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
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
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!
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