
Elder Ben Wilson
This week was stake conference and we had a video broadcast from Salt Lake. Is the church starting to do that for all stake conferences? It's been that way for the last two that I've attended. Anyways, President Uchtdorf spoke as well as Elder Cook, Brother Oswald from the Sunday school presidency, and Bishop Edgley from the Presiding Bishopric. It was very cool and spiritually uplifting although a few of our investigators thought it was weird to watch church on TV.
Other big news, the BYU young ambassadors came through town this past week. We were allowed to attend their performance on the condition of having some investigators present (Which we did), and it was INCREDIBLE! I'm still rather baffled at how someone can sing so perfectly while running around and dancing. Our investigators loved it, too.
Tuesday night, we got a call from the institute director here in El Paso telling us that they were going to have a luncheon at the institute for all of the young ambassadors and that we were invited as well. Well we had a district meeting that was going to end at that exact same time so we just moved the district meeting up to the institute building and stayed for a little lunch.
Well when the young ambassadors showed up they started introducing themselves and getting to know us a little and I was talking to one of them who asked where I was from. "San Francisco" I responded, he said "Oh that's cool, we got a guy here who's from a little town called Danville." I look over and it was none other than Josh Bromley! The Auman girls were there too and I think Jordan Bromley might have been there, (He was on the program) but I didn't see him. It was nice to see a familiar face and catch up a little bit on what's going on back home. Josh is a really good guy and I felt guilt pangs while talking to him for having made fun of Show Biz growing up. (But those bright shirts with the star are just so easy!)
Anyways, afterwards they sang to us and a few other people who happened to be at the institute and it was INCREDIBLE! There's no way I can describe the feelings that were invoked by those heavenly voices. They sang some well known semi-hymns (Such as "Come Thou Fount") and then finished off with I am a Child of God.
I had an experience this week where my sports knowledge payed off. We taught a 15 year old young man named Bryan a week ago and when we went to the return appointment we got yelled at by his Dad for knocking on the door too hard. So we were on less than perfect terms with the father when we went back to try to teach Bryan again. The father answered the door and looked like he was about to unload on us but before he could get anything out I commented about his Notre Dame hat. We talked about the Fighting Irish and Charlie Weisz and their current woes for about ten minutes and he really opened up and when we left we were on good terms and he wanted us to come back to teach his son more (About the gospel, that is). What can I say? You knew watching an hour of sportscenter a day had to pay off at some point down the road.
One more experience and then I'm done. Elder Bennion and I were asked to give a training at ZLCM (Zone Leader Council Meeting), which was kinda scary. We give a lot of trainings but it's a little different when you're in front of 16 of the mission's best missionaries, along with the assistants and Mission presidency. We were asked to train on "Getting back to the basics". Well we studied and studied for hours in preparation but nothing really seemed to work out quite right. Finally, the day before I felt inspired to look through my binder of old letters. I found a handout that Dad had sent me a while ago called "Essential Principles for Missionary Work" (or something like that) by Elder M. Russell Ballard. Well it was perfect. It was EXACTLY what we needed and were looking for. My companion presented it "We received this handout from Larry Y. Wilson of the 70" which was pretty funny. (Although technically incorrect) Anyways, the handout is sweeping the mission and the training was met by rave reviews and has become the focus of the mission for this transfer cycle. It just goes to show that seemingly small acts (Like including a handout in a letter to your missionary son) can make rather large differences in the world.
Well anyways, I've written quite a lot and that's about all I have to say for this week. The gospel is true and this is the greatest work to be a part of. Keep writing, I appreciate the letters.
Sincerely,
Elder Ben Wilson
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Feb 23, 09 Remember, Mum's the word
Hello everyone! It's been another week here in sunny El Paso. We've had some great experiences, but first off, I'll answer some questions.
No I don't know who I want to room with when I get back. I was thinking about an Elder from the MTC, Elder Parker, who's serving in the Arcadia mission but I really have no idea how to get in contact with him. Besides that, there really aren't very many Aggies here in the mission, especially Aggies who are going to be going home at about the same time as me. So I'm not sure what you want to do about that.
So I did get the camera... the day after my other camera was found. I should be getting it back this Friday. So I should have two cameras starting on Friday, I dont know which you want me to send back or how or anything but you can let me know about that.
Well it's story time. We have a 20 year old investigator named Clint. Clint has some crazy ideas about religion and spirituality, REALLY CRAZY IDEAS. He also cusses like a sailor. Now Clint really is a fine young man, but the previously mentioned attributes combined to make me really, REALLY nervous when he got up to give his testimony in sacrament meeting yesterday (We have Stake Conference next week). I have rarely prayed harder in my life. I just kept praying for three things. 1) That Clint wouldn't swear 2) That he wouldn't teach false doctrine and 3) That he would find a way to manage to testify of the restoration. Miraculously, those prayers were answered. Not a foul word escaped his mouth, he, at one point, testified "I know that this church is true", and he didn't really teach any false doctrine (Although he came dangerously close when he went off about meditating on Budha for a while.)
In fact, his testimony was quite touching! He said "Even while we're all seeking God, he's always seeking out us as well." Added bonus: His testimony kind of turned us (the missionaries) into celebrities. Usually most people don't really notice when we bring investigators to church but they sure did yesterday. So Clint is progressing towards baptism. He's got some obstacles to overcome (He needs to stop refering to the Spirit as "An electro-magnetic spiritual essence force") but he's got great desires and a great spirit and he understands the gospel a little more every day.
We continue to be blessed. Five investigators came to church and seven have baptismal dates (two got violently sick on Saturday and couldn't come to church). We're seeing a good amount of success in the English ward, which is unusual. I think that the Lord is blessing them for the way that they have helped and friendshipped the Meek family.
We also had an investigator named Enrique who came to church. He works at the racetracks, training horses. He was even working on Sunday and showed up to church in his working jeans, splattered with mud. It was pretty funny, and I was very greatful that our wonderful, humble Spanish ward is a little more accepting of that kind of thing than most wards.
Well anyways, that's about it for this week's edition. I'm healthy and happy and greatful to be serving the Lord.
Love,
Elder Benjamin Wilson
No I don't know who I want to room with when I get back. I was thinking about an Elder from the MTC, Elder Parker, who's serving in the Arcadia mission but I really have no idea how to get in contact with him. Besides that, there really aren't very many Aggies here in the mission, especially Aggies who are going to be going home at about the same time as me. So I'm not sure what you want to do about that.
So I did get the camera... the day after my other camera was found. I should be getting it back this Friday. So I should have two cameras starting on Friday, I dont know which you want me to send back or how or anything but you can let me know about that.
Well it's story time. We have a 20 year old investigator named Clint. Clint has some crazy ideas about religion and spirituality, REALLY CRAZY IDEAS. He also cusses like a sailor. Now Clint really is a fine young man, but the previously mentioned attributes combined to make me really, REALLY nervous when he got up to give his testimony in sacrament meeting yesterday (We have Stake Conference next week). I have rarely prayed harder in my life. I just kept praying for three things. 1) That Clint wouldn't swear 2) That he wouldn't teach false doctrine and 3) That he would find a way to manage to testify of the restoration. Miraculously, those prayers were answered. Not a foul word escaped his mouth, he, at one point, testified "I know that this church is true", and he didn't really teach any false doctrine (Although he came dangerously close when he went off about meditating on Budha for a while.)
In fact, his testimony was quite touching! He said "Even while we're all seeking God, he's always seeking out us as well." Added bonus: His testimony kind of turned us (the missionaries) into celebrities. Usually most people don't really notice when we bring investigators to church but they sure did yesterday. So Clint is progressing towards baptism. He's got some obstacles to overcome (He needs to stop refering to the Spirit as "An electro-magnetic spiritual essence force") but he's got great desires and a great spirit and he understands the gospel a little more every day.
We continue to be blessed. Five investigators came to church and seven have baptismal dates (two got violently sick on Saturday and couldn't come to church). We're seeing a good amount of success in the English ward, which is unusual. I think that the Lord is blessing them for the way that they have helped and friendshipped the Meek family.
We also had an investigator named Enrique who came to church. He works at the racetracks, training horses. He was even working on Sunday and showed up to church in his working jeans, splattered with mud. It was pretty funny, and I was very greatful that our wonderful, humble Spanish ward is a little more accepting of that kind of thing than most wards.
Well anyways, that's about it for this week's edition. I'm healthy and happy and greatful to be serving the Lord.
Love,
Elder Benjamin Wilson
Feb 18, 09 Oh look, they're miners. Yeah they must be like, 12 years old
Hello everybody! Just so you know, I'm still here in Sunland Park, and I'm still with Elder Bennion. The address is still the same so don't be scared to start writing letters again. A lot of the zone has changed, however. We had to take out a comapnionship from El Centro because we had more Spanish missionaries leaving than coming in, and we might get to add an english companionship at some point in the transfer. It's a weird situation which depends on whether we can find a senior couple to help us out at the office.
We've seen a lot of success this week. Right now we've got six investigators with baptismal dates and we're planning on setting at least four more this week.
One of the coolest experiences I've had is teaching Tsuyoshi, a japanese exchanges student who is staying with a member familiy. Since he's from Japan, he's got a completely non-Christian vocabulary and a lot of the concepts we're teaching him are completely new. It's really cool to see how differently he approaches and view things. WE got situations where he says things like "I don't know what it is, but at church I feel.... power." or stops us in the middle of the plan of salvation and says "Wait... we can live, WITH god?". So it's been really cool. When you teach Catholics all the time, things like resurrection, revelation, the kingdom of god, baptism, the fall, faith, repentance kind of tend to be the air that you breath. Even if our investigators don't completely understand those doctrines initially, they've at least heard of them before. Tsuyoshi's marvel at them helps me to realize how marvelous they really are.
Last night we went over to the house of an investigator, Fred, to teach him a lesson. He was really sick and couldn't go five seconds without coughing. We gave him a blessing and he didn't cough again while we were there. It was really miraculous.
Also, we helped to teach seminary yesterday. They were studying about the missionary travels of Paul and thought that it would be a good idea to have the missionaries talk. All I can say is... Thank you Sis. Longhurst, Sis. Beckman, Sis. Cordon, Bro. Christensen, Bro. Ray, Sis. Wiley and everyone else who managed to put up with me! Man, teaching the gospel to teenagers at 6:30 in the morning is not an easy task. The lesson went fine, but we definitely had to fight against the gentle hand of sleep for the minds of the students.
Well anyways, that's about it for this week's edition. I love the work of the Lord! I'm so greatful to be able to serve him in the capacity of missionary. Thanks for all the love and support, everybody!
Love,
Elder Wilson
PS Write letters
We've seen a lot of success this week. Right now we've got six investigators with baptismal dates and we're planning on setting at least four more this week.
One of the coolest experiences I've had is teaching Tsuyoshi, a japanese exchanges student who is staying with a member familiy. Since he's from Japan, he's got a completely non-Christian vocabulary and a lot of the concepts we're teaching him are completely new. It's really cool to see how differently he approaches and view things. WE got situations where he says things like "I don't know what it is, but at church I feel.... power." or stops us in the middle of the plan of salvation and says "Wait... we can live, WITH god?". So it's been really cool. When you teach Catholics all the time, things like resurrection, revelation, the kingdom of god, baptism, the fall, faith, repentance kind of tend to be the air that you breath. Even if our investigators don't completely understand those doctrines initially, they've at least heard of them before. Tsuyoshi's marvel at them helps me to realize how marvelous they really are.
Last night we went over to the house of an investigator, Fred, to teach him a lesson. He was really sick and couldn't go five seconds without coughing. We gave him a blessing and he didn't cough again while we were there. It was really miraculous.
Also, we helped to teach seminary yesterday. They were studying about the missionary travels of Paul and thought that it would be a good idea to have the missionaries talk. All I can say is... Thank you Sis. Longhurst, Sis. Beckman, Sis. Cordon, Bro. Christensen, Bro. Ray, Sis. Wiley and everyone else who managed to put up with me! Man, teaching the gospel to teenagers at 6:30 in the morning is not an easy task. The lesson went fine, but we definitely had to fight against the gentle hand of sleep for the minds of the students.
Well anyways, that's about it for this week's edition. I love the work of the Lord! I'm so greatful to be able to serve him in the capacity of missionary. Thanks for all the love and support, everybody!
Love,
Elder Wilson
PS Write letters
Friday, February 13, 2009
Jan 26, 2009-- New Strategy R2: Let the Wookie win!
Hello everybody! It's been another week here in El Paso! Everything is going well, we had a couple of investigators at church and we have a couple of baptismal dates so we're excited for how things are progressing here in dusty Sunland Park/Santa Teresa/ El Paso! First, one of those "classic missionary experiences". I have lived in some of the most dog-infested areas in the United States (Chaparral, Sunland Park, South Tucson) for months now without receiving a real bite. We all knew it was too good to last.
Last Wednesday we went to go visit an investigator and found an interesting situation. There was a fence, closed but not locked, then two huskies, and then the trailer. Well I really wanted to visit this investigator (She was the one I mentioned in last week's email.). One of these impressively sized dogs had it's muzzle sticking out of the fence and was wagging its tail in a rather friendly manner. I thought I'd test the waters just to make sure. So I offered the dog my hand, which it kindly considered for a few seconds before attempting to turn my right pointer finger knuckle into cottage cheese.
I had a member who's a doctor check it out and it's not infected or anything, plus the dog was up to date on its shots so I'm all good, no need to worry, not a big deal. In fact, all in all it was a pretty fun experience. My finger was good enough that I played some tennis (Split 1 set a piece against my companion) this morning and I'm typing now.
The day after a dog stuck his head out of a fence and was wagging his tail, and I reached down and petted him. My companion thought I was crazy (you might be inclined to agree) but I love dogs, and I'm not going to let one stupid one permanently inject fear into my life.
moving on.
This week we're going on a ton of exchanges. Tuesday I'm headed off to Chaparral (old area), Wednesday I'm back and my companion is going with one of the English elders, and Thursday I'm headed with one of the el centro companionships (another one of my old areas), so it should be fun!
Work in the English ward is moving at a snails pace. We spent this last week knocking in "white areas" to try to do our part but we found zip, 0, Nada. So we're basically going to stay in Sunland park and work on the Spanish side of things for the time being.
Well that's about all I have to tell you all for this week. Everything is pretty tranquilo around here. I hope it isn't trite to thank everyone for their love and support every week but I really do appreciate it.
Love,
Elder Ben Wilson
PS
I got an email back saying wilsclan@google.com isn't valid or something, so I sent this to a bunch of other people.
Last Wednesday we went to go visit an investigator and found an interesting situation. There was a fence, closed but not locked, then two huskies, and then the trailer. Well I really wanted to visit this investigator (She was the one I mentioned in last week's email.). One of these impressively sized dogs had it's muzzle sticking out of the fence and was wagging its tail in a rather friendly manner. I thought I'd test the waters just to make sure. So I offered the dog my hand, which it kindly considered for a few seconds before attempting to turn my right pointer finger knuckle into cottage cheese.
I had a member who's a doctor check it out and it's not infected or anything, plus the dog was up to date on its shots so I'm all good, no need to worry, not a big deal. In fact, all in all it was a pretty fun experience. My finger was good enough that I played some tennis (Split 1 set a piece against my companion) this morning and I'm typing now.
The day after a dog stuck his head out of a fence and was wagging his tail, and I reached down and petted him. My companion thought I was crazy (you might be inclined to agree) but I love dogs, and I'm not going to let one stupid one permanently inject fear into my life.
moving on.
This week we're going on a ton of exchanges. Tuesday I'm headed off to Chaparral (old area), Wednesday I'm back and my companion is going with one of the English elders, and Thursday I'm headed with one of the el centro companionships (another one of my old areas), so it should be fun!
Work in the English ward is moving at a snails pace. We spent this last week knocking in "white areas" to try to do our part but we found zip, 0, Nada. So we're basically going to stay in Sunland park and work on the Spanish side of things for the time being.
Well that's about all I have to tell you all for this week. Everything is pretty tranquilo around here. I hope it isn't trite to thank everyone for their love and support every week but I really do appreciate it.
Love,
Elder Ben Wilson
PS
I got an email back saying wilsclan@google.com isn't valid or something, so I sent this to a bunch of other people.
Feb 9, 2009-- Because Indianna was the name of the dog!
Hello everybody! It's amazing to think that it's been another week since the last time I emailed. By the way, transfers are a week from Wednesday so don't send any letters that won't get here by February 18th. As is usually the case, I don't expect to get transfered but there always is that possibility.
The work has been going well here. We've got a few progressing investigators. We received a couple of referrals at church from members who brought non-member family or friends to church this Sunday. Way to go members!
Today we have a big showdown with the Elders from El Centro in basketball. Loser buys lunch and winner takes home a trophy (A broken nutcracker). I'm pretty confident although my companion, Elder Bennion, is still kind of a wild card because I've never played with him before.
We got about 10 minutes of rain yesterday. It was awesome. The weather is about perfect right now, mid to high 70s.
We had another run in with a dog but this time it ended without a bite. We walked into a gate and knocked on a door when a decent sized boxer (boxter?) came running around the corner, barking and growling. He started snapping at my companions ankles when I decided to swing my Book of Mormon at him and yell "HA!" which scared him long enough for us to run and jump the fence.
The other day we contacted someone who seemed really interested but when we went back for our appointment she informed us that she definitely was NOT interested.
I asked why not.
Because she hadn't realized that we were Mormons, and she had heard some things about the Mormons that made her not want to speak with us.
What kinds of things, I asked.
Well you're all too strict for me, she responded.
I thought that that was a funny thing to say so I asked just to make sure "you know we use technology, right?"
She gave me a disbelieving face.
No, really! Look, here's my cell phone.
Oh... I thought you were the guys that ride around on bikes.
We are.
Well don't you do that because you aren't allowed to use cars?
Well anyways, to make a long story short, she had confused us with Mennonites but now she's investigating the church. But it made me laugh to see what people think of us when they see us riding around on our bikes.
I've been studying a little bit about revelation. I was struck by a couple of scriptures. Joel 2:28 And D&C 1:20. After reading those two scriptures, I am convinced that we are entitled to receive revelation of the same PURITY and QUALITY as that of the prophets. Though we don't always insert "Thus saith the Lord" before the communications that we receive from our Father in heaven, it's been helpful to me to remember that we pretty much could. It's inspired me to trust in personal revelation more, to seek that sort of divine communication more earnestly, and to take my prayers a little bit more seriously.
Well anyways, those are pretty much all of my thoughts for the week. I love you all so very much and am grateful for your continued prayers and support.
Love,
Elder Benjamin Wilson
The work has been going well here. We've got a few progressing investigators. We received a couple of referrals at church from members who brought non-member family or friends to church this Sunday. Way to go members!
Today we have a big showdown with the Elders from El Centro in basketball. Loser buys lunch and winner takes home a trophy (A broken nutcracker). I'm pretty confident although my companion, Elder Bennion, is still kind of a wild card because I've never played with him before.
We got about 10 minutes of rain yesterday. It was awesome. The weather is about perfect right now, mid to high 70s.
We had another run in with a dog but this time it ended without a bite. We walked into a gate and knocked on a door when a decent sized boxer (boxter?) came running around the corner, barking and growling. He started snapping at my companions ankles when I decided to swing my Book of Mormon at him and yell "HA!" which scared him long enough for us to run and jump the fence.
The other day we contacted someone who seemed really interested but when we went back for our appointment she informed us that she definitely was NOT interested.
I asked why not.
Because she hadn't realized that we were Mormons, and she had heard some things about the Mormons that made her not want to speak with us.
What kinds of things, I asked.
Well you're all too strict for me, she responded.
I thought that that was a funny thing to say so I asked just to make sure "you know we use technology, right?"
She gave me a disbelieving face.
No, really! Look, here's my cell phone.
Oh... I thought you were the guys that ride around on bikes.
We are.
Well don't you do that because you aren't allowed to use cars?
Well anyways, to make a long story short, she had confused us with Mennonites but now she's investigating the church. But it made me laugh to see what people think of us when they see us riding around on our bikes.
I've been studying a little bit about revelation. I was struck by a couple of scriptures. Joel 2:28 And D&C 1:20. After reading those two scriptures, I am convinced that we are entitled to receive revelation of the same PURITY and QUALITY as that of the prophets. Though we don't always insert "Thus saith the Lord" before the communications that we receive from our Father in heaven, it's been helpful to me to remember that we pretty much could. It's inspired me to trust in personal revelation more, to seek that sort of divine communication more earnestly, and to take my prayers a little bit more seriously.
Well anyways, those are pretty much all of my thoughts for the week. I love you all so very much and am grateful for your continued prayers and support.
Love,
Elder Benjamin Wilson
Feb 2, 2009-- I'm sorry, I don't speak Canadian
Hello everyone! It's been another week of craziness and fun here in Sunland park. The work is progressing forward and we're seeing success!
We had an altogether new experience, we were asked to put together a funeral service. A member had passed away and her children (Who weren't members) didn't know who to call besides the missionaries. So we and the other elders from the Rio Grande ward prepared the service. It consisted of two pretty short talks, a couple of prayers, and a special musical number. It was kind of strange, (we didn't know anyone there) but all in all it was a humbling and uplifting experience.
My bite is healing up well, another week and it should be completely healed over.
The other day we were driving by the border fence and we saw a few people, stopped to talk to them, and it was CNN doing a documentary! Apparently, they're doing a series on Latinos in America. We contacted a couple members of the crew, but none of them live in El Paso. Anyways, if you happen to see that documentary series and you see some guy talking to children from Juarez through the border fence, know that I was talking to them through the fence right before that!
In other news, I visited Chaparral this past week and... THE VARELA FAMILY IS ACTIVE AGAIN! Apparently they knew some people who were killed in Juarez and that's shaken them up enough to realize that they need God back in their life. It's unfortunate that it took that, but what can ya do?
I had the opportunity to go down to El Centro as well. We almost got in a fist fight. We contacted a woman and as she was walking away her husband came out and started screaming at her at the top of his lungs (for some completely random reason). Anyways he cocked his fist back and looked like he was going to hit her for a second and Elder Larsen and I were about to come in swinging but he ended up just throwing his slurpy and walking away. Classic Machismo Culture.
Well that's about all for this week. I had some poetic musings but I left them in the appartment so you're going to have to wait till next week. I love you all and appreciate your continued support!
Love,
Elder Ben
We had an altogether new experience, we were asked to put together a funeral service. A member had passed away and her children (Who weren't members) didn't know who to call besides the missionaries. So we and the other elders from the Rio Grande ward prepared the service. It consisted of two pretty short talks, a couple of prayers, and a special musical number. It was kind of strange, (we didn't know anyone there) but all in all it was a humbling and uplifting experience.
My bite is healing up well, another week and it should be completely healed over.
The other day we were driving by the border fence and we saw a few people, stopped to talk to them, and it was CNN doing a documentary! Apparently, they're doing a series on Latinos in America. We contacted a couple members of the crew, but none of them live in El Paso. Anyways, if you happen to see that documentary series and you see some guy talking to children from Juarez through the border fence, know that I was talking to them through the fence right before that!
In other news, I visited Chaparral this past week and... THE VARELA FAMILY IS ACTIVE AGAIN! Apparently they knew some people who were killed in Juarez and that's shaken them up enough to realize that they need God back in their life. It's unfortunate that it took that, but what can ya do?
I had the opportunity to go down to El Centro as well. We almost got in a fist fight. We contacted a woman and as she was walking away her husband came out and started screaming at her at the top of his lungs (for some completely random reason). Anyways he cocked his fist back and looked like he was going to hit her for a second and Elder Larsen and I were about to come in swinging but he ended up just throwing his slurpy and walking away. Classic Machismo Culture.
Well that's about all for this week. I had some poetic musings but I left them in the appartment so you're going to have to wait till next week. I love you all and appreciate your continued support!
Love,
Elder Ben
Jan 12, 2009-- Kings to you
Hello everybody! It's been another week (Not really, it's only been three days) here in dusty Sunland Park. Everything is going well, I'm alive and still preaching the gospel. To start things off I would like to throw in a quick quote from Levi Wilson from a recent letter:
"Things here are great and terrible. Terrible because you're on a mission and I have to write you..." and then he goes on to explain why his life is great at the same time. I can completely understand the feeling Levi, don't worry about it.
Well I don't know if I mentioned this in the last letter but because of some circumstances we're losing a companionship from our ward which means we're going to be taking over a little bit of El Paso in our Spanish area (As opposed to just Sunland Park and Santa Teresa). We also adopted a couple of baptismal dates so that's pretty cool.
Yesterday I headed up to the Anthony branch to do some baptismal interviews (SIX!!!!) You will remember that I served in the Anthony branch a while ago when I was in Chaparral so it was good to see some familiar faces. One of those faces was Veronica Varela, who would not be convinced to NOT go out and get us some Wendy's. I tried to tell her that it DOES count even though she isn't baptized but she wouldn't listen.
We played some tennis this morning, and my new companion is a real player. We played some doubles and spanked the other elders and then we played singles and I came out victorious, 6-4 in one set. Tell Evan Carlile to watch out, I'm gunnin' for him for the number one spot on the Wilson family team.
I scratched out a poem this morning. It's REALLY rough, but I like it. So Mom maybe you could edit it before you send this email out but here it is:
The little child eyed the box
that was to be moved inside,
and dreamed of what his parents wouldsay if he could do it
oh, their joy! their pride!
The box was slightly larger than he,
and probably heavier too.
But he thought, "There must be some way I can lift it,
I'll do whatever I must do."
So he flung his arms out as wide as he could
(though they reached not half way 'round the thing)
and he pulled and he pulled, and he lifted and tugged,
but he just was not able it seemed.
'Till he gave one last tug, and then all of the sudden,
he found he was holding the box.
Which left him, quite frankly, a little surprised,
but he thought "I'm as strong as an ox!"
As he moved on, into the house,
he marveled at his prodigal strength,
and smirkingly strutted through the living room
before seeing the box down, at length.
The he made the saying known abroad
that he could lift (almost) any thing
and advertised his box moving skills
to neighbors and family and friends.
So when the woman next door, told him one day,
that she had some boxes to move
he responded "I'll do it" in less than a breath
but this time, things did not go so smooth.
Again, the boxes were larger than he,
and those cardboard monsters he just could not budge.
So after a thousand attempts (maybe more)
he gave up, his face tear streaked and dirt smudged.
Then he felt a familiar hand on his shoulder
and heard a low, gentle voice:
"My son, what are you doing over here?
Those boxes are too big, my boy."
Well the boy ran to his father as fast as he could
and told him the story, through sobs,
of the box that he'd been able to move with ease before,
oh how back then he had been oh so strong.
The father listened with patience and love
before responding "Son, it was me all along.
I was the one who did all of the lifting
your hands were touching, but frankly, that's all.
But, my boy, I'll make you a deal, right now
that if you do what I ask for forever,
I'll always stay here, right by your side,
and we can keep lifting together."
Well anyways, like I said, it's kind of rough, I'm sure I made some typing errors just now, and it doesn't have much of a conclusion but maybe it'll mean something to someone.
That's a feeling you get a lot in this mission, you look back at past success and think "Why can't I do that anymore?" Because you forgot that you weren't actually doing any of the "doing" in the first place. God just lets us place our hands on the work because he's kind.
Well that's about it for this weeks edition. Tune in next week for some more exciting news from the armpit of Texas, er... I mean, the pride of Texas (An investigator from Dallas said it, I just repeated it.)
The gospel is true, I'm so great full for the opportunity that I have to be a part of this wonderful work. Thanks for your letters (Even though they're in short supply lately) and emails and support. I love you all so very much.
Elder Ben "Tree" Wilson
"Things here are great and terrible. Terrible because you're on a mission and I have to write you..." and then he goes on to explain why his life is great at the same time. I can completely understand the feeling Levi, don't worry about it.
Well I don't know if I mentioned this in the last letter but because of some circumstances we're losing a companionship from our ward which means we're going to be taking over a little bit of El Paso in our Spanish area (As opposed to just Sunland Park and Santa Teresa). We also adopted a couple of baptismal dates so that's pretty cool.
Yesterday I headed up to the Anthony branch to do some baptismal interviews (SIX!!!!) You will remember that I served in the Anthony branch a while ago when I was in Chaparral so it was good to see some familiar faces. One of those faces was Veronica Varela, who would not be convinced to NOT go out and get us some Wendy's. I tried to tell her that it DOES count even though she isn't baptized but she wouldn't listen.
We played some tennis this morning, and my new companion is a real player. We played some doubles and spanked the other elders and then we played singles and I came out victorious, 6-4 in one set. Tell Evan Carlile to watch out, I'm gunnin' for him for the number one spot on the Wilson family team.
I scratched out a poem this morning. It's REALLY rough, but I like it. So Mom maybe you could edit it before you send this email out but here it is:
The little child eyed the box
that was to be moved inside,
and dreamed of what his parents wouldsay if he could do it
oh, their joy! their pride!
The box was slightly larger than he,
and probably heavier too.
But he thought, "There must be some way I can lift it,
I'll do whatever I must do."
So he flung his arms out as wide as he could
(though they reached not half way 'round the thing)
and he pulled and he pulled, and he lifted and tugged,
but he just was not able it seemed.
'Till he gave one last tug, and then all of the sudden,
he found he was holding the box.
Which left him, quite frankly, a little surprised,
but he thought "I'm as strong as an ox!"
As he moved on, into the house,
he marveled at his prodigal strength,
and smirkingly strutted through the living room
before seeing the box down, at length.
The he made the saying known abroad
that he could lift (almost) any thing
and advertised his box moving skills
to neighbors and family and friends.
So when the woman next door, told him one day,
that she had some boxes to move
he responded "I'll do it" in less than a breath
but this time, things did not go so smooth.
Again, the boxes were larger than he,
and those cardboard monsters he just could not budge.
So after a thousand attempts (maybe more)
he gave up, his face tear streaked and dirt smudged.
Then he felt a familiar hand on his shoulder
and heard a low, gentle voice:
"My son, what are you doing over here?
Those boxes are too big, my boy."
Well the boy ran to his father as fast as he could
and told him the story, through sobs,
of the box that he'd been able to move with ease before,
oh how back then he had been oh so strong.
The father listened with patience and love
before responding "Son, it was me all along.
I was the one who did all of the lifting
your hands were touching, but frankly, that's all.
But, my boy, I'll make you a deal, right now
that if you do what I ask for forever,
I'll always stay here, right by your side,
and we can keep lifting together."
Well anyways, like I said, it's kind of rough, I'm sure I made some typing errors just now, and it doesn't have much of a conclusion but maybe it'll mean something to someone.
That's a feeling you get a lot in this mission, you look back at past success and think "Why can't I do that anymore?" Because you forgot that you weren't actually doing any of the "doing" in the first place. God just lets us place our hands on the work because he's kind.
Well that's about it for this weeks edition. Tune in next week for some more exciting news from the armpit of Texas, er... I mean, the pride of Texas (An investigator from Dallas said it, I just repeated it.)
The gospel is true, I'm so great full for the opportunity that I have to be a part of this wonderful work. Thanks for your letters (Even though they're in short supply lately) and emails and support. I love you all so very much.
Elder Ben "Tree" Wilson
Jan 8, 2009-- What about second breakfast?
Hello one and all! It's been another great week here in El Paso. Yes, I'm still here. Although we did get a pretty unexpected transfer call: Elder Matute got transfered over to Rio Rico Arizona where he's training a new missionary! One good thing about Elder Matute being gone is that I'm not going to have to fight anyone to go on exchanges out to Chaparral anymore! (Elder Matute had served there before, as well) My new companion is an English Elder! His name is Elder Bennion, and he took four years of Spanish before his mission and can teach some basic lessons and contact and have basic conversations in Spanish so it's not a big deal. And I'm sure that with six weeks of practicing and studying he'll be as good as good at Spanish as any other missionary out there.
But Elder Bennion is an amazing missionary, he's been out for about 20 months and is one of the very best in the mission. He's from Colorado Springs, Colorado and likes basketball and tennis so we'll get along just fine.
But anyways that means that you all can start sending letters again(hint, hint). Just incase you forgot the address is:
1215 Country Club rd. apt. 7
Santa Teresa, NM 88008
Well the big news of the week is that the Meeks got baptized! It was an incredibly powerful baptism, and there was a lot of support from the ward there. It's the best feeling in the world to have a baptism and to know that your converts are in good hands. And the Meeks are in good hands; The members of this ward have just really stepped up and offered a lot of friendship and support. I baptized sister Meek (A daunting task because she's scared of water) and my companion baptized Brother Meek (A daunting task because he's huge) and everything went down just fine. (Excecpt for that I couldn't find my white pants and had to use a jumpsuit... and they do NOT make jumpsuits for 6'3" guys.)
The confirmations were awesome as well. Afterwards, Brother Meek said "I have received the laying on of hands three times before in different churches but I have NEVER felt anything like that before." The power of God truly is manifest in the ordinances of the gospel.
Quick random coincidence: It turns out that the Bishop's son, Tyler Payne, the one we played tennis with, is Nena Smith's home teacher up at BYU. Small world.
Well ladies and gents that's about it for this week's edition. The gospel is still true. Sunland Park is still dusty. I appreciate all of the love and support that I receive from my family and friends.
Till next time,
Elder Ben Wilson
But Elder Bennion is an amazing missionary, he's been out for about 20 months and is one of the very best in the mission. He's from Colorado Springs, Colorado and likes basketball and tennis so we'll get along just fine.
But anyways that means that you all can start sending letters again(hint, hint). Just incase you forgot the address is:
1215 Country Club rd. apt. 7
Santa Teresa, NM 88008
Well the big news of the week is that the Meeks got baptized! It was an incredibly powerful baptism, and there was a lot of support from the ward there. It's the best feeling in the world to have a baptism and to know that your converts are in good hands. And the Meeks are in good hands; The members of this ward have just really stepped up and offered a lot of friendship and support. I baptized sister Meek (A daunting task because she's scared of water) and my companion baptized Brother Meek (A daunting task because he's huge) and everything went down just fine. (Excecpt for that I couldn't find my white pants and had to use a jumpsuit... and they do NOT make jumpsuits for 6'3" guys.)
The confirmations were awesome as well. Afterwards, Brother Meek said "I have received the laying on of hands three times before in different churches but I have NEVER felt anything like that before." The power of God truly is manifest in the ordinances of the gospel.
Quick random coincidence: It turns out that the Bishop's son, Tyler Payne, the one we played tennis with, is Nena Smith's home teacher up at BYU. Small world.
Well ladies and gents that's about it for this week's edition. The gospel is still true. Sunland Park is still dusty. I appreciate all of the love and support that I receive from my family and friends.
Till next time,
Elder Ben Wilson
Dec 29, 2008-- Gump, why did you assemble that gun so fast? Because you told me to, drill sergeant!
Hello everybody! It's been another good week here in good 'ol El Paso. The Meek family is going to be baptized this Saturday. It's amazing to see how they've changed around. The other elders started teaching her a few weeks before I got into the area but they tell me that at first it was just all Bible-bashing with them all the time. It was still pretty intense when I first got here so it's pretty amazing to see them getting baptized.
Christmas was fantastic. I'm still full from it, though. We had three dinner appointments for Christmas and Christmas eve. (Cue all of the RMs "When I was in *Name of South American country* we were lucky if we got fed three times a year!*) It was good to talk to the family, and thank you to everybody who sent me Christmas cards, I appreciate all of the love.
Big news of the week is member referals. We've received 3 or 4 member referals which are just DYNAMITE! In the zone we've received a few others and we're seeing a lot of success from it.
Also, I've had the opportunity to learn a lot these past few weeks as we've gone on splits with a lot of RMs who are home from Utah for the holidays. We're going to be sorry to lose them in a couple of weeks.
This morning we played some tenis. We played doubles, the Bishop's son, Tyler Payne, and I, against Elder Matute and another Elder named Elder Larsen. Elder Larsen's team was strongly favored since he was a state champ in tenis back in Utah, but David beat Goliath this time and we squeeked by a victory in tie breakers. 7-6(8-6).
Veronica Varela is close to getting baptized (Someone I found and taught almost a year ago)... I got to visit her and her familiy on Christmas eve. The Chaparral Elders have the marriage license and everything and now it's just a matter of getting her husband Chewie to sign it, and it sounds like he's close to just doing it. This woman deserves baptism more than anyone I've ever met. She's read through the Book of Mormon all the way and is half way through reading it a second time. She's attended church regularly for almost a year, and regularly gives rides to other investigators. She feeds the missionaries weekly. So needless to say, I'm pretty excited about the prospect of her finally getting baptized.
By the way, this is my last P-day until transfers (WOAH snuck up on me) and so you might want to start sending letters to the mission office. Yes, there is a 90% chance I WON'T get transfered but it's always nice to be safe.
Well a lot more stuff happened this week, but I can't remember right now. Next time, I'll bring my journal to the email session (Which I've started writing in again things to the urgings of Mom). I love you all and am greatful for your continued support.
Till next time,
Elder Tree Wilson
Christmas was fantastic. I'm still full from it, though. We had three dinner appointments for Christmas and Christmas eve. (Cue all of the RMs "When I was in *Name of South American country* we were lucky if we got fed three times a year!*) It was good to talk to the family, and thank you to everybody who sent me Christmas cards, I appreciate all of the love.
Big news of the week is member referals. We've received 3 or 4 member referals which are just DYNAMITE! In the zone we've received a few others and we're seeing a lot of success from it.
Also, I've had the opportunity to learn a lot these past few weeks as we've gone on splits with a lot of RMs who are home from Utah for the holidays. We're going to be sorry to lose them in a couple of weeks.
This morning we played some tenis. We played doubles, the Bishop's son, Tyler Payne, and I, against Elder Matute and another Elder named Elder Larsen. Elder Larsen's team was strongly favored since he was a state champ in tenis back in Utah, but David beat Goliath this time and we squeeked by a victory in tie breakers. 7-6(8-6).
Veronica Varela is close to getting baptized (Someone I found and taught almost a year ago)... I got to visit her and her familiy on Christmas eve. The Chaparral Elders have the marriage license and everything and now it's just a matter of getting her husband Chewie to sign it, and it sounds like he's close to just doing it. This woman deserves baptism more than anyone I've ever met. She's read through the Book of Mormon all the way and is half way through reading it a second time. She's attended church regularly for almost a year, and regularly gives rides to other investigators. She feeds the missionaries weekly. So needless to say, I'm pretty excited about the prospect of her finally getting baptized.
By the way, this is my last P-day until transfers (WOAH snuck up on me) and so you might want to start sending letters to the mission office. Yes, there is a 90% chance I WON'T get transfered but it's always nice to be safe.
Well a lot more stuff happened this week, but I can't remember right now. Next time, I'll bring my journal to the email session (Which I've started writing in again things to the urgings of Mom). I love you all and am greatful for your continued support.
Till next time,
Elder Tree Wilson
Thursday, January 22, 2009
It's possible, Pig, I may be bluffing....
Happy Wednesday everybody! As you may have guessed, we weren't able to email on Monday because of MLK day. But here I am and it's been a great week so far.
First of all we had two baptisms on Saturday (and two confirmations on Sunday). A woman and her daughter, Zineb and Alexzy. Yes, I know that their names are weird. Zineb's Dad is from Morocco so that's where that comes from. The baptism was really powerful, and they're looking really strong right now.
Yesterday was zone conference and it was AMAZING! My companion and I were asked to give a training on how to work with members and that went really well. President Walker gave an incredible training on the atonement and the sacrament. It was just unbelievably powerful. He talked about Christ's appearing in the Americas and how the people weren't truly converted until they saw the marks in his hands and feet, the emblems of his sacrifice, so to speak. Afterwards the sacrament was blessed and administered. (yes, we can do that, I already asked) The spirit was THICK, almost tangible. It was crazy. I guess I'm just kind of giving up on the written word at this point, there's no way I could possibly type how strongly the spirit was present.
Also, we had an opportunity to go on exchanges with the assistants the other day. I was comped up with an Elder named Elder Moss and he's AWESOME. We had a really cool experience right after Zone Conference. We had already chosen the night before an area that we were going to knock for the half hour we had between zone conference and a service project for an investigator. Well we drove to the area, felt inspired to stop at a certain point, and pulled over. We grabbed our books hopped out, and another car pulled up right behind us, a woman, just coming home. We contacted her, taught her a first lesson (She was super ready to hear the gospel), gave her a Book of Mormon, set up a return appointment for the next day (later today) and when we finished, we realized it was time for the service project so we packed up and left. It was just like an appointment with the Lord. We pulled up, our investigator came, we taught our lesson, and then left. Total miracle, it was awesome.
To answer the questions real quick:
My health is fine. I did get the packages from home (THANK YOU SO MUCH!) The weather here is warm during the day (mid 70s) and cold at night. We haven't had any wind storms in a long time. Thank you for the updates on MV basketball and let me know what happens in their shadow with De La Salle ASAP.
Well the work just continues to progress here in El Paso. This is the true gospel of Jesus Christ, and it's just going to keep filling the earth. I'm happy to be here and glad to be serving the Lord. A sincere thanks to all of you who offer your support through emails, letters, and prayers. It sure makes it a lot easier to be a missionary when you have such a great group of friends standing behind and supporting you.
Love,
Elder Ben Wilson
First of all we had two baptisms on Saturday (and two confirmations on Sunday). A woman and her daughter, Zineb and Alexzy. Yes, I know that their names are weird. Zineb's Dad is from Morocco so that's where that comes from. The baptism was really powerful, and they're looking really strong right now.
Yesterday was zone conference and it was AMAZING! My companion and I were asked to give a training on how to work with members and that went really well. President Walker gave an incredible training on the atonement and the sacrament. It was just unbelievably powerful. He talked about Christ's appearing in the Americas and how the people weren't truly converted until they saw the marks in his hands and feet, the emblems of his sacrifice, so to speak. Afterwards the sacrament was blessed and administered. (yes, we can do that, I already asked) The spirit was THICK, almost tangible. It was crazy. I guess I'm just kind of giving up on the written word at this point, there's no way I could possibly type how strongly the spirit was present.
Also, we had an opportunity to go on exchanges with the assistants the other day. I was comped up with an Elder named Elder Moss and he's AWESOME. We had a really cool experience right after Zone Conference. We had already chosen the night before an area that we were going to knock for the half hour we had between zone conference and a service project for an investigator. Well we drove to the area, felt inspired to stop at a certain point, and pulled over. We grabbed our books hopped out, and another car pulled up right behind us, a woman, just coming home. We contacted her, taught her a first lesson (She was super ready to hear the gospel), gave her a Book of Mormon, set up a return appointment for the next day (later today) and when we finished, we realized it was time for the service project so we packed up and left. It was just like an appointment with the Lord. We pulled up, our investigator came, we taught our lesson, and then left. Total miracle, it was awesome.
To answer the questions real quick:
My health is fine. I did get the packages from home (THANK YOU SO MUCH!) The weather here is warm during the day (mid 70s) and cold at night. We haven't had any wind storms in a long time. Thank you for the updates on MV basketball and let me know what happens in their shadow with De La Salle ASAP.
Well the work just continues to progress here in El Paso. This is the true gospel of Jesus Christ, and it's just going to keep filling the earth. I'm happy to be here and glad to be serving the Lord. A sincere thanks to all of you who offer your support through emails, letters, and prayers. It sure makes it a lot easier to be a missionary when you have such a great group of friends standing behind and supporting you.
Love,
Elder Ben Wilson
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)