December 28th, 2016

Christmas Delights!

Hey Ya'll!

Wow what A week I have had! Ill start off by saying that Christmas was great! We had a wonderful sacrament meeting which was a wonderful way to start off the holiday and afterwords got to spend dinner with two different families! I swear the people of Kentucky are out to make me gain weight.. but hey who doesn't like free food?! I need to be more careful though because members know how much food I can put down so they always try to push me a little farther and farther each time.. we all have our weaknesses right? ;) I also had the opportunity to Skype the FamBam the whole time which was a great time! It was good to see that I'm still the favorite child in the house and that everyone missed me ;) haha I'm so grateful for the family that god has blessed me with, they truly are my greatest gift!!

This past week didn't even feel like Christmas to be honest with you. just felt like another day out teaching and finding. on the bright side I get to stay another transfer in Ashland with Elder Stephens which will be a lot of fun! and on the Top of that I got called to be the new District leader! Though it will be a little stressful I look forward to the new missionaries ill meet and the new stories to come :) I truly do love this great work!

We were able to see the Sumters this week and put them on date for January 21st which will be amazing! once we get Danielle off of coffee all they will need is a interview and they will be home free! I'm so proud of them! they have made such amazing progress and are going to be wonderful members!

Other than that not a lot happened this week. Due to the holidays it was a little hard to meet with people so that made it kind of boring but hey at least it was Christmas time right? :)

For my spiritual thought I just want to tell you all that I love you very much and that I'm grateful for the support that each of you have shown me this far. it makes it so much easier to be out here knowing that all of you are back home cheering me on! I love you all so much and hope that each of you have a good time celebrating the new year!!

Elder Wilson

December 19, 2016

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Dear Family, Friends, Missionaries, Christmas trees, Presents, Icy Roads, holiday chickens, and those of you who forgot to wish me merry Christmas.

Hey ya'll!! how was every ones week?! mine was once again fantastic! things out here are going GREEAAT although I do have to admit Christmas time as a missionary doesn't really feel like Christmas time, but hey we do what we can to Frolick and play the Eskimo way :)

This week the Sumters were able to complete their stop smoking workshop which was awesome! so cool to see how God can help us through our trials if we give him all that we have. it was such a testimony builder to me see these two people put their faith and determination in Christ to quit such a hard addiction! I was so proud of them that I made them a cake, ya that's right I can bake ;)

This week we were also able to get back in contact with Andrew! It was so good to see him, man I missed that guy so much. He was so grateful that we came back to see him. He said that he is excited to do this again and is really ready to give it all he has to find his answer. Just pray that he doesn't let others get to his head like he did last time. If he can get past that, he can make it to the waters of baptism!

I'm pretty stoked for Christmas this next week. Christmas time as a missionary is so great because everyone out here is so open to the gospel, especially since this is near the bible belt. Everyone and their dog wants to talk about Jesus haha. The people out here really do have a great faith in Christ which is awesome. Even if all they want to do is bash, I'm still grateful that I am serving in a very Christian area! this week I also find out if I'm going to be staying in Ashland or leaving so that is pretty nerve racking. I pray that I get to stay one more week here in KY! I'm not ready to leave just yet!

Well for my spiritual thought this week I just wanted to share my testimony. I am so grateful for this church and I am so grateful for the amazing opportunity that I have to serve the Lord in the West Virginia Charleston Mission. Though it can be hard at times, I wouldn't trade this experience for the world. I am so grateful to have a loving Heavenly Father who loves us so much that he sent his only begotten son to atone for all man kind so that we could make it back and live with him again. I'm especially grateful for the atonement and for the healing power that it has in our lives. It truly is such a great way for us to come to know Christ. I know that this gospel is here to bless our lives and that if we do all that we can to follow the Savior and live his teachings that we will be blessed for it. I love you all so much and I hope you have a great week. Stay safe and MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Elder Wilson

Goofing around

goofing around with toy guns and a storm troopers helmet

May the suit pictures begin

Keeping it legit

Break Dancing

December 12, 2016

Christmas is in the Air

Hello Friends and Family!!

How are ya'll doing? I hope you all had a great week and are enjoying the Christmas season as much as I am out here In KY!!

This past week was pretty great as usual! We had some snow for the first time so that was wonderful, It made me want to frolic and play the Eskimo way ;) haha it was awesome though. this past week Elder Stephens and I worked out butts off. I think that's why the week went by so fast. hard to believe we are only 2 weeks away from Christmas, or should I say Skypemas ;) haha I'm excited to see my awesome family!

Well to start off Ray Brubaker my recent convert was able to be ordained to the office of a priest yesterday and receive the Aaronic priesthood which was amazing! we were also able to do the same thing for Zack Gibson! he was baptized right before I got to Ashland! now we just have to get both of them to the temple! I love helping these two awesome guys make there way down the path of righteousness. its such a great job :)

This week we were also able to pick up a new investigator!! her name is Rhonda Yates. She is the nicest lady I have ever met. We taught her the restoration and she loved it. she said that it made a lot of sense that god would keep his church the same through out time. She recently has lost a lot of family members and had a lot of questions as of to why she lost them and where they will go and all that stuff so this Wednesday we are going to teach her about the plan of salvation which I think will help answer a lot of her questions which will be great!! But of course it will be the spirit that will do that for us. meanwhile she will be praying to know that what we are teaching is true through prayer and reading the book of Mormon. Its great :)

The Sumters are half way through their Stop Smoking Work Shop and they are doing great!! Today is their 4th day of it which is the toughest day of the whole thing so if they can make it through today they can make it to the end and be done with smoking!! Once they are done with this they should be able to be baptized!! I'm so proud of them! they were both telling me that when they get sealed in the temple that they want to do it in Utah so that I can be there for it which was really awesome!! I love them so much!

Fun Christmas miracle, Elder Stephens LOVES Starwars, and this week we had to run to Walmart to grab a few things and we decided to walk down the Starwars aisle to look at the new toys for the new movie that is coming out. as we were walking down the aisle I looked at the top of the shelf to see a HUMAN SIZED STORM TROOPER HELMET. So I reached up there and grabbed it and showed Elder Stephens and he started to freak out, and it wasn't in a box and he was curious to see how much it cost, so when we got a price check on it the walmart employee said that they didn't sell those and he told us to just take it.. we looked at the price online and they are sold for 60$ and we got it for free haha it was freaking great! talk about tender mercies right?!

This week for my spiritual thought I want to talk about what I learned in Zone Conference. President Saulisbury talked alot about the rod of Iron in Lehi's vision and how there were those who Clang to the rod and those who held fast to the rod. We notice that in the chapter that those who clinged to the rod lost their way and were ashamed for following Christ because of what others had to say about them. Those who held fast to the rod were able to remember why they were doing so and were able to partake of the fruit. The reason why this stuck with me so hard is because its so easy for all of us to cling to the rod and make excuses or get caught up in everyday life and we notice that we grow further and further away from Christ. but when we hold fast to the rod we are able to remember what our goal is here on earth and we come to know god and Jesus Christ more and we are able to feel their love for us. So my challenge for you guys this week is to evaluate your self and look for the areas that you are clinging and do your best to hold fast and be better! I love you all and hope you guys have a great week!!!!!

Elder Wilson

Me and Elder McClune on our exchange being White Girls

A Massive Oreo I made haha

The Storm Trooper Helmet!!

December 4, 2016

Ho Ho Ho n' stuff!

Hello Friends, Family, Christmas Trees, Mistletoe's, Family member who never write me, and local hobos,

Hey ya'll!! Man I hope you guys had a great week! yesterday I hit my 4 month mark, does not feel like I have been out for that long, I'm almost 1/4 of the way done with my mission.. I know I sound like a clown because I still have a ways to go but dang time is flying faster and faster each week!

This past week was a pretty solid one. we have been working our butts off to find new people to teach but because of the cold weather it has been a little harder than usual because no one wants to open their door for us but hey its all apart of the grind! This week we were able to teach the Sumter and Dalton family a lot and both are doing well! both of them are really starting to progress and are really doing all they can to follow the savior. This week we will be doing the stop smoking workshop with the Sumters which will be awesome cause once they stop smoking they will be able to be baptized! I just hope that will be before I leave! That would be such a blessing! so everyone pray that I get to stay in Ashland for one more transfer ok? ;)

This week was also our ward Christmas party which was an absolute blast!! I don't know if my parents posted the video of us singing the 12 days of Christmas song in the gym but it was really great haha, me and Elder Stephen's had everyone in their laughing! at one point I had him up on my shoulders singing haha! Now the ward loves us more because they saw how funny we both are (not to toot my own horn) but ya it was such a fun time and the Sumter's came which makes it even better! they really do love the gospel! oh and another thing that I forgot is that Ray had an interview with bishop this Sunday to receive the priesthood this next week so that's awesome!!

Last P-day Elder Stephens and I decided that we were going to get a real Christmas tree so that was a good time, Ill be sure to post pictures of it, just no judging our decorating skills ok? you have to remember that one we are males and two we are still 20 years old ;)

For my Spiritual thought this week I want to focus on what the true meaning of Christmas is, Though the birth of Jesus Christ is important, We also need to remember the reason why he was sent to this earth. Heavenly father loves each of us so much that he sent his ONLY begotten son to earth to not only atone for our sins, but to be an example to each and everyone of us. During the holiday season its really easy for us to focus on things that we want and things that we need, but remember what the true meaning of Christmas is and do all that you can to be a better example to those around you every day. as you do so you will be able to receive more and more Christlike characteristics each day. I love you all so much and I hope you all have a great week!

Elder Wilson

I saw elder Hanson at zone meeting!!

Our wonderful tree :)

Sitting on Santa's lap!!!!

We got in a bit of a tussle.. 

picking out the tree!