Oh dang
Another week has FLOWN by. Like whaaaat. Time is a weird thing. I only have 22 months left in my mission. Rip! Okay but I only have two hours to write this email (normally I take like 5 jaja) so it might not be as good but I will try.
1 - Stomach Pains
2 - Bowling Flex
3 - Dinner with members
4 - Zoom calls
5 - I ate a snail
6 - Brother Erekson: The Beast
7 - Crazy story that won’t make sense and is still unfolding
8 - Spiritual Thoughts
- Okay so we’ll start off with some funny stories. So, I have been eating A TON of food. Like unreal amounts of food. Been having like 8 meals a day. Lemme tell you, it is the LIFE buttttt it’s also kind of exhausting. I’ve never had so much food at my disposal. When we eat dinner with members I just eat a ton, but I always forget that they have desert, so I have to shove in another cake or bowl of ice cream right after I’ve completely filled myself. It’s just kinda funny. In the apartment I eat a lot too. Elder Bowles said that I eat more food than his companion with an eating disorder did jaja. So next time you guys see me, I’m gonna be tall, bearded, and shredded!!! Probably need to work on the shredded part though actually because I’ve mostly been eating junk. I had 8 bowls of fruity pebbles with marshmallows yesterday. It was so good. Actually funny thing: So the other night I had just finished another bowl of cereal before a district zoom call, and during the call I started to get massive stomach pains jaja (obviously). Elder Bowles, who has always been very critical of my excessive eating, looked at me as I groaned in pain with the biggest “I told you so” look. Then he said in his very monotone voice “I mean that’s what happens when you eat all day elder wride”. Then, right after he said that, I got a text from a member asking if they could drop off some cookies in the next few minutes. Which, I responded right away with “That would be great, thanks!”. It was just so funny. I’m literally groaning with stomach pains because of eating so much food and then a member asks if I want cookies. They were really tasty too!
- Short funny story. I was doing some work at the church and this elder who I haven’t seen before was trying to flex to another elder about bowling. He was like “I bowled a 203”. Then I turned around and was like “203? Not bad. I bowled a 243.”. Instantly I became the alpha of the room. He was shook. He got emotionally dunked on.
- We’ve been eating outside with members a lot this week and it’s been awesome! Buttt some district got covid and now all of st. louis south zone is in quarantine so we need to stop eating with members. We had some really good discussions though. Tuesday we ate with our Bishop! They are such an amazing family! Again, reminded me of home. Bishop Lake also reminds me a lot of an old Elder from MTC (Elder Bliss). Anyways, it was neat because the mom went to Olympus and knows everyone down there. I also said how my best friend Elder Pugsley came out to Missouri too and she knows a bunch of Pugsley’s as well! Kinda neat. Thursday we had dinner with a part member family, the Mortensons, and we taught the wife (who’s not active) the first lesson. It was awesome! Not sure if she was really impacted by it or not, but I got really emotional during my testimony of Joseph Smith. He was such a good man. Dinner on Friday was with the Englands. It was so funny. There were flies everywhere so we had a fly-killing contest jaja. I got 3/5 and Elder Morgan got 6/5 which was insane. The oldest boy killed a fly with his ice cream, it was so legendary. I was like “dude that was sweet!” and he responded very unenthusiastically “if you think that’s the best kill I’ve had today you’re wrong.” This line just killed me. Totally reminded me of my little brother Hyrum. Hyrum is just hilarious and has a very mild sense of humor. He’s super laid back and chill, but then also really weird jaja. I don’t really know how to describe him. If you know you know. Go watch The House at 15:53 is Hyrum's scene. Anywho, I could totally imagine Hyrum saying that line jaja. Anyways and on Wednesday we had dinner with Brother Erekson.
- So yea, lots of zoom calls lately. It’s honestly a party. The other day we were on a zoom call with our district, so all of the companionships shared a screen. Anywho, sister jarman and sister huffaker were on, but then sister jarman went to get some water or something so it was just sister huffaker there. Then on the zoom call I was like “Hey, Sister Jarman you need to turn your camera on”. It was hilarious. I know this is like Dad humor but I was dying. Anyways then all of us were like “sister jarman we can’t hear or see you” “you need to unmute” until she came back. Good stuff! Another hilarious part of the zoom call was with our zone the other day. Elder Pugsley is in my zone, and since I was bored, I was copying whatever he was doing during the zoom call. We always revert to our high school selfs when we’re together jaja. Anywho he was leaning back in his chair, and since I was copying him I leaned back in mine, but then I went too far and completely fell backwards and off of the screen. It was quite funny.
- Okay so a member named Brother Erekson took me and my comp out to dinner the other night to a french restaurant where we ate snails jaja. It was kinda gross not gonna lie. I have a video and some pics I’ll add. On the menu it said “Six Naughty Little Snails Swimming Naked in a Pool of Fennel Garlic Butter”. This line made me really uncomfortable. I’m glad the snails were naked though because I don’t like the idea of eating the shell. Also I meant to ask the waiter - is it harder to catch naughty snails versus snails that are well behaved? If any of you have any insights on that, please let me know. Also you may be asking yourself - “Elder Wride, what was it like to eat a snail?”. My answer would be that it’s exactly how you’d imagine. Just add a little salt. And some garlic. But, then again, I’m not sure if the naughty snails have the same taste as ones that are well behaved.
- Anyways, on the way to the restaurant, I mentioned an idea of a service project I had and told him how we just needed certain tools to do it. Then, before I had even really finished my thought, he started making calls. That night we got everything in order. It was just awesome. He then said something about that that really stuck out to me: “You don’t let moss grow under your feet when the Lord is involved.” I loved this so much. He didn’t even wait 30 seconds to follow the idea we had, because the Lord is involved. During dinner, we talked a lot about the gospel. He is such a spiritual giant. One scripture he shared with us was 2 Timothy 1:7-8-
8 Be not thou therefore aashamed of the btestimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God;
I thought this was so awesome. He told us to memorize it and reflect on it throughout our lives. It literally gave me goosebumps just listening to him recite it to us. I’d go into why that’s so powerful, but I think the spirit can teach you better than I can. Ponder those versus! Anyways, at the very end of dinner, Brother Erekson asked the waiter “do you know who these guys are?”. I was embarrassed. Kinda wanted him to stop talking. The waiter said “Nope!” but he said it really fast and really uncomfortably so I think he really did know who we were. Then Brother Erekson said “these guys leave their families for 2 years to teach people about Jesus Christ!”. The waiter was like “cool” and brother erekson responded “do you want to learn more?”. The guy said “Nope!” and brother erekson responded “it would change your life”” and he said “I’ve heard that one before!” and walked away super fast. I was kinda uncomfortable but the whole situation, but Brother Erekson was not bothered at all by that interaction. We are supposed to preach the gospel to everyone, and that’s what he did. Brother Erekson then looked at me and said “he is a son of God, with a divine heritage and divine potential” then with a big ol smile added “he just doesn’t know it yet!”. So awesome.
Honestly it had a big change on my perspective as a missionary. Being fearless. I was reading in saints the other day and these guys kidnapped Joseph Smith and threatened to shoot him. Joseph ripped his shirt open and said “shoot! I am not afraid of your bullets!”. WHAT A LEGEND. That man is truly goated. I want to be that fearless, and I’m getting there. I need to do better job of fearing no man. Honestly, I have the power of the Lord on my side to protect and guide me. Why should I be scared? I know in whom I have trusted. And I’m definitely feeling that. The other day this lady we taught on the phone was like “would you die for the gospel?”. Honestly it was kinda sketch the way she asked it, and she said she would deny Jesus Christ to keep her life. We all agreed that we hope to never be in that situation. If I had to die for the truth I would, but I would rather live if you feel what I’m sayin jaja. I was thinking about it more, and I think that possibly even more incredible and more difficult, is LIVING for the gospel, not dying for it. Joseph and Hyrum Smith didn’t just die for the truth, they LIVED for it. That meaning we live the gospel every day despite the challenges around us. This, I think, can be harder because of the world that we live in. It is seriously SO HARD at times to be a true disciple of Jesus Christ because of the people who try to push us in the other direction. Everywhere we turn it seems as though Satan is there, distorting the work and making others miserable like he is. It’s difficult, but we can live for the gospel. We can be strong despite how hard it is in the world today. I hope none of you guys have to die for the gospel this week jaja, but I hope you live for it.
- Alright I really wanna play some spikeball so I’m gonna make this quick-ish: So, if you read my last email, you heard the story of the guy who I talked to on Facebook about the church. Good stuff. His name is DA. Well, he responded this week with an anti-mormon video. I watched it, and the argument (not surprisingly) was pretty weak. I was in the middle of typing my spiritually uplifting and devil destructing message, when I got a facebook message from Elder Garrett Peterson. Elder Peterson and I were friends in high school. When I was sophomore class president, he was a publicity officer, so he’s a couple years older. Anyways, he was like
“Elder Wride, how are you doing? Hope all is going well. Hey so we just happened to run into DA, who sounds like he has talked with you before. He seems to want to bash and share anti over anything else. Do you have any insights on him by chance?”
I was absolutely shook. Long story short, Elder Peterson (who’s serving in Arkansas) stopped by a Jesus convention and ran into this guy (DA) who lives here in Missouri! Crazy right!? And then DA mentioned he knew me and Elder Peterson was like “yo what the heck” and messaged me. So, wild story. Not sure what God is trying to tell me exactly but I know there are no coincidences and that I outta do something with this. So right now we have a group chat with us and DA, except he’s just been Bible bashing. At first I responded to all of his arguments, but when he kept asking the same questions I realized that he wasn’t even reading what I was putting in. And I don’t blame him jaja, they are very long. But anywho, I think me and my comp are gonna do a zoom lesson on thursday. We’ll see where that goes, but I just thought it was super crazy and y’all would appreciate it.
- Okay y’all, sorry I gotta wrap this puppy up. There’s more I could say that you’d probably enjoy but the sister missionaries are mad that I hog the family history center all day jaja and I need to get out of here. I just want you guys to know that this church is true. It absolutely is. 100%. No doubt about it. My favorite scripture this week was in Alma 48:17. It says:
“17 Yea, verily, verily I say unto you, if all men had been, and were, and ever would be, like unto aMoroni, behold, the very powers of hell would have been shaken forever; yea, the bdevil would never have power over the hearts of the children of men.”
This scripture is just absolutely goated. So awesome. Moroni was a beast. Literally, if we were all like Moroni, SATAN WOULD BE BOUND. I want to get to the point where my name can be inserted into that verse interchangeably with Moroni’s. When I wake up in the morning I want satan to say “fetch. He’s awake.”. I want to be a Man of God, and I’m really striving for it. Let’s all work towards being more Christlike. The world is PLENTY wicked right now, wicked enough for Christ to come. Christ is just waiting for a people ready to receive him. We need to gather israel, establish zion, and prepare the world for the second coming of Christ. I wish I had taken better advantage of the missionary opportunities I had back home. You guys need to act on those promptings! The other day I heard this story of this missionary who was at the subway and had a strong prompting to talk to this guy. He ignored it, and kept getting it. After 30 seconds, the guy ran off and jumped in front of a train. This story is like super sad and wayyyy extreme but the lesson is important. We can’t wait even 30 seconds. When we get a prompting from the Holy Ghost, we best be acting on it. Hopefully we never are in that situation, but just remember y’all to follow promptings. SHARE THE GOSPEL. Please. Give the missionaries in your area referrals. We all have someone in mind. I want to close with my testimony of the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith. I know the Book of Mormon is true. I know Joseph Smith was a prophet. If you don’t know that for yourself, rely on my testimony till you know it too. Praise to the man! Don’t forget to read from the Book of Mormon today you guys. That stuff is great. 3 Nephi is fire!!! JESUS CHRIST IS REAL
A few logistical things- so Elder McNeil is getting transferred. I’m muy triste. Love that man. That means we’re getting a new elder in our apartment. We’re also getting two new frontenac elders. I’m praying that they’re cool dudes jaja and good at spikeball. Also this week me and elder morgan filled the font for a baptism which was neat. It took literally 4 hours to fill the whole thing. It also hurt after the baptism when we had to empty the font. All of our hard work down the drain. ):
As for myself, I’m doing a lot better too. I’ve accepted that I’m gonna be gone for two years and I’m not holding back anymore. I’m all in! Missionary work really is a marvelous work and a wonder. I got an email last week that I really liked. I do not have permission to share this, but I loved it and it gave me spiritual goosebumps so I’m going to share it anyways.
“I am a convert to the Church of 47 years. I searched for 7 years for a church to match my inner-self. I started looking before I was 5-years-old. One day when I was 12, I answered the door and saw (yet again!) two missionaries standing there. Without hearing their message, I politely told them I wasn't interested. They left. A week later I decided to check-out another church, this time the "Mormon" church at the end of my street, and guess who was there! Yep, the same two young men who knocked on my door! A week earlier, I didn't think I needed to hear their message; I had to find it on my own, and after becoming satisfied with my OWN investigation, I approached THEM, and I told THEM that I wanted to be baptized; THEY never got the chance to ask me that question; I had to do it all on my own. Sometimes this is how things work: No effort on the missionary's part, even though you pray everyday that people will be receptive to your message. AND, since I found it on my own, without any pressure from missionaries, etc., (who would have loved to say they baptized me just to say they did, and then moved to another area), I have never doubted or looked back for even a millisecond and I have a "Rock"(Christ)-solid testimony. My point is: Do your best and grow your best; Christ will take-over from there. He's got this. He's looking for "Rock"-solid converts!””
I just loved this. It’s easy for me to feel like a failure honestly. Every week I’m sending all zeros to my mission president and I feel like a failure. I’m trying so hard to share the gospel and it feels like my effort is in vain. But, no effort is wasted. Maybe I’ll never see a baptism, but I don’t doubt that some of the seeds I’m planting will make the world better. My purpose is to invite others, and I’ve been doing a lot of that. The results of what I’m trying to do aren’t really apparent, but I don’t doubt that they’re there. This is the Lord's work, and I will do my best and let him do the rest.
Again, I literally don’t remember what i said in this email. Nothing apostate hopefully! If I did let me know and I will repent. Hope y’all are vibin this week! I’m doing pretty well. Feel free to shoot me an email! I can only respond before 6 on P-day (monday) but I love hearing from y’all. Be strong this week! Remember what this life is all about: to prepare to meet God!
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