28 April 2014
Letter to all:
Well this is the last
one. I´ll start with what happened in this week then I´ll write my epistle.
This week I was on
divisions for 3 days, it was weird to be away from the area for so long but
Elder Mann needed to be in the area because I´m leaving. I had the privilege
to learn from others, teach others, help companionships that are struggling.
It was good. And Tuesday we were in Managua all day until 6. So I
was only in the area for 2 full working days, but I worked hard those days!
Tuesday night we found 16 new investigators for Elder Mann, which was
good because we were needing new investigators! Saturday and Sunday we
found a lot of new people. We put down several baptismal dates and I feel
we left the area off pretty well for Elder Mann and his future companion.
Sunday we had a great experience, but it started a few weeks back - the
story.
We were walking down a
street looking for people to contact and Elder Mann, said I felt something,
lets go back and contact in that street. We contacted 2 houses, they
didn´t want anything. We asked a little old Catholic lady for a reference
of someone who was passing through trials and she told us about her neighbor
Juan. Juan is 16 he lives alone and is kind of a kid of the street but he
has a house. Yet it´s empty there is
nothing but a light bulb and a cage of pigeons in his house. There was a
strange feeling in his home as we went to contact him Sunday. We talked,
we asked him a couple of questions. He told us that he wanted to change his
life, he wanted to repent of his sins and be a different person. We
talked about that and about the importance of baptism so he can have the full remission
of his sins. He accepted a baptismal date for May 31st. I pray
Elder Mann baptizes him, I know he´ll get baptized!
It was a good last week,
we worked very hard these last two weeks! We found 30 new investigators
this week! And we put like 8 baptismal dates! It was great!
I´ll be praying for these people back at home so that they can get
baptized!
I gave a talk Sunday on
the importance of serving a mission, my last talk. I thought the other one was
my last but they had me talk this week! A member brought a new family to
church, some of his friends, they stayed for the full 3 hours and they were
amazing! During the sacrament I felt a very special feeling, tears were
starting to bubble up in my eyes. I felt a grand feeling of gratitude,
that a new family was there and that I still had one more Sunday in Nicaragua.
I felt very grateful to have had the opportunity to serve here, to grow
here, and to learn from others here, to come unto my Savior here, Nicaragua will
always be a sacred place for me. It will be tough to leave my family here
in Nicaragua. I hope to return as soon as possible so I can see all of
the people I witnessed get baptized.
The mission has changed
my life forever. No one can understand how and why it changes your life
until you serve a mission. These have been the best 2 years for my life,
I know that without a doubt. I wish I could just go hide out in the
mountains and preach the gospel to Indians haha! But It´s not my mission,
it´s the Lords, he says it´s only 2 years, so it shall be 2 years.
I have learned so much
in so little time. 5 main things are the following (it´s what I talked
about in my last talk)
1. To love God and to do
his will
2. To love my neighbor
3. One´s life changes as
you serve the Lord and forget about yourself
4. One comes closer to
Christ, realizes that he needs him a lot, and learns about the great power of
the atonement
5. That It´s a privilege
to serve a mission
If I would have never
served the mission I would have never realized my true purpose in this life.
Many people now days try to change God´s plan for them. Many people
don´t understand why the Lord wants us to serve a mission. I can tell you
that I didn´t know exactly why I had to serve a mission before I served, but I
knew I had to do it, I knew that God wanted me to do it. God uses these 2
years to save us, to mold us, to make us a true disciple of Jesus Christ.
No other experience can give you this grand change in so little time. It
is my prayer that all consider serving a mission, asking God if it his will
that you serve, if you do it with real intent he will say YES! I testify
that God lives, that Jesus is the Christ, because I have felt them by my side,
I have seen miracles, I know they love me. I am glad to say that I served
a mission. I share these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Elder Willden
