10/20/14

I apologize for not being able to write last week. We ran out of time and the Library closed so now I get to report on two weeks worth of work!

 

Elder Campbell is leaving me, and I will be training again!!! I am so excited!! I hope my son is ready to work!! The weather is getting cold... It hit 30s yesterday and man does that wind cut to the bone. They say this winter will be as bad as last year... Which means door knocking in -40... Bring it on. At least I am not cold AND getting kidnapped in Russia. Ain't that right Elder Skyler Farmer? ;) But for about the last two weeks it has been a whole lot of knocking, and a whole lot of uninterested people, but that is how it goes sometimes. We had to drop most of our investigators and haven't been able to find Megan since our last meeting :( But, I have learned that the Lord asks you to work as hard as you can and he provides a miracle in a avenue well that has nothing to do with what you were doing. I would like to share a couple experiences from this last week. 

On Tuesday we met with a less active member named Sister Cowell. It was the first time I had met with her, but I have learned what happens when you abandon the gospel. You lose your testimony. She basically denounced her belief in the Church, and when we asked what she thought about Joseph Smith, she responded, "I don't." She said that missionary after missionary have told her to read and pray about the Book of Mormon and she has and it never worked. "I give up" she said. It was rather discouraging. We invited her to read Alma 32, which outlines the process of receiving spiritual knowledge and left. I left there wondering what happened to her, and praying to know how to help. She called us Friday and told us to come back. We were very nervous about it, and pleaded with the Lord that he would give us the words to say to her. We went in and talked about what she had read. She asked us why we need the Book of Mormon, claiming that the bible was sufficient. We described it in effect as follows:

      

Before the Bible was the Bible, it floated around as singular books, such as the Gospel of Matthew or John. Each of these as individuals is wonderful. They teach you about Christ and teach you to look to him that we might be saved. Why then would we need the gospel of John or Mark, if we have Matthew? Because those books give us insight into the Savior and his gospel with scriptures and stories not included in the other Gospels or Books. All 4 work as a puzzle, filling gaps that the other gospels do not include. All 4 are profitably studied together and help us know who Christ is, what he did, and why it matters. The Book of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants work in a similar way. They provided insights about Christ and His gospel not included in the Bible. I cannot think of anywhere in the bible that explains the process of receiving revelation as clearly as it is explained in Alma 32. I cannot think of a greater chapter on the how and why of the Fall and Atonement than 2 Nephi 2. The Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants fill in gaps and confirm truths taught in other scriptures. We do not freak out when the New Testament is brought forth with the Old Testament, nor do we reject the Gospel of Mark when it is introduced to the gospel of Matthew. Rather, we rejoice at the further light and truth we receive. Why then, do we condemn new scripture and reject further light and truth from heaven, or at the very least experiment on the word? God continues to reveal more truth to us in these our times. Why are we then content to have less? 

We should examples from our studies of how we use all of the scriptures together. She was very taken back, and began to understand. We bore our testimonies of the Book of Mormon and of the spirit that is felt therein. She was feeling it too. She mentioned that she feels the spirit when she reads it to and called it a "good seed." We were watching her gain a testimony before our eyes. It was remarkable. The spirit was so strong. Thank goodness the Lord is with our mouths when we share his gospel.

2nd miracle of the week is an investigator named Nora Buchner. She is 80 years old and has been investigating for ten years and has come to church every week for that time. She hasn't been baptized because she is deathly afraid of water. I have fasted and prayed for her, and yesterday it was announced that she is getting baptized November 1st!! It was so sweet to see her smile when it was announced. I feel that every baptism I have been apart of to date has had nothing to do with me, and that is honestly ok with me. It is how it ought to be. I feel like the Lord works all the miracles and I am just along for the ride. 

It is a wonderful work :) What can I say more? The work is hard and exhausting but that's what makes it great! I am having the time of my life! The work is true. I love you all and pray for you!

His Faithful Servant,

Elder Wheat

2/3 of the original district back together and Mission Leadership Conference

For the Beauty of the Earth

"Chad" selfies and our new Superhero shirts a member got us

The District

10/6/14

I know that God has called a prophet on the earth again today, and that the Church of Jesus Christ has again been established on apostles and prophets. Now that that has been said, I will undertake to write some of the tender mercies of the week.

Trade offs in West Branch was incredible. I was working with Elder Newman, who is just a transfer younger than me. He is a remarkable missionary. Extremely diligent and obedient. We saw miracles. West Branch is usually a slow moving area, but we could hardly stop to rest! We met with a young woman named Amber and taught her about the Restoration. She didn't have a ton of scriptural knowledge, but Elder Newman had an awesome visual for teaching prophets that helped her understand perfectly the need for one today. The whole lesson was stellar, until the part where we taught her how she could know. At that point it became miraculous! We read Moroni 10:3-5 and testified that she could know by the power of the Holy Ghost that things were true and she goes, "I felt it as I was reading that. I am excited to read this." We were just like AHHHHHHHHHH!!! Man it was great. It was an awesome day. 

Later in the week, we had trade-offs with the Zone Leaders, and I was with Elder Stevenson. He plays volleyball, from Hemit, CA and is basically another version of me. We had SOOOOOO much fun. But I do want to share one experience from our time together. It was pouring rain Friday morning, but we decided to walk to Megan Maupin's house, a potential we found this last sunday. She wasn't home but a few hours later, I felt that we needed to go back and knock again. This time, she was home and let us right in. She has a 3 year old son named Tyler who is seriously the most adorable thing. He would run in throughout the lesson with a toy in hand and shout, "Watch this!!" and he would chuck it across the room. He wouldn't stop, though his mother tried haha Elder Stevenson came up with a system that one of us would teach while one of us would play with him. It was wonderful!

She explained to us why she had stopped attending churches. She initially invited us back because she wanted Tyler to grow up in a church, but after some thinking she felt that it was time for her to come back. As we explained the restoration of the Gospel, she had this look of excitement on her face I don't think I can ever forget. We asked what it would mean to her if Christ's church was restored again to the earth, and she said, "Then I would have somewhere to go!" She immediately accepted the invitation to be baptized and ran to her calender and circled November 8th. It was a wonderful experience. It has been almost 2 years since this area has had someone on date, and Elder Campbell and I are fortunate enough to see it happen! The Lord is good! When we got up to leave and and we said bye to Tyler and he goes "Bye bye?" and we go "yea we have to leave!" He says, "I go bye bye with you?" Our hearts melted but we had to say no. She couldn't stop thanking us for coming. It was one of those missionary moments that you treasure. I pray that this will work out for her. I know how much this gospel will bless her life.

How lucky I feel to be here in Michigan. It gets colder, wetter, and darker by the day, but there is sunshine in my soul (Excuse the cheesy Hymn reference). I know that the work I am engaged in is not my own, it is the Lords. I am thankful to be along for the ride! 

His faithful servant,

Elder Wheat

Welcome to the Mission Field!

The person we went to see wasn't feeling well, and as we walked back to the car and saw their yard COVERED in leaves, We said, "This looks like a service opportunity. We don't have this many leaves in SoCal. Its kinda sad.

Missionaries sang as they walk and knock.... 9/29/14

and walk and knock and walk and knock and walk and knock.... AAAAAAAAAND WALK!!!!!

That right there was pretty much the story of the week but IT WAS SO GREAT! Haha Highlights of the week also included going to Oscoda and getting to see Lake Huron! The work moved a little slower this week but reminds me a lot of my first transfer in Grand Rapids. Things are starting to pick up! We found some really wonderful people.

My trade off in Oscoda was definitely one of the more interesting days of my mission. It was full of awesome spiritual moments and some that were just plain nuts. We visited this couple named Jeff and Sandy, and pulling up to there house made me think I was in the back woods of Alabama. They lived in an old, big, country house, and they had this trailer and this tree in the front yard that made me feel like I was on Beverly Hillbillies, but they were the sweetest people. Jeff, unfortunately was plastered drunk. Jeff stands about 5 foot 6, looks like the Hulk, and has this super sick curly blonde mullet thing going on. He would go on about how bad things were going and how we wants God and that he wants to change. We asked him later in the lesson if he wanted to change and he would go "no man... lifes good lifes good... You wanna work out?" I can't exactly describe what happened, but it was an interesting lesson. At the end, Elder Giovinini says, "We should pray." And Jeff suddenly cuts him off, stares up into the distance with the most Epic face I have ever seen and shouted, "LORD! God! Jesus! Heavenly Father!" and every other name associated with God. He delivered the most epic prayer I have ever heard. I looked up part way through and Elder Giovinini had this surpised, confused, mouth happen open look on his face that I will never forget.He held it for 30 seconds. I felt so bad, but I was trying so hard not to bust up laughing. But they did give us hot dogs and apple pie, and they were an incredibly sweet family. Jeff is just a beast haha.

We taught this older gentleman named James Finlayson, a retired military chaplain, and had an awesome lesson with him. We started talking about the Plan of Salvation and then it somehow turned into the restoration, and the whole time, he is quoting the Book of Mormon the whole time without realizing it. He was super excited about the idea that he could find out for himself that it was true. He was a really cool man. 

The people as a whole remind me a lot of King Lamoni from Alma 18 in the Book of Mormon. They believe in "the great spirit" but know nothing about what, who, or why he is. These last 3 weeks have really made me thankful for my knowledge of the Plan of Salvation. When we understand who God is, life itself will begin to make sense. The Lord has let us to a ton of people this week, and quite a few of them are families. We have been fasting and praying to know where to go and what to say to these people and the Lord is making things happen. The ball is moving forward slowly, which is the hardest part sometimes, but thank heavens it is moving. This week has been special. Even though all we did was walk and knock and walk and knock, we saw small and simple miracles that have meant the world to me. I know that the Lord is taking care of his servants. I have never felt more love and compassion in my life. I am finally coming to know who the Lord is. Oh what joy fills my heart each and every day. I wish I had the words to tell all the details of the days here, and what it means to me, but the only way I feel like these things can be understood is to serve a mission. 

Love you all!

Elder Wheat

Me and Lake Huron

Lake Huron

If I were a candy bar....

Me and the Comp after moving some rocks...

9/22/14

I wish that everyone could feel the joy that I feel. I wish that all of God's children would accept his plan so that they can experience the feelings that I do every night as I say my nightly prayers. I wake up with a song in my heart and all I can do is smile. I understand how cheesy it sounds , but there joy in knowing how your Heavenly Father feels about you. If only the world would listen. I feel like Alma at times as he cried out, "Oh that I were an angel!" But regardless, the invitation is open to all. Come. Join with us.

The week has been a good one in Houghton Lake. It is a tough area. I feel like everyone is angry with God, but they have helped me to dive a little deeper and find out what kind of a parent god is. He really is the ideal father. We have helped a few people understand his nature by comparing the way they behave as parents. "Have you ever told your kids no? Why?" We asked a woman named Amy. "Because the thing they wanted wasn't the best thing for them. You tell them no because you have something better in mind for them." We helped her understand that God had not abandoned her. That God sometimes with holds things from us because he knows better than we do. That he wants to play a role in our lives, but sometimes we act like disgruntled teenagers and turn away from him, complaining that he doesn't care and doesn't understand, when we are the ones who shut him out. We had an awesome lesson with her. I was able to relate to her very well. She was shocked when she found out I was 19. She was awesome! She committed to daily prayer and scripture study. I really do testify that it works! Draw near to him, and he will draw nearer to you.

I also have found that many here feel as though they are failures. When we asked a single mom named Shannon how she thought God felt about her. She said, "I think he is ashamed of me." We were able to testify to her with all our hearts that God is not ashamed and never could be. We asked her how she would feel if her daughter made a mistake and came to her for help. She said that she would love her no matter what and do anything she could to help her through it. We were able to share that God feels the same for her. We testified that through the atonement, she could be changed, and be made 100% whole. We shared experiences from our own lives and how the Gospel makes it possible. We also shared that she was out in Middle of Nowhere, Michigan but we were led to knock on her door. God had sent us there to help her. As she prayed, she broke down, and said, "Thank you for sending these men here. I pray that this works. Amen." She is the sweetest lady.

The last experience I wanted to share was about a man named Robert. He felt as though he wasn't being a good enough dad. He was overwhelmed, because he didn't feel like he was making the right parenting moves. As we talked to him about this, we felt prompted to invite him to read the Book of Mormon with the question, "What kind of parent is God?" He was very interested in that. He was a fine man. I know that reading the Book of Mormon or the Bible with similar questions will help change us. I hope that he does it, for it will help him come to know how God feels towards him.

These people are amazing and they don't even know it. I love these people with all my heart. What I wouldn't give to help them realize who they truly are. We are children of God, brothers and sisters, working towards the common goal. This is true regardless of class, creed, race, or appearance. Let us love and serve one another in anyway that we can, and we will be filled with this love! 

​

Elder Wheat

Michigander for Life!

9/15/14

I am safe and sound in Houghton Lake! This area is awesome! The branch had about 15 members at church yesterday, way different from my last area. The lake is beautiful and the town is small. It literally revolves around the lake. It is a summer tourist town, so the population is sinking as the temperatures do. It is very rainy and the thermometer is settling pretty consistently in the 40s. Gotta love North Michigan! I knocked my first dirt/mud road the other day. This place is great! haha We are pretty much starting over with the investigators here. We do a lot of tracting, but things are looking up! Elder Campbell and I are getting along great! Our personalities are very different, but man am I loving him! 

This week has shown me how much the Lord has helped me grow on my mission. It doesn't matter how cold, how wet, or how many people say no, I am just happy. We have had some awesome experiences this week. I don't think I have ever had more spiritually charged lessons than we've had this week! We have been able to help a lot of less active members find hope this week. I feel like I relate to a lot of the people here.

We don't really have any progressing investigators, and so we have been pleading to find those who are prepared. There are a lot of people here that are "all set" with their faith. They know god is there, but that is about it... and they don't want to get much closer. We met a guy who told us to "go tell your pastor that you found a lost soul" I asked, "well do you want to be found?" and he goes, "No sir." haha But I do want to tell 2 stories from the week that illustrate how thankful I am to know the Lord is guiding us. 

We were knocking down a dirt country road wayyyyy out in the forest in the middle of nowhere. We knocked for about 2 hours and got back to the car when we felt to go a little farther. We went for about another half hour and nothing happened. We went back to the car and I had a thought to go check on a man we had tried earlier, but he wasn't home. We pull up and there was a woman in the down stairs door way. We started talking to her and she opened up to us a little bit. She expressed that she was angry with God because her dad, who was her everything, died. She concluded that we just live to die. She was just looking for answers. She was actually just leaving when we walked up. We expressed to her that we could help know the purpose of life and why and why and where her dad was. She invited us back this Thursday and I am praying that things go well. She was a miracle find. 

The coolest story was yesterday. We were driving down the main road next to the lake and I mentioned to Elder Campbell that we needed to take a picture next to the lake later. He said that there was a spot at the end of our street that we could do it at. The next part happened very fast. We are running low on miles this month and the person we were going really far away so I suggested we go somewhere else. Soon after Elder Campbell pulled into a park looking over the lake and suggested we just do the picture here and now. We saw a guy (his name is Joe) and we asked if he would take a picture for us. He looks at our tags, and goes, "Oh my goodness, I am seeing all kinds of messages from God lately. You guys gotta here this." He tells us that he found God in prison. He was just recently released two days ago and he had no money and nowhere to live. His boss then offered a place to live and he immediately found a job. He started going to church and was praying that he could see his son, and in walks his son. He says "and now I am talking to two guys that represent Jesus Christ. This is crazy." We told him who we were and what we do and he goes, "can I give you my number and call me and we will set something up?" Yes Joe, yes you can. I don't understand how that happened. Everything just fell into place so beautifully. The Lord knows what he is doing.

Yesterday, we were door knocking and I looked at Elder Campbell and said, "Elder, Isn't life great? Like, We have the restored gospel of Jesus Christ at our fingertips. We know exactly what it takes to receive exaltation. Isn't it great??" The next door we knocked on was like all the others. They said no. Walking down the steps, I said, "hey Elder guess what... WE STILL HAVE THE FULLNESS OF THE EVERLASTING GOSPEL!" Who cares if people say no? That should only hurt us because it ultimately hurts them. But we have every reason to be happy. Maybe thats why I am so happy... I guess the secret is looking up to God, rather than sideways to man. I feel that discouragement is a result of putting our hope in something other than God. What are we to hope for? A game? A job? A grade? A paycheck? No. We are to hope that through the atonement of Christ, everything will be made ok (Moroni 7:41). When our hope is in the Savior, we never need be discouraged, for everything will be ok in the eternities because of him. There are no endings or lasting heart breaks because of the One who took it all on himself. Because of him, we never need to be discouraged! We have every reason to rejoice! He lives! Let us look to Christ and live!!!

With all my love,

Elder Wheat

9/8/2014

I am being transferred to Houghton Lake, Michigan and will be serving with Elder Campbell. It is a tiny rural town in North Central Michigan and has a branch of about 30 active members. MAN am I excited!! Transfers has to be my least favorite part of the work. I just fall in love with the areas and people I serve. This one was extremely difficult to leave. I have given my heart and soul to Grand Rapids these last 4 months and it brings me so much joy to see how well the work is progressing there. It is exploding. I have learned so much in that city, and I feel like being here has helped me become a better man. They say if it is hard to leave, you did it right, which is comforting, but doesn't make it any easier.

The area is being left in good hands. Elder Erekson is a stud and my replacement Elder Elmer is a saint. I am so excited to see what they will do!! Our top investigator Fred is the greatest. He drinks coffee every morning, but when we taught him the word of wisdom, he not only accepted it, but he handed us 2 brand new coffee makers and pots, all his coffee, all his sweetner, and all other coffee paraphernalia and told us to throw it away for him. I was nervous of how he would take it all, but the man is truly elect. I am really going to miss him... Irene and fam is still great, but they have bed bugs... and I saw one on the couch haha I don't think I stopped itching the rest of the night. So paranoid. They are still coming to church and are doing well!

I unfortunately don't have much time today, but I just want to share how wonderful it is to be a missionary. I have never been happier. I have never felt so close to the Lord and I have never been filled with so much love. He is changing my heart and I never want to leave his side again. I am so grateful for his atoning sacrifice which allows each of us to grow. True happiness and purpose is found in the service of the Lord! I testify that that is true! Love you all!

Elder Wheat

The District

Irene and Family

Brother Goates! He is one of 3 men that has become like a father to me.

Ethan Valentine, one of our miracle investigators

Bro Krieg! The man is a genius. The assistant ward mission leader.

Mike Nelson! Just moved in from Riverside, and is getting his masters in Speech therapy. He comes out with us a lot! Love this guy!

This cane belonged to Lorenzo Snow, 5th prophet in these last days.

So did this Book of Mormon

The Raue's. I love this family. They have taught me more than anyone. They go through so much and are always able to smile!

The Family reunion!

9/1/2014

This area is exploding. 4 months of praying, working, sadness, joy, discouragement, and growing have been culminating until now. The Lord has been so good. I will undertake to right my week. 

Tuesday was Zone Conference and it was awesome as always. It was desperately needed. There is something special about being together with all these incredible elders and sisters. I feel so close to them all. We have a sister in the zone who's dad recently passed away, and Tuesday was the funeral, which she was not able to attend. We released balloons afterwards for her, and out of nowhere it seems, I started to sing "Families Can Be Together Forever." Everyone joined in and it was a special moment. I love the missionaries in this mission. 

Wednesday did not start well. I was just not in a missionary mindset for whatever reason. I didn't want to open my mouth. We went out with a recently returned missionary to a lesson and it was awful. It turned into essentially small talk for an hour and it was a disaster. On the way home he said something that got to me. He was talking to Elder Erekson and said, "If Elder Wheat isn't going to take over then you have to." That hit me. I am sure it wasn't intended in the way I received it, but I felt like he was calling me out. I don't think I said a word the whole way home. When we got there, I went straight to my room and prayed and prayed and prayed. I have been in a weird funk for awhile and I just couldn't take it anymore. I cried to the Lord for help, and I just had a feeling that I needed to just read the Book of Mormon, and so I did. I don't remember what I read, but I know that it calmed me down. I read all the way to our next appointment, and things started to turn around. We had an awesome lesson with a recent convert and I started to feel something again. I am now grateful for these funks, for it allows us to dive even deeper into the scriptures, pray more fervently, and rely on the spirit more fully.

We got a call from a the Sisters over in Holland, MI, and they referred us to a girl that wanted to take the lessons. We met with her later that Wednesday. Her name is Elizabeth. She is in her 30s and she has a Boyfriend in Virginia who was baptized about 4 years ago, and he seemed different, and she wanted to find out why. We taught her the first lesson and it was text book in just about every way. She was so solid. She loved it all and agreed to be baptized!! I am praying that all will go well there. I began to feel better and better. 

Thursday was trade offs with Elder Lewis, and I fell in love with missionary work again. All we did was knock on doors, but man oh man did it feel great. I finally was able to speak and have meaningful things come out. It was the best I have felt in forever. Elder Lewis is one of the finest men I know. It will break my heart when he goes home in a few weeks. He has definitely become a mentor to me. He is a convert to the church and is about as good of a missionary as you can be.

The next two days flew by and we were able to see a couple of great people and found some great success, but there was one story in particular that I wanted to tell. Last week we had Irene from the Congo ask for a blessing because she was so excited to find out that we have the same authority as the ancient Apostles. In that blessing, it was promised that she would learn English quickly. Up until this point, we needed an interpreter translate everything we said. This week we came with a knew one, only to find out that they don't speak the same Swahili. Go figure. At that moment, she told us that she could understand everything that we say. She could now read English extremely well. She said she still couldn't speak, but then walked in a friend who was able to act as our translator... PERFECT! The lesson wound up going great. She came to church and understood every word. Last week she needed everything translated and this week she didn't. I testify that the priesthood power of Christ has been restored.

We also got a call saying that there was a new Freshman at nearby Calvin College who moved up here from Ohio. He was taking the discussions there and wants to continue them here! He came to Church and is so awesome! We are having people just fall out of the sky it seems. Miracles.

This week has resulted from the sum of small and simple experiences that have made a huge impact, but the more I ponder it, I realize that is how the Lord builds each of us. Line upon line, brick by brick, prompting by prompting. I no longer believe that changes need to be drastic, nor does perfection come in a single day or decision. It is a day by day marathon. I am not perfect. I am very much aware of all the things I need to work on, but I am so grateful that I am changing. I know that the Atonement of Christ was much more than a huge favor the Savior did for us. He did not perform it so that we can be content or coast through life. The purpose of the atonement was not to make life easy. The Saviors intention was to make us better, day by day, and line by line. Those changes never have been and never will be easy, but because of what Christ did, they are possible. In order to come unto Christ, each of must walk through our own Gethsemane's and Calvary's, for that is where he walked. But let us be of good cheer, for we are becoming more like and walking with the Savior with every step. The race is not run in a day, nor won in a moment. It is successfully traveled through day to day improvements. Let us all look to the one who traveled it perfectly and rely upon the merits of him who is mighty to save. He lives and he lives to love each one of us.  

Elder Wheat

Two of my favorite Elders. 

Selfie with the Zone Leader. Missionary work is just fun!