Me Falta 3 Meses

This week was good, a lot of stuff happened. Here it is

T-3 Months

I officially have three months left. I’ve been having dreams that I’m home almost every night. In one of my dreams I was cruising on I-215 in my ford fiesta blasting earth wind and fire being super happy I was home and could finally listen to whatever music I wanted. But other than that, in all of my dreams that I’m home I am just super depressed and try to get back to the DR somehow. But I am definitely coming to the end of my rope a little bit. My shoes are getting holes in them. They were holding up pretty good until I started megging my companion a ton. Now the holes are getting bad and the soles are rotting jaja. 

Feliz Cumpleaños

My birthday was on Tuesday which was good. Holidays and birthdays as a missionary are kind of non existent, but It was still good. By the end of the day I laid in bed and thought, “you know what, today was a pretty good birthday.”. And then I realized that I didn’t open any presents or eat any cake and was depressed for a sec jaja but I got over it quick

El Templo

We went to the temple in Santo Domingo the next day at like 4 in the morning. I went to the temple praying and fasting for a spiritual experience, and I definitely had one. Not the one I expected and it was kind of hard for me and I was depressed for a little while jaja but I know the Lord is teaching me.

El Espiritu Santo...?

My companion and I have a lot of crazy experiences that I forget to tell you about. I remembered this experience that happened a few weeks ago that I thought I’d share. We taught a lesson to a brother and sister. They are both in their twenties. They were bashing the whole lesson so it wasn’t great and we decided to end it. They asked if we could pray with them at the end, so we said yes. They told us to stand up, so we did. Then they pulled out a speaker and started blasting super loud crazy music. They were yelling and shouting about the Holy Ghost and it was kinda crazy. They also told us to close our eyes. My companion told me after that while the music was playing and they were shouting, the brother had grabbed him and was shaking him trying to command him by the power of the Holy Ghost to fall to the floor and all this crazy stuff. The sister had been a little crazy to me but not like that. It was just crazy. Elder Opheikens told me that when the guy tried to command him to fall to the floor by the power of the Holy Ghost, he felt something powerful, but not of God, trying to knock him down. For a second he was scared, but then he prayed to the Lord for help and got his strength back and was able to stand strong even while being yelled at. 

At the end of it, I was pretty annoyed jaja. We are now avoiding that guy at all costs. He is kinda nuts. But it was a cool experience too. They asked us how we liked their "prayer", and we both read scriptures from the Bible and the Book of Mormon about the real power of the Holy Ghost. The one I read was in Helaman 5:30, one of my favorite verses. It says - 

“And it came to pass when they heard this voice, and beheld that it was not a voice of thunder, neither was it a voice of a great tumultuous noise, but behold, it was a still voice of perfect mildness, as if it had been a whisper, and it did pierce even to the very soul - ”

Missionary Night

We had a night the other day with the returned missionaries in the ward, us missionaries in the ward, and the people preparing to go on missions. It was super cool to sit there and reflect on everything I have learned on my mission. It has been so much harder than I thought it would be, but also more rewarding than I thought it would be. I have grown a lot in these past two years. 

Yudelca y Joaquin

There’s a recent convert in a different ward in the stake who since she has been baptized, has dedicated herself to helping other couples get married so that they can get baptized. In addition to helping Noely and Loren (who I’ll tell you about in a sec), she helped this couple named Yudelca and Joaquin. They got married, and then she sent us their information to teach and baptized them.

Last Sunday morning, like an hour before church, we texted and invited them. Most people here take all week plus Sunday morning to help them keep their commitment of church, but this family right away, with hardly any notice was like “ye okay we’ll be there”. We were like “uhhhh you sure?”. We were just super surprised that they said yes so fast. But they came to church last week and this week. 

Teaching them the gospel has been amazing. I am so amazed at all the amazing people God puts in our path. During our first meeting, we met the rest of their family. They have a 10 year old daughter who is special needs. Her whole body is crippled and she is constantly moving and shaking. I felt the Spirit of God so strong when I saw her being carried out of the room in her dads arms.The first thought that I had when I saw her was imagining that Christ had just come and asked everyone to bring him their sick to be healed, and itt was a powerful moment. The second thought that crossed my mind was that I wished I had enough faith to heal her. Then my thought was that I hope that when Jesus Christ really comes, He will be sure to visit and heal her. It’s what he did the whole time he was in Jerusalem, and one of the first things he did when he came to the Americas. I can only imagine that it will be one of the first things He does again when He comes back. 

But anyways, I already love this family with my whole soul! Their special needs daughter’s name is Angie. Itt was so cool looking into her eyes. I could just feel that she had a strong spirit inside of her that wanted to get out. I could see the light of Jesus Christ in her eyes. 

But anyways, they also have a little puppy that is freaking cute named Blancita. They also have a giant spider hanging from the roof that almost ate me but my comp saved me. Anywas, I don’t think I’ll be here for their baptisms but I’m sure they will get baptized next transfer.

Noely y Loren

We have been teaching Noely and Loren for months. His wife Loren is a member already that we were led to and were able to help reactivate. I’ve talked about them before, but we just found out this week that his name is Noely, not Noel. So we’ve been saying it wrong. Oops. But this week they got married (on my birthday) which was super sweet! They have been working for months to do it and God finally made it happen. 

Then on Saturday Noely got baptized. The baptism was a great experience. There have been angels seen and unseen in this whole process. He’s a big dude so I was kinda scared but it worked out okay. There was just a little splash zone. As we walked out of the font after I baptized him he looked at me, pointed to my bicep and flexed. So let’s gooooo 

Church

Sunday mornings are almost always my favorite part of the week. So many people have been coming lately, it’s been crazy. It’s been more full than my home ward honestly, which is crazy. It is so fulfilling to look around on Sunday and see people in the church building that I have come to know so well. I am so grateful that the Lord has put them in my life. I am going to miss them so much. 

Transfers

We also had interviews with Prez this week and he told me that I am probably gonna be out of here at the end of the transfer which is next week. I’m not surprised, but I am sad. This area has changed my life. I feel like all of my mission has prepared me just for these three transfers I’ve had here. So I’m trying to mentally prepare myself to leave this area and become depressed for a while because I’m convinced this is the best area any missionary can serve. 

Also sorry if I am bad at responding to your emails. I definitley read and love them all and will try to get back to them asap

That’s it, bye! Love you guys

- Elder Wride

Tranquilo

Hola mis amigos, 

The past two weeks have been pretty cool. 

Funny Dog

There’s this dog that is freaking dope that follows us around every time he sees us. He is the dog of an inactive member so he knows what’s up. When we pass his house he usually comes to my feet and rolls on his back waiting for me to rub his belly with my foot. I normally kind of hate dogs but this dog is so small and chunky and it is super funny. After I rub his belly, I win his trust, and then when we go out to proselyte some more he sometimes leads the way and barks at everyone. Which is super cool when he does it. Last night I was rubbing his belly again with my foot on his porch, while talking to his owner. I got distracted, and accidentally rolled him off the porch. I had a panic attack as I watched him slip off, but he’s so fat that he just rolled around for a second and then came back up to finish his belly rub. It was super funny. 

Nadeje

About two months ago our friend Soledad got baptized. She is gonna be one of the best member missionaries ever. She’s been helping her mom learn and live the gospel since her baptism and her mom finally got baptized this week! It was a bit of a process giving up some stuff but she made it. I love this family so much. Nadeje hasn’t processed everything as fast as her daughter did, but she knows the important stuff: God loves her, and she loves Him. So she’s going to keep His commandments. It was great to see her get baptized!

Marisa

We’ve had really great visits with our friend Marisa. I love her a lot. She really wants to get baptized but can’t find a new place to live. It’s been hard. During a lesson she started tearing up and said, “I want to be free of this misery”. 

She is a good lady, but has made mistakes in life, as we all have. When she said that, it hit me really powerfully that, like the scriptures say, “wickedness never was happiness”. We promised her that if she is doing everything she can, God will do the rest. 

Church

One of the biggest miracles of the Dominican Republic is how willing people are to come to church. Yesterday we had a lot of people again, 4 that we haven’t even started teaching yet! The Lord is so good! There was one family that we texted like 45 minutes before church and invited them, and they said they would go. We didn’t really believe them because everyone says that and 5% of them actually go, but this family came. It was awesome and I am way excited to start teaching them. We have a visit with them tonight. 

Spiritual Thought

I’ve been thinking a lot about the plan of salvation this week. It’s super heartbreaking to see people who I know know that what we have taught them is true, but then they deny it. I feel kinda scared for these people, and a little guilty as a missionary that I am making judgment day a lot harder for a lot of people because now they have the knowledge but many don’t accept it. It kind of stresses me out. But there’s that. 

Also yesterday during Sunday school, the lady teaching it talked for a second about spiritual witnesses or something like that, and then she paused and said, “Deny it. Try to deny it”. That hit me pretty hard. At this point, I have had so many witnesses that it’s kind of crazy. Can I really deny all of those things I’ve seen and heard? I’m scared what would happen if I do. So I’ve also been thinking about that. 

This week is gonna be crazy though. I’m most looking forward to going to the temple in Santo Domingo on Wednesday. I haven’t been through an endowment session since I was in the online MTC, 20 months ago. So I’m super excited. Also we have some friends getting married tomorrow and then the husband is supposed to get baptized on Saturday since the wife is already a member. I’m excited for that. Also I turn 20 tomorrow, so that will be cool too. 20 down, 80 to go. Jk I don’t think I want to live for that long. 

But I’m doing good here! Just trying to stay alive. Someone should go listen to “My Sweet Lord” by George Harrison for me. That’s kind of the feelings I have right now. I miss music a lot. 

Love you all, bye!

Last Week

 Wey

I tried to send this last week but had some phone problems. And I don't have time today to tell y'all what happened this week so sorry. But I'll let you know next week!

Wey que lo que mis amigos

This week was pretty alright

I have been really bad at keeping track of stuff happening during the week so this email is probably going to be kind of trash. 

So I got robbed this week. Turns out that you probably shouldn’t carry all of your money with you. Long story short, I dropped my wad of cash in an uber on accident and when we found out he wouldn’t give it back. Whateva. So I’m kind of in survival mode right now since we only get more money every two weeks. 

This week was crazy spiritual though. God is more real than I thought. We had a lady we're teaching tell us an experience she had that kinda blew my mind. I thought crazy spiritual stuff just happened to people in scripture. I guess not though! I'd like to share it but it's pretty sacred and not really my story to share. But it really strengthened my testimony of God's love for all of us. I didn't realize how closely he has been helping me and our friends we are teaching. 

I’ve also had some really good personal studies this week. I love the Book of Mormon so much.

I will do good this next week at writing stuff down to tell you about. I love the Dominican Republic so much! I am so happy at the blessings I’ve been given. Also my sister Melodie is home now which is crazy. Feels like my time here is coming to an end. 

Life is good though, bye!

• Elder Wride

27 de Febrero

This week was pretty interesting. I have 4 months left officially. Time is going by pretty fast. 

Freaking Gringo

While we were out proselyting we met some gringos in our area in Padre Granero preaching. We stopped and talked to them for a while. We taught them a little bit about the restoration and for the most part it was a good talk. They were a little sketchy but still pretty polite. Then as we were finishing another gringo came over. A big old guy with a big nose wearing a Texas shirt. Before I had even started talking to him, I could feel like something bad was going to happen. He started bashing against us and I started to defend, and then he started yelling. I was on an exchange with 2 greenies so they weren’t really able to do much, so I felt very alone. I stood there in the middle of the street surrounded by Dominicans as this texas guy yelled at me about Joseph Smith, the Book of Mormon, etc.. There’s been times on my mission where I feel the absence of the Spirit, but I didn’t like this especially because it also had the presence of the devil. After he stopped talking I started to defend the Gospel and the prophet Joseph Smith and he went at it again. He then told me he had read the Book of Mormon. I asked him what part of it went against the Bible, and he said all of it. I then told him that he hadn’t actually read it. Anyways, it was just pretty bad. It would have gone on forever but I just told them that this wasn’t doing anyone any good and that we should leave. So we left. 

I was really sad and angry the rest of the day. Not because I was having doubts about the gospel, but because I know it’s true but couldn’t seem to get the message across in a way that they could understand. It was really frustrating. But it was comforting to remember that when Jesus Christ Himself came to earth, he was rejected too. Even though it was a frustrating experience, I am always happy to be wearing the tag. Because like Elder Holland said in a talk, when we are rejected, we are “standing shoulder to shoulder with the greatest life this world has ever known”.

Esmeralda’s Baptism

That was a low of the week, but Esmeralda’s baptism was great. She is Marisas daughter, who I talked about last week. Her brother Anderson was going to get baptized with her, but he wasn’t ready. But it was a super spiritual baptism. I got up and got to share my testimony of the gospel and the story of Marisa and her family. There have only been very few times in my mission where I start to get choked up while sharing my testimony, and this was one of them. I talked about how the Gospel brings joy, and how the most joy I have ever felt has always come from living the gospel. I also had major chills while I was speaking haha. 

My companion’s spoke too and it was really spiritual. Then the member leading the meeting stood up. He is almost 90. He stood up and said, “I was baptized 42 years ago, and the same Spirit I felt on my baptismal day, I feel now”. He was also starting to cry which was cool jaja. 

Then she got baptized. Our friend Bryant baptized her. As her and Bryant were changing, we put on “Homeward Bound” by Motab on the bluetooth speaker we had. The spirit filled the room. The line that said “then the wind will set me racing, as my journey nears it’s end” was super powerful. 

At that moment the Spirit hit me so hard as I realized that my mission is nearing it’s end. It made me sad.

Gloria

I’ve talked about her a few times and I have just grown to love her so much. She sent us a text saying that the week after her baptism has been the worst week of her life and asked us why. It made me sad to hear that, but I wasn’t surprised. Satan always attacks right before, or right after something really good. But we had a good talk with her and she’s doing good now. Here’s one of the texts that she sent us. She is working on her english so we talk in english sometimes haha. Sorry if it’s confusing but here it is anyways

“When I met you, there was a voice in my head that told me to speak to you. I am a very anti-social person. I don't like talking to people I don't know and I don't have many friends for that reason. I met you at a difficult time emotionally. But I was able to get over it.  I really had so many years without going to church. I had a lifestyle before I started going to church. I even stopped wearing my piercings of my own will. I had six earrings in my right ear and four in my left ear and one in my nose. It was planned to have others.  But I took them off and I only have one pair in each ear. Obviously there was no lack of "Friendships" who told me that I won't change for following some weirdos.  To be honest I was called out at school for my piercings and I never took them off.  Because it wasn't the only one he had.  But I lost "Friends" who were never really my friends.  Now I'm having a wisdom that I didn't have before. But finally I had something that I have been looking for since my mom died and that is peace of mind.  My emptiness was filled when I reconciled with the Heavenly Father.  My grandparents are happy that I return to the ways of God”

She is just the best. And she texted us yesterday saying that she just got called as the relief society secretary which is awesome. I am so proud to know her. Being a saint is hard, but it’s also rewarding. 

On the other hand, we have one of our amazing friends who totally wrecked us this week. She was one of our most progressing friends but now she says that she doesn’t want us to talk to her anymore. It broke my heart. But I thought of the line from the hymn and the line that says “they who reject this glad message shall never such happiness know”. Although Gloria is taking the path that feels like more work at the time, she is also on the path that will ultimately lead to the most happiness. 

Also yesterday was the Dominican Republic independance day. President Nelson gave us a shout out too. I love this country! 

Bye!

• Elder Wride

 

Asunto - Todo bien

This was a pretty good week

Marisa y Su Familia

There is a family we met at the beginning of this transfer that I love so much. The mom’s name is Marisa, and she has two kids named Esmeralda and Anderson. We were walking through a callejón and the spirit hit us hard to talk to them. So we talked to them for a second and shared a short restoration. Then we went back a couple days later. I knew they were elect when she greeted me by saying “Hola Elder!”. It was epic. We’ve been teaching them since and I love them so much. Like two weeks ago we had a lesson and she told us that she loves what she’s learned so far, but she doesn’t want to leave the church she is at, and wouldn’t be coming to church again the next day. We told her that before she walks away from it, to read a chapter in the Book of Mormon and pray to God about if our message is true. And we invited her that if she got an answer, she should come to church again the next day. We stopped by in the morning before going to church to see where they were and she wasn’t there. It was still gonna be an hour and half until church started so we just figured she wasn't coming. But then we went to church and saw that her and her family were there again! After the sacrament meeting I asked her if she got an answer. She told me that she didn’t see anything. I asked her if she felt anything, and she didn’t really answer it. But I think she did. Otherwise she wouldn’t have come to church. 

We had a lot of good lessons with the family again this week. We taught the restoration again and showed her a video of the first vision. At the end she said “I don’t have any questions now” and forwarded the video to a bunch of her whatsapp friends. It was super epic! Then the next time we came by we saw that she had watched the movie “Joseph Smith, Prophet of the Restoration” on her own. She also watched a session of the October 2021 general conference! When I heard that my jaw literally dropped. But yea they are the best. She needs to get married to her husband before she can get baptized, so it will be a little bit for her. But the kids want to get baptized so we’ll see what happens with that. She’s so committed to the gospel that she told us she was going to move out so she wouldn’t live with her pareja jaja. But instead we’re just going to work towards getting them married. Which by the way is a really expensive thing here, so if anyone wants to help let me know haha. But I love this family so much. 

Sacrament Meeting Testimony

Yesterday a member shared a story that I just loved so I wanted to include it here. She has been a member most of her life. When she was younger and recently married she really wanted to have kids but nothing she did was working. This went on for a couple of years. A while later she was in a meeting with her stake president here in Puerto Plata and he told her that Elder Richard G. Scott of the quorum of the 12 apostles was coming to visit the Dominican Republic and that he was going to meet with him. He asked her if she wanted to give anything to him, so this sister wrote a letter to Elder Scott explaining a little bit her situation with not being able to have kids and such. She tried to write the letter in english at first but then realized she couldn’t write it and just wrote a letter in spanish instead. She didn’t know that Elder Scott spoke Spanish, but he was able to read her letter. He told the stake president to tell her that he and the entire quorum were going to kneel together that Thursday evening in the temple and pray for her. He also said that they would start a fast together. A little over a year later, she had her first kid. 

She then bore her testimony that God hears our prayers and loves us. It was such a good testimony. I was getting pretty teared up. It was also another testament to me of the leaders of the church. They are really servants of the Lord who aren’t perfect, but sincerely want the best for God’s people. They are prophets of God.

Noel y Loren

I don’t remember if I mentioned Noel and Loren before, but they are the best. Loren has been an inactive member but accidentally referred herself online so we started meeting with her. Now she is fully active again and her husband Noel is getting baptized soon. We’ve been working with them for a while, because they aren’t legally married. But the plan is for their wedding to be this week so Noel should be ready to get baptized right after that. It’s been really cool meeting with them. Loren has told us about dreams she’s had about the gospel which are probably too personal to share but it really has strengthened my faith. Honestly, she is only recently reactivated but she loves the Lord so much. We were talking to her about her getting married, her husband getting baptized, etc., telling her that Satan will do all he can to keep these things from happening. She was like “I know, but I am a lot stronger that he is”. And the way she said it was just so epic. I love these people! 

Albert

We met a guy named Albert this past week who is super elect. We were walking and the spirit hit us to talk to him so we did and it’s been a miracle since. We’ve already taught him most all of the gospel. When we were teaching him about the Plan of Salvation and the premortal life, he told us that he feels like he made someone a promise that he needs to fulfil, but he doesn’t know who, when, or where. Pretty cool.

We all thought I was going to leave this transfer (which we just found out I’m staying) so last night I said bye to Albert, who I’ve only known for a week. And he was literally crying. It was super bittersweet. I’m happy to be staying here to teach him. But it was another testament to me of the power of the gospel. I barely know this guy but I love him a lot. 

Mark

Another miracle! Wayyyyy back when I was serving in Litchfield Illinois I talked a lot about our friend Mark who almost got baptized while I was there. Elder Pugsley forwarded me a message this week (kind of apostate because it wasn’t on P-day but whatever) of his baptismal invitation. He got baptized on Saturday! I am so happy! He is one of the best men I know so that was another huge blessing to hear about this week. 

Gloria pt. 2

A little while ago I talked about our friend Gloria who me and Elder Opheikens met at the bus station six weeks ago. She got baptized on Saturday too which was awesome.

And our mission President showed up too. But I love her a lot. We’ve been talking over whatsapp throughout the whole process. She sent us a text that was super funny. Here it is in spanish and english - 

“Ustedes son los primeros misioneros que les hable y son importantes para. Yo no suelo hablar con gente extraña  yo casi no tengo amigos por esa misma razón. Pero había una voz en mi cabeza qué me impulso a hablarles porque pensé que ustedes eran testigos de Jehová.

You are the first missionaries I speak to and you are important to.  I don't usually talk to strangers, I hardly have any friends for that very reason.  But there was a voice in my head that prompted me to speak to you because I thought you were Jehovah's Witnesses.”

So yea there’s some stuff about what’s been going on here in Puerto Plata! I have another six weeks here at least so that’s fun. I hate trios though so kinda bummed about that but whatever. As long as we’re working hard it will be good. 

Love you all! 

Wey

Hey guys, today was super busy. I have no time to write an email so here's some pics. But I'm doing good! I love the people here more than I thought I ever could. Transfers are next week so we'll see what happens. I am just trying to cherish every minute here in Puerto Plata. The Lord has been so good to me. 

Adios 

7 months in the caribbean

I have been cleaning the apartment all day so I don’t have a lot of time. Pero aqui esta

Traction is key

It rained like 24/7 this week. We were walking down a slippery staircase type thing and we had to be extra careful so we didn’t die on the way down. Elder Peterson went first and made it down alright. Then it was Elder Opheikens turn. As he started to walk down he said “traction is key…”. He hadn’t even finished saying the words when he totally slipped and fell to the bottom. I was dying, it was so funny. And he’s okay don’t worry

Gringos en la calle

While we were out proselyting we saw two gringos who looked super lost. We went up to them and found out where they were trying to go and took time out of our schedule to lead them out of the jungle. We had a really good conversation with them. They are both from the Czech Republic. They aren’t really religious at all, but the guy told me that although he doesn’t really believe in God, “during the hard times, I remember Him”. I thought that was neat. Even people who don’t believe seem to believe. 

Gloria

At the beginning of this transfer we were taking a bus from Santiago to Puerto Plata. While waiting at the bus station we were talking to people and talked to a lady who seemed nice. We got her number and sent her a text. Something that I have done hundreds of times. We barely talked to her at all but sent her number to the elders in her area. Then a couple weeks later she texted us saying how grateful she was that she met us and that the Gospel has changed her life and that she’s getting baptized and all that stuff. Super sweet! I am so happy! We are going to try and get permission to go to Santiago for her baptism. Vamos a ver. 

Alexa

We were visiting our recent convert friend Soledad and while we were talking to her neighbor who is a 10 year old girl started talking to us. It kinda blows my mind how smart all of the kids here are. Alexa told us that she was baptized a while ago in a different area but feels like she should be baptized again by complete immersion and that she should probably keep going to the church she get’s baptized in. So basically within a minute of even meeting her she was asking to get baptized. Super cool! And she’s been coming to church so that will hopefully happen this month. And then a week after we met her we had a meeting in Santiago with the President of the church in the Caribbean and his wife. His wife talked to us and told us about how she joined the church when she was a little girl. Hearing her talk I totally thought of Alexa. After she finished talking I turned to Elder Opheikens and told him that that will probably be Alexa someday and he told me that he had the same thought. 

Nuestros Amigos

Also we’ve been helping all of our recent converts get temple recommends so that they can go and do baptisms for the dead. It’s been super fulfilling. Seeing someone get baptized is satisfying, but it’s much more satisfying to see someone get baptized and then let it change their life. Hopefully the sacrifice we’re making here will really change these peoples lives now and forever. 

That’s it for this week, love you all! Life is good.