Pretty eventful week

 Hey guys!

This week felt like it was 5 minutes long but so much happened. 

Two Females

This story is pretty scary. So me and Elder Pugsley went to the lake by our house to do some street contacting. Nobody was even there, except for one car. So we decided to just skip rocks for a few minutes and then head out. While we were skipping rocks, we saw two girls our age come out of the car that was there. We always wave to people, so we waved at them. They started to giggle. I was like “ohhhh boy” so me and Elder Pugsley decided to go. We got in our car, and then out of nowhere, the two girls pulled up right next to us. My heart stopped.

They rolled down the window and were like “heyyyyyy what are you guys doing”. So we were like “uhhhhhh we’re missionaries”. They were giggling a lot and it was pretty nerve racking. So we decided to scare them away and teach them a short lesson about the Restoration.  

Long story short, we were both pretty shook. Why couldn’t something like this have happened while we were in highschool?

Anyways, we eventually coordinated a time for them, us, and our zone leaders to have a lesson at our church. It was a really awkward lesson. At the end they texted us asking if we were mormons and have multiple wives. I’ll attach a picture of the conversation. 

Anyways it was just a really funny experience for some reason. Just thought I’d share

Police

So, I finally got word a little while ago that I can submit my Dominican Republic visa application! But it’s been super confusing. To sum it up, I’ve been going to the same police station here in town a bunch trying to figure it out. I probably went in about 10 times and talked to the same guy each time. And for some reason, literally nobody knew what I was talking about. But I had nowhere else to go so I would just go back and try to rephrase it in a way that they would understand. After a few days I was able to get an Elder who had already done it to send me a picture of what his police form looks like. When I showed it to the officer he was like “well shoot (didn’t say shoot) I can do that”. Finally they got me the stuff I needed and on the way out the officer was like “Elder, I want you to go to the Dominican Republic and NEVER COME BACK”. I think he was mostly joking but I’m actually not totally sure. But it’s all good because now my visa is submitted!

Exchanges

This week our zone leaders told us that they would be coming down to Litchfield for an exchange. We were both super excited and wanted to tidy up the place. So before we went to bed the night before the exchange, we made everything look nice, decorated our apartment with lights, and decorated a sign that said “Welcome ZL’s to Litchfield! We love you!”. The next morning we called them to see what time they were gonna be there and they told us that they are actually going to have to cancel the exchange because of other stuff. We were heartbroken. 

We had a zone zoom call that night after hours to talk but me and Elder Pugsley were too sad. So during the zoom call we sat on the couch holding the sign that we had made. The ZL’s saw the sign and apparently it broke their hearts so they surprised us the next day and came for an exchange. It was a miracle. 

Funerals

This week was really awesome but it was also pretty sad. We had two active members of our branch pass away unexpectedly. So on wednesday we went to the funeral for one of them. Although it was really sad, I felt a lot of peace. I had many spiritual witnesses that she and all of us will be resurrected in a coming day. It was really sad on Saturday to hear about the passing of the 1st counselor in the branch. He’s been so good to us and will be missed dearly. During fast and testimony meeting there were a lot of thoughts on his passing. 

The really cool thing was that the wife of the man who died bore her testimony as well. She said that people were surprised to see her at church today. Her response was “where else would I be? On Sundays, I go to church.”. It was just such a powerful thing. She is grieving, but her conversion to the gospel is so strong that she came to church anyways. The gospel is awesome. But please keep the Litchfield branch family in your prayers!

THE WORK OF SALVATION

This week I’ve seen a lot of good things the Lord has done for us missionaries. We’ve had super elect people this week just walk right into us and it’s been incredible. Especially after several weeks of virtually no progression with our friends. Here are a few cool ones.

1. We were walking out of a lesson and waved to the cars that drove by (like we always do). So we waved at this one car and the guy pulled over, rolled down his window and was like, “yea what’s up”. We were like “uhhhh” but went with it. We got his information and have a lesson with him this week! And he seems pretty interested. Super cool.

2. As we were driving home the other day we felt prompted to go talk to a guy we saw sitting on the side of the street. So we parked and went to talk to him. He ended up not being interested but we were looking for dinner anyways so we walked into the Dominos that was right next to us. We walked in, and one of the pizza workers looked at us and shouted “can I hear about Jesus Christ?”. We thought he was just mocking us at first but he’s actually super elect and wants to talk with us. He’s really into religion but isn’t associated with one right now and wants to learn more. So we have a lesson with him this week. Pretty sweet!

3. We had just finished doing a service project at this place and as we were walking out we said “how are you” to a lady walking by. She instantly stopped and said something like “I’m all good thanks to Jesus!” and then started talking to us. She seems pretty elect too! Like really! She said that we have a glow about us and we really stick out. She wants to meet with us and we have a lesson with her this week. Pretty niceeeeee

4. We went to visit someone we’re teaching who has kind of been ghosting us. She was home which was great and we were able to meet with her on her porch for a few minutes. We noticed that there were two grown men inside (two of her sons) and we asked if they’d be interested. She said no, but we both felt prompted to still try something. So we asked if we could try anyways and she said sure. 

The two guys names are Johnathon and Shawn. They are ELECTTTT!!! We sat down and Jon was like “yea I’m ready to hear whatever you have to say”. He had seen the Book of Mormon musical and had a lot of questions haha. So we taught him and Shawn the restoration and it was such a spirit filled lesson. We both taught and testified, and you could feel the spirit move them. At the end they were like “wow, you guys are nothing like we thought you would be. You’re like….normal people!”. Then we decided to be funny and were like “just wait, we haven’t done our ritual dance yet”. They thought that was pretty funny. Elder Pugsley said that we left our maracas in the car and would have to go grab them. Ha!

5. Chuck is doing great too. We did some yard work for him this week and then had a sit down discussion with him. He says he feels like the Book of Mormon is true, but he’s a bit nervous to ask God because he’s afraid the answer will be yes. But he gave us his word that he would pray about it so we’re super excited for him.

There are some other lessons and stuff we had that were actually really good but those are some of the highlights!

Mission Life

We had a zoom call yesterday with the whole mission for departing testimonies. I was teary eyed the whole time. Missions really change people. Me and Elder Pugsley both were super emotional during Elder Powell’s testimony. I was with him for three transfers and Elder Pugsley was trained by him. It’s pretty awesome how much the mission makes you love people more. Reminds me of a poem I heard this week about mission life in general. Here it is-

A mission is a strange experience

It is a trial and a test

A mission throws at you the worst

Yet, teaches you the best

I’ve never been so happy

I’ve never been so depressed

I’ve never felt so forsaken

I’ve never felt so blessed

I’ve never been so confused

Things have never been so clear

I’ve never felt my Heavenly Father so distant

He’s never been so near

I’ve never been so discouraged

I’ve never been so full of hope

I feel like I could go on for forever

I think I’ve come to the end of my rope

I’ve never had it quite so easy

I’ve never had it quite so tough

Things have never been so smooth

Things have never been so rough

I’ve never traveled through more valleys

I’ve never ascended more peaks

I’ve never met so many nice people

I’ve never met so many freaks

I’ve never had so many ups

I’ve never had so many downs

I’ve never worn so many smiles

I’ve never had so many frowns

I’ve never been so lonely

I’ve never had so many friends

Boy, I hope this is over soon

Gosh, I hope this never ends

Love you guys! The gospel is true! 

- Elder Wride

Three shouts for Israel

Here’s another update for you guys

This week was alright. Most everyone is still ghosting us pretty hard. It’s pretty frustrating sometimes. But it’s whatever. Still keeping on.

I don’t have much to say today. One highlight though is that one of our member friends gave a talk that we helped him write. It was kinda scary though when he went up to the pulpit and the first thing that came out of his mouth was “today I would like to talk about the reincarnation of Jesus Christ”. Me and Elder Pugsley both freaked out for a second but he ended up giving the talk super well. He’s a legend. 

We did find a lady to teach this week that was pretty great. We taught her the plan of salvation and she seemed to enjoy it. Hopefully she doesn’t ghost us this week like everyone else is haha

Despite most people ghosting us, I’m doing pretty decent. Doing a gratitude journal helps me a lot haha. But me and Elder Pugsley are having a great time and it’s a lot of fun to work together. I don’t totally know why the Lord put us in this place at this time, but in a priesthood blessing I gave him a while ago I felt prompted to say that we were always meant to serve together as mission companions, but we may not realize it’s importance for many years to come. 

So even though it’s hard to see the success that we’d like, I know that I’m giving it my all so I’m satisfied with myself. 

One spiritual moment was when we were driving past this cemetery and saw the cross and the sunset lined up perfectly. Me and Elder Pugsley went over and got some cool pics with the cross. Then we got a shot of us holding the Book of Mormon and we’d shout “Hurrah, Hurrah, Hurrah for Israel!”. It was epic. The gospel is awesome. 

Also a cool spiritual thing was that I actually understood Jacob 5 for the first time in my life and really enjoyed it. These really are the last days and I’m honored to have been called to serve in the Lord’s vineyard with Him. 

See ya

-Elder Wride

PICS

Elder Pugsley

Sunset

Cross

Sunset pt. 2

Spanish Calls (@Elder Goodman <3)

Hike

The field is white

Heyyyy

Hey again everybody

This week was pretty alright. The highlight was definitely learning how to shoot a carrot like a slingshot by just using my fingers. Elder Pugsley showed me this secret and I didn’t hesitate to use it against him. Pretty sweet!

I really don’t have much else to say unfortunately. We did a lot of missionary work. A lot of contacting, a lot of rejection, a lot of learning. It was a good time. Most of our friends we’re teaching ghosted us again this week but we were able to get back into contact with some. We also found two new people and they both seem pretty solid! 

My most spiritually moving moment this week was while listening to the “Saints: Volume One” audio book. I’ve read it before so I thought I’d just listen to it. So every morning I’ve been playing it on my phone while I’m in the bathroom getting ready for the day. I finished the book this week, and one of the final chapters recounts the martyrdom of Joseph Smith. I’ve already had lots of really spiritual confirmations in regards to whether or not Joseph Smith was a prophet, but this one was especially memorable. As I listened to Joseph’s last moments on earth, I just started sobbing. Like full on sobbing haha. I get teary eyed sometimes when I have a cool experience but this time I just totally lost it. Joseph Smith was really a prophet, and I’m grateful for what he did to help restore the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ on the earth. 

And it’s so obvious to me that Joseph was really a prophet. So why don’t more people believe it? And in addition to his prophetic call, why can’t more people see that the Book of Mormon is true, and in it, the fulness of Christ’s gospel has been brought back on earth?

The people who have trouble seeing this are always those that aren’t studying. They aren’t reading, and they aren’t praying. And if they are reading, they are putting their time and effort into sources that twist the truth and focus on the insignificant secondary questions instead of the overwhelming amount of positive truth. 

The scriptures describe the Gospel of Jesus Christ to be an “anchor” in our lives. As my good friend google describes it, “An anchor is a device, normally made of metal, used to connect a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the craft from drifting due to wind or current”.

So an anchor is there to keep us in place when the “wind” comes. So isn’t it implied here that if the Gospel is an anchor, then there is going to be wind? Too often people lose their faith because of the metaphorical “winds” that come in our lives, but the winds and the trials are a part of it. So once you have an anchor, like Joseph Smith being a prophet and the Book of Mormon being true, then you need to let that anchor hold you in place despite the winds that come. And don’t let the fact that there are winds shake your faith. Winds are a part of the experience.

I just want to bear testimony to you guys that I have never been more sure at any point in my life that this is Christ’s true church. I always believed it, but I am seeing it more clearly now than I ever have at any other time in my life. I can feel the Lord shaping me into a better man and strengthening my faith. I really wish the whole world wanted to know that these things are true as bad as I want them to.

Anyways that’s about it this week! The mission is a very eye opening experience. I’m learning a lot of stuff. I’ve also started keeping a gratitude journal which has helped me a lot. Would highly recommend it. 

Ciao

- Elder Wride

Litchfield stuff - 10 Months & 1 Day

Hey guys! Elder Wride here with another weekly update.

Things are honestly pretty fantastic here in Litchfield with Elder Pugsley. Easily the best comp I could ask for. Except for the fact that he snores super loudly and I have to hit him with a lightsaber in order for him to stop, things are going quite nicely. 

I’m Handsome

At church yesterday these two little primary girls came up to us and kept saying “Handsome! Handsome!”. Of course I had to ask which one of us was more handsome, and they pointed at me. Elder Pugsley was pretty distraught over it. Jk. 

Sunglasses

Elder Pugsley has some really sweet sunglasses that I like to wear on occasion but he get’s pretty upset about it for some reason and made me go and buy my own. So at the gas station I bought a 15 dollar pair just like his. Then a short time later, we were leaving the car and I set my new sunglasses on the car seat. I had the strongest thought that I would probably sit on them later and break them, but I ignored it. Then an hour later when I sat back down in the car, my heart sank. I totally destroyed them. I spent some time later trying to bend them back in place, and they snapped. I was outraged. Not sure why I’m telling this story haha but whatever. It was my lowest point this week. Luckily I have the sweetest mother ever who took pity on me and sent me some money to get some new ones. Thanks mom <3

Teaching Pool

Our teaching pool kinda took a hit this week. Most people are just ghosting us. But we’re used to it haha. Mark is doing great though! He’s the greatest guy ever. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for him. But yea it was kinda frustrating this week having so many lessons set up and then everybody bailing right before. The adversary really works on these people. 

Spiritual Epiphany

We met some really interesting people this week. The more people I talk to as a missionary, the stronger my testimony of the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ becomes. Most everyone believes in God, but the amount of people who actually live His commandments is a lot smaller. 

But this past week we were talking to this guy about the Gospel, and he said he had read the Book of Mormon. I was skeptical right off the bat, because based on my experience, anyone who’s truly read the Book of Mormon doesn’t talk about it that casually. Anyways so I asked him what his takeaway was, and sadly, he just wanted to try and disprove it. He said that he read about goats and that they didn’t exist in that time. I was pretty annoyed. This guy claims to have read the Book of Mormon, but his only take away is that goats prove that it’s false? So we were like “is that really the only thing you learned?”. 

The Book of Mormon has the strongest testimony of Jesus Christ that I have ever read. I can’t read more than a verse without it referring to him. I know it’s true.

So we left him a passage from the Book of Mormon to read and pray about. 

We talked for a little bit more and long story short, he won’t read and pray about it. It’s just so sad and frustrating. I know this Gospel is true, and the fact that others won’t humble themselves and take their questions in sincerity to God breaks my heart. 

It’s also just so interesting talking to these people who believe in God and nothing else. We talked to another guy and he was like “I’m catholic.”. We were like “great! Could we talk more about Christ with you?” and then he was like “no no no I’m not into that whole religion thing”. Like come on dude! Faith requires action! So many people talk about their faith in Christ but then don’t live it. They’re so focused on being saved that they forget what we’re trying to do is be changed. 

Another talk we had with this guy named Jason was great. He’s a super cool guy and we had a long talk with him about the Gospel. He told us how we’re the only religion he’s met that doesn’t talk bad about other religions. He also talked about how he’ll go to churches where their entire service is just talking bad about other religions (particularly members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints). Like aren’t we all here just to love one another and live the way that Christ did?

Anyways, I just had a lot of spiritual epiphany’s this week that really strengthened my faith. I know that this is literally Christ’s church restored to the earth. We have prophets and apostles like Christ did, temples, priesthood authority, and the list goes on. You guys should go listen to “What is the Blueprint of Christ’s Church” by Tad R. Callister. It’s pretty good. But yea this church is totally Jesus Christ’s.

But at the end of the day, the keystone of everything I know is the Book of Mormon. If you haven’t read and prayed about that book, you got to do it!!

That’s about it for this week. Hope all you guys are doing good. Ciao

Pretty crazy stuff!

I remember last year, me and my good friend Truman Pugsley were both waiting for our mission calls. We were in our SBO class and both joked that we were probably gonna get called state side instead of foreign. Then the thought came up, “what if we were comps?”. Our friend Sarah was like “that would be a terrible idea”. 

Well now here we are, over a year later, and I’m comps with Elder Pugsley. It’s pretty trippy not gonna lie. But it’s great. And if you’re wondering what it’s like, just imagine it and that’s how it is. But at the end of the day, we’re just doing missionary work all the time. We’re both really obedient and diligent and that’s our top priority. But it’s a lot of fun. I’m excited for future missionaries to read some of the notes we leave in our area book. For example, this is the background information we put for our neighbor who shares a duplex with us-

“Marvin is our next door neighbor. He's cool. He kinda hates us though. Sometimes if we’re being too loud he'll start jumping super loudly on the floor shaking the whole duplex. He also doesn't like parking next to us. If we park in the back, he parks in the front, and if we park in the front, he'll park in the back. 

So we brought him some brownies to introduce ourselves and ease the tension. He seemed grateful and was nice to us. At the end of the conversation, Elder Pugsley said that if he's ever dying to give us a hollar. He seemed pretty taken aback but Elder Wride quickly saved the day and changed the subject”

Anyways, so things are going well in Litchfield. We are just non-stop grinding and performing at the best of our ability. And our friends are all progressing pretty well! Mark is doing much better. Hopefully he get’s where he’d like to be soon. Chuck is doing good too.

Our friends Dennis and his wife dropped us this week. They texted us calling us “wolves in sheeps clothing” which was kind of a shame. But that’s okay because we found a different couple this week and got to teach them the restoration and they seem pretty promising. 

We also invited our friend Dianna to get baptized this week. She said no, but it's all good. We gave her a priesthood blessing and it was good. She is progressing really well.

Scripture for ya - 2 Nephi 31:20

"Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life."

We need to be steadfast or we aren't entitled to any blessings. I think probably the most important principle of the gospel is the concept of "enduring to the end". That's also the one people struggle with the most. We can recieve the gospel, but if we don't strive to live it every minute of every day of our lives, then we aren't entitled to recieve the blessings that God promises to give us. Even if nothing else makes sense to us, we just need to be faithful, and all will work out in the end.

I don’t have much else to say this week! Just keep up the prayers please haha. The mission is quite the adventure. 

Love you all!

Howdy

Heyyyy

I don't have much to say this week. We've been working super hard here in Litchfield and we're seeing the results of it. Pretty good stuff. But we also have had a lot of dissapointments.

So Mark didn’t get baptized on Saturday. It was super sad. The adversary is the worst. I felt like something was going to happen (because something bad always happens right before someones baptism) and yea it was rough. Satan does not want that man to get baptized. But Mark is amazing and will get there eventually. But it was super heart breaking. 

The scripture that got me through the week is 2 Nephi 2:24-

“But behold, all things have been done in the wisdom of him who knoweth all things”

So powerful! Anyways that scripture helped me a lot and even though I’m confused, I know it will all work out as long as I am faithful. 

Also we got transfer news last night and Elder Petrucka is gonzo so I’ll be getting a new companion. I’m not really too stressed about it. It will be good. 

Other stuff-

So Chuck is doing great. He is reading the Book of Mormon a lot and during the opening prayer in our last lesson he said something along the lines of “I’m starting to accept this” which was just awesome. I love that man! He was also wearing some cookie monster pajamas which I just thought was the funniest thing ever.

We found this guy named Austin this week on Facebook. We taught him the restoration over the phone and it was one of the most spiritual lessons of my mission. While I was reciting the first vision he gasped and was like ‘no way…”. It was the perfect reaction. We had a good time with him. Hopefully he continues to be elect!

We also had a lesson this week with a family called the Zellers. They are great. We found them a couple weeks ago while we were walking out of a lesson with another family. We saw them outside their house so we walked over and started talking to them. Apparently the dad grew up in the church but hasn’t been active most all of his life. But our lesson with them was very spiritual. The dad (Dennis) is really quiet and reserved so he didn’t really say anything but during the entire lesson you could see that he was silently crying. It was just super awesome and I’m so excited to continue working with them. 

That’s about it for this week in Litchfield IL. Hope all is well wherever you guys are at. 

Adios