January 29, 2018

Eternal Joy

Hey Y'all

What a week what a week. Honestly this past week has been rough! I'm not going to lie about that, BUT God has a plan and He is aware of all our hopes and desires.

Remember last week how I said that we call the week of the baptism hell week? Well sure enough it happened to us. We had to postpone Nathaniel's baptism for a while because as of last Tuesday, his mom wants him to try out the Methodist church, Even though she doesn't even go to it anymore............... :) Its taken a pretty big tole on me this past week, if its one thing that I have struggled with a lot on my mission it's dealing with other people's agency. It is comforting to know that Heavenly Father has a plan for Nathaniel and his family, even if things aren't going so well right now. He will provide a way for him to be baptized at some point, even if it means its not in this life. I just wish people could see the big picture of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

This past week we had Zone Conference with President and Sister Lindhardt. That was a great experience. We talked about the true meaning of The Restoration and how its something that God has been doing since Adam was here on the earth. One of the things we talked about is how we have knowledge of the gospel restored to our minds whenever we need it most or when we may have forgotten an important principle that might help us through our hard times or even good times! one thing he invited us to do was ask Heavenly Father what we needed to be restored to us, and listen. He then reminded us of the scripture in James 1:5 which invites us to ask of God for our answers to questions. that if we ask in faith, he will give to us liberally, and will not upbraid us. what another great reminder that God truly is our Father. He loves us and wants us to be happy. Even if it means we have to start from ground 0. 

We had exchanges with the AP's this week. I got to go with Elder Kent, Hes a stud! Hes a great missionary and has a lot of great insights. And hes funny so that made it fun haha. Its fun being with an experienced missionary cause you can talk about all the stuff that's going on in the mission and talk about all that has already happened! Makes it fun! Then after that we had exchanges with the New Martinsville elders, That was a fun time as always! They are both hilarious so we had a good time.

other than that not much is going on, last week got better as it went on and we ended up finding 4 people! so that was a nice miracle. Even though it was a rough week, one thing I've realized is that I still felt Joy in the work. We all know that missionary work is hard, and you go through a lot of trials. But the memories you make and the people you meet makes it all worth it. I know that we can all find joy in the gospel no matter where we are at in life. Whether it be on a mission, in college, newly weds, starting a family, Kids leaving the house, Or becoming a grandparent. The gospel is for all, Old and young. Rich and poor. Come unto Christ and feel the joy of walking in his spirit!! I love you all and hope you have a great week!! :)

Elder Robbie Wilson

Exchange with the New Martinsville Elders

Exchange with the AP's

Sister Cox is in love with smart water so we thought itd be funny to tease her and all buy smart waters haha!

We got to ride in a limo to New Martinsville!

January 22, 2018

Make Dat Chicken Pie

Hey Y'all!

Well what a week its been! I feel like this past week was just a big blur because I honestly cant remember half of it so either I have stage 1 memory loss or we are just working really hard.. Ill leave that up to you guys to choose what it is lol. 

We had MLC this past week which was really good! As I said last week was kind of a rougher week so it was really nice to see President and Sister Lindhardt. They always know exactly what to say to inspire me to be a better missionary. And at this point of my mission its very much needed haha. I'm very grateful for it though. In MLC we discussed the need of keeping to the basics of missionary work and how that can help us become masters in all things because its the basics of missionary work and doctrine that help us form into master teachers and disciples! 

After MLC we had an exchange with the New Martinsville Elders and that was a blast! Elder Ballard interviewed Nathaniel for baptism and he passed!!! SO we will be having his baptismal service this Saturday at 6pm. Pray that it all goes well this week and we can have things run smoothly. We call the week before the baptism "Hell Week" because its the week that Satan will try all he can to get the baptism canceled. sooooooo ya prayers will help :) 

After our exchange with New Marty we went down to Phillippi and had an exchange with them and that was a lot of fun haha I got to go with Elder Jensen, Hes just a little ball of joy haha we talked to a total of three people that day.. and on top of it, it was cold and wet, So ya that explains that day BUT we had fun, we laughed at our situation and tried to make the best of it haha. After our exchange with the Phillippi elders we went back to Clarksburg and worked our area for a little bit. We were so tired we were walking around like zombies haha everyone thought that we were sick because of how tired we were.. 

This week we have to prepare for Zone Conference and have two more exchanges and a baptism so it should be another quick week (heck ya) So hopefully we can find some extra juice in the battery to push through another tiring week! :)

For my weekly email I want to share something that President Lindhardt shared with us in his letter last week:

There are a few truths that we ought to be aware of at all times and try to live accordingly. They are basic and they were revealed at the First Vision and shortly thereafter... 
-Our Heavenly Father is real, He loves us and has a perfect plan for us. He expects that we will return to Him, after becoming more like Him, through the wise use of agency. If this is true, which it is, then we should seek to know His will for us and do it.
-Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer. He came, as sent, to set the only perfect example and to do for us what we could not do for ourselves within the Father's plan. If this is true, and it is, then we should seek to follow his example and to repent and use the Atonement to progress back to the Father.
-The Book of Mormon is the word of God and contains the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is the tool of the gathering in this last dispensation. If this is true, which it is, then we should be serious students of that book and we should strive to draw nearer to God by following it's precepts. We should also try to share it with others as often as we possibly can.
-We are led by a living prophet. Whether that prophet stands as the head of the Quorum of the Twelve or at the head of the First Presidency, he is God's mouthpiece on earth and he receives revelation from divine sources that he shares with the world. If that is true, which it is, then we ought to be constantly aware of the latest direction from those we sustain as prophets and implement it into our own lives as we understand it.

Don't Forget that its the small and simple things that we do and know that keep our testimony a live. I know that as we remember these small and simple truths that our testimonies will never be shaken! Remember the Promise in Helaman 5 that if we build our foundation in Christ that the devil will never be able to shake us! what a cool promise from a prophet of God. I love you all and hope you have a good week!! stay safe and warm out there :) 

Elder Wilson

Me and Elder Hanson at MLC

Me and Elder Sandlin at MLC

Some of my mission friendssssss

Got a pic with Ernest before he leaves for Boston!

Wild turkeys

January 15, 2018

Pressure Creates Diamonds

Hey Y'all!

Well what a week its been. Do you ever just have weeks where you cant seem to focus on anything because your mind is so scattered and all over the place that focusing on one think is literally impossible? Well that is my last week in a nutshell. Its been kind of a rough one I'm not going to lie, But luckily I was able to take the sacrament yesterday and hit the reset button on the whole week haha. 

This last week we had Elder Pitcher with us because his comp had to go home early for family emergencies so we were in a trip ship for most of the week which was a lot of fun but made tracting a little interesting haha. We did tract into one of our recent converts friends and he invited us back to teach him this week so we are pretty excited about that!  Crazy how the lord works! Other than that this past week has been kind of hectic. With it being the week of transfers and having to bounce back and forth between areas it made it a little interesting trying get things done. But hey that's mission life haha.

We also got to watch President Monson's Funeral this week which was really good. Hard to believe that he has graduated from the mortal life onto the spirit world where he will continue to bring souls unto Christ and put smile on peoples face. I look to his example of love and humility everyday. He truly was called to the work. I pray that we can all remember him and try to follow his example of Christlike submission to the Lord's will. 

Really don't have much else to talk about this week haha sorry for such a dry weekly letter but that explains this past week! I hope you all are doing good back home and are taking time to remember to put the Savior at the fore front of your day. Read the Book of Mormon, Pray Daily, And go to church! This is how we find true happiness. I love you guys!

Elder Wilson

Our quadpanion ship during the day of transfers haha :)

Our trip ship for the week!

Duts was feeling sick so he took a nap... he was snoring so I took a selfie with him lol

January 8, 2018

Bob and Andy

Hey Y'all!

Wow I cant believe its already Monday again haha. I swear time is just slipping right through my hands. Before you know it, it will be February. Things here are going pretty good though! It has been Colder than all get out up there though which has made working a little bit interesting haha I have been freezing my face off the past week. But thank goodness for bipolar weather because its suppose to get up to the 50's this week which will be really nice :)

Elder Dutson and I have both been sick pretty much all of last week and we didn't have our car at the beginning of the week so we had to rough it out in the -2 degree weather with a sickness and no car ahah it made for some great memories that's for sure! We are both grateful to have our car back and feeling better though haha. Tender mercies are real. Shout out to all of you missionaries that have had to walk on your mission and didn't have the blessing of a car. You guys are my idols!!

Things here are going pretty good! This past week the Bridgeport sisters had a baptism and they asked me to baptize their investigator Ron Owens! It was a great experience to be apart of that with him. He almost drowned when he was a kid so he was really nervous to go under the water but after the baptism he told me that he wasn't scared of water anymore and is now progressing toward the temple! It was  testimony building experience to me for sure. God really knows when to give us small blessings like this when we need them most. I'm grateful to have a heavenly father that is mindful of each and everyone of us. He cares for each and everyone of us and wants us to turn to him through the good and bad. Don't forget that!! I love you all and hope you guys have a good week :)

Elder Wilson

Ron!

January 1. 2018

Strange Exchange... Light Year is here!

Hey Y'all!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!! So crazy to think that its already 2018! Ill be completely honest when I say that I never thought that this year was going to come haha but sure enough here it is and it came faster than I thought it ever would! I look back at this past year and a lot of it is just a big blur but its been one of the best years of my life. 2017 will be the only year that I will ever be able to spend all my time in full consecration to the Lord, and what an experience it was! I'm grateful for all the people I was able to meet this past year and all the growth and memories I made. That being said I look forward to 2018 and all that it has in store for me. Hard to believe that by the end of this year I will be home with all you goobers again.. Don't be too excited ;) haha It'll be here before we know it!

Well now that that's out of the way... This past week was a crazy one haha. We had a good time though! Due to the holidays we weren't able to get much done but we tried our best to see some people! We had an exchange with the Phillippi Elders this past week and ended up getting to stuck down there for the weekend which caused us to miss church haha so looks like I'm going less active on my mission. It was a fun weekend though a lot of weird crap happened that we never expected but we were able to have a good time playing card games and having snow ball fights and watching church films.. sounds like a blast huh? haha while we were down there though, we did get to go see some mummies that have been there since 1985 that came from an insane asylum which was pretty cool! Ill be sure to send some pics :) I never realized how much history is in WV!

I want to invite you all to take the time this week to set some goals for the year 2018. I know we try to do this every year and they end up getting left in the wind by about March but I want to invite you all to look at ways that you can improve your self and who you are as a follower of Jesus Christ. President Lindhardt has invited us all to study the Doctrine of Perfection lately and its something that has helped me look at my mission/ life a little differently. Its super easy for us to focus on the things we suck and and always try to be perfect at EVERYTHING. But instead of trying to be like Christ in everything right away, instead focus on things that you can be perfect at a step at a time. The scriptures heed us to take things line upon line, and precept by precept, here a little there a little. When we apply this to our goal setting we are able to change everyday and perfect our selves a little bit at a time. Remember that we will never be 100% perfect in this life. But as we strive to be our best self and do our best to change everyday to be like Christ. He will take care of the rest! So set some goals this year that will help you become more like Jesus Christ!! I love you all and hope you have a great weeek!!!! :)

Elder Wilson

Spending time with Phillippi

Saw Santa!

Me and one of the Mummies :)

The snow and our mummies shirts