MTC Week 4-August 25, 2017

Elder Wilson with a friend from Meridian, Elder Pollock. They played soccer against one another for years and years.

Bonjour! I'll start with some of your questions:

On Pdays we go to the temple, do laundry, email, clean rooms and everything else, and at 6 we are back in the classroom for more French lessons.

The choir performs every Tuesday and most Sundays at the devotionals. We were able to sing for Elder Anderson!

You actually aren't allowed to use speakers at the MTC, so I haven't busted out my music yet.

We shower in stalls right next to each other and there are curtains dividing us. I definitely use my shower sandals, because they get nasty.

My lesson this Sunday went really well! It is great to teach missionaries, because they always are ready to share, and I was able to learn a lot during the lesson. We had a member of the Branch Presidency in the lesson with us, and he was full of good advice because that day was the last day of his 4 year mission here. 

The new elders are awesome! And they all have English accents haha.

My roommates and I outside of the temple this morning.

It is crazy to think that I am past the halfway point at the MTC! Sometimes it felt really slow, and other times it seems really fast, but I have learned so much! I also have met some amazing people.

The soeurs found my IPad and took like a 100 of these pictures haha. I didn't even send you the really good ones...

On Wednesday we had TRC (teaching members who can speak French), and we met this old dude. At first I was a little worried, because he was a pretty gruff looking guy, and he was in a sweet jumpsuit haha! He even had one of the little French hat things. Anyways, we started talking to him and he was one of the happiest most excited men I have ever met! What was really incredible to me, was when he eventually told us that his wife had died less than 3 weeks ago. He told us that he knew without a doubt that she was waiting for him in a better place, and he backed up his statement with his actions. He is 88 years old, and he is trying to get cleared to go on a mission! He taught us way more than we ever taught him, and I don't think I will ever forget his determination and belief.

In our lessons this week it has been crazy to see the gift of tongues in action. It seems like when I am in the classroom I can communicate (in broken French), but once I walk out it all fades away haha. It's all good though, because we are all learning pretty quickly. It's pretty weird teaching lessons, because our investigators are our teachers, but it really does seem like they are different people in our lessons, and it is crazy how fast I began to really really want them to accept our message so it could bless them. I always thought people exaggerated their love for investigators, but it is true! Even if they are fake haha.

I'll explain my investigators real fast:

Sophia- A young French lady who is going to college and working in a café. She believes in God, but has never really been religious. She struggles with self-esteem and doesn't think she can be forgiven for her sins. After working with her this week, I can promise you that through the power of Christ and the desire of a person, miracles can happen. She has started to feel the love and joy of the gospel, and that makes me so happy! She did say no to baptism though... We will work that one out haha.

Romina- An Algerian refugee in France who is learning French (which REALLY makes things interesting). She has a fiancée and a six month old daughter whom she loves dearly, but she isn't too sure about religion. While teaching her this week, I have learned about the importance of saving ordinances like baptism, and how powerful the example of Christ is.

Elder Alejos resting face haha.

This week Elder Alejo and Elder Cortez both got sick. Elder Alejo was pretty bad, so he had to go to the doctor as well. He got his meds though, so now he is doing better. Elder Furness has developed a pretty bad cough, and my voice has been gone for a while. The day I can teach in my normal voice again will be a good one!

THE ECLIPSE!!! I don't know if you can see it in this pic, but it was really awesome.

Other than the sickness, this week has been awesome. We got to see the eclipse! Which was sooooo awesome! and Elder Clayton from the 70 came to talk to us at the devotional. The MTC is awesome and I am excited for the next week! Don't forget to keep doing the simple things! Love ya!

Elder Wilson

MTC Week 3-August 18, 2017

Comment ce va mon famille????? Before I tell you about this week I'll try to answer some of your questions haha. And thanks for the pics!!! They are awesome!

I've gained 22 pounds since I got here... Not really I've lost 3 haha.

The language is hard, but super gratifying, so I'll get it for sure.

I can understand pretty much anything gospel related and very little of anything else.

I've taught all of the lessons in PMG.

Choir is twice a week.

Cantiques=hymns

On Samdi(Saturday) Elder Furness was really sick, so we went to the nurse to get him checked out and fixed up so he could focus, but the office was closed. We went to the front desk, and they had him speak to a doctor on the phone. We ended up taking a shuttle to an urgent care place, and at first I was a little disappointed, because we were going to miss a French class, and we had an appointment to teach, but it was worth it if Elder Furness could feel better. We ended up waiting to get into the urgent care place for like an hour and a half, and I was pretty sure Elder Furness was dying haha, but it was alright, because I was able to talk to all the other people waiting for their checkups. I talked to camping instructors and college students, and even a family from Kenya! They had all noticed our tags and dress clothes, and asked about them. I think that Heavenly Father realized that I was feeling a little useless at the MTC (we've only been teaching fake investigators) so he gave me an opportunity to speak in my own language, and to normal people who were interested in the church. It was an awesome experience. Then we had another adventure at the pharmacy, but I don't have time so maybe I'll tell you about it in 2 years haha. 

This week/last weekend we saw and heard from 2 more Apostles. We are getting so lucky! Elder Ballard and Elder Anderson spoke, and it was a great thing! Both men were so smart and in tune with the promptings of the Spirit. We are blessed to have them guiding our church! 

French is pretty difficult, but it is coming along. Elder Furness and I have been teaching without notes, so a lot of times we just have to open our mouths and trust in God to help us speak his words. It really has been putting my faith to the test haha. Last lesson we even went in ready to teach about God's plan and our purpose here on the earth, but we quickly realized we needed to focus on a totally different subject than we planned for. Neither of us really knew the right words or phrases, but we worked our way through it, and that was one of the times when I most strongly felt the spirit while we taught.

Our teachers here are awesome! Both of them are soeurs, and are actually our investigators, but they are always kind and do their best to help us. Unless we are in a lesson haha...

Me doing normal missionary stuff.

Things happen pretty rapid fire here at the MTC, so I never really have time to realize what is happening, but I have quickly bonded with my companion, room, and district through all the craziness. They are all going to be great missionaries.

View from my classroom in the new building.

Yesterday we learned that we are going to be the teachers in our Sunday classes which is a little nerve racking. The topic is the creation and the fall, so if anyone has any suggestions I would gladly take them. Oh and I forgot to tell you I have an ipad and can read emails anytime, so if you want to message me whenever feel free! 

Our floor received 46 new elders on Wednesday! It was weird to actually be the more experienced elders this time, but it was great to be able to talk to and help the new elders coming in. A bunch of them are Scottish and have sweet accents! I wonder what they will sound like when they try to speak French...

New elders from Romania and Wales

I am so grateful for the opportunity i have to be in the MTC! It has only strengthened my love for the church and my desire to go serve the children of God in Montreal. I know I'll probably learn more from them then they will from me, but hopefully I can help them feel the light of God.

Love ya guys!

Elder Wilson

MTC Week 2-August 11, 2017

This is all of the elders and soeurs in my district! We are all learning French together, and they are pretty awesome people. We are right outside of the Provo temple, which is gigantic, right after we went through it.

Hullo Mudda! This was pretty much my first real week in the MTC, and it has been awesome! Oh and I did get your Dear Elder thing, and it was pretty great to have an actual letter. 

It's been kinda crazy here as we finally figured out how our companionship's would split after Elder K left, but now I am officially Elder Furness's companion. Speaking of Elder Furness, he has been sick ever since he got here, and he started throwing up on Wednesday. I gave him a blessing and he went to sleep and woke up the next morning ready to go. It was perfect timing, because we had another lesson that afternoon, and it was our last one with Lola (who is now actually our teacher). It was pretty stressful, because we decided to go into that lesson without our notes, and we just tried to teach with the Spirit and the limited French we know. It was pretty rocky and we didn't say everything completely right, but the Spirit was there! And now I can officially say I've experienced the gift of tongues. Elder Furness and I were able to speak confidently, and we understood her questions. I still have a long ways to go though!  

Our schedules here are always super full. We have class about 6 hours a day, and we spend our free time studying, exercising, or eating. The food here is actually pretty good! It is more a buffet style, but it is always good. The lines here are SO long! It is actually pretty nice though, because I can use the time to study my flash cards and talk to other missionaries. It's crazy when you walk into the cafeteria, because there are conversations in all kinds of different languages, and we can't understand any of them haha.

This is what one of our normal study sessions look like. These tables are everywhere, so whenever we have a little extra time we set up wherever we can find shade.

This is my companion Elder Furness thinking about his girlfriend... haha no we were planning our lesson.

I did join choir, and it is one of my favorite things of the entire week! The choir director is awesome and he always tells us stories about prophets and church leaders around Joseph Smith's time as he teaches.

We got to hear from an Apostle this week!!!! We were watching a video by Elder Bednar called The Character of Christ (please watch it, it is incredible) and right after it ended guess who walked in? Elder Bednar! We had a Q and A session with him, and he had a powerful spirit with him. We also got to meet his wife and she was a sweetheart. We also had a member of the 70 speak to us named Elder Sitati. He spoke on the doctrine of Christ, and how we are to live it. 

There are like 50 flagpoles, and they finally put up the Canadian flag so we had to take a picture by it. 

The elders that are on the same floor as me in my residence hall are insane! It is great to speak with them though, because they all love the work and are ready to serve. We have some funky traditions now like cantiques and kicking a ninja turtle seat all the way around our building and pretty much anything you can think of haha. They have made sure to make us feel welcome by coming by our room and introducing themselves. Some of them even dropped off cookies and study games! A bunch of them are leaving on Monday which is sad, but we get to follow them soon, and I am ready to go. 

Outside of the new building (which is beautiful and where all of my classes are).

French is hard, but it is fun to devote yourself to learning something like a language. At least I can finally understand my teacher! It is pretty tough to form sentences in French because they are set up differently than the English sentence structure. I'll need to learn it quick because we already have our next investigator! She is really a teacher from the MTC, but as our investigator she is Romanian. An Albanian refugee that is learning French and has a fiancée and a 6 month old child. I am excited to share with her!

I have been able to wake up 30 minutes early here to work out in the morning (we even have a pull up bar right outside our room), and then we have an hour of exercise time on most days. I have been playing basketball, running, playing volleyball, and even 4-square haha. Elder Cortez actually did Cross Fit in Mexico, so he has been working out with me quite a bit. He refuses to get up with me in the morning though haha!

Good work Perry! You are going to be an awesome dancer, and I am only a little jealous that you can already do a standing backflip! 

One of the most important things I have been realizing this week is the power of the Book of Mormon. Nothing is more relaxing than opening it up and sitting down to focus on the word of the Lord. Remember how lucky we are to have it! I love you all, and I will write again in a week! 

-Elder Wilson 

MTC Week 1-August 4th, 2017

Elder Cortez, Elder Alejo, Me, Elder Furness (say it like finesse but with fur). We wanted a pic of our classroom. It is that huge class building behind us. It's super nice! also this pic was pretty strange because a tour was going on right in front of us, and they just kinda stared at us while an Elder took pictures on each of our camera's. But it's all good haha!

Hullo people! I have only been here 3 days, but this place is insane! The second i got here we have been going and since then it hasn't stopped. It's awesome! i was pretty surprised that i found 2 elders waiting for me in my class instead of 1... but they are awesome. I started in a trio companionship with Elder Cortez(from Mexico) and Elder Alejo(from Texas). I guess the MTC executive crew was pretty impressed with my spanish, because both of them are fluent. But its all good because they speak english so well they sound like native Idahoans. they are both going to Montreal with me, and will be speaking English, French, and Spanish. They are incredible! 

They really just throw you into things here at the MTC. i walked into my class only to find that i couldn't understand a single thing. Our instructor only speaks French! Also, she is already having us teach an investigator in French tonight, so pray for Lola and my companions!

We already had a sad moment here... I was in a room with 5 missionaries, my trio, Elder K (a missionary from Utah), and Elder Furness (a missionary from Taiwan who speaks Mandarin!). Our room is pretty packed, but it's crazy how fast you start to love someone with the help of the spirit, so we are all super close. Elder K started having bad depression and anxiety attacks on the second day, and decided to go home this morning. it was tough, but he is determined to fix his issues and get back out into the field to serve the Lord as soon as he can. 

My room and trio de elders. I am sleeping on the top bunk

This change left Elder Furness without a companion, so as of right now i am filling in as a temporary companion for him until the permanent solution is made. He is also a great Elder with a strong testimony and love of the gospel. These guys have all taught me a ton. 

I have seen so many people here!!!! Elder Smart, Elder Brotherson, Elder Sayer, Elder Stimpson, Elder Fuqua, and some security guard named Tyler that knows Asher. It is amazing to see how different they have become in just a few weeks. 

Everything else here is good. All the Elders learning French are in the same hall, and they are hilarious and insane. We even have a crazy Frenchman with a sweet accent that says the dumbest things and gets away with them, because he says "Forgive me I'm French" haha. The French elders are a big brotherhood and they are awesome to be around. 

Same Elders. This is right after a game of bball.

I haven't had much time to really study or actually do pretty much anything, but I can say with certainty that I have never felt the spirit as strongly as I have while teaching people here, and that spirit has been a constant assurance to me that i am doing the right thing by serving a mission. 

Today is my P-Day, so we were able to go to the temple! As soon as we walked in i felt at home, and I've really appreciated the time i spent working in the temple. It was huge inside! there was at least 4 floors, and each of the floors seemed bigger than the entire Boise temple! but the spirit was still there, and that is what mattered.

i gotta roll out, but i love and miss you guys! Next time I email i will probably be fluent in French, Mandarin, and Spanish, so prepare yourselves! Oh and i just realized that i wrote letters for you, Dad, Asher, and Perry but didn't hand them out cause i got distracted... Oh well i will just use them to stuff my 1 inch thick mattress haha.  Anyways i love you, and the work is good! this is such a great way to spend 2 years!

MTC Day 1-August 2nd, 2017

Hola mi familia!!! i have made it! it is super strange, but there is like a whole missionary village here! Everybody is really nice though. i already saw Elder Smart as well! he is doing good, and is ready to roll out. i walked into class, and my teacher is a sweetheart but she refuses to speak anything but French haha. i dont know when my P-Day is, but ill talk to ya soon. Love you!

Final Good-byes

We dropped Tate off at the Provo MTC (Missionary Training Center) at 1:15 on Wednesday, August 2nd. We stopped across the street at the Provo Temple to take say our goodbyes.

He's ready to go!

We couldn't love Elder Wilson more! We're so excited for him but we are going to miss him like crazy!

She didn't want to let him go.

She loves her big brother so very much.

Brothers and best friends.

Goof balls until the end!

These three always give group hugs when Asher comes home from college and when he leaves. One last group hug.

I didn't want to let go either.

Last picture before he got out to go into the MTC. God be with you Elder Wilson!

Set Apart as an Official Missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

Tate was set apart as a missionary on Sunday, July 30th, by our Stake President, Steve Packer. He received wonderful counsel and a beautiful blessing.

Elder Tate William Wilson

Our Bishop, Steve Hansen, Elder Wilson, and President Packer.

Our family with Papa Don.

Elder Wilson with his best friend, Elder Howell's Dad, Jason. So glad he could be there.

Elder Wilson's great friend, Kash.

The Walling fam.

Mission Pics

Thanks to our awesome friend, Tara Pugmire, for these great pictures! Tate couldn't have a greater group of friends! Watch out world for these future missionaries!