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
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
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
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