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,
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
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
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