May 28, 2018

You Heard Of Success? We're The Definition.

Hey Y'all!

I want to start off by saying thank you to all those wonderful men and women who have or do put their life on the line for this wonderful country. Thank you for protecting our families, freedom, and religion. Your love and sacrifice will never go unnoticed! 

I have no idea what happened this past week to be honest with you so ill try my best to remember.. It all just feels like a dream to be honest haha.

Last P-day we went to Devils Marble yard and that was an amazing experience. If its one thing Ive come to love about this part of the country, its all the rolling hills with hundreds of trees. Its amazing when you get up on top of a peak and get to look out over all the different hills and valleys of Virginia! It was a great hike, It was fun crawling up the rocks, I felt like I was doing Parkour the whole time haha so that was sweet.

We had MLC on Wednesday! It was a great meeting and I definitely took a lot from it! President focused a lot on the importance of Meekness and Exactness in the gospel and how it will lead us to being better disciples of Jesus Christ and will help us to better receive revelation for our selves and others around us. after the meeting we had some of the missionaries going home this transfer get up and bare their departing testimonies, That was a very emotional and spiritual awakening moment for me. It was so weird to see the missionaries that Ive served with the past two years speak about their testimonies and how their mission has effected their lives. It also hit me that, in just 5 short weeks, that will be me sharing mine with the other missionaries. I'm so grateful for the experiences and growth I have experienced in my time here!

We also got to go on exchanges with Gretna this past week! that was a lot of fun haha, it was super hot but we got work done and made some good memories, While me and elder Willie were walking around we had this guy stop us in his truck and tell us that we can be perfect in word like Christ was, he then continued to tell us more false doctrine and was just laughing the whole time haha me and Elder Willie were so confused and like half way through this conversation I looked at Elder Willie and just said "WHAT IS HAPPENING RIGHT NOW?!" haha it was super funny, but ya gotta love the crazy hillbillies in VA baby!

We Picked up a new investigator yesterday that was a referral from one of the members in the ward! Her name is Kathy, and she is super prepared to hear the gospel! Elder Moody, Brother Turman, and I went over there yesterday to teach her the message about the Restoration and it was so good! She opened right up to us and just ate the lesson up. The Spirit was so strong, it was easily one of the best lessons I've had on my mission. at the end of the lesson I invited her to be baptized if she came to know the church was true and before I could finish she yelled "YES!" So we are super excited to work with her and strengthen her knowledge and faith in Jesus Christ. What a wonderful calling we have a missionaries!! 

For my Spiritual thought I want to share something that our mission president shared with us this week.

 "I urge you to adjust your praying. When you elevate your thoughts in prayer, you begin to ask the Lord to "Use Me" rather than "Fix Me". I like that idea. I come to the Lord, acknowledging the gifts, blessings and talents I have and I consecrate them to Him. I try to appropriately notice things I can do and offer them as ways for the Lord to use me as an instrument this very day. As I have tried to do this--elevate my prayers--I have found that the Lord does use me. He does accept of that offering and I notice ways and means for Him to more fully utilize what I bring to the table. It is a better focus. As we do this, I have also noticed that, as a side benefit, my weaknesses are strengthened and my lack is provided, in the process, and I did not even have to focus on them. He truly does heal, build and provide."

What a wonderful invitation to show our gr attitude to the Lord. I have tried applying this my self and I have instantly seen more happiness and confidence come from it. I want to invite you all to look for the things that you have been blessed with and find ways that you can use them. I promise you that you will have added happiness and confidence in your life as you do so. I love you all so much and I'm so grateful for this gospel. I have never felt so much happiness in my life. I love my mission so much and am so grateful for this time that I have to better others, and build the lords Kingdom. Don't forget that he is always aware of you and loves you! 

Elder Wilson

Here are some pics from our hike last week :)

May 21, 2018

Running Like A Titan But I've Never Been To Tennessee

Sup!✌

What a week what a week folks! This past week was wetter than the ocean I swear haha It rained just about everyday and when it wasn't raining it was so humid that I was sweating so bad that I looked as if I had been rained on haha, Gotta love the weather of the south.. Be grateful for dry heat!

So saying good bye to Elder Hadley was pretty hard! We had a lot of good and fun times together, but Im grateful for the time that I had to spend with him and look forward to kicking it with him again in 12 weeks! I know hes killing it up in Motown though, Hes a A1 missionary!

My new companion is Elder Moody! Hes from Stansbury, UT and is a total stud!! He has been on his mission for 9 months and is a phenomenal missionary. Hes a great example of love and trust in the Lord. I told him that he was sent here to keep me focused and help me finish strong haha, we are going to have a lot of fun together I can already tell :)

Sooo not too much happened this past week to be honest with you! We had transfers and just walked around seeing people and saying good bye to them for Elder Hadley. Larry came to church this week and met with bishop Hansen so hopefully something goes good there. Shaun is still solid as a brick house haha. Hes a good kid. 

For my Spiritual Thought this week I want to share a scripture from the Bible!

Mark 5: 25-34

25 And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years,
26 And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse,
27 When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment .
28 For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole.
29 And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague.
30 And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes?
31 And his disciples said unto him, Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me?
32 And he looked round about to see her that had done this thing.
33 But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth.
34 And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace , and be whole of thy plague.

One of the members in our ward spoke on Jesus Christ in church yesterday and how he can heal us and make our lives better. Through out his talk he brought up a bunch of different scripture passages that talked about how he healed and brought happiness into peoples lives. This was the one that stood out the most to me! I love the principle that is in this passage. Had this lady not acted on her faith to REACH to touch the clothes of the Savior she would have never been healed. It reminded me that faith can only be strengthened when acted upon. and when we act upon our faith we are blessed! There are many things that we can put our faith in the Savior to bless us with but one that I have been focusing on a lot lately is finding out own personal happiness. Remember that as we act out in faith the Lord will bless us which will in turn give us blessings that will change our life. Don't focus on the things you cant control, Instead focus on the now and let the lord take care of the rest! I love you all and hope you have a good week!!

Elder Robbie Wilson

They sell rolled Ice cream here that's super bomb!

The Buena Vista Elders

Rolled Ice Cream

Country Roads

New Hymn they found in the hymn book

May 14, 2018

Happy Mothers Day!

Hey Y'all!

Can't believe that yesterday was Mother's Day! Hope y'all had a good day yesterday. I know that I did being able to Skype the family! Hard to believe that Mothers day has come and passed already, feels like Christmas was yesterday!I Doesn't feel like it should be mid May already! Except for maybe the heat here feels like it is July! It has been super hot and humid lately. So it hasn't been to fun to walk around in but its all for a good cause, and besides we make it fun :)

We had some good success this week. We have continued to teach Shawn and he is progressing really well. We almost put him on date in out last lesson! He said that once he comes to know that the Book of Mormon is true that he would be more than ready to enter the waters of baptism! It was a super good lesson about the importance of the Book of Mormon and how it came about through the Restoration of the Gospel. we could tell he was really feeling the spirit, we are really hoping that he is able to make it to Church with us this next Sunday.

We also went to a community interfaith activity this week. There was about 15 different faiths that were there. Lots of singing and dancing and little activities and some food of course. Can't have a party unless there is food! Must be a Christian culture or something.. But it was a lot of fun to be there with all people from other faiths. Its cool to see a bunch of people coming from different walks of life and faith and recognize the importance of this life and that's to believe in and follow the Savior Jesus Christ.

Transfers are next week and Elder Hadley is going to be getting transferred:( It has been super fun being able to serve with him here in BV, hes a great missionary and has helped me in many ways. I look forward to partying it up with him after the mission, but I know he will kill it in his next area!! I look forward to getting to know my next comp and being able to help him in whatever the Lord needs me to do :)

Mother's Day thought🌼

Alma 56:47-48

47 Now they never had fought, yet they did not fear death; and they did think more upon the liberty of their fathers than they did upon their lives; yea, they had been taught by their mothers, that if they did not doubt, God would deliver them.

48 And they rehearsed unto me the words of their mothers, saying: We do not doubt our mothers knew it.

These scriptures are talking about the 2,000 stripling warriors that were going into battle for the first time. They had not been raised up to fight against their own kind, But they knew what their Mother's had taught them and that was to always put your trust in the Lord. As it says, " they had been taught by their mothers, that if they did not doubt, God would deliver them." When we fully put our trust in the Lord there is nothing that we cannot do! I'm so grateful for a mother that has raised me in the right and has always put the Lord first in her life. Thank you mom for being who you are. I Love you and I am proud to be your son :) Hope you can feel the same haha

I love you all and hope you have a killer week!!!!

Elder Robbie Wilson

Oh yeah always remember to keep the Word of Wisdom and keep you temples clean! Meat is better than Meth😂

May 7, 2018

Hey Y'all!

Welp this week just flew right by.. Honestly cant believe that its May already.. This next Sunday will be my last time skyping my family as a missionary and the next time I see them will be in person.. Doesn't seem possible! 

Anyway we had some fun moments this week! Elder Hadley and I have been working on our magic tricks and have gotten pretty good at them not gonna lie.. haha we were hanging out at the local ice cream shop called Ice Slice, It's rolled ice cream and it's super bomb, but we were there with some members and their non member families and we pulled out our cards and did some late night mind blowing haha it was so fun! Some of them thought we were legit magic! Feels good, feels good :) It's always good to show people that we are normal people too and not just Jesus freaks haha. That was the first time that, that members mom ever talked to missionaries, she even gave us a ride. So it was a huge step for them! Cool and fun experience!

We also ran into our anti buddy this week haha, we were driving down main street with the Amherst Elders and I yelled out the window at him just saying "Sup Dude!" and he yelled back "YOUR GOING TO HELL SON!" hahaha it was hilarious, I just wish he could see that we just want to be his friend! One day right? ;) 

Not too much else going on, we picked up a new investigator this week named Shaun! He's a youth and is super elect, he comes from a broken family and is on his own search for happiness. We taught him about the Plan of Salvation, he totally ate it up and loved all of it. He has been going to seminary with his friend that invited him to learn and has been going over to their house for FHE so it's only a matter of time until he enters the waters of baptism. I love helping my Spirit brothers and Sisters make their way back home. It truly is a great calling!

For my spiritual thought this week I want to share a scripture from Jacob! 

Jacob 3:1-2

1 But behold, I, Jacob, would speak unto you that are pure in heart. Look unto God with firmness of mind, and pray unto him with exceeding faith, and he will console you in your afflictions, and he will plead your cause, and send down justice upon those who seek your destruction.

2 O all ye that are pure in heart, lift up your heads and receive the pleasing word of God, and feast upon his love; for ye may, if your minds are firm, forever.

I love that the scripture tells us to Lift our heads. When we walk everywhere with our heads down feeling sorry for ourselves it makes it hard for us to recognize all that our loving Heavenly Father has placed before us! I want to invite you all to lift your heads this week and look for the things and people that God has placed in your life to make you happy. I promise as you do so you will recognize His love for you. Choose happiness! Life is too short to let others control your own personal happiness. 

Mission life is a blast, I'm loving every moment of it out here. I hope you all have a great week! love ya!!!

Elder Wilson

Country Roads Take Me Home

My boy Marky P!! love that guy!

Slaying Bees!

April 30, 2018

I Will Never Stop Like A Marathon In Boston

Hey Ya'll!

This past week seemed to fly right over my head! We have been super busy for a few reasons this week. 

First, we have been really pumped all week for Saturday to roll around.. There was a big 5K run going on at the College and we were able to be a part of it! Missionaries running in a race with our white shirts and ties! haha if that doesn't say Mormon then I don't know what does. It was great! There was 4 sets of us running it and along the way we handed out some pass along cards and we even read some scriptures to give some people strength. I ran it in a 23 minutes an​​​​​​​​d to say for a missionary that ain't bad.....ain't bad at all. Bad thing is you know you are out of shape when the next morning you can hardly walk because you feel like you are going to rip your calf off your leg... almost falling down the stairs because you are walking like an old man haha! All worth it though.....got a free shirt for 10 bucks.... and Brother Turman hooked it up fat with a nice shoulder massage!!

Second,  as you know we have been working really hard on our "Meet The Mormons" movie night.  we knocked a lot of doors to get the word out this week and did our best to invite people, we had a lot of good come from it though. One day we had 4 sets of missionaries here in the area along with a senior couple to blitz the area with flyers! We gave out a total of 500 flyers from that! We showed the movie last night and we had a couple non-members and a few less actives. So it was a good turn out! Lots of people loved it and it was good to see some hard work pay off. hopefully some of the members feel inspired to share the gospel or go on missions or live a better life.

Oh yeah almost forgot the most important thing! Yesterday when we were out handing out flyers. Just minding our own missionary business, our favorite anti guy of BV came around on his old man bike pedaling up a hill....First words out of his mouth are, " look there are two of Satan's children right there." First thing that came to my head was to run over and tip him off his bike to show him what a real child of Satan would do....But luckily I am a child of God so I just smiled and waved instead.. what a guy!

The work is good and so is the Gospel! Don't forget, we are all children of a loving God :)

Have a good week!!

Elder Robbie Wilson

Elder Hadley playing with my ear and me going to give him a wet willie.. explains our companionship to a T..

Running attire for the 5K