A Month of Miracles

Howdy everyone!

It's official, I hit my one month mark a few days ago! Only 23 to go!! But serioulsy, this has been one of the greatest months ever and I have seen so many miracles taking place, especially this past week. Here are a few:

Miracle 1: I survived! This past Friday I went on exchanges with our Zone Leaders in Glasgow. The ZL's have a car, but the Elder I was on exchanges with didn't have a valid license, which meant I had to drive! Talk about being thrown in the deep end! For those who don't know, Glasgow is the largest and busiest city in Scotland, so naturally I was terrified! Left side of the road, right side of the car, and a plethora of roundabouts. But, I didn't crash and I only got honked at twice, so that was a win for me! However, I am perfectly ok with buses and walking from now on.

Miracle 2: Two new investigators this week!! One of them is named Stuart, and he was a former investigator that we tried by last week. He is super interested in learning about the Church, but also is not afraid about telling us about his personal beliefs and opinions. The challenge with him is going to be building his faith and creating a relationship with Jesus Christ. The second one is named Gary. He was a referral from the Bishop in our ward. Gary is struggling with drugs and alcohol, but really wants to quit and turn his life around. He has a very sincere desire to change and said that he could really feel the Spirit when we met with him. He is golden and I am sure he is going to be baptised. The only struggle is going to be overcoming his addictions. Elder Blaylock hasn't found any new investigators in the 2 transfers he's been in Motherwell, so he is pretty excited as am I!

Miracle 3: Two self referrals!! We got a call from the mission home this week saying that two people in our area had requested Books of  Mormon from mormon.org and that we needed to contact them and drop off the Books. What was super cool is that one of the people who requested a Book is someone whose door I knocked on and talked to while I was out chapping (Scottish tracting) one day. Proof that knocking on doors really can pay off, if not in the way you expect! Haven't talked to them in person yet, but hoping that we can get in contact this week .

Miracle 4: Somehow I was able to eat all the food at two meal appointments yesterday. People here must think that missionaries are homeless or starving because they feed us a TON of food!! So yesterday we had a lunch/dinner appointment with a member family. We got to serve ourselves so I took the amount of food I wanted and was really comfortable afterwards (the dinner consisted of ham and eggs, and if you know me, I hate both, but I ate it all!). The second meal appointment was with a less active member and happened less than an hour after the first appointment. She served us which means I had no say in how much food I got. She gave us a ton! I felt like I was going to be sick, partially because I was so full, paritally because she fed us turkey and it was cold. Blah! But, I somehow managed to muscle it all down, and now I don't have to eat for like 3 days! 

Those are just a few of the amazing experiences that I have had here in the past month, and I am sure there are many more to come!! Love and miss you all and hope you all have a fantastic week! 

Stay awesome! Keep moving forward!
--Elder Wilson

Pics: 1) The sun!!!!!  2) View of Edinburgh on the way up Pratt's Hill/Aruthur's Seat.  3) Me and the comp after drinking my first Irn Bru, my caffeinated beverage of choice here in Scotland. 4) Our flat. A 5 star hotel compared to some 

 

 

Here Comes the Sun

Hiya friends!! 

Hope you have all been doing well! 

 

I am doing great, and the work here in Motherwell is definitely starting to take off. They have seen more success in the past couple of weeks than they have the last few months, so I guess I am doing something right!

The weather here is starting to warm up. It was low 50's (farenheit) and we had 4 consecutive days of sunshine! It was fantastic not having to wear a coat to go tracting!

This week was hard but good. We went by two potential investigators (can't remember if I told you about them in my last email), but both appointments fell through. It was really sad. After the first one fell through, I prayed really hard that the second would go well and that we would get a new investigator. After she fell through, I got really upset. But, then we tried by a former investigator and he invited us in. We talked for a little bit, and we are teaching him tonight! Looks like the Lord did answer my prayer, just not in the way that I expected. 

So it turns out we aren't moving flats. It's a long story! Anyway my address is

Elder Cody Michael Wilson

12 Henderson Court

Motherwell

ML1 3GZ

United Kingdom

You can send me letters to this address, but packages must be sent to the mission home. 

Some of you may be wondering why this email is a day late. We had Zone Conference yesterday, which is basically just a play day for the zone. We all got together and played some sports, had dinner, and then watched the Best Two Years. It was so much fun, and I got to meet a lot of people. Loved it!

So, some of you may remember the Church's Christmas Initiative, He is the Gift. Well, they are doing one for Easter as well called Because He Lives! It launches March 28, and I would encourage all of you to spread the word the best you can. The video, which will take over Youtube when the initiative launches, is so amazing and everyone should share it! Spread the word!!

Love and miss you all!

Stay awesome! Keep moving forward 

--

--Elder Wilson

Hard Work and Disney Dopplegangers

Hiya! This week has been crazy! I am officially out in the mission field! I am currently in the town of Motherwell which is just a little ways outside of Glasgow. My trainer is Elder Blaylock. He has 6 months left and is super chill! So far we are getting along great. The work here is really good. Here's a list of who we are teaching...

 

Karl: Karl is a great guy. I have met with him twice already. He is working on getting back to church as soon as he is able. He loves the missionaries.

 

William: He has been meeting with the missionaries for a while. He has already had all the lessons and would be baptized, but his wife HATES the church. Hopefully that resolves itself

Sister Fran: Fran is less active. Biggest thing is getting her to church at the moment.

 

Swans: Haven't met with this couple yet, but their biggest thing is to get to church

Sylvester: He is in the process of moving so we won't meet with him for a while. He is having trouble reading the Book of Mormon and getting to church. 

This week we are meeting with two potential investigators. The first is Alan. He is a street contact that we met on Friday. He took a Book of Mormon and we have a meeting with him tonight. The second is named Kim. We met her tracting. She also took a Book of Mormon and we are meeting with her on Thursday. Hopefully all goes well. 

The ward here is great!! The members love their missionaries and are always willing to have us over. On Saturday, Elder Blaylock and I went over to help a family with some yard work. We chopped wood for two hours and I am still super sore!! 

My Disney mind is playing tricks on me. We met a lady at a bus stop the other day, and the whole time she was talking, I could only think of the Witch from the movie Brave. And then in Elders quorum, the teacher sounded exactly like Davy Jones from Pirates of the Caribbean. It was insane.

I am loving Scotland! The people are so nice (most of them) and it seems like many are very interested in the gospel. There is such a great spirit here and I love it so much. Sorry there aren't any pictures, but there isn't a spot for an SD card and I don't have a cord. I would give you all an address to send me letters, but Elder Blaylock and I are currently in the process of finding a new flat, so our address is likely to change within the week. Hopefully next email I will be able to get one to you! Love and miss you all! 

Keep moving forward. Stay awesome!

--

--Elder Wilson

On the Road Again

The time has arrived. It is 5:30 AM here in Chorley, and we are making our final preparations before hitting the road to Scotland. I will spend one night at the mission home in Edinburgh, and then get my new companion/trainer for the next 6 weeks on Thursday. I will also get my first area in either Ireland or Scotland. I am so excited to finally get out in the field. But I am also terrified. These past two weeks have taught me so much, and I definitely know more than I did two weeks ago.

 

This last week at the MTC has been phenomenol! On Sunday we got to watch Meet the Mormons. It was amazing!! I could feel the Spirit so strongly! I think movies in the MTC are on spiritual steroids because I definitely feel the Spirit way more watching them here than I did at home. I love it!! Monday was a little bit weird. It was our last official day of classes and it felt a lot like the last day of school. The students were ready to get out, but the teachers were trying to keep control. Still a lot of learning going on though. My teachers, Sister Shead and Brother Webb, are so amazing!! They have taught me so much. They don't just tell me answers to my questions, but they help me to find the answers on my own. It will benefit me in the long run I'm sure. Tuesday was weird. We had in-field orientation, which focused a lot on working with the members to get referrals and teach lessons. It was busy but fun. At the end of the day, everyone who is leaving got the chance to go to the temple. I thought I was only going to get to go once, so this was a nice surprise. The Preston temple is so beautiful, both inside and out. I love the feeling that I get after going. That will be my last time going to the temple for 2 years since there isn't one in Scotland or Ireland. I am a little disappointed, but I know I will get the same spiritual high just by doing the great work I have been called to do.

 

One downside to the MTC: if one person gets sick, everybody gets sick.  It all started with my roommate getting a nasty "British cold". Now, everybody and their second-cousins jack rabbit (to use the words of my good friend David Kime) is hacking up their lungs with this cold. I hate it!! Hopefully I start feeling better soon!

 

Anyway, the next time I will get to email is on Monday. That will be my email day for the next two years in the field, unless my mission president changes it on us.

 

Love and miss you all!!!!!

 

Keep moving forward and stay awesome!!!!!!!

--

--Elder Wilson

Accents and Language and Class, Oh My!

Today at 7:43 AM

1st week in the MTC complete!!! It has been fantastic being here and I am so stoked!! All of my classes are fantastic! My day starts at 6:30 and doesn't get over until 10:30, and literally every minute of the day is planned. We get to do two practice investigator lessons a day and those have helped me so much. The motto from Meet the Robinsons really helps me when it comes to those. Even if the lesson isn't going where you intended, just keep moving forward. The spirit knows what he's doing so just follow it. Not very much down time, but that's ok. It's just preparing for the next two years. I finally understand what everyone means when they talk about how strong the Spirit is. Hardly an hour goes by when I don't feel something. It is so amazing!! England is super awesome. Driving to the MTC from the airport was a little terrifying because everyone was driving on the left side of the road! Definitely going to take some getting used to. They also have an entirely new language here. For instance, crap and piss, are like swear words here. Never say them! They also have new words for things. The bathrooms are called the toilets, pants are trousers, dinner is tea. Who said I wasn't going foreign speaking? I only have 5 more days here in the MTC and then I am headed to Scotland and then I will get assigned to my first area. My companion here, Elder White, is also going to that mission. Of the group that is here, 9 of us are going to the Scotland/Ireland mission, 3 sisters and 6 elders. It's going to be good. The MTC is like a melting pot of cultures. There are people from America,Brazil, Portugal, France, Finland, Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand. It's so fun getting to here all about these other countries! Hope you all are doing well! Love and miss you all!

 

Stay awesome and keep moving forward!

--

--Elder Wilson