HAVE A HAPPY THANKSGIVING! - November 21, 2011

Dear Family,

So this week I was biking on my bike and something stupid flew into my eye, and it tore my left contact >:( Dumb THING! Anyways, about that, I was wondering if you wanted me to make a trip to Jacksonville and get an appointment at costco?? If I can? Because I dont have a card? But I do know that the perscription I have from Dr. Patel Costco does not have! I do remember that! But I was thinking it would probably be a lot cheaper to get contacts at Costco and I know a couple members who would be able to drive me up to Jacksonville? It is only an hour away. So call Sister Shirley and let me know what you want me to do. I can just sit back and wait for the ones from Dr. Patel. But I was just thinking it's probably cheaper for both contacts at Costco than just getting one from Dr. Patel :P RIDICULOUS! But just call Sister Shirley and let her know!

And dont worry, the area I am in is not dangerous at all! Everyone here loves the Jesus People so don't worry haha! In other business, I was wanting to buy you all gator shirts from wal-mart for christmas? I'm gonna go see how much they cost today? But is that okay? And also I need scripture markers? And can you get the ones that are like crayons sort of. Because the ones I have now are like Mechanical Pencil deals and they suck! And they broke :P I am borrowing my companions!

Anyways, this week was incredible! We had such a good week! The church is pushing insanely hard right now with member work and President Barry has actually asked us to avoid tracting. We are still allowed to but he wants us to find families and families are rarely home togethor unless you have an appointment. And converts that come from members are much stronger converts. And we have been trying to push member work in our ward right now!

Also, President Barry told us that it is OFFICIAL that in 3 to 4 years missionaries will have I Pads and they will have you report your numbers through the IPads and our planners will be on there! And teaching records and EVERYTHING WILL BE ON THERE! They even designed an APP that if your plans fall through it will tell you what would be the most effective thing to do! REALLY? That is the biggest stress of being a missionary, finding something to do that is productive! Micah will get to have that technology! I wont :( Crazy huh?

Anyways, Monroe is moving to Mississippi and we actually dropped almost all of our gators this week! The reason why I said this week has been amazing is because the work has become so much more productive! WAY MORE PRODUCTIVE! And I'm excited! We actually have one gator named Antawn. We randomly decided to stop by. He was a former Gator. And he is making a lot of progress but it might take him awhile to get baptized! He has a lot of things to work out.

For thanksgiving we are eating at a members home. There is a family named the Tiltons in this ward and it is half the ward! And so that family is feeding us :) We might play some football? I dont know if we can? We are still supposed to be proselyteing that day when we are not eating! So it is a normal day as a missoinary! I'm hoping we get Christmas completetly off but I don't think we will! I get to talk to you all in a month :) WOOO!!! I can't wait to hear all of your beautiful voices!

Anyways, I am doing fantastic and I am at a spiritual high right now! This morning I was reading in Alma 24 and that is where King Lamoni and his people bury their weapons and the Lamanites attack and they just kneeled on the ground and worshiped God while they were getting slain by the Lamanites and then the Lamanites felt really bad because they weren't fighting back and they started to worship God. In that story, 1,005 of King Lamoni's people were killed! But they were all righteous and because of their death more than 1,000 Lamanites were converted! We all need to be able to kneel down and let someone slay us for our Heavenly Father's sake! I don't know if I am at that point but I hope to be someday soon! I would like to say I would but I don't really know until I am in that situation! I love you all! Strive to be like the people of King Lamoni :) 

Have a HAPPY THANKSGIVING and yes Mom I should be able to print things :) And, in another letter from Anna she said that you still haven't updated the blog?? So I dont know? Smack Anna if you want :P haha! I love you, and thank you for being such a great example to me! Especially Mom and Dad and Teagen :) And Micah and Stockton too :) haha!

Have an amazing week! :)

Love,

Elder Wise

AN OPPORTUNITY TO SIGN!! - November 14th, 2011

Dear Family,

Well, do you want me to tell you about my new companion? Okay, I will :)

My companion's name is Elder Boamorte! Pernounced Bow-a-mort-ay! He is from Brazil and he has been on his mission for 8 months! And yes, he is a very hard worker and I love working with him. It is incredible and I really think this transfer is going to be incredible :) And yes, he has to do a language study because his native language is Portuguese (I probably spelled that wrong). 

Crazy story! We got a media referral this week! This ladies name is Michelle and she is deaf! So I called around and got permission from my Zone Leaders who is Elder SNOW (my trainer) and Elder Mecham to go shopping to get an ASL dictionary! And let me tell you it was not cheap and I had to use my home card. It was $23.00 :P GAH! But doesn't matter because I needed to brush up. And now, I get to do a language study with ASL and I am hoping that at some point I get transfered to St Augustine for 2 reasons. 1. It is an amazing area and 2. because there are a lot of deaf people there :) That would be fun!

Can you send me my call letter please?? Because then I can study it and learn from it ?? :) Well, this week was a crazy week. It has been pretty hard for me because I have to plan the whole day by myself until Elder Boamorte gets the hang of the area and having everything riding on you isn't fun. But, he is starting to get used to the area so that is good :)

I have learned so much this week! I have been studying intensly into Preach My Gospel lately because by studying that and following it I can become a much better missionary. Elder Bednar in the talk he gave to us at the MTC, he said that if we become Preach My Gospel missionaries we will have success and we will not walk away from our missions wishing we did more! So I have been getting into that a lot more! It has been amazing! So far, I have learned that someone can only gain a strong testimony through the Book of Mormon! My main goal should be to help people recieve a witness from the Holy Ghost that the Book of Mormon is true! That can be hard! But I am trying to learn how!

We set a baptismal date with Monroe for the 26th this week :) And our problem with him has always been that he didn't really want to quit smoking but I think he does now! And he dropped from a pack of ciggaretes a day down to 4 yesterday :) I was so happy and excited! Elder Boamorte is exactly obedient too which is amazing and it makes it a lot easier to have a companion that is willing to follow all the rules than a companion that doesn't follow all the rules. Right now, we don't really have any other gators besides Monroe and Michelle! Pray for me that I will be able to sign and understand what she signs as well too please?? I need help with that!

Elder Wheeler in my apartment! I get along with him really well! He is hilarious! And, he is my District Leader. But anyways, he is training a new missionary! His name is Elder Vance and he is from Shelton, Washington :) CHECK THAT OUT!! Woooohooo! haha! He is a good Elder!

And it is wierd because now I am the designated driver this transfer and so I drive when we have the car and I haven't drove in forever so it is sort of wierd! I'm still trying to get used to driving again haha!

Anyways, I don't have much else that happened this week! Although I must say that I am a little upset that all the sudden you go to a BYU football game and basketball game NOW that I'm gone? REALLY? haha JK JK! I hope you have fun in UTAH! I'm glad you are going. That will be good. :)

Stockton: How is soccer going? Are you in basketball yet? Are you dunking it yet? I'm expecting you to!

Micah: WHATS UP!!! I heard you kissed a girl! In the play!! hahahahaha!

Also, I now weigh 180! I am doing good and working out! YES! You better be lifting them weights Stockton ;) And Teagen too!

I love you all and I miss you a tons! I hope you have an AMAZING day and week :) I know I will :) I'm preaching the gospel, how can I not be happy?

A BUNCH OF LOVE,

Elder Wise

STAYING IN PALATKA - November 7th, 2011

HI Family,

 

Do you want to hear about transfers?? HUH? HUH? HUH? Okay, well here we go. I need a drumb roll?

  

BADABABDDBADBADBADBADADBDABDABDABDBABDBABD

 

Im staying in Palatka and Elder Dyerly is being transferred! So there is the big news for the week. :)

I won't know who my companion is until wednesday.

 

Attention FAMILY AND FRIENDS: The next transfer happens right before Christmas - on the 23rd or 21st -  something like that. So if you are sending a Christmas package you might want to send it so it will be in Palatka by the time the transfers come just in case I get transferred right before!And.....if you are sending a Christmas package, something I would love is TIES :) (that is all missionaries can really change in their wardrobe, so they LOVE new ties!) And scriptures if you can afford it. Blue ones with silver pages and "Levi Connar Wise" on it, because the ones I got are starting to fall apart. That one time they got drenched in rain is making pages fall out and all that fun stuff : ( But if you can't afford it I will be fine! That isn't I need! And if you do get them make them the two separate ones with the Triple Comb and the Bible :)

 

Today we are going to be spending quite a bit of time cleaning :) OH YA! I will send you all a good little package at christmas time :) 

 

This week was a pretty good week. We found a couple less-active members that weren't on the records and we got two new gators! Oh btw, Anna wrote me a letter and said you haven't been updating the blog and she told me to get on you about that. So here is me getting on you :P haha (Thanks a LOT Anna!) 

 

So we found this lady named Ginger this week and she doesn't have much! She walks around bare foot and has a lot of birds though. She is really into God as a lot of people are in the south! We have been teaching her and she sort of almost just meets with us to tell us were wrong but we got her to finally committ to read the Book of Mormon and find out if its true. And if she really wants to know she will be a strong convert!

 

We also ran into another lady named Barbara and she is sort of a lonely lady! And it was really funny because the first lesson we had with her she kept telling Elder Dyerly and I that we should be married! She said it a bunch! Then said "Especially you, (pointing at me) you have beautiful dark eyes" and she couldn't stop talking about my eyes for a little bit and it started to get a little uncomfortable - haha! But, we taught her about the restoration and she said she would come to church but she didn't because she said she got the flu!

 

Monroe came to church again this sunday and we watched the Restoration in our class that we teach and we talked afterwards and something Elder Dyerly said I think made something click in his head and so I am really excited for him and we are going to see him tuesday! We also have been working with our Ward Council a lot more and so I think we should be getting a lot more referrals soon! The ward I am in is a smaller ward and they struggle to fill all the callings they need.

 

Christine is really hard to get ahold of all the sudden and I don't really know what is going on! Then Mindy isnt keeping her commitments to read the Book of Mormon. :(

 

So I did my Gator Update without really doing the Gator Update this week! Sorry :( But, Tamara is doing really really well! She loves her calling and just keeps improving and improving! She is amazing! She is definitely the #1 success so far on my mission!

 

The work is definitely moving along here in Florida! I am having an amazing time! And I decided that I am going to start sharing spiritual messages at the end of my emails!

 

Today I was reading in the Book of Mormon in Alma! I love the story of Ammonihah! Alma goes into Ammonihah preaching of their wickedness and they kick him out and reject him! And Alma is walking away pretty rejected and sad because they wouldn't harken unto his words! Then the angel appears to him and sais hey, go back there! So he does and he meets Amulek! And Amulek had seen an angel that told him to go back to his house and he would meet a prophet and he should feed him! And he did and met Alma! And then they started preaching and a good amount of people accepted there words and a lot didn't! And a man named Zeezrom contends with Alma and Amulek and Alma and Amulek confounded him! And people took Alma and Amulek and cast him into prison! And Zeezrom tried to help them but he couldn't and became sick because of his wickedness! Then Alma and Amulek broke the chains by the power of God and caused the prison to collapse and killed all the gaurds! And then Alma and Amulek went to Shilam i think? And Zeezrom was there and was very ill and Alma healed him! And Zeezrom began to preach and that is where I am at! And I love this story because no matter how much I get rejected as a full time missionary or how much you all get rejected in your missionary efforts and no matter how down we get! We still have God with us and on our side! And any man who contends with us will be confounded! It is incredible that when a Baptist will try to contend with me. I just have to simply speek simple doctrine and they become confounded! We cannot be confound if we stick to the principles of Christ's gospel! I also love how because Alma preached simple doctrine and condounded Zeezrom who was a crafty lawyer in the ways of man and he became converted and is now preaching the gospel! It just reminded me of hope and how hard work and following the spirit will always bring success! And that has really helped me!

 

Anyways, I love you all! I can't wait to hear from you next week! And I hope you have a great week :)

 

With a BUNCH OF LOVE,

Elder Wise