CANADA Week 9-September 25, 2017

Hello my family! You gave me a ton of questions, so i will do my best to answer a few.

My area is about 2 hours 30 mins away from the mission home, and it covers quite a bit of Ottawa, just not the main city.

My comp (Elder Desvergez) said like Day-ver-jay, is 22 and from France. He has only been about for about 6 months, and he is awesome. He works hard and is very smart which is perfect for me. We have been doing all kinds of work this week. 

The food is awesome now don't worry haha. You guys are the best.

Our area is pretty massive, so we have all types of living situations. There is actually a huge amount of immigrants here, especially from Africa, so we speak with them all the time. 

Since we are opening a new area we do a lot of door to door work, and then pass-by references and our investigators if we can. 

Everything is in French here, so I can understand about 1/4 of sacrament meeting haha. But it is better than the first time! 

We cook all of our own stuff here, and I end up doing a lot of it actually. Cooking is pretty fun, and we make up random meals all the time haha. Asher, I am starting to see why you love peanut butter so much!!!!!

That's so good to hear that you are good and seem so busy with good stuff. Dad the shed looks bomb, and it looks like your shoulder is doing good! And Perry you're crazy! I love ya tons, and keep doing good stuff. I wish I was as talented as you are!

It is so hot here right now. We have been sweating buckets! Asher would probably just think it's a cool spring day haha. But we will just enjoy it until the freeze comes... I still need to buy my coat and boots, but we haven't had a chance yet. My comp needs one too, so we will probably go within the next couple weeks.

This week we had a really good mix of meeting new people, and teaching those we had already found. All these people are so good, and have some incredible stories. Many have a lot of difficulties in their lives, but they are working to overcome them, and they were comforted by the promised blessings of the Gospel we could show them. We are so excited for them! We haven't been able to meet very much with less actives yet, because the Bishop has been on a trip, but we will work with him more on that soon. We did have a dinner with a partially active family, and reminded them of conference this weekend. We invited them to watch it, and they agreed to come to the church with us.(I think that is where it is haha). We are also going to have at least one of our investigators watch with us at this point. She is a sweet old Grammy who lives in a Mobile Home. She lives by herself, and isn't very religious. We have taught her a few times now, and she truly is embracing it. She has been a testament to me that people here have been prepared for the goodness of this Gospel before we came. Which is great, because religion is not warmly welcomed here. Canada has had some problems with religion in it's past which made people untrusting of religion, and they really don't want to hear from us. Which makes it that much better when they feel the Spirit, and start to desire to hear more. The majority of people here are all incredibly kind though. 

We also got to know the ward much better this week, and they are impressive. Almost every single one is a convert to the church, and they are strongly rooted in it's teachings. They love having missionaries, and they are willing to do a lot for us. We are going to start setting up more lessons with investigators and members who can add to our message. 

I have been so tired after each day, that the second I lay down I hear my alarm in the morning haha. I guess last night I was still in missionary mode, because Elder Desvergez told me I was saying, ``Je suis Elder Wilson`` while I was sleeping haha. Missionary work never stops! 

I haven't been here long, but after speaking with many of the people here I realized that one of the greatest truths we can share with them is the fact that we have a living prophet today that guides and directs the church. How lucky are we to have him and his apostles. And we get to hear from them this weekend! I am pumped! I invite everyone to go into this conference with a purpose. Have a question in mind (and your prayers), and be ready to ACT on it and I promise that you will receive your answer! That's just what God does! I love you all, and am so grateful for you! 

Elder Wilson

Oh and sorry there aren't pictures this time, but I forgot my camera and we don't have time to go pick it up...

CANADA Week 8-September 19, 2017

Montreal!

Hello my family! This past 10ish days have been insane, and I am glad that I can finally tell you what has been going on haha. The last couple days at the MTC seemed to last forever, but I am finally in Canada and that is all that matters. The plane flight here was pretty great, especially since we were able to do a bunch of missionary work on the flight because the person sitting next to you is trapped haha. But then we got into Montreal, and literally everyone was speaking French, which was cool, but it was so fast! I couldn't even get a single word from anybody haha. The AP`s and President and Sister Phillip`s were waiting for us, and they are so good! We spent the night with them and then got ready to go in the morning. It was super sad to say goodbye to all of my MTC district though.

The Phillip's home.

Me with President & Sister Phillips and with my new companion, Elder Desvergez.

I was assigned to...(drum roll)... The Gatineau East French Speaking Mission! It`s super cool because it is like 95% French, and I am reopening an area that has been without missionaries for about half a year. My companion is Elder Desvergez, a crazy Frenchman that speaks English decently well haha. He has been pounding me with French and it is great. We also have a car, but when we got to Gatineau there wasn't even an area book, so we have been doing a ton of contacting. We have found 5 new investigators (which for Canada is really good) and a ton of potentials, and I know it is because the Lord has prepared these people to learn about His gospel. We have had a ton of miracles, and I know that they are going to continue as my mission progresses.

We are living in the same apartment as the Zone Leaders(their area is Ottowa English speaking) and they are pretty great examples, and it helps to have them to answer some of my questions. We did have to eat some very interesting meals this week, because the zone leaders didn't have enough money to prepare for 2 more people, so I can't even describe some of the meals we made haha. We once used honey and cheese to flavor spaghetti. But TODAY IS PDAY so we got FOOD!!!!! Life is super good here.

My apartment.

Also, the members have been great, and we have dinner with a member every single night this month. One of the miracles this week is that I was blessed with no taste buds. I have eaten some very different foods with the members, but I have been able to eat all of it every time, and it hasn't even been that bad! The ward here is kinda strange because the ward directory has about 350 people on it, and there were about 45 at church... We are going to have to do quite a bit of work with less active members here, but Elder Desvergez and I are ready to go. I have been able to learn quite a lot from him this week. I need to learn a lot more French tho haha, but at least I can get a few words from when someone is talking to me haha. 

I need to go, but if I've learned anything this week it is that God is still a God of miracles (Mormon 9). Don`t be afraid to ask for them! Just do your best to align your will with his, and incredible things will happen! I love you all and will continue to pray for you!

Elder Wilson

CANADA Week 7 Part 2-September 12, 2017

President Phillips, Elder Wilson, Sister Phillips.

We received the following email from President & Sister Phillips:

Dear Family, 

​Elder Wilson has arrived!!!  We are so pleased to welcome him into the Canada Montreal Mission.  What an excellent young man!  We met him at the airport and spent time getting to know him at the mission home before introducing him to his new companion.  His first companion is Elder Desvergez, whom we have prayerfully selected to be his trainer.  We are excited for this companionship and know that the Lord has great things for these missionaries to accomplish together!

​We want to thank you for entrusting Elder Wilson to us.  We love that we come from the same home town. It will be a sacred privilege to share in his experiences as he serves the Lord.  We know that Elder Wilson will work hard both mentally and physically, build relationships of trust with companions, members, and investigators, and experience miracles in his life.  We are excited to watch the growth that will occur in the next two years!

​We will stay close to Elder Wilson throughout his mission through personal interviews and other meetings. As a matter of fact, we spent time with him again today in interviews. We will work shoulder to shoulder with him as he serves the Lord.  

​May you share in and feel the blessings of Elder Wilson's service!

Sincerely,

President Robert L Philips & Sister Michelle L Phillips

P.S. We have zone conference in Ottawa where he is serving on Monday, so his p-day will be moved to Tuesday for this week. Sorry! I know how much you are looking forward to his emails! He truly is quite amazing! We are thrilled that he has been sent to us! Have a great night and enjoy the pictures!

Love, sister Phillips

Elder Desvergez, Elder Wilson, President & Sister Phillips.

CANADA Week 7-September 12, 2017

Ma Mere! We have made it to the mission home! The Phillip's are so awesome, and they made us feel super welcome. Tomorrow I will be assigned and start the work wherever I am assigned. I am super excited, and I know that the Lord has prepared people to receive the message we will be sharing. I'll talk to ya Monday (probably haha).

MTC Week 6-September 8, 2017

Elder Cooky was in my in-field this week. He's a stud and will be an awesome missionary. 

Hola! I was super surprised to learn about Joe last night... I hope he is doing better, and can you please keep me updated on his situation? I have been praying for him, and I asked my district to pray for him last night, and I know that they will make a difference. I am also fasting today that his surgery will go well, and I am sure his surgeons hands will be guided by God. Tell everyone hi for me as well. I love and miss them all, and I am sorry that I can't be with you guys right now. I am certain everything will be fine though! 

This week has seemed to take super long, but also flew by at the same time haha. It is crazy that we are down to about 4 days left here at the MTC. I am so excited to have the chance to serve in Canada. Our teachers have told us so many incredible stories about the people there, and it is a little surreal to me that I can meet this soon. This week had some miracles! Elder Cortez, Elder Alejo, and Elder James are all Spanish and French speaking, so this week our teacher arranged a teaching opportunity where they met with a Spanish speaker. When they arrived, they learned that she was a real investigator that had recently started meeting with the Provo missionaries. The lesson went well, and she decided to follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized! She is getting baptized Saturday, and we should be able to watch it over skype haha. That was a serious boost to every ones morale, and made us even more excited to share with others the blessings of the church. Also, Elder Furness and I committed an investigator to baptism! We were reading with her in 3rd Nephi 11 (where Christ visits the Americas), and I felt like I should ask her if she would heed the teachings of Christ, and be baptized and she said yes! She also talked to her fiancee and he will be getting baptized on the same day. They have a little girl who now will be raised in the church, and it made me happy to see them receive more light in their lives.

Le Temple.

Another miracle is that we are mostly over the plague! I seriously was starting to think it would never go away, but it is almost gone. It is just a little rough in the night and mornings. Thank you for your prayers! I was really hoping that I would be healthy before we fly to Montreal, so that was a great blessing. 

Elder Oaks came to speak to us on Tuesday! We were able to sing Lead Kindly Light in that devotional as a choir, and that was one of the most calming moments of my life. Elder Oaks taught about the importance of repentance and the goodness of it. Repentance is a grand gift that allows us to become more like God, and eases our guilt and grief. I am so grateful for repentance, and I know that I couldn't be doing this work without it. He also said that repentance changes your view on the experiences we have in this life and the people we are with. 

We had in-field orientation this week, and it taught us a lot more about the practical side of missionary work (there really isn't one haha). But it taught me a lot about the importance of working with members and using time wisely. I will be sure to remember those as I start life in Canada, and throughout the entirety of my mission.

Some abandoned building we found while searching for a bathroom after choir. It was pretty interesting and we found some sweet stuff. The bathroom was nasty though...

This week I have learned a lot about the Holy Ghost. This week it seemed like all of the people I taught were already totally prepared for our messages and our invitations, and I know that it was the Holy Ghost helping them. I learned to rely on the Holy Ghost to allow others to understand, even when my French is broken and I am not teaching well. He really can soften hearts and allow us to feel comfort in the most difficult or trying of circumstances. We have been promised that people will be prepared for this message, and I have seen it already. Remember to trust in what you know and continue to press forward with faith in Christ! He will prepare your path! I love you all

Elder Wilson

Oh and what happened to dad's leg? He looks pretty dang good in a dress haha. And it makes me so happy that he has to wear the old man socks!!!!!! You 2 are officially going to be old when I return.... And Asher's packing pics almost made me die haha. You guys never change and it is great. I love you all!

MTC Week 5-September 1, 2017

Sweet pic of the Book of Mormon (My weapon of choice).

Hullo my peeps! This week went super fast, so it seems weird that I am already writing you again. We got our flight plans today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can't even tell you how excited I am! We are leaving September 12th at 7:30 (which means we're getting up at 2:30...) and we fly to Detroit. From Detroit we fly to Montreal and we should be arriving at 5:15. Just a week and 1/2 left! It is good and bad, because we are learning so much here and the spirit is always strong, but I am ready to go help the people in Canada. It is a pretty sweet job to be called to give people blessings and the light of the gospel. I'm glad I still have a while to do it haha.

  

The sickness is starting to pass. I still cough a ton in the mornings and nights, but my voice is beginning to come back, so I am hoping the next time I email I will be good as new.

Impressive work on the shed by the way padre, I was thinking it may not be done by the time I got back haha.

I SAW ELDER COOK! It was awesome, and now I have seen him all over the place. He's still the same guy, and he is glad to be out here which was great to see. He does get to leave at the same time as me though so he's pretty much cheating haha.

Some of the elders in my district in our classroom. We are on the 4th floor so we always have a perfect view of the sunset. Although sometimes when I forget I look at the window and blind myself for a solid minute or two.

This week Elder Furness and I have continued to teach Romina, but we also started to teach Alain. He is a new member of the church that struggles with some of the commandments. We had a great lesson with him! I also have had some crazy experiences with prayer this week. One of the coolest ones was in our lesson with Romina. She is Catholic, so had previously been refusing to pray because she believes prayer should only be personal, but she finally agreed to pray with us and I asked her to ask God if he wanted her to be baptized. She did, and the spirit came into the room so powerfully. All of us got a little emotional at that point, and she started to have a desire for baptism. She still turned down our invite to baptism, but now she is really thinking about it, and is even bringing her family to church every Sunday. 

This week we hosted, so I was able to take some of the new missionaries to their residences and kind of explain to them what goes on at the MTC. We just gained some powerful new missionaries, and there were like 575 of them! 

This is a bunch of the Elders from my Zone after a session at the temple. We have a mix of French, Malagasi, and Haitian speakers. They're pretty great. 

The language is still coming along and improving, and it is nice to be able to go into lessons and just talk with the people I am teaching instead of guessing at what they are saying. I am sure the speed of conversation will double though in Canada haha. We will see how that goes. 

I have heard about the hurricane, and it has been incredible to see all of the missionaries who have family in dangerous and terrible situations and are still doing their best to focus on the work. We have been praying for their families every day. Elder Alejo was pretty worried for his fam, but I guess they escaped most of it and there was little damage to their house. Even Elder Cortez's fam were hit by the edge of  the hurricane, but they are fine as well. They were so relieved. 

I also learned this week that we must make a choice as to who we want to serve. Being neutral and idle is another way for Satan to stop us from progressing and helping those who God wants us to help. Have courage because God is on our side!

This week I can share with certainty the fact that God answers prayers. We just have to be ready to accept and act on the answers he gives us, because they are not always what we want, but he knows best. I am grateful for prayer, because it has helped me more than I can explain while I have been here in the MTC. And I have felt the strength of all of your prayers. Thanks for all of the support and love! 

I'm super excited for next week, and for Montreal. Don't forget that the Lord has a plan for you! 

Elder Wilson

Story of the week- Elder Cortez forgot a spoon at lunch, so he nonchalantly waited for an elder we didn't know to start praying and stole his spoon off of his plate. He then didn't say a word and started to eat his soup while all the people who saw him were pretty much crying haha. What a guy.