Merry Christmas - December 24th, 2013

We didn't and email today...but here is what we did get on Christmas Day.

Uncle Elder Wise meets his new nephew for the first time! 

So fun to see and talk to Elder Wise! 

Elder Wise sent JAX Jaguars tees to the entire family

Why Does God Allow Bad Things To Happen? - December 17, 2013

Hello :)

I was really sad to hear about the things that happened this last week. We had several investigators text us the morning of the elementary shooting (referring to the Newtown Elementary School shooting) asking us why God would let this happen. Thank goodness for the Book of Mormon. It can answer questions simply. We shared the experience Alma and Amulek had when all the believers were being thrown into a fire. Amulek asked Alma if they could use the power of God which is in them to stop this awful thing from happening. Alma said the spirit constrains him because their blood testifies against the wicked at the last day. One scripture I love is in Doctrine and Covenants 137:10

" And I also beheld that all children who die before they arrive at the years of accountability are saved in the celestial kingdom of heaven."

We know where all those children are! :)

Well, we are going to be skyping at a family named the Smith's. I gave them Mom's cell and the home phone as well. And they should be calling to set it up.

So, I must confess. I cannot stand waiting to open a gift. It bugs me. Especially when I have no one to constrain me, I lose control and tear the gift open. Elder Bushman tried to stop me, but my brute strength was too much for him :) haha.. not really! So, thank you for the basketball shoes ;) They are sweet! I wasn't going to tell you I opened them but the spirit told me to confess :/.. the problem is.. It is going to be really hard to forsake haha!

Anyways, this week was a little frustrating for Elder Bushman and I. Satan is a terrible spirit. UGH! One of our investigators who had a baptism date for the 23rd went nuts on us and doesn't want us to come back until after Christmas. It is a long story. Another that was supposed to happen this week is pushed back until this weekend hopefully. Our mission is doing incredible though. 

I will send out the package for you all today. I love you all! Next week I will email you. But it will be very short. I mean I will talk to you face to face the next day.. sort of. Over the internet!

I love you!

Elder Wise

Christmas Devotional

The Jacksonville mission had a big Christmas Devotional. They asked us to write letters to our elders (along with other family members - grandparents, etc. Here is a picture of that devotional.

2012 Christmas Devotional - Florida, Jacksonville Mission

Surprise Transfer and NEW ADDRESS - December 10, 2012

Dear Family,

Well, it sounds like most of you are confused. I will explain haha. I got a call on Monday and President Barry extended a call to me to be a Zone Leader. And then he told me that I was being transferred. I am now in Jacksonville in the Arlington ward. And my companion is Elder Bushman. In our mission they put the Zone Leaders together in a companionship. 

So, at transfer meeting I was called to be a District Leader. I had never been in leadership before, other than training. Now, just two weeks later I get emergency transferred and get called to be a Zone Leader! So now I am in Arlington with Elder Bushman. Elder Bushman has been out 22 months. He is from Farmington, Utah. This last week we had to put together a Zone Meeting, and we were going on a trade-off with the Assistants to the President. We have Zone Meetings once a month. They are different than Zone Conference's. Zone Meetings are just a way to get info out to the mission faster. Once a month the President has a Zone Leader Council where he trains the Zone Leaders, and the Zone Leaders train on the same thing at Zone Meeting. I wasn't at the Zone Leader Council, but I had to still train on the training given there. So it was a very interesting and crazy week. One of the Assistants names is Elder Tomlinson and I went on a trade off with him this week and it was incredible. He is urgent and powerful! I learned a ton!

The BIGGEST thing I learned this week. "God doesn't call the qualified, he qualifies the called." I was completely shocked when I got the call from President Barry. I never thought in a million years I would have gotten called as a Zone Leader, but I am really excited for the calling because I have already learned a ton and improved. I have a testimony that God calls you to a calling that you have no clue how to do and once you figure it out, you get released and get called to another calling. I love how true the church is. The organization alone testifies of the truthfulness of it. No man could come up with something so incredible. It is built around people becoming like our Heavenly Father.

Here is my new address:

8291 Dames Point Crossing Blvd. #1105

Jacksonville, FL 32277

Things are going fantastic in Arlington. We have 3 baptismal dates for this month. One on the 16th, one for the 23rd and another for the 30th. This last week has been crazy, but probably the funnest week of my mission. Elder Bushman and I get along really well and are watching God work miracles :)

Well, I have a question. A group of Elders has gotten permission from President Barry to go to the Gator Bowl which is held in the Jacksonville Jaguars stadium. It is on Jan. 1st and I think and it is a P-day. If it's possible, can I get a ticket to go? I think it will be around $60 or $70. 

Well, I will just close out the email with a testimony. I know that living all the gospel principles brings happiness. But, we have to be doing everyone of them. If we don't, the guilt from not doing it will just eat at you. That is when we repent and set goals to do better! I love repentance and I have had to use it a ton as a missionary - for not talking to a person or something. I know that God loves us, and that He works miracles. I actually have a story. Elder Bushman and I got a media referral this last week. We got to visit this referral. A 16 year old boy answered and we asked if this person lived there. An 8 year old boy popped his head out and said, "that's me!" Elder Bushman and I were taken back because this person referred themselves on mormon.org. The young boy ended up running off with a friend but we stood there and talked to his Mom and the 16 year old boy and we are now teaching them. The Mom knew nothing about it. How in the world would an 8 year old boy be able to do that. He now says he was just playing some game and it popped up and he hit okay? Well, that doesn't just happen. You have to put in your name, address and a bunch of things. I have no clue how it happened. But God worked a miracle through that young boy, and now we are teaching them. I know that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that we can become healed and given strength through the Atonement. I know that Joseph Smith is a Prophet of God. And I say these thing in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

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

Love

Elder Wise

Loosen UP? - December 3, 2012

Hello :)

I was able to see the Christmas Devotional last night and it was great! I loved it!

Fleming Island is still doing great! It is sort of weird though. I was in my area quite a bit this week. This upcoming week I will be going on a trade off with an Elder down in St. Augustine on Tuesday, we have Zone Meeting on Wednesday, I will be in my area Wednesday night and Thursday, then Friday morning we have Weekly Planning. After that I will be going on a trade off with the Zone Leaders in St Johns. I will get back to my area Saturday night. So I will hardly be in my area this next week haha. I am learning and growing a lot though.

The apartment I am in is great! We have our struggles as every apartment does, but I have learned a lot from the Elders in the apartment and I hope they have learned from me. I guess when I came here I was very intense. I really try to be strictly obedient. The other Elders told me that I get a little intense with the rules sometimes and that I need to loosen up a little bit and have fun. WOW! I have never had anyone tell me that before. I just remember back home everyone would tell me I was just crazy and liked to screw around. Anyways, I think I have loosened up a little bit but have still kept my standard for obedience. It's been great here and we have some great Elders in our apartment.

I'm excited for this month! On either the 17th or the 24th we are having a district pday in St. Augustine. St. Augustine is the oldest city in the US and has a lot of neat stuff, so it will be really fun. I am doing dandy and the work is progressing. We are teaching a couple that has a baptism date for the 22nd, and we are teaching some others. We are constantly trying to find. Just moving the work of the Lord forward :) I love you all! Hope you have a great day!

Love

Elder Wise

FLEMING ISLAND - November 26, 2012

Hello :)

Well, are you ready to here where I am? I got transferred to the Fleming Island and my companion is Elder Moser. Elder Moser was actually Elder Huckvale's companion in the MTC. And one of my Zone Leaders is Elder Gebhard. I don't know if you remember me talking about him before I left? But he is someone Adam met at BYU and he got his call here and we started talking on facebook. So it is neat to be serving around him.

New Address:
2285 Marsh Hawk Ln. #3-305
Fleming Island, FL. 32003

So Fleming Island is just south of Jacksonville. It is also technically Orange Park, but not at the same time. I don't know, I really don't understand. But if you put Orange Park or Fleming Island in the address it will work. I put Fleming Island because that is the name of the ward. My District is massive! Typically there are 2-4 companionships in a District. Well, there is 7 companionships in my district. I am lucky, because the Zone Leaders are in my District, and 2 companionships are Sisters, and 1 is a senior couple. So there are only 2 companionships I get to go on trade offs with.

Things are great here in Fleming Island. The members are super loving and great! We had a Thanksgiving breakfest, lunch and dinner. I was stuffed by the end of the day haha. It was great! It sounds like you all had quite the feast at home. It sounded like a ton of fun.

Well, some more about the area. I am in a 4 man apartment still. It is funny though, because the other companionship in the apartment who is Elders Clark and Ales are in a completely different Zone. Elder Clark is the District Leader in his District. So Sunday night are sort of crazy in our apartment. We have a car share. So we bike one day and have a car the next day. That is pretty much what I have had my whole mission except for 6 months when I was all bike. Then I had all car my first transfer.

I am not sure if the Whittakers got baptized or not yet. They should have gotten baptized., but I couldn't tell you for sure.

Well, I am trying to figure out something really exciting that happened this week, but I can't think of any yet. OH, the thanksgiving Dinner we had was with the Bishop in this ward. They had a non-oil deep frier? Don't ask me how it works, but they cooked the chicken in that. No offense to anyone who has made turkey for me. That was the best turkey I have ever had by far. Most turkey is really dry and I don't like that. This one was moist and it was soooooo GOOD! haha.

Anyways, Elder Moser is from Los Angelas, California and he is a Lakers fan. So we started out rough haha. No, I am kidding. He is great and we are getting along wonderfully.

Well, that is about it for this week. I will have more next week. I am still trying to get used to the area. I have only been here for 4 days I think.

Oh. And ya, I sent the shoes last Tuesday and they said it should have gotten there by Friday?

Love you!
Elder Wise

Leaving the Ocala Ward - sad.

Elder Wise and Elder Weave - Ocala 2nd Ward (With the President and his wife)


 



BEST YEAR and a HALF!! - November 20, 2012

HELLO!!!!

Sounds like Camas is dominating! GOOOO CAMAS! That is awesome! Dad had me nervous. I read his first and he said Mom would tell me about it. And it sounded like they lost. But nope! they WON!! WOOOHOO!

Well, here is the christmas list. OH and I need to explain something first. I REALLY DONT LIKE THE DUCKS!!! And the DUCKS get FREE nike STUFF. SO NOW I HAVE SWORN AGAINST NIKE haha. I am an ADIDAS man. So remember that haha.

1. Basketball shorts.

2. Basketball socks.

3. Ankle Weights.

4. and if I am lucky.. Basketball shoes haha ( and if you get those. can you get black and white ones so any shorts will match them?)

Well, this week was great. The Whittakers were interviewed on Sunday and they will be getting baptized on Saturday :) YAY!!!!! So that was great!

We started working with a less active member this week. The first time visiting him we were just talking. He was talking about the struggles he is going through. As he was talking a thought popped into my head to ask him if he believed that Joseph Smith was a Prophet. It was completely off subject, but I did. He replied saying "I dont know." We had another appointment to get to so we set up another appointment and told him we could help him find out if it is true. He agreed. We went back yesterday and had one of the most unified, clear, and powerful lessons I have been in with Elder Weaver. And he committed to read and pray. It was great! Follow the promptings of the Holy Ghost, that is everything in missionary work because we as missionaries are just there. The spirit is the one teaching.

This area has really been amazing. I am really excited to see where I am going too. But I am going to be sad to leave this area too. :(.

This morning I was looking back at my mission so far. I am so glad I came! So much good has happened. In me and in others. I have been able to meet some amazing people who have changed my life forever. I am learning how to budget (still struggling with it. But I will get it). I have learned what the Gospel of Christ really is! I have learned how to become Christlike. I have learned how to share the gospel. I have learned how to connect with random people who have no similar interests as me. It really has been the best year and a half ever so far. And I guarantee the next 7 months will be the same.

Well, I love you all! I hope you have an amazing thanksgiving! Keep being amazing!

Love you

Elder Wise

Elder Wise's GIFT! - November 12, 2012

Hello :)

We had a wonderful week this week. Well, transfer meeting is on November 21st, the day before thanksgiving? ya! So this last weekend was trainer calls. Guess who got called to train? Elder Weaver! Oh ya! This is our last week of the training program and he gets called to train right at the get go! He is a fantastic Elder and he will do a great job! So yes, that means I will be getting transferred on November 21st. You should be fine mailing the package btw! It will get to me by then.

Wow, I really have loved Ocala! The Bishop here is incredible, and everyone else is just as amazing! We went out with our Bishop last night, and our Bishop is just super encouraging and uplifting. He really made me feel good about my time here in Ocala. Bishop always tells the missionary leaving what there gift is. haha. He told Elder Bennion his gift was music. He told me that my gift, was when I walk in the room, there is a special powerful spirit, and just by walking in the room I draw attention. So I thought that was pretty neat. It definitely made me feel good. He said it helps that I am tall : ) Elder Weaver and I really do have a good relationship with the Bishop, we joke around with him a lot.

Yesterday in church, they had two youth speakers speak who gave extremely short talks. Bishop was the only other speaker and he had about 30 minutes to speak. Right before he got up to speak, I had to leave (I got really sick this last weekend and my throat was killing me in Sacrament so I had to duck out just for a little bit.). After I left, Bishop announced that he would have me bear my testimony after his talk. I came back into the chapel and he stopped talking right in the middle of his talk and let me know, as I was walking to my seat, that I would be talking after him. He thought it would be funny to scare me a little bit. So he said I will take about another 5 minutes and I will have you come up. Well, there was still 25 minutes left in sacrament meeting. So I thought, oh boy, I better prepare a talk quick. So I started thinking of a bunch of things I could talk about, scriptures I could share. Well, he was just messing with me. He gave me 5 minutes to bear my testimony.

I first started off by sharing Ether 12:27. I let them know that I have weaknesses and that I am only 20 years old. I told them I do my best to do the Lord's will. I then went to Doctrine and Covenants 84:88 where Christ promises that He will go before us and prepare the hearts of the children of men to receive the gospel. He promises that He will be on our right hands and on our left and that He will go before our face and lift us up. Bishop has been putting a huge emphasis on getting the young men out on missions. He had asked us to help him do that by setting an example and encouraging the young men. I basically testified to all the young men and young women that none of us are qualified to do the Lord's work. That He qualifies us, and strengthens our weaknesses so that we can do His work. I testified that Heavenly Father would prepare everything for them. I shared an experience where Elder Weaver and I were tracting at night. It gets really dark here at 6 and no one will listen to us after it gets dark. They will yell at us and tell us to go home and sleep :) So, we were discouraged (which we shouldn't be). Heavenly Father provided a tender mercy. We knocked on a certain door and the lady let us right in and we taught the Restoration to her and her husband. They are currently searching and they told us that and we have a return appointment wednesday. We invited them to church but they already had a commitment. Heavenly Father prepares the hearts, missionaries only harvest the work that is already done.

I got really sick this weekend. I started to feel a sore throat coming on Thursday. Then sure enough on Friday morning I had a really sore throat. Stupid me decided that he still wanted to play basketball as a morning workout with the missionaries. That made it worse. Then we had weekly planning in the morning. We tried to go out and work, but I couldn't do it and we had to go back. I felt bad. Later that night I ended up with a 102 degree tempature :P. Bluh! But I woke up okay the next morning and I still have a little bit of a sore throat.

Everything is going great as normal! Bowling was lots of fun :) I did horrible haha. As normal!

Well I better get running. I love you all! Hope you have a wonderful week. Next week pday will be on Tuesday because it is transfer week!

Bye!

Love

Elder Wise

REMEMBER and FORGET - November 5, 2012

Hello :)

Boy oh boy.. it was chili this week! We got some intense winds from sandy.. but that is it. No rain or anything. But it sure was fun biking in that wind. haha

Sounds like Camas is tearing it up in 4A. It's awesome. The missionaries here make fun of me for still keeping up with my high school. They all say once I graduated high school.. I graduated from everything a part of that high school. I think that's lame. I am proud to be a papermaker. Elder Huckvale does the same. We are the only two missionaries that are proud of our high schools I guess haha. Just shows how amazing Camas is!

I am glad you weren't in New York for that marathon ahaha.

Well, MISSIONARY WORK! Everything is still trucking along really well. We have someone on for baptism for the 17th this month, and then two on for the 24th. I am pretty excited! However, the baptism from last week didn't show up to church for their confirmation this week :( That was really sad. The first baptism I was apart of in Ocala. That man is second guessing. We are going to see him tonight and I pray the spirit will be with us to bring his testimony back.

Anyways, the biggest thing I learned this week is the power of scripture study. WOW! I have been studying the scriptures a lot more this week. It has made a huge difference in my testimony. I have really realized how true the primary answers are. You see great missionaries go home and go less active. It isn't because they lost their testimony. Their testimony is still there. They just don't remember their testimony. That is the trick, to always remember Jesus Christ and our testimony of His restored gospel. The best way to do that is through daily prayer and scripture study. It truly is powerful. Those missionaries who go home and go less-active, go less active because they forget to do the simple things. We get so caught up in more complicated things of the gospel because it is fun to think and explore ideas. But the problem with that is we forget the plain, simple, and PURE things of the gospel.

But that has been my week. I love being a missionary. It is definitely what I need to be doing right now. An Apostle said "It would take a man 40 years to learn what he could learn on a mission." I can't remember which Apostle it was : (. But that is super true. I cannot believe how much I have learned while being on my mission. It is a night and day difference between the person I was, and the person I am now. Hopefully a better difference :) haha. Im kidding, I know it is a better difference. Because I am now living the gospel.

I am sorry it is a short email but we have to be done shopping within an hour and head up to GVILLE!

I LOVE YOU

Elder Wise

Humility and the CHILI KING! - October 29, 2012

Hello :)

This week was great! The baptism yesterday went very well. The spirit was really there! There were some great talks given and it was wonderful! We had an investigator there and she was saying "that was awesome" with a ton of excitement on her face for her baptism which is next month! I love Ocala! It is great!

As for where I will be for Thanksgiving. I don't know! Transfers are the day before Thanksgiving and either Elder Weaver or I will be getting transferred. I think Elder Weaver is going to get transferred but we will see and if I am still here in Ocala, which I hope I am, we will be going over to a family named the McCullough's who are amazing! They have a son on a mission who left just a month after me so that should be fun there. So our pday the week of Thanksgiving will be on Tuesday and on that day I will be able to tell you whether I am getting transfered or not.

Thank you for the contacts and the shoes :) I appreciate it! Also for helping me out with the applications. The sooner we get them submitted the better chance I will have of getting in :)

Being a missionary right now is really exciting. I heard that the church is predicting there will be 80-90 thousand missionaries out :O. (The President just announced that young men who have graduated or earned an equivalent and who are 18 may serve a mission! Also, young women who are 19 may serve a mission. The previous age was 19 and 21 respectively!) President Barry was on the phone with Elder Gonzalez the other day. Elder Gonzalez is the area 70. Elder Gonzalez asked President Barry how many more missionaries they needed and President Barry said that 20-30 would be amazing. Elder Gonzalez replied saying "President, you need to be expecting 100 more missionaries in your mission. Work with the Stake Presidents on where you can put them." Our mission currently has nearly 150 I think. So we are supposed to have 250 in the near future. That is just really exciting.

The biggest thing I have learned this week is probably humility. It is so important to be humble! I wish I wouldn't have my prideful moments haha. It is really hard to constantly be humble and teachable, but I am trying to be. Humility allows us to be able to recognize the spirit more in our lives. When we are humble, we will be able to get along with anyone. When we're humble, we will be a better instrument in the hand of the Lord.

Anyways, that is pretty amazing Dad won the chilli contest again! He is becoming the Chilli King! You really should open up a chilli restaurant Dad :)

Stockman, thanks for the update on the roster! I had no clue who was on the team anymore. Sounds like the jazz have a solid team this year! That is exciting!

Sounds like BYU Football has a bright future too, and from what I here from members here, BYU basketball should be pretty good too! Pretty exciting stuff!

Anyways, that is about all that happened this week. It was fun though. OHHHHHH!!!! I forgot! I had a very interesting night last night. It was about 8:30pm. We had just finished our companion study. We have to do studies even if it's that late a night. We couldn't finish it earlier in the day because of the church and baptism and what not. We planned on going and visiting an investigator really quick before the night was out. As soon as we were about to leave. The Elders that lived with us walked in with a plate of brownies. Elder Weaver and I grabbed a brownie. Elder Weaver is allergic to nuts. Well, there were nuts in the brownies. We had to take him to the ER. He is okay. We were there until about 12:30 last night. So I am a little tired this morning haha.

Anyways, that is about it! Love you all! Hope you have a great week!

Love,
Elder Wise

INFLUX of MISSIONARIES! - October 23, 2012

Hello :)

I did get the package this week and everything was great :) thank you! And I got stamps and envelopes with that money on my card. Tell Aunty Liana I say thank you for grabbing those shoes for me :)

Sounds like Stockman had a pretty great muddy soccer game haha!

So guess what!? A general authority told President Barry that he needs to prepare to have 250 missionaries in our mission. We currently have 140ish. President Barry said we should start seeing the effects of it in January. WOW! There are 58,000 missionaries right now. And the prediction is that we will have 90,000! That is incredible! I am so excited to see the jump!

President Barry is really making a push to improve because of the number of missionaries coming in, we can set a great example for them. If they follow our example, we will have hundreds of phenomenal missionaries. So it is a pretty exciting time to be a missionary.

For all of our investigators. They are doing well and all progressing along. We should have 2 baptisms this weekend :). We had a great experience this last week with some of our investigators. They had a problem with the Word of Wisdom, specifically with the Word of Wisdom. We taught the Word of Wisdom ( that had been taught it a million times). We offered to take all the cigarettes they had so they can quit right now, and we offered to give them a blessing. We did both and they have not smoked to this day :) The power of the priesthood is real. Heavenly Father wants to help everyone overcome their weaknesses and addictions.

So everything is going great! I love you all and I will talk to you next week!

LOVE Elder Wise

Testimony From the HEART! - October 15, 2012

HEEELLOO!!

This week was pretty good. It didn't go as well as I would have liked as far as proselyting goes until the last day of the week! We have been working with a family who has 2 unbaptized children. Basically, without sharing confidential information. They are going to be baptized on October 28th and confirmed the following Sunday :) It is so wonderful! I am excited for these kids! They are really good kids and they have been waiting awhile to be baptized :)

I think I told you about the Jamaican lady before. Her baptism is all set up for Thanksgiving weekend. Not only her, but her son will also be getting baptized with her now. He started coming to church, going to mutual and he loves it and he has been sitting in on lessons with us. So there are some amazing things happening here in Ocala! The Lord is preparing the people to receive the gospel :) !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, I got my bike fixed and it is running great now! Hopefully, we will steer clear from problems now :)

Well, besides those two miraculous events coming up in the future that I have told you about. We have a lot of potential for some others as well. I love missionary work. It is so exciting to see these people progress in the gospel and see the spirit touch their heart and change their lives. It is also really saddening when you see someone receive a spiritual witness and deny it.

For Example: Dad asked me about how my testifying from the heart has been going, here is a story. Elder Weaver and I were biking and we saw a man doing some yard work. We stopped and asked if we could help. He denied (no one lets us do service here :( ). We then started talking to him about the gospel. We soon found that he wasn't really willing to listen. I felt then that I should just share my testimony from the bottom of my heart. I testified of a Prophet being called of God and that God's church has been restored through the the prophet. I also testified of the happiness the gospel brings. As I testified you could just see the spirit working with that man. When I finished testifying I asked when a good time would be that we could come by and share more. There was a pause and you could see the spirit working still. He looked at the ground and back up and said "I dont think so." I know that he had the spirit bear witness to him that what I was saying was true. We biked off and when we were far enough away Elder Weaver said "I can't believe he said no. He definitely felt the spirit." It was so sad to see that! But, it is miraculous when somebody accepts it. And it makes everything else worth it. :)

Those zip lines sound scary but fun :) And dang BYU! They better be GOOD next year! Anyways, I love ya'll! Thank you for everything :) 2.2 months till we shall see each other over the internet. And then 4.2 months until we shall see each other again over the internet. And then one month from that time we shall see each other face to face!  haha!

Love

Elder Wise

Would You Sell YOUR Sould for a NICKEL? - October 9, 2012

Dear Family,

Conference was 100% amazing! I was sitting in the church with Elder Weaver and two other spanish missionaries watching conference. Then President Monson said that missionaries may leave on their mission at 18. I immediately began to be jealous. I wish I could have left right out of high school haha. Then he mentioned Sisters. I just thought he was going to move it to 20, but then he said 19 and I was completely schocked! I didn't know what to think haha. It is going to be really weird seeing all these younger missionaries coming out. If I get to see any ahaha.

Then I as I pondered about what would have happened if I would have left when I was 18, I definitely know God called me to come to this mission at this time and to the area I am in at this specific time for a reason. It is incredible to think about.

This week was really interesting. Elder Barnes had surgery on his hand to take a lump out. So he has been healing up. His companion Elder Jensen had to go up to Gainesville. He has a mass on his jaw. They had to cut open the inside of his mouth and get a biopsy. I am 100% sure I spelled that wrong. Anyways, Elder Barnes was on oxycodon and Elder Jensen was on Lowertab. So they were both pretty interesting this week. (Can you see a couple of missionaries on painkillers? :) And we had to help transport them to the doctor and back because neither of them could drive. So it took a lot of time out of proselyting this week.

But, General Conference was incredible. Some things that I really learned was how we need to be 100% obedient and commited to the gospel of Christ. I dont have my notes in front of me so I cant remember who said it. But someone told a story about going to the movie theatre. He was 8 and he only had to pay 25 cents. Then he turned 9 and he had to pay 35 cents, but he lied and said he was 8. He felt horrible and went and told his Dad what had happened. His Dad said "son, would you sell your soul for a nickle?" Wow, that really hit me. Would we really sell our soul for a cup of coffee. Or to go play a soccer game on a Sunday. That talk just really hit me and I really felt the spirit.

Another thing that stuck out to me too was service. There were a couple talks on service. I also really liked President Eyring's talk. "Bold as a Lion". "Soar like an Eagle." One other thing I really learned was how I need to be much bolder with love as I share my testimony. On Sunday night we visited Chris who was baptized about a month ago. I asked him what made him want to listen to the gospel for the first time. He said it was when he first saw Elder Cervo (an Elder that was here awhile back) bare his testimony with such conviction. It was so sincere he said. He said that was the first time he felt like he was missing something.

Then on Monday morning I was studying about bearing testimony. In Preach My Gospel it talks about how important it is to bear testimony from the bottom of our heart. When we do that, that is when the Spirit will carry the message to the heart of the people we are testifying too. I realized that as a missionary we bear our testimony so much that it can easily become a rote thing that just comes from our minds. But when we bear testimony from the bottom of our heart, the spirit will be there with a lot more power. So I learned a lot of good things from General Conference this week that I loved!

Right now in our area, we are working with the same people we were working with before. Unfortunatley they seem to be staying in the same spot. We just aren't pushing them forward and I think that is mostly our fault. This last week was just crazy. But things are still pushing forward here :)

Anyways, it sounds like you all had a good week :) I love you all. Thank you for everything you do :)

Love

Elder Wise

GENERAL CONFERENCE! WOOHOO - October 1, 2012

Hello:)

I am SUPER excited for General Conference! Oh boy! It is going to be really, really, really good! Every friday morning we have our weekly planning. I don't know if any of you are familiar with what that is? I know Teagen knows because he had Preach My Gospel in his mission. Anyways, we sit down for about 2-3 hours and plan out the following week. They have outlines for us how to do it. Anyways, we made some INSANELY good plans this week. We almost have the entire week planned out with who we are going to see and how we are going to help them apply the gospel to their lives so they can gain a testimony. So I am super excited for this next week.

This last week was a little wierd. We didn't have as many lessons as we normally do. We had a couple investigators fall off the map. One of them was actually staying with a member. That person ended up being a con-artist. He got 600 dollars out of the member. It was really sad : ( But, we were able to still work our hardest and we now have a couple new investigators we are working with. One of which is really awesome.

Her name is Shibrice and she is really open and she is sort of church shopping. She is really interested and wants to learn more. We have a couple of investigators who have been investigators for awhile but are progressing along very well. There are 5 investigators we have that would be baptized by now, but because of circumstances are just waiting. For example, one is dating a member in North Carolina. And she wants him to be there for the baptism. So she is going up there for Thanksgiving and she is getting baptized on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. She also has a son that is getting baptized with her :) So things are going really well.

Transfers are on October 10th. So not this Wednesday but the following one. Elder Weaver and I know we will be staying here. However, Elder Barnes or Jensen could be going.. so who knows? Transfers are always exciting.

But, Camas huh? WOW!! It sounds like they are doing a phenomenal job and are being led by the #1 drum major in the world, Micah! OH YA!!! I am excited for them. I hope they kick Union's rear end all the way down here to Florida, and then I will kick there rear ends back up to Washington. By that point they will be soooo emberassed that they will just quit :) I like it :)

And it sounds like that Freshman BYU QB is good! Sounds like I am missing some exciting stuff. But it's okay because you are missing out on the missionary work here ;) haha.. Except not really because you get it all from me.. haha. I am just losing myself now and I have no clue what I am talking about.

Anyways, I love you all! I'll be watching General Conference at the same time as you :D woohooo!

Love ya!

Elder Wise

Evil Corner! - September 24, 2012

Hello :)

Well, I am dissapointed in BYU! : ( But it's okay, I will forgive them.. haha. Anyways, sounds like TnTnT are doing great! :)

Chris is still doing incredible! He is all smiles and all about serving others all the sudden. It is really neat to see that Atonement change people. And in the process of seeing it happen to others, it is changing me. It is absolutely incredible. He should be getting the priesthood soon :) It was truly a difficult thing to perform the baptism in that low water. I had to put my elbow across his stomach and shove him down. I felt cruel, but it had to be done haha.

Elder Weaver is doing great. He is progressing along really well.

My bike is fixed! It is running smoothly. The day after I got the bike fixed I was riding to the church. Elder Weaver was biking in front of me. I saw Elder Weaver wreck in the exact spot that I wrecked. As I started to chuckle in my mind I found my tire sliding out from under me and soon I was on the ground. We both got up and we were fine. Our bikes weren't broken. My chain did get jammed between gears, but I was able to pull it out after a lot of frustration. But my bike is doing well. Both times I wrecked there it was right after it rained. I am pretty sure there is something really slick in that one spot. We were walking by it later and I almost slipped. So it is just a evil spot. Elder Weaver and I now call it "Satan's Corner".

Well, everything is going really well. All the investigators we have are really progressing. This week we met a man named Robin. When we first talked to him the first thing he said was "I have a question for you, why are you an elder? What did you do that was so great that your an elder? I'm a lot older than you, shouldn't I be an Elder?" We explained it to him. I told him I am going to be released in 9 months, and when that happens I will no longer be referred to as an Elder. Then he started asking questions about our missions. He thought what we are doing is really neat. Well, now he believes that what we share is true and he was at church this last sunday :) It was great! God really does lead us (members of the church) to the elect, and he leads them to us.

Everything is really just going fantastic. We have a lot of people we are teaching and they are all feeling the spirit and making the changes they need to. Since Elder Cardon last week I have been studying a lot about revelation and the spirit. WOW! I have learned a lot! Even on Sunday, Elders Quorom talked about revelation. It was really incredible. I have actually noticed a lot more promptings and revelations lately. In Elders Quorom we talked about the difference between promptings and revelation. Promptings was described as small thoughts we have that lead us to do good and to serve others. Revelation is powerful spiritual experiences where we learn something, and it has a profound impact on our lives and it is essential. I thought that was really neat. Then the Elders Quorom president challenged everyone to write down the revelation they recieve. So today, I went and bought a nice leather book. Really small so I can fit it in my suit coat pocket, and I am going to record the revelation I recieve on it.

So Stockton, how are you enjoying high school?

Micah, what are your plans for school? Are you going on your mission right when you turn 19 or are you going to school for a year? What's your plans?

I love you all! I am so excited for general conference! How about you? I love it!

HAVE A GREAT WEEK!

Love

Elder Wise

AN AMAZING LETTER - WELCOME BABY TRYSEN! - Sept 17, 2012

WOW!!! The Wise family had an incredible week this week! Trysen is with us :) Congrats TnT :) Micah and Stock had a blast in Seattle!  BYU SHOULD HAVE WON!! And Elder Wise was blessed to take part in a baptism!! Sounds like it was amazing! Oh, and Elder Cardon of the first quorom of the Seventy came to our Zone Conference this last week! WOW!

 

Well, first off. Mom, an anesthesiologist (spelling?) does make a lot of money... but they also work a lot of hours. I want a monday through friday nine to five type things so I can be with my family. So that is why I am thinking maybe sports medicine or Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. I dont know about sports medicine. I know that PM&R is 9-5 m-f! And they make 300,000 a year. But I dont know for sure yet what I am going to do.

 

Anyways, that was scary hearing about everything that happened with the birth of Trysen. Thank goodness for medicine. Tish! You are a CHAMP!! Sister Barry (Mission President's wife) read to us a scripture in Moses 6:59-60. She started to give the symbolism of the birth into the world through the mother and being born again at baptism and the Atonement. When a mother gives birth she loses an immense amount of blood so that this baby might live. Sound familiar? Christ also lost an incredible amount of blood! I think that is very symbolic! Sister Barry quoted something her Doctor said. " If women knew how close they came to death when giving birth, they would never do it. I have seen so many women on the threshold of death, and then they come back. It is truly a miracle." WOW! Thank you so much Mom :) You are amazing! You too Tish!

 

Chris's baptism Saturday was amazing! You could really feel the spirit! I was blessed with the oppurtunity to perform the ordinance for Chris! It was an incredible experience. The font is broken. The water doesn't come out fast enough. So by the time of the baptism the water was only just above my knees. So you can imagine it was quite a task to get Chris fully immersed in the water. In fact, I couldn't quite get him all the way down the 1st time. But we got it the second time :) It was so great to see the change he has made.

 

I have definitely recieved a testimony lately that God is truly preparing people. Everything just seems to be coming togethor right now in this area. God is really blessing us. We found a really elect individual last Saturday. She wasn't able to come to church but she is really interested. We are meeting with her tomorrow. And we also have quite a few of other investigators who are really progressing along. There is a lady named Susan who is doing great! She has come to church 3 times in a row and is gaining a testimony. And then we are working with a family who has 2 unbaptized children who are preparing for baptism. And Colleen is still doing great! She is going to be going up to North Carolina in the ward her boyfriend lives in to be baptized over thanksgiving! So everything is going really well! We are excited for this area.

 

We had Zone Conference this week with Elder Cardon! Wow, he was really powerful. He talked about the Holy Ghost and following the promptings he gives us. He talked about the question we all have with spiritual promptings. "Is it from God or myself?" He told us to act on everything we think may be a prompting and he promised us that we would eventually come to recognize what is really from the Holy Ghost and whats not. But he just said ACT on it. What wrong could come? It reminded me of something President Monson said. "I want the Lord to know that if he has an errand to run, Tom Monson will run that errand." I love that! I want to get to the point where I can say that I follow all the promptings of the Holy Ghost that I recieve. It was really powerful!

 

Thank you so much for your love and for being diligent in raising me right. Teagen, Micah, and Stockton, thank you so much for the example you set. Especially you Teagen, if you wouldn't have gone on a mission, I probably wouldn't have either. In complete honesty, I dont think I would have. And I am so grateful for that because of how much I have learned on my mission. On my mission, I have found out what the Gospel of Christ actually is. I have found out that the Atonement is real! When I first came into my mission I always looked at the third lesson "the gospel of christ" as something that just needed to be taught before baptism. But it was nothing that big. I was WRONG! Everything revolves around the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the Atonement. It is the principles and steps to access the enabling and forgiving power of the Atonement. And everything we do revolves around that. I know that the Gospel of Jesus Christ was restored in it's fulness through Joseph Smith! I know that Jesus Christ bled from every pore so that we might live! Just like Tish just suffered so Trysen could come to the earth to gain a body and learn and grow! I know that God created all of us and that he loves us very much! He is guiding our paths. I know he will take care of us as we keep his commandments.

 

I love you all! I hope you have an amazing week!

 

Elder Wise

Happy Birthday MICAH! - September 10, 2012

Hey :)

It sounds like Micah had a crazy week this week! :O But WOW!!! WAY TO GO! 1 WEEK to do ALL of that? I am very very impressed. And HAPPY BIRTHDAY MICAH!!!!!! I can't believe you are 18. One year and you will be on a mission! I am so excited for you!! :) Keep dominating in everything!! :)

Well, everything in Ocala is still doing great. Things are really going well. Chris is getting baptized this weekend. He is the one that got married. So I am really excited for him. Chris and I are pretty good friends I would say haha! He is just simply awesome!

Elder Weaver is doing great and we are getting along incredibly well! I forgot how stressful it was to train though. I got pretty stressed over this last week. Today we spent the entire pday shopping and cleaning and I just got sort of irritated because I basically don't get a pday. Basically, all the stress just built up but I am doing good now. Just did lots of praying :) Prayer is amazing! Like it says in 2 Nephi 32 that we must pray always. And the the evil spirit teacheth a man not to pray. I know that everytime I feel down, I don't feel like praying at all. But that is the time when I really need to pray. And it has really helped out today.

We have been getting a lot of referrals lately! We are going over to a members house tonight to teach a friend of his. And today we got a call from President Barry giving us a referral. Apparently a ward mission leader outside of our mission has been talking to his Dad about the gospel who lives in our area. And he wants us over :) So we have a lot of good things happening.

This Wednesday we have Zone Conference in Jacksonville. Elder Cardon from the first quorom of the seventy is coming to speak to us! I am really excited for it and IT WILL BE GREAT!

I am sorry! I don't have much else to write this week and we don't have too much time. :( But I love you all and I can't wait to hear from you next week!

Love

Elder Wise

GOOOOOOOO COUGARS! - Sept 3, 2012

Dear Family,

I got very excited when I heard about BYU. It is going to be fun watching them next year :)

Well, my new companion is Elder Weaver. Teagen, that reminds me of Kyle Weaver.. some guy in the NBA. Anyways, he went to the University of Utah before he came out.. I keep getting these Utes as companions haha. He is a music major at the U. He is great and we are getting along amazing! Dad, I have no pranks lined up for him. In the missionary handbook it tells us not to dot that. I sort of want to though. But I got to be obedient haha. He is from Kearns Utah which is just east of Salt Lake City.

For the package Mom, if you could send me a wallet that would be great! I am sick of not having something to carry my cards in. I just carry them in my pocket. haha. But other than that I am doing great :) And I am still working on those pictures but I will get them to you soon.

Hurricane Isaac wasn't that great for us :( We just got a little bit of rain but that is about it. 

TnT!!!! Trysen is coming on September 8th! It's going to happen. It is so weird to think that Mom and Dad are going to be grandparents. They don't seem old enough to have grandchildren haha.

But anyways, I am doing great! Just loving being a missionary. We have a lot going on here in Ocala right now. We have quite a few of investigators. So we are teaching quite a bit. Chris was supposed to get baptized this last week but some road bumps came up. But he is still going strong and preparing himself for baptism. He is such a great guy! 

We are also teaching a sister that is from Jamaica. And she is progressing really well. She is planning on getting baptized in December because her boyfriend will be down here. And her boyfriend lives in North Carolina and she wants him to be here for it. Her boyfriend is a member :)

And there are others we are teaching.

But, this week was fun. On thursday and friday we were walking all day because we were out of miles in our car and Elder Weaver didn't have a bike so we walked everywhere. the blessing of that was the fact that we got to talk to a ton of people on the street and we had a lot of success. It was a lot of fun.

We also realized that our tires on the car was wobbling. So we called the mission office to get permission to take it in. We got permission and we took it in to have it looked at and it turns out that all four wheels are bent. Missionaries before had been driving a little too fast over the pot holes right outside our house. Anyways, we got that fixed. And then on Friday I got a really sore throat. And on Saturday night I got really sick. At about 6pm I started to get a massive headache. And then at 8pm we went into a Sisters home where there is a lot of smoke. And I guess that might have trigured it. But I got really sick and I could hardly focus. I made it through the lesson. Our Bishop was out with us and he said "Elder Wise, are you feeling ok?" And of course I said no. We get home and I just sit next to the toilet for about an hour. And by that point I was just praying that I would throw up. And then I threw up and I felt a ton better. Then I got a blessing from the Elders in my apartment. I went to bed and woke up the next morning pretty sick. I have never missed a Sunday on my mission. So it was a little wierd thinking that I might miss a sunday. But at 10am I started feeling better. I went to church and I am soooooo glad I did.

Satan was really trying to keep me from church because every single lesson and talk had something I really learned from. Mainly all about charity, sacrifice and humility. And I felt the spirit powerfully. It is just miraculous to see God take care of me so I could make it to church and learn all of the things that I learned.

Anyways, I am feeling better and doing good.

Stockton, you are getting HUGE!!! I saw those pictures of you standing next to Mom... what is happening to you?

Micah, what are you doing for your eagle project?

I would love to go hiking up Mt St Helans by the way. That would be a ton of fun!

Love you, 

Elder Wise

Hurricane Missed Us AGAIN! - August 28, 2012

Dear Family,

This week was very interesting and weird. With Elder Craig going home and me not working much in my area because I was with them. It felt like we were all just sort of waiting for transfers. We obviously were out working but a lot of things fell through and didn't go very well. So we were all wondering what was going on.. and we decided we had all pretty much just been waiting for transfers to come which is not good. Basically, we were out working, but it just didn't seem effective. Anyways, Chris got married on saturday. I think I told you about him in the last email. But he should be getting baptized this Friday or Saturday. Still trying to figure out exactly which day.

One thing Elder Craig, Elder Jensen and I have been talking about lately is having faith in priesthood blessings. That is one thing we were  blessed with this week. We got to exercise the power of the priesthood quite a bit this week which was incredible. We went to the hospital probably 3 or 4 times this week. And went to a couple of assisted living places to give blessings as well. We talked a lot about how a lot of times we just lack faith to bless them to be healed. Sometimes we will be prompted to say it but we get scared and wonder "what if it doesn't work?" It has really humbled me and shown me how much more my faith needs to increase in order to be a fine tuned effective instrument in the Hands of the Lord.

Mom, sorry I haven't sent the pics yet. I have been trying to write up captions to the pictures but I just haven't had time. But i will make time and i will get it done. And Dad, I have the extra copy of the Harvest paper which I will send today.

But other than that things have been a little slower this week. Most of the appointments I had fell through. And other than appointments we were in the other Elders area.

But this week I really learned how important it is as a missionary to study for our investigators. And at the same time we learn. But if we study in personal study the things that will be teaching later that day to our investigators, things always stand out that would really help them and we learn a lot at the same time. But I have noticed that my teaching has gotten a lot better since starting to do that. And not because my teaching skills have improved but because I prepare and study for them that day. 

I am sure you have also heard of the tropical storm Isaac. We were all hoping it would hit us because we knew if it did it would only be a category 1 or 2. I haven't even heard what happened to it. I just know that it is in the gulf and heading for the New Orleans again. But we have got some good winds, rain, and thunder and lighting.

Transfers are tomorrow and I am excited but nervous at the same time. I have to be in Jacksonville at 10:30. The meeting starts at 1, but the trainers have to be there early to meet the trainee and then we have lunch and have a training by President Barry. So I am excited. 

But I gotta get running. Mucho to do!

Love Elder Wise

Training again! :) August 20, 2012

Dear Family,

 

This should be an exciting email!

 

Well, to start ou the week. I went on a trade off with another missionary named Elder Beazer. He is a spanish missionary and has been out about 4 months. We were on bikes that day. I believe it was Wednesday. It was raining pretty hard and I took a turn at the normal speed I took it. But I wasn't thinking of the fact that the ground was wet. Well, I first feel my back tire slide out from under me. Then my front tire went. And my body went to the ground. After sliding a couple feet. I got back up and assessed the damage. I just got a good burn on my elbow. Thankfully I had my helmet on. I always wear my helmet while biking because it is a rule. I am disobedient if I dont. But, I hit my head pretty hard on the sidewalk. Thank goodness my helmet protected me :) Obedience pays off :)

 

Then Friday morning roled around. At about 10:10, Elder Bennion and I are getting ready to head out to the spanish Elders apartment to do laundry and do our weekly planning. We don't have a washer and dryer in our apartment. Anyways, as we are packing stuff up. I hear Elder Bennion answered the phone and he says "good morning President, this is Elder Bennion." So I start thinking why President Barry would be calling. I thought maybe Elder Bennion is training because it is about time for the training calls. Eventually, Elder Bennion hangs up and he tells me that he is getting emergency transferred. I was really confused and I didnt believe him. But sure enough, an Elder got sent home up in Georgia and Elder Bennion was sent to take his place. So now I got thrown in another Trio. I am with Elder Craig and Jensen until transfers which is on the 29th.

 

Then Saturday roles around. We get in at night and finish our planning. We get ready for bed and I am talking with Elder Craig and Jensen. And I hear my phone going off in the other room. I just thought it was the ward clerk or something. I relaxingly walk over to the phone and I saw that it was President Barry. As soon as I saw it I knew what was going on. I picked up the phone. We just chatted for a little bit. Then he said "Well, Elder Wise, the reason I am calling is to extend a calling to you to be a trainer of a new missionary.." And before he could extend an initation to me to accept the calling I said "are you sure?". And then he explained that I did a great job last time and that the Lord needed me again. And then he said "Are you willing to accept?" And of course I said yes. I just said "are you sure?" for two reasons. 1. I wanted a little bit of a longer break from training. I mean I only got a transfer break :P haha and 2. to just be funny..

 

I think there is a pattern here. My companion gets an ET about a week and a half before transfers and I get a call to train a new missionary. So next time my companion gets an ET a week and a half early, I am going to be scared haha.

 

So Elder Huckvale is finishing up his training this transfer. And Elder Craig is finishing up training Elder Jensen. And Elder Craig is going home. So I am hoping that Elder Huckvale will get transfered to Ocala with Elder Jensen. Because then we will be in the same apartment :) That would be so sweet. And Elder Huckvale is 99% likely to get transferred. He has been in Normandy for 7 1/2 months.

 

Oh, and I have yet to see any gators. I have gone hunting to find one and I still couldn't find one. I think they are scared of me or something ;)

 

Everything is going wonderfully in Ocala. There is a man named Chris and missionaries have been working with him for a long time on and off. It is a part member family. And the biggest problem is just the fact that they werent married. Well, the spirit hit them about 3 weeks ago. And his entire attitude changed. And so did his future wives, Haley. He had his baptismal interview yesterday. He is good to go. they are getting married this next weekend and he is getting baptized on August 31st. Which is going to be the new missionaries first weekend :)! I love it. Elder Thomas came in and had a baptism his first weekend. And now the next one is having the same thing. The Lord is definitely blessing us.

 

This next week is going to be extremely busy. We are combining both of our areas so we have a lot to do.

 

Oh, and my guess for Tish's baby is September 8th. :) The spirit testified to me that it will be the 8th. So prepare :) haha.

 

I love you all! Have a great time in Idaho.

 

Love ya,

 

Elder Wise

Power of God is Real - August 13, 2012

Dear Family,

It is incredible what the power of God can do. NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE if we have faith, hope, charity, and an eye single to the glory of God. D&C 4. It has been incredible. The power of God is real. We can do anything with Him, and we can do nothing without Him.

I know that the priesthood is real. And when used with charity, we can heal the sick, soften hearts, and much more. I have witnessed so many things that I didn't even think were possible before my mission. I am so grateful for the oppurtunity to serve. I would be so lost without it.

Is Stockton still in band? Will Micah and Stockton be in band togethor? That is amazing!

Well, I have an entertaining story to tell. There is a park near our apartment that we go to to workout in the morning. It has a football field and a track. We were all walking and we just got on the track, and we walked about 20-30 more meters and Elder Craig jumped. He just about stepped on a snake. Elders Craig and Jensen started to analyze the snake. And they were pondering if it was alive. Elder Jensen decided he wanted to kick the snake. As he lifted up his leg Elder Craig yelled out "Oh it's ALIVE!" As the jumped back the snake tried to strike several times. We all got out of the way safely. Elder Craig, having set in his mind to kill the snake. Which at this time we identified as a Water Mocason. Which is an extremely venimous snake. If you get bit, you want to go to the emergency room asap. Elder Craig grabs one of those long medal benches that sit on the side of the football field. He takes it over to the snake and smashes it. He then gets on the bench and started jumping up and down. Then he started sliding the bench back and forth to grind the snake into pieces. Elder Craig is now very proud of the fact that he has killed a Water Mocason, which I would have to say is very impressive haha :) It was just a fun experience I had this week.

Other than that, everything is going really well. We have a couple baptisms set up for the end of this month. Everything is going really well here in Ocala. If I did the gator update anymore I would run out of time :) haha. But we found a family this week. The Fathers name is Jay. And guess what?? He is a boxer. But not just an oridnary boxer. He is going pro in January! Awesome HUH? They are great and super prepared to receive the gospel :) The Lord definitely prepares people to recieve the gospel.

Well, my hand is starting to hurt which means my time is up haha :) I love you all :) Everything is going great! Have a great week!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TISHHHHHHHHH!!!: :)

Love,

Elder Wise

p.s. Mom. I forgot to wish you happy birthday :( I'm really sorry! I totally had it written down in my planner. But I think I have just been so caught up in the craziness of everything, things slip my mind. Even when they are written down. haha. Love ya!

GOT CHARITY - August 6, 2012

Hello Family :)

The Fudge Jumbles traveled great :) AND TASTED GREAT :)

Well, it sounds like you all had an amazing week! I was just looking through some of your facebook pages and looked at some pics. Bishop Wight has the EXACT same bike I do! Except his has suspension. Crazy huh? haha.

Anyways, I loved biking up Mt Constitution when I did it. It was crazy hard but fun! And way to be 3 out of the 5 who fully qualified for scuba diving... that's AWESOME! And Dad, I liked your exaggerations!

Well, this week has been a good week. We have made a lot of progress in the area. We are working with several part-member families. And every non-member in those families want to get baptized. It is just a matter of time. I am having a great time here. Everything is AMAZING! From the members to the missionaries in the apartment! Everything is GREAT!

I have recently been pondering on how I can more fully dedicate myself and how I can constantly ponder the gospel of Christ. So there are a couple things I did. I made a book. It is a small book that I put in my pocket right with my tag. I call it my "Repentance Book". Whenever I notice that I did something disobedient to the gospel or to the missionary handbook I write it down in there. And then at night I make plans to fix those and I ask for forgiveness. And that has really helped me focus on the gospel of Christ and become more focused on my mission.

I was asked by my District Leader to give a training in one of our District Meetings. He asked me to train on charity. So I had read a lot out of Moroni and Ether in preperation for it. And I really noticed how important faith, hope, and charity are. It is really interesting. In  Moroni 10 it says that unless a man have charity he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. Which just shows that it isn't just getting baptized to enter into the kingdom of God. It is so much more than that. In Doctrine and Covenants 4 it says that faith, hope, charity, and an eye SINGLE to the glory of God qualify him for the work. Those are the 4 main attributes all of the saints of God should have.. especially full time missionaries. Because we ALL go through tough times. We need faith and hope to get throught those times. We need to constantly expect the good. Specifically applying it to missionary work. I have really seen that when I have no faith and hope to find someone that day, we dont. And it always seems that when I have a lot of faith and hope that we will find someone that day. WE DO! It is absolutely incredible, the miracles that can be wrought by faith and hope are tremendous. It says in Ether 12 that the miraculous things that happened in the Book of Mormon occured by faith.

And in Doctrine and Covenants 121 it talks a lot about how the priesthood cannot be used unrighteously. It can only be used upon the principle of love. I have also experienced that. Love is so important. "Charity is the pure love of Christ." Bible Dictionary. I know that when I have had love for those I am talking to, you can feel the spirit. And when I don't, the spirit isn't there. It is all about charity. And when we are filled with charity we will bear a bold powerful testimony that is not overbearing. But it will pearce them to their hearts. I love the gospel. It is so true! I have heard some crazy things on my mission that have made me thinkI hear, . But nothing can convince me that this gospel is not true. Because the spirit has born witness to me that it is true countless times. I love it so much!

Anyway, everything is going really good. It is already half way through this transfer.. time is flying by like crazy. Elder Bennion and I keep talking about the MTC. It is crazy. That seems like it was so long ago but not at the same time. That's why only having 10 months left is scaring me.. I just need to take advantage of this time.

So every Sunday night we go over to a mans home named Brother Gard. Brother Gard was baptized 20 years ago and went less active and started coming back to church a year ago. He arranges dinners for us. That is his calling as a a ward missionary. And every sunday night he feeds us what we call "Gard Burgers". And they are so good... but so UNHEALTHY. haha. This last time I ate three bagels before I went over and then I ate the Gard Burger and I almost died. I thought I was going to throw up. But I thought I would just tell you about the delicous burger. :)

Anyways, I love ya'll a ton!

Love

Elder Wise

When the Spirit Touches the HEART, HEARTS are CHANGED - July 30th, 2012

HEY HEY HEY

I got the package! Thank you so much! The scripture case and everything is great! I can put a bunch of stuff in the scripture case which I love! A ton of pockets! Thanks for everything else in there too :)

So I am curious, how much did your bike cost? Because I really want to get one of those when I get home! It will be sweet! Just dont get too good Mom! I dont want to get beat by a girl ;) haha! (An inside joke - when Levi ran Hood to Coast, he said he would NEVER get beat by a GIRL! Well, lo and behold on the last leg...he got PASSED by a GIRL and we never let him live it down! PRIDE goeth before the fall!) WAY to dominate your swim time from last time! That is awesome!

I hope the BOYS are having fun at the camp! Is Teagen back for good now?

Well, amazing things are happening in this mission. Especially here in Ocala! Elder Bennion and I both gave a talk in sacrament and also gave the lesson in 3rd hour. In sacrament Elder Bennion talked about the talk given by Elder Holland titled "No One Was With Him". Then I gave a talk on Elder Hallstroms talk in last general conference titled "Converted to His Gospel Through His Church." It was so great! Then in the 3rd hour Elder Bennion talked about Christlike attributes. Then I did the same thing President Barry did in Zone Conference. You know how I told you how he told the account of Jesus Christ's Atonement. The details that are in the account he told make the spirit very present and the feeling of gratefulness and love is always there. So I did the same thing and told of the account of His Atonement. And afterwards I shared a quote out of Preach My Gospel that says "The more we understand about the Atonement, the more our desire to share the gospel will increase. We will feel as Lehi did, "a great importance to make these things known to the inhabitants of the earth."" It was so great!

I have felt the spirit constantly in my life recently. I seriously have never ever felt this way before. I love the Savior so much more and I feel so much closer to God than I ever have. It is incredible. I hope I never go back to the way I was before my mission. Like Preach My Gospel says "When the spirit touches the heart. Hearts are changed." I have really come to realize  that when we are teaching it is all about the spirit. We can teach the Restoration as clear as possible. And unless the spirit is there it wont do any good.And in order for the spirit to be there we must love the person we are teaching.

But we had a part member family at church this sunday and the non member husband was really touched and he invited us over this week! OH YA!!!!!! :) :) :)

And we are currently teaching another part member family. There is an unbaptized child and he is getting baptized on August 11th :) Everything is going really well here!

The mission is really taking off. Sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven! I love this work. I am so grateful I have almost a year left! Gotta get out there and work!

Love ya'll

Elder Wise

OCALA, FL - July 24, 2012

Dear Family,

We found out half way throught the week last week that this PDAY would be on Tuesday again due to Zone Conference. We had our Zone Conference yesterday and I will tell you more about that later.

So I got transferred to Ocala 2nd ward and my companion is Elder Bennion and yes mom, haha he is my MTC companion which is really funny. I am in a four man apartment again which makes me happy because the other two Elders are Elder Craig and Elder Jensen and they are awesome! Elder Craig goes home this next transfer and Elder Jensen is on his second transfer. He is being trained by Elder Craig. Anyway, we play basketball twice a week here. On Wedensday night we have a scripture class and play basketball with our investigators afterwards.  We play on Monday's too. Elder Craig and Jensen love basketball. So its fun!

We have a couple things progressing in this area. The members love to feed us here so I have to make sure I stay working out haha! We have one investigator that will be getting baptized in September. On Sunday a Part Member family came up to us. This part member family's Dad wouldn't let their kids get baptized but he has finally given permission to get baptized. So we are going to start teaching her kids. One is 12 and one is 8. Miracles are out there. I told you all about the "Harvest" right? It is where we offer to bless someones home basically and it brings the spirit powerfully. The Assistants have been doing this a ton and they have found over 20 investigators each week for the last 2 weeks. So Elder Bennion and I decided that we will make this something we will really start to use. Last night, we set up a couple appointments to come back and bless the homes. And we contacted this one man who was smoking outside of his house. We just started talking with him about fishing. He was wearing a fishing shirt. Then we navigated to the gospel and he was really nice but he wanted to stay baptist. After rejecting to learn more we offered to bless his home. He accepted. We went in and asked for things he is struggling with that we could include in the blessing. We then gave the blessing and he felt the spirit. He then accepted to find out if what we share is true. And we got a return appointment. It is an incredible tool. In Preach My Gospel it says "When the spirit touches the heart, hearts are changed." This mission is taking off.

At our Zone Conference I completely changed. It was all about the Doctrine of Christ. President Barry told the story of Christ from the last supper until his ressurection. It was very powerful! I have never felt the spirit so much in my life. They shared statistics and success stories in the mission. And seriously, this mission is about ready to explode. President Barry is incredible! I love him so much! He has done so much for me! We had a testimony meeting at the end of Zone Conference and I bore my testimony. I was on such a spiritual high there was no way I wasn't going to. Elder Bennion and I have also been listening to this talk by Elder Bruce R McConkee. He talks about how it is wrong to seek a closer relationship with Jesus Christ. It sort of took me by suprise, but it makes sense. We should seek to know what he has done for us and appreciate Him...but we should seek to have a close relationship with our Father in Heaven. He is the one we talk to in prayers. We dont talk to Christ. We pray in the name of Christ because he is our advocate. When we say it in the name of Jesus Christ we acknowledge that all things are done to the Fathers will and that we accept His will. I have really learned the relationship of the Godhead this last week. I love my Heavenly Father. He loves me so much! And I am very grateful for Jesus Christ and I love him. I can't imagine how much pain he went through for me. I know that God is our creator and Father. I know that he loves us so much that he allowed his only begottten son to suffer something that would kill a normal person. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the Atonement and the principles to obtain the blessings of the Atonement is faith in Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism by immersion and the sacrement, recieving the gift of the Holy Ghost and then continueing to repent and come better through the Gospel or in other words, the Atonement. Some Elders started asking people what they thought the Gospel was. And many said happiness. Many said the Bible. Many said the Word. Many said Church. The Gospel is so misunderstood in the world. It has been distorted by Satan. I am so grateful to know of the fulness of the Gospel.

To comment on the remarks Mom made. I love that passage in Matthew 20. I loved Elder Hollands talk about it too. It is incredible and it shows the love of our Heavenly Father. The talk was absolutely incredible! This next Sunday Elder Bennion and I get to talk in sacrement. We get to chose a talk from general conference or something from the ensign. I am going to talk on  Elder Hallstrom's talk last conference about the Church and the Gospel. And then in the third hour the Bishop asked us to put together a 30minute lesson on missionary work. Elder Bennion is going to teach the Doctrine of Christ. Then we are going to watch the Bible video of Christ's Atonement. And then I am going to do the same thing President Barry did where I go step by step through what happened from the last supper until his ressurection. And then I am going to share a quote in Preach My Gospel on pg 2 which says (paraphrasing) "As your understanding of the Atonement increases, your desire to share the gospel will increase. You will feel as Lehi did " a great importance to make these things known unto the inhabitants of the world." 2 Nephi 2. I am so excited for it.

Anyways, I will write more to each of you individually!

My address is : just to make sure

2215 SE 14th Ave. Apt 58

Ocala, Fl 34471

Love ya,

Elder Wise

WE MUST ACT! - July 16th, 2012

Hello :)

Well, we got transfer calls last night and I am being transferred tomorrow. Just like Dad said, change feels good sometimes. I have loved this area here in Gainesville. It has been incredible. I was very neutral about trasnfers because I would love to stay in Gainesville another transfer. But at the same time, change is nice sometimes. So we will find out where I am going.. I have no clue.

 So, David is doing ok.. but he is still struggling. But one of the two new investigators we found last week. He accepted a baptismal date for July 28th. He came to church for the second time this last Sunday. At church, after sacrament he said the following to Elder Thomas and I: "Before, I felt lost and damned, but now, I know the path to salvation. I know who I really am! Thank You!" I paraphrased that statement but that is why we are out here doing this work! He is getting baptized on July 28th without a doubt.. Unfortunatly, I wont be able to attend :( We used to be able to travel for baptisms of people we have taught, but President Barry changed that two weeks ago :( perfect timing! haha. I am very excited for him though :) I got a picture with him yesterday and everything.

This week I realized what it takes for investigators to gain a strong testimony. I have seen 2 people who have completely changed there lives and have a strong testimony while being here in Gainesville. Both of them acted on every invitation we extended. Just like it says in Ether 12:6. We recieve a witness AFTER the trial of our faith. We have one investigator named who isn't acting. She hasn't made any progress. I have taught many investigators who suffer from the same dilemna. They DONT ACT. The gospel is on the foundation of exercising faith and ACTING. If we don't act, we don't gain a testimony. I have learned that if we are people who ACT, then we will follow the gospel and prosper in life. If we dont act, we will struggle all through life. And obviously those who act will still struggle, but not like those who dont.

Last night, Elder Thomas and I had a lesson with a less active Sister. She has been struggling to come back to church but has shown great interest in wanting to come back. We finally got her to commit to come to sacrament. That is all she will come to for now, but the sacrament is the most important part :) We didn't even have to invite her this time. She said she had been thinking about it a lot and that she wanted to. The spirit works with everyone. There is proof of it right there - 80% of the conversion process happens while the missionaries aren't even there!

Mom, your bike is SWEET! I'm going to have to get me one of those one day. :)!

Dad, Stock, and Micah, WAY TO DOMINATE THE SCUBA thing. Especially Stock, way to have that determination and perseverance to push through the pain. That is what makes a great athlete!

Micah, dont worry.. the pain will go away :) haha. I remember asking myself if my mouth would ever be normal again? But its normal again.. yours will be too.

Well, until next week! I love you all and have a wonderful Week!

Love,
Elder Levi Wise

p.s. I have seen a lot of crotch rockets flying around Gainesville and they look like a ton of fun. So I have been pondering on whether I want to get one when I get back home. And of course, I know Mom wouldn't approve and that is been a big part of my thoughts. And the accident that we saw on the way to that vacation. Well, about a week ago we received a text from President Barry. He told us that a former missionary whom I knew was in a severe motorcycle accident and was currently in the hospital and he asked us to pray for him. My heart sunk when I read the text. Yesterday, we received another text from President Barry which informed us that this former missionary had passed away due to complications of the accident. My heart sunk even more. And I decided that I will never ride a motorcycle. And then I thought, am I really not going to just because of a possible danger? But that is a big danger. And I know I have things I need to accomplish. Love you all! Have a great week!