Miracles coming...

Hey Momma!

Last. Week. Was. HOT! Like boiling. We worked so hard though and the people of Greenbrier were great. They gave us water and rides and everything else under the blistering sun. We had no immediate results but then again, I've never seen the Lord work that way for me. It's always been more like Ether 12--receiving no witness until AFTER the trial of my faith.

The results came Sunday when we had two miracles. I can't write about either of them on my blog, but the tender mercies of the Lord were very apparent.

Things are going good. It's hard but I'm happy.

  

-Elder Wheatley

These are the folks I really like to teach...

Hi Momma!

This week went great. We had a ton of success-- first time in forever here!

We are teaching some legit people but it'll take some time before they are ready. These are the folks I really like to teach. They ask questions, search for answers, and are truly wanting to KNOW. These are the souls that will remain.

The main guy we are teaching is middle-aged man. He is dating a member. He examines every word we utter-- so we weigh very heavily each word that comes out. He is a very strong individual and won't be easily swayed. He has been coming to church since last year. When I got here I felt strongly to "put him on pause," even before I had the chance to sit down with him and evaluate the situation. I think he was relieved and maybe a little burnt out on forceful missionaries. So for the first 8 or 9 weeks we didn't even really say boo to each other. Then I felt prompted that it was time. I approached his girlfriend and him about having supper and a sit down afterward. They accepted and from that second we hit it off. He is awesome. He's a spiritual truth seeker and wants to know it all before he makes a decision. After the first sit down we extended the invitation to retake the discussions and he readily accepted. We have taught the first three lessons, very in-depth, and I have seen the change in him. The Gospel changes people. No doubt about it. He isn't ready for baptism yet. He still has some underlying concerns but I put complete confidence in the Lord to help him through his struggles to the point where he will be ready to make the commitment.

He's so cool in fact that he picked us up from a meeting in North Little Rock, an hour plus drive away, and took us out to eat afterward. Pray for him and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints will have another solid member.

As for transfers, calls were this morning but neither of us got one. Round number three together. 

Love you,

-Elder Wheatley

"How many friends did I share the Gospel with?"

I had a pretty good week. Friday, during weekly planning, really made my week. Last week you could probably tell I was getting frustrated. This area is so small and we are running into the same people over and over again. We decided to try places where missionaries have never been before but the houses are few and far between-- very far between. The other day we were tracting a road (a highway really) and in our 4+ hour block we maybe knocked and/or passed 20 homes; and we were soaked in sweat to the point where it LITERALLY looked like we jumped into a swimming pool. I was frustrated because I felt that that was working harder not smarter. But what else were we to do? Granted, we found a few potentials, but that's it.

So the reason why Friday was so good was because during weekly planning I realized that all the investigators we have were from members-- and they all have really good potential. It's gonna take them a little while to get to baptism but they will get there. I am so grateful for this ward. I feel like they have really done so much for us. I know member missionary work is hard but they are truly trying. We can't expect things to change over night. It takes persistence. A lot of missionaries don't realize that. We can't just expect the members to 1: trust us the moment we get to an area; 2: find a billion people for us to teach right away; or 3: even know how to do member missionary work. I look at myself back home and ask, "How many friends did I share the gospel with?" That really puts it into perspective and helps me be a lot more patient. Besides, we can't just jump on people to take the lessons.

Ok, enough of my ranting. I'm just grateful for where this work is starting to take itself. It's hard when your Zone Leaders are on your back about not finding enough "new investigators" and you're doing your best, but it'll all be worth it at the finish line, when you've tried your absolute best, and you look back and see the effect you've made. The next 99 days are gonna be hard. But if I work harder, when all is said and done, it's gonna be so sweet.

Yesterday one of our "new investigators" (who one would describe as a hardened Marine) told his wife (a member) how our first run-in with him went. "When they first came over I was being really rude and was gonna run em off... but then they started talking about my bike (motorcycle), and that got me," he said pointing to his heart.

It was a cool testimony builder on how, we need to find common ground and become friends with these wonderful people; not just treat them like "lifeless objects disguised as a baptismal statistic" like Elder Holland says.

I love you more!

-Elder Bubba

Tired... but not giving up...

Hey Momma!

This week-- tired.

I've been doing the best I can. I'm working hard, being obedient but nothing has been changing. Yet, I hope. I've always been optimistic. I think of Pine Bluff where we went two whole transfers with hardly anything and then BOOM! But even knowing that, it's still frustrating when you're wearing yourself out day in and day out and not seeing any results; and the joy of the satisfaction of working hard is wearing off. 

This is what I love about my mission: I learn to do hard things. Even with no rewards I learn how to have patience, determination, perseverance when it really doesn't matter. It matters, yes, but I'm talking about: my house isn't about to foreclose or my kids aren't going wayward. You know what I mean? It's hard. And for what-- myself?? No. For others. It's an incredible feeling. I can't see anything changing day by day (like braces straightening teeth) but I know the end result will be great. So, yes, it's hard. I'm ready to take a break. Some days October 21st can't come soon enough. I'm tired. But I will endure to the end.

Behold, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I have been called of him to declare his word among his people, that they might have everlasting life.

I love ya more!

-Bubba

Momma!

Elder and Sister Shaw:
My Mission Office Homies

I feel like these last two weeks I've worked my badoober off! I'm feeling great! We have a member that we went with yesterday to invite his sister and her two children to take the lessons and those should be under way this weekend. Also, we have a part member family that we are going to start teaching on Sunday and tonight we are going to meet another member referral at family home evening!  

Members here are great.

I took the Mission President's challenge to be at studies by 8 am, fully dressed, no distractions (i.e.: laundry, breakfast, etc). It has made for me a world of difference. I never realized how being 3 minutes late could affect my whole day and outlook.

Things are getting under way in this area and I'm stoked!

-Elder Wheatley

Gotta make exercise fun!

Lesson learned

We had a great week and by the grace and mercy of the Man upstairs we found a lot of good folks.  It's about time.  We have been really struggling with that.

We are emailing at a member's business; an auto repair shop.

He just walked into where we were and said, "Elders, you ready?"

We asked, "For what?"

And he just responded with, "Follow me."

So we followed him into the garage where he took us to a car up on a lift. The worker was trying to drill a hole into the frame and he told the worker to step aside. He handed me the drill and told me where to start-- I got nowhere. He had my companion take a shot with the same result. This member took the drill from my companion, looked at us and said, "This is the kind of crap you'll have to do if you don't get into school as soon as you get home."

Lesson learned.

I'll write better next week.

Love you more!

Bubba!

There is no mistaking -- they got hit by a tornado

Hey Momma!

This week (Sunday when the tornado hit through Wednesday), all of us missionaries, were so preoccupied on the thought of being able to go up to help out with the relief efforts. Not gonna lie-- I was too; that is until Tuesday when I received information that before clean up could even start, they would have to make sure everything was safe AND THEN they would allow the insurance adjusters in to assess the damage. Knowing that it wouldn't be til week's end before I could get in, I was able to focus fully on the work. Business as usual!

So as for the work: My companion has a wonderful Christlike attribute of love towards his investigators. It's a characteristic that if used properly will help him see much success on his mission. 

We let go of a lot of people this week and devoted most of our time to finding new folks and we had some great results! This coming week we are also going to be teaching a guy named Zach, a recent convert's brother. I love working with member's family because there is an immediate support system. Mark is the recent convert who was taught by the sisters. He is my age and is a great member missionary. He's not scared to invite others to church. Zach needed help with something and Mark said only if you go to church with me on Sunday. It's as easy as that!

The cool part was at church when we were asked to ask Zach about taking the missionary lessons. They didn't know how to approach him, because they were scared that he would say no if we were too bold. They wanted us to do it but at the same time wanted us to tip-toe around it and almost trick him into it. It kind of bothered me that they thought that way. I know that if the Spirit is there that all things are possible and that we need not fear.

Gospel Principles class was amazing. We talked about the Abrahamic covenant simply and clearly. The lesson created a spiritual atmosphere that enabled us to ask, pretty bluntly, if he would like to take the missionary lessons. After class I asked Zach if I could speak with him and said, "For you to be able to partake of the blessing of the Abrahamic covenant you need to be baptized into this church. Now, I don't want you to be baptized without knowing what we believe in; so would you like to take the missionary lessons?" He readily accepted.

Now... it would be blasphemous to say that I deserve any credit for getting Zach to take the lessons. The reason I say this is because I know that anything is possible and that you can be as bold as ever IF the spirit is there. I just wish all missionaries could see that.

On the other hand, we all had a FANTASTIC time on Saturday with relief efforts. It felt so good to do some physical labor. We went to a place called Ferndale. They had a huge tornado but it got underplayed on the news because less homes got damaged because they were more spread out on a mountain. But there is no mistaking-- they got hit by a tornado. It looked just like what you see on tv.

I enjoyed myself and it was neat to have an opportunity to practice what we preach.

Love you more!

-Elder Wheatley