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!

Gainesville Coming to an End - July 9th, 2012

Dear Family,

This week was a great week and I can't wait to tell you all about it :)

Well, It sounds like a lot happened this week. Micah, way to be manlier that Teagen and I (Micah just had his wisdom teeth out and has thus far been tougher than his two older brother :). I just remember it not feeling very good! And Stock, don't worry about the braces :) At least you are just 14 when you have them. I am planning on fixing the gap in my teeth when I get back. There are a ton of dentists in this ward, and I asked one of them what it would require and he told me it will probably require braces. So at least you won't have them when you are 21 or maybe even older :P haha

We got two amazing referrals this week that turned into two new investigators who attended church. One has a baptismal date for the 28th of July and the other has accepted a to be baptized but we dont have a date yet. They are both super prepared to receive the gospel :) It truly has been a great week being able to teach them. One of them served 6 years in the infantry. 

So that investigator named David from last week. We left a card in his door last Sunday. We went back on Wednesday to check on him. The card was still in the door and his car was in his garage and he is really old and went to the hospital 2 weeks prior to that. So, we were worried and called dispatch and they came to check on him. When they came we had to leave, but we went back the next day and asked the neighbors what happened and they said that they took him off in an ambulance. So I hope he is doing okay. The neighbor did say that he was alert and awake, but hopefully we will find out what is going on soon.

I am so grateful to have been with Elder Thomas these last 3 months! I have learned a ton from him. We do know that one of us will definitely be leaving, but we just don't know for sure which one is leaving. I have been here for 6 months now, and Elder Thomas for 3 months. Everything is pointing at me to be getting transferred, but crazier things have happened so maybe I will stay here another transfer.

I only have one more week of training and a week and a half left in this area :( Which is definitely my favorite area so far! Everyone here is GREAT!

Sorry for the short email. These computers we have been using lately are really slow, which really shortens up our time to email. Hopefully we will go to the Family History Center to email next week! Much better than the library :P

I love you all and I hope you all have an amazing week and I will reveal the transfer news next week :) DUN DUN DUN :) I love transfers. They are exciting. Change is always fun and exciting :)

Love ya,
Elder Wise

Two Boys, Two Natural Disasters, ONE WEEK! - July 2nd, 2012

Hello :)

Debby was not quite what I was expecting. It did some damage in surrounding areas though. We never lost power or anything, but we did get soaking wet!!!! All the streets were flooded which was really fun riding our bikes in :) Lake City got hit pretty hard. There were some houses that got 5 feet of flooding and such. And yes, there are a ton of service opportunities for those who serve in an area that got hit pretty bad. We didn't have much service opportunity here though.

WOAH! I'm glad Teagen is okay. Some people down here were telling us how there were a bunch of tornadoes happening. We had a tornado warning the other day too but it never formed. I bet driving through a tornado would be scary! But Teagen is a boss, he probably was really calm haha.

So this week we were going to some former investigators. At one of them, Elder Thomas and I had different address in our GPS for some reason. So we tried both address's. We ended up running into a man named David. He has been through a lot. He is really prepared to recieve the gospel. He has been reading out of the New Testament quite a bit and says that he is trying to be more spiritual and that he feels there is more. I LOVE hearing people say that! It is so great!

One thing I really learned this week was FORGIVENESS. It is so important to forgive people. It destroys relationships if we don't forgive, and it is also a commandment from God.

It is crazy for me to think that I have already been in this area for 4 transfers in 2 weeks. It has gone by so fast. It seemed like the 4 transfers in Palatka took forever. I love this area so much. If I do end up getting transferred it is going to be sad! But I am preparing myself for it because It's almost guaranteed that I am getting transferred. But ... crazier things have happened, so who knows? Maybe I'll get blessed to stay in this area for a little bit longer :)

Stockton, you danced with girls?? :O EWWWWWW!! haha. Way to go bud! You are growing up so fast it's scary! If I remember correctly you were barely over 5 feet tall when I left. And now it looks like your 5' 8 or 5'9?? WHAT HAPPENED To You?

Micah, sounds like that camp was a blast! :) I wish I could see you lead the almighty Camas Band down the street! :( But one day I will get to see you leading the almighty University of Washington band down the street :)

Teagen, don't die! Your baby needs you :) Watch out for those tornadoes :)

Dad, you rock!

Mom, Good luck with your triathlon :) DOMINATE :)

Tish, good luck with all the pain :) LOVE YA!! I see Sisters in the ward where I am serving and I feel so bad for them. There is one that just had twins. And before she had them she looked like she was carrying around a 100 lb pumpkin! haha. There are a TON of pregnant people in this ward!

Alright, well I got to run :P I will let you know how it goes next week! :) Unless it's super important or an emergency then Sister Barry will probably have me call you. BUT, I am pretty sure it's nothing. The Doc made it sound like it's probably just a strained muscle.

Love ya, :)

Elder Wise