Last Mission Letter

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