Moves Day or Moves Week?

Well, here I am in Stranraer in the good ol' land of Scotland. Let me tell you, it was a long week last week. Usually, people are able to move to their new areas in one day, hence the term-moves day. However, this time was a little different for me as it took me an entire week to get to my new area. Here was how it went down. 

Monday night- left Dundalk

Tuesday- bussed to Belfast in the morning, ferried to Scotland, bussed to Glasgow, drove to Paisley

Wednesday- spent the day in Pollok while my comp was in Edinburgh at new leadership training. 

Thursday- took the car to get an oil change in the morning, and drove to Stranraer in the afternoon, arriving around 3. 

Yep. Crazy stuff! But, I made it eventually. Stranraer seems pretty good. There are a lot of good things happening. Here's a little bit about the area. Population of about 10,000 people. About 8 members in the branch, but every single one is amazing and take really good care of the missionaries! My new comp is Elder Cluster. He is from Ogden, Utah, is 18 years old, and has been on his mission for about 9 months. Seems like it's going to be a fun transfer with him. 

We are working with so many great people right now! Here is some info about them...

Campbell: 16 years old. Super solid! Preparing to be baptised on May 7. Working on stopping smoking and drinking (that is a big problem among the youth here). Came to church yesterday and loved it!!!

Karen and Natalie: Best friends. 14 years old. Also have a smoking/drinking problem. Really fun and energetic.

James and Amy: Couple. Amy is from Pakistan. Super chill, but have a lot of their own beliefs on things. Have had some struggles in the past, but believe we were sent to them for a reason.

Kevin: About 40. Loves to learn about the gospel, but struggles with coming to church. Is preparing for baptism on May 7, but we will probably be moving his date, so that he can come to church more regularly. 

Vicky: 17. Friend of a recent convert. Is super willing to change. Had a baptismal date, but unfortunately missed it. Working on preparing her for a new one. 

Martin: 30's. From Czech Republic. Loves to hang out with the missionaries. Came to church yesterday and really enjoyed it!! 

Those are the main people that we are working with right now! Please pray for them that they will all continue to progress!

Thank you all for your love and support! Love you all! Stay awesome and keep moving forward!

Elder Wilson

 

Meet Elder Cluster

 

Back in Scotland

Yeah, this is the chapel

 

Keeping the Pattern

Well, moves call has come and gone, and once again it is time for me to pack everything up and move out again. On Tuesday I will be leaving, not only Dundalk, but the wonderful land of Ireland and heading back to Scotland to my new area of Stranraer. I will be serving with Elder Cluster. It is sad to leave this area because so many amazing things are happening. We have 5 people preparing for baptism within the next month and many more new people that we are finding. Elder Corcran and his new companion are going to do great things!

This seems to be the pattern though. Since the beginning of my mission, I have only ever spent two transfers in areas, and then I get booted out. In a way, it is kind of fun being able to see so much of the mission and meet so many new people. At the same time though, I would like to be able to settle down somewhere for a while. But hey, I am just that much closer toward achieving my two goals. First, serve in every zone in the mission (currently at 6/8) and second, to have the most areas (currently at 6). Guess we will wait and see if the trend keeps on going.

Sorry this email is so much shorter, but I need to get back to the flat and finish packing, seeing as I have to be down in Dublin tonight.

Prayer List

-Attila

-Oussain

-Rebecca

-Peter and Moreen

Thank you all for your love and support! Love and miss you all! Stay awesome and keep moving forward!

Elder Wilson

 

Finglas District

Dundalk swag

The Murphy's! Make me feel like a giant!

 

Hitting the Pavement

Well, this week has been..interesting to say the least. We knew we were going to be without a car (you know because of the accident and everything), but we got a car this week saying that our car will be given to another set of Elders in Mullingar. That's right, after 5 months with a car, I finally lose it! In a way, I am sort of happy about it, because now I can stop getting fat. However, that means you are back to hitting the pavement by foot and also by bike! I better be the sexiest missionary after leaving this area!

A lot of this week has been adjusting to new modes of transportation, so we unfortunately weren't able to visit a few of our investigators. We have yet to get back in contact with Romain, so that is a bit disheartening, but we had a great lesson with Oussain. He asked us when he could get baptised, but we have to wait for his visa to get here before we can go ahead with that. He is so solid though. We also got a legit referral from mormon.org this week. Her name is Rebecca, and we called her and she said that she referred herself and that she would love to meet up. We are seeing her on Saturday, so that should be good!!!

We got the amazing opportunity Saturday and Sunday to watch General Conference! It was so good! I had so many of my questions answered and received so much personal revelation. My favorite had to be either Donald Hallstrom or Bonnie L. Oscarson! Both just really made me think and remember why I love this church and this gospel so much! Such an amazing thing to be a part of!

Prayer List

-Romain

-Oussain

-Rebecca

-Attila

Thank you all for your love and support! Means a lot! Stay awesome and keep moving forward! Love and miss you all!

Elder Wilson

Watching Gen Conf!!

Happy Easter!!

Well, this week has been a bit stressful.

First off, Romain. We have tried to get in contact with him everyday this week, to no avail. Not sure if he is trying to avoid us, or what. Got a text from him on Sunday saying he wasn't coming to church and that he just needed to talk with himself and figure things out. Needless to say, unless a miracle happens, he probably won't be getting baptized this Saturday as planned.

Next is Oussain. We had an amazing lesson with him on Friday about the Plan of Salvation, and in his own words, it is 110% true!!! He said straight up that he wants to convert. The only issue is that he is Muslim, and with everything going on at the minute, we won't be able to baptize him until he gets a visa. He is sending in his paperwork this week and it should get here in about 2 weeks after that, so we could still possibly make his date of April 16th. Unfortunately, he didn't come to church either and we don't know why.  

Also got a new investigator named Maureen. She was a former that was being a taught a few months ago, that we got back in contact with. She is very energetic for a 49 year old women, and is very religious. It is a bit hard for us to talk about what we believe, because she is always talking about what she believes. She did accept a baptismal date though, so that is some sort of progress.

As for the rest of the week, we had a few dropped appointments and Sunday wasn't very fun. You would think that Easter would be one of the greatest Sunday's ever, but not in Dundalk! For starters we had no investigators at church. To make that even worse, we had a member of the mission presidency visiting, so we probably looked like wasters. Then, after church we got in a car accident. Don't worry, we are all ok, but the car will be in the shop for a few days, so we get to walk everywhere now. Yay (please note sarcasm). Basically, my brain hurts, and I am really tired. Really looking forward to Sunday where I can just relax and watch General Conference. Should be good!

Prayer List

-Romain

-Oussain

-Attila

-Peter and Moreen

-Maureen

Thank you all for your love and support! Really appreciate it! Stay awesome and keep moving forward!

Elder Wilson

Carlingford Castle

                                    

I'm a sheep!

We adopted a cat!

Luck of the Irish

Top o' the morning to ya!! This week was so flipping good. For starters, I had the once in a lifetime experience of celebrating St. Patrick's Day in good old Ireland!! In years past, missionaries have had to go in early, or not go out at all because it can get a wee bit crazy. However, this year, we were allowed to go out and work all day!! It was so much fun! It was the first time since being here that I actually heard Irish music playing in the streets. Sadly, even though there were a lot of people out, most of them were too busy or drunk to want to hear a message about God.

Despite that though, the Lord has blessed us so much this week! This week, we were able to find a total of 4 new investigators and now have 5 people preparing to be baptised. Here is a brief update on the new people:

Atilla: He is originally from Hungary. He looks like he could eat you whole, but is one of the nicest and funniest guys I have met! He really wants help with his English, so we are going to teach him and give him English lessons as well!

Peter and Moreen: Brother and sister from Nigeria. Met with missionaries before, but the missionaries lost contact. Had a great lesson with them, and both admitted that this is the truth. Both are preparing for baptism on the 16th of April.

Anthony: Found by the previous elders while knocking doors. He is very open minded and said that he felt curious to learn more after the lesson. Has a lot of really great questions. Also preparing for baptism on the 16th.

We are also still working with Romain and Oussain. Sadly, in order to fit all the lessons in, we had to move Romain's baptism to next week, but at least it is still going to happen. Oussain is doing great as well!! He told us straight up that he knew what we were teaching was true, he has come to church twice (walks an hour to get there) and is also preparing for baptism on the 16th. If all goes well, we should be baptising 2 Nigerians, a Pakistani, and an Irish man on the 16th! Talk about multicultural! This area has really started to take off again Now, let's make sure that it keeps going that way and that we don't get lazy!

Prayer List

-Atila

-Peter and Moreen

-Anthony

-Romain

-Oussain

-Aileen

-Peter C.

Thank you all for your love and support! Love and miss you all! Have a grand week! Stay awesome and keep moving forward!

Elder Wilson

 

Rockin' my Irish swag!

Ireland

Decorating

 

Patty's Day in Dundalk

Shamrock shake and McFlurry to celebrate!

 

A Russian, a Frenchman, and a Pakistani

This week was grand, so it was!! Much of it was spent finding, but because of that we found a lot of really great people. The best day had to be yesterday, because we saw so many miracles!!

First, was that we had two investigators at church. While that doesn't sound too impressive, the story behind one of them is great! We met a man last week named Oussain, and he said that he would be interested in meeting up. We were supposed to teach him this last week, but he unfortunately got sick. Well, Saturday night, we decided to invite him to church, and he said that he would come. Naturally we were a little bit skeptical. It got to be 5 minutes before the church started and he still wasn't there. Well, a couple minutes later, we get a call. It is Oussain saying that he was just outside!!! We ran out and pulled him in (not literally) and he ended up staying for 2/3 hours! What a blessing. What made it even better, is that after Sacrament meeting he was talking about how peaceful and happy he felt. Those sound like some feelings of the Spirit if you ask me!

The second person at church was Romain. Romain is originally from France, was meeting with some elders in Dublin, but has moved up to Dundalk this last week, so we are taking over teaching him. One thing the other elders didn't tell us, is that Romain is preparing for baptism on the 26th of this month! Looks like we have a baptism to get ready for next week!

The funniest part of Sunday was Gospel Principles! We only had 5 people in the class: me, my comp, Romain, Oussain, and our recent convert Sylvester. Now, Sylvester is from Russia, Oussain is from Pakistan, and Romain is from France, and all of them are still learning English. The language barrier was so real, but the lesson went good either way. Luckily it was Elder Corcran's turn to teach :)

Another miracle that happened yesterday was during finding. We were out chapping, and we got let in by someone! Her name is Francis, and she seems super solid. In her own words, she has a "middle of the road" faith and loves learning new things. Hoping to start meeting with her this week.

Well, this week is also St. Patrick's Day, which is huge in Ireland. Chances are very likely that we will have to stay inside for most of the day, in order to avoid all the crazy Irish festivities, but I will send you as many pics as I can! Should be a grand day!

Prayer List

-Romain Work towards 26th baptismal date

-Oussain Hold appt this week

-Francis Meet with us

-Aileen Make time for the gospel

Thank you all for your love and support! Love and miss you all! Stay awesome and keep moving forward!

Elder Wilson

1) Shamrock Shake in Ireland! 2) Can you see Mrs. Doubtfire?

What a Blessing

This week has been amazing!!! But, I will start with the sad stuff first. After only 3 weeks of serving together, Elder Harker and I split up and he went off to Portadown in Northern Ireland, leaving me to get my new companion, Elder Corcran. Since Wednesday, we have been tearing it up in Dundalk!!

This past week, we got about 10 potentials, and have 3 appointments set up with new investigators! That is more than I think I have ever had on my entire mission at one time! We also got a new investigator named Peter. He has met with missionaries before, but had to stop after ending up in hospital after a Thai boxing fight (he hopes to go professional in it). If you don't know what Thai boxing is, look it up. It looks dangerous! Had a great lesson with him though, and he is super committed to coming to church next Sunday.

We also got a sick referral from some Elders in Dublin. They are teaching a man name Romain, but he is moving up to Dundalk this week, so they are handing him over to us. We met him last night at a new member fireside that the mission presidency put on, and he is super ready!! When someone asked him if he was a member, his response was "not yet"!! He is from France, and said that he would teach me French if I helped him with his English. Looks like I get to learn another language on my mission.

Yesterday at church, Clive was ordained a Deacon in the Aaronic Priesthood. Our branch president did the ordination, but I got to stand in the circle. So cool! Clive came up to me after Sacrament meeting and said "Elder Wilson, when can I pass the sacrament?" I told him he can do it next week, which happens to be our branch conference. Going to be a really cool experience.

Basically this week has just been one blessing after another!! I can already see the miracles lining up to happen.

Prayer List

-Aileen Church and regular appointments

-O'Briens Church

-Peter Find answers

-Oussain, Penny, and Atilla (potentials) Hold appointments

Thank you all for your love and support! Love and miss you all! Stay awesome and keep moving forward!

Elder Wilson

1) Cruising through Dublin with Elder Charlesworth 2) Meet the new companion!