July 29, 2013

Whoa, what a week, what can I say?! It was kinda a drag? Very slow, nothing like Spanish Town but soon come!! Really working with the branch to get them motivated to be missionaries and Sunday we got a lot of referrals and see the results picking up a bit! We just need to be one D&C 38:27! Wow, hit 5 months this week, can’t believe almost a quarter done, seems almost too quick and that summer is almost over!! It has been raining like crazzzy and the thunder is unreal. Knocks the power out like every time and the roads are a wreck. And my companion won’t go out in it... which is ridiculous. It ain’t that bad, but it’s something I am trying to work with when trying to get along with companions!! I thought roads couldn’t get worse than Spanish Town but they are terrible! And on top of that no maps, no street signs, and no addresses.. great for finding less actives and anyone in general!! Haha, but it’s great fun! I’m starting to get the area down! There is one-ways everywhere, can’t imagine driving through it!! Sav is close to a tourist area so I sometimes see white people, it’s weird! I sometimes forget that I’m white and also outta place, hah!! With the rain it has been cold the last few nights, wish I had a blanket. We curl up in our sheets, tempertaure is getting down to 80! Ah, freezing ha! Finding some solid investigators! My comp was trained just to find solid people to work with, which makes sense. We want people who will build up the branch, not tear it down or go less active right away, but it has been a hard adjustment from trying to help everyone and see what they can become not what they are to sorry if you don’t come to church a couple weeks we are dropping you! Whaat! Didn’t think you could do that, but man, probably had more dropped lessons in this 2 weeks than I have my whole mission! But we still are finding some solid people.. mostly through referrals, members of the branch which really is where the work is at!! Love it! Zone conference this week, it seems to roll around at just the right time when you need that encouragement and such! I’m having a hard time remembering names and some are just peculiar names so I started making up names like Zig and Zag.. much much easier!! So we had a funeral for a strong member named Sis Scott, just passed away. And long story short, Elder Groesbeck made this ring tone that wakes him up from his nap at lunch and forgot to turn it off and it went off during the service!! For example, it’s like a yoda voice saying "it’s a spicy meatball" went off like 3 times -  moment ruiner, haha, good memories though!!! Found this sweet Book of Mormon study guide thing explaining all of it in detail and what prophets have to say and stuff.  Man.. sorry to say I have been tricked all these years... I love to read and study!  I have learned soooo much and so much has sank in so deep! Example: like sacrament, it "clicked" which is terrible it didn’t before.. but if you don’t partake you are out of the covenant. You don’t get a remission of sins and don’t get the privilege of the spirit! A sweet quote I also came across that has changed my prayers and hopefully can help everyone else evaluate their’s! Donald L Staheli said: "when we become hurried, repetitive, casual or forgetful in our prayers, we tend to lose the closeness of the spirit, which is so essential in the continual direction we need to successfully manage the challenges of our everyday lives. Family prayer every morning and night adds additional blessings and power to our individual prayers and testimonies. Personal sincere involvement in the scriptures produces faith, hope, and solutions to our daily challenges. Frequently reading, pondering, and applying the lessons of the scriptures, combined with prayer become an irreplaceable part of gaining and sustaining a strong, vibrant testimony!” Great quote! Learning so much and study time is to short! Well, that’s kinda the wrap of my week and what’s on my mind right now! Much love to all.

Elder Wilkerson

 Nun Tryd Nun Dun

dj godfrey (recent convert) works the music at friday night activities