July 23, 2012

July 23, 2012

Hey family!

Thanks for the emails and stuff, Aunt Steph! You are the bomb! 

Things with me are going great! But I´ll tell you about this week.

So this week we were super excited because we had two people with baptisimal dates set for this Sunday and one confirmation for last Sunday! So we talked all week about how important going to church is this week and that there would be opposition, because always when we want to do something good, there is always opposition, so we worked with them and they all told us that they´d be going to church for sure, nothing would get in their way and they all understood how important it was to go this Sunday. 

On Sunday morning we went by for everyone.

No one was there.

So we had zero people in church this week and Ricardo, our baptism from last week was not confirmed. Honestly, I just started laughing because of how ridiculous the situation was. I thought about how a lot of missionaries would get stressed or bummed out that no one went, but that I don´t care. Church was still awesome because we had another activity on Saturday that our ward went out and knocked on doors and gave pamphlets to people and they were asked to share testimonies of the activity and stuff on Sunday. They all loved it! It was awesome to see! They were so excited to go and really love working in this great work. One of them, named Cesy Gonzaga, is filling out her mission papers and she told me she´s so much more excited to go on a mission now. Every single one of them told us about the spirit they felt in the activity and, in short, it totally rocked. Then, on Sunday as well, Octaviano got to bless the sacrament! That was totally awesome. He didn´t even mess up or anything. He is totally a different guy and is so happy these days.

As for other things, not too much else has happened this last week! We have some people and I´ll let you know if they start progressing, it´s getting super hot again, and life is going well! We had zone conference with the new president and his wife, and it went pretty well. Different, but not bad at all. It was their first one! Crazy!

Anyway, that´s about all I have for this week. Life is good! Thanks for all you do for me, family! You rock! 

Much love,

Elder Wheeler

July 16, 2012

July 16, 2012

HEY.

It´s flippin´ sweet Summer then with you guys! Totally awesome! I´m glad you´re doing totally awesome stuff. YOU´RE THE BOMB FAMILY. Hope Sav´s foot gets better and that you all have a sweet time in Cali and on your business trips, UD!

Things with me are going great! This week wasn´t too bad. WE HAD A BAPTISM! Last week we had an investigator named Jose Ricardo Ortiz Uresti come to church. He´s like half crazy and has zero teeth pretty much. He owns like two shirts, but he´s always happy to see us. He doesn´t have the best social skills, but he really did like hearing us and everything. He went to church last week and then left right after before I could even talk to him. I thought, oh great. But, we went and saw him this week and everything went well! He accepted his baptism for this Sunday (yesterday) and was baptized! It was awesome. I have a picture attatched. His cousin is a member, too who has apparently been going through some tough times lately, but he was happy to see his cousin baptized! Or at least he said he was anyway, because they live together and he didn´t even wait for him to walk home, but you know. Mexicans.

Omar, we´ve been teaching him this week and then we went to like a juggling convention or something on Sunday instead of church. I was like ooookkkaaayyyy, juggling? But oh well. We´re going to go see him today and talk about how when he puts the Lord over juggling, everything turns out better. Should be completely hilarious and ridiculous, but I do have hoped for him. It´s just cause he´s 16 and has no idea what he wants.

We also are teaching someone named Rosalinda who came to church by herself about a month ago! We´ve been in and out of contact with her and couldn´t find her house for two weeks, but then a girl from the ward knew where she lived so she drew me a map, we showed up, and we have plans to baptize her this Sunday! I´ll let you know how it all turns out. Her dad is really sick apparently (She´s like 45 by the way) and she drinks coffee but she says she´ll stop. Definitely let you know about her next week!

Basically, I live in a total crazy-town, but there are people here being prepared by the Lord to be baptized. They´ve been prepared their whole lives and don´t even know it. It´s pretty crazy to see. 

My scabbies are almost all gone. I just have a few on my feet still and I put all this cream on them and stuff. Definitely an expereince and not one I am looking to repeat.

We did meet the new President! We had interviews last week. They went well! His wife seems a little more nervous about being here, but they´re both great. Their Spanish is coming along and I´m sure it´ll be great. In the interviews he said ´´I´ve made some observations about you, Elder Wheeler.´´ And I though Ohh geeze. He first asked if I was bilingual before the mission or if my parents were mexican. I was like definitely not! So that´s a good sign on my Spanish, right? The second things was he asked when the last time I got a haircut was.

I had literally gotten my hair cut the day before.

So I told him that and then he just laughed. He´s a good guy. 

As for packages, you are awesome! Thank you so much! And the apartments, totally help me get over there to live by Car. That sounds awesome! I told Elder Rogers about it, too, so we´ll see if he gets everything in order to transfer to BYU and live there, too. 

Thanks for always writing and being the best! I miss you guys tons! Carly, when you get your new address let me know because I have a letter that I´m going to send, but it´s obviously going to take a long time, becuase the people who work at the mail place are...well latino. 

Almost forgot! Elder Cisneros called me this week! It was so funny. I don´t know how that guy always gets my phone number. He´s my comp that fell on his bike and we went to the hospital. Anyway, we just had elections here in Mexico and apparently two people voted for ME in the presidential election. Elder Cisnero´s sister and my convert Carolina. I was laughing so hard.

So one day I might be the president on Mexico. Also, this week like 10 people accidently called me Bishop Wheeler. That was scary.

Thanks for everything! 

Much love,

Elder Wheeler

We went hiking at Chipinque and totally watched this bear climb into a persons car and steal hamburgers!

 Zone activity!

 All of us crammed into one suburban! There were 16 of us! It's part of the culture.

 Me and Elder Mikkelsen (My MTC Comp) and Monterrey!

 Our Zone climbing on a giant net and Elder Rogers hugging me.

Me and an old guy who was dead asleep on the bus. How could I not take a picture with him?

July 9, 2012

July 9, 2012

Heya!

You are totally awesome, family! I´m glad my letter finally got there and that everything is good with all of you! Fourth of July looks awesome! Definitely miss those! You guys rock! Thanks for sending all the pictures and everything! Thank you for updating me on life and on what´s going on with all of you all the time.

This week hasn´t been too eventful! Just a few experiences. First, a couple nights ago I was hanging up my laundry at night and my companion was already asleep and then all of a sudden three huge bugs flew in on me and I yelled, obviously (because you know me and big bugs). When they landed, found out they were cockroaches! HUGE ONES! And they fly. Totally not right. So I was yelling ´´DUDE!!!!! DUDE!´´ and my companion woke up and killed one and the others left. So gross. Mexico is a dirty place.

As for another experience, that isn´t too rare, but the way it was dilivered makes it noteworthy. People always talk to us in the streets, especially really poor people and drunk people. So we´re walking and this guy says ´´Brothers! In the name of Christ...Do you have three pesos you can lend me for a coke?´´ I was like oooooookayyyy. First of all, why was that in the name of Christ? I didn´t have three pesos, and it did not make it any more likely that I would have three pesos if you asked me in the name of Christ. Totally over the line, but you know. Just a little bit of my everyday life that I don´t share often!

Finally, we have an investigator names Omar who is 16 and he looks like he´s going to progress really well. I sure hope so. He wants to be baptized on the 21st of July because he wants to be a better person and a better son. He´s a good kid and I´ll keep you posted on him.

I don´t have a lot of time because we went on an activity that took like all day, but I´ve got lots of pictures to send! I´ll be sure to send them all next week.

ALSO, ELIZABETH MCKINNEY! You totally have to send me a wedding invitation! CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!! That is so awesome you´re getting married! I was talking with Elder Rogers about it. He´s says you´ve gotta send him an invitation, too. We have the same address, so you know. I´m totally happy for you!

I think that´s all I have for this week. You´re the bomb, family and I love you tons! Sorry this week isn´t too detailed and without photos, but you know. Next week I´ll do better!

Still in Colinas.

Life is awesome.

No complaints!

I´m totally glad you got to see Car, too! And that place sounds awesome. Is that where she´s living? I´ll talk to some people about moving there. Sounds nice!

Thanks for all that you do!

Much Love,

Elder Wheeler

July 2, 2012

July 2, 2012

Hey Family!

So, I`m pretty sure this week has been the best week of my mission so far! Even though there were good and bad things. I`ll start with the not so good.

So this week we had divisions in my zone. I went to a house with 4 Americans (I`ll get into that in a sec) but one of my good friends who is the Zone Leader named Elder Johnson has something called Scabies because he had to sleep on the floor one time about two months ago and now he has those. TOTALLY SICK. I`m sure you could find out more stuff about them than I know, but he had to go to the doctor and get creams and all kinds of stuff. Well, he being the person he is and us being four Americans in the same house for divisions this week obviously through blankets on me and would yell ¨SCABIES!¨ and stuff like that, just being funny and messing around and stuff because he said the doctor said their not contageous.

THAT`S NOT TRUE. 

They are contagious and now I have them. THEY TOTALLY ITCH ALL THE TIME! But now I have some cream stuff and their starting to go away, but I officially have been here too long.

Just a mildly funny experience that I`m sure I`ll laugh about in the future (Like our super activity to the Grand Canyon) but for now, it`s less funny.

Anyway, about the divisions, guess who I went with this week for divisions? ELDER ROGERS! It was totally awesome! So Goobert and I were companions and it was so much fun! It was seriously so cool to hang out with him and work with him, too. He goes home in December, but I was so happy. I learned some stuff from him, too and it`s totally hilarious because we both speak pretty good Spanish whereas the last time we saw eachother, not so much. But it was awesome and I attatched pictures!

Elder Rogers and I in his house! (We found that huge political flag in the street)

Elder Rogers and I!

Elder Johnson, Elder Avery, Elder Rogers, and I doing Yoga on the roof in the morning.

Me and Elder Rogers eating SUSHI for lunch!!!!

Elder Rogers walking across the pregnant women crosswalk.

Me and Elder Rogers eating Jello!

Also for this week, Octaviano got baptized and confirmed! It was so awesome. He really was so happy. Before the baptism he was even pretending to fight Elder Jensen with Karate since he was wearing that white jumpsuit. Totally hilarious that guy. He even bore his testimony voluntarily after his baptism and on Sunday which was a testimony meeting! He is very happy with his decision and I think he is going to go a long way. He is now on the road to be with his wife forever even if right now they can`t be together. It`s something that I know is completely true and is one of the greatest blessings we can have here in this life; to be with one`s family forever, and there is only one place and by one authority that it can be done. I testify that is true.

Octaviano`s baptism! That`s his family that came to support him! His brother and his nephew and neice. He`s a bishop in another ward! He gave him a Book of Mormon in December and it just goes to show that the Lord is prparing these people way before we know them!

It`s also the end of the change! But I don`t think my companion or I will be going anywhere. I will let you know! Today we are going hiking. I`ll send pictures next week! 

We have high hopes for the future and life is totally awesome with me. No complaints! Totally content.

This is totally the true church. I`ve seen it change lives, and it can change everyone`s if they let it. Sometimes we`re too prideful to accept the Lord`s will, which is not always ours, but that`s okay because he knows best!

You are the best family ever!

Much love,

Elder Wheeler

P.S. Elections here in Mexico were yesterday!

Questions:

How was it saying goodbye to the Romney's? 

It was kind of sad because they totally rock! But we got to give them a hug and I`ll keep in touch with them, I`m sure. At least by Facebook after the mish. They seriously were so awesome!

How does the new mission president seem? 

I have not met him yet! He just got here on Saturday I`m pretty sure and I guess we`ll have a conference or interviews with him on July 10th. I`ll let you know! I`m sure he`ll be great, though!

Did you get a new bag?

I did! I bought a new one becuase the other was really good, but really heavy. This new one weighs less with all my scriptures and pamphlets than the other one does empty. NOT EXAGGERATING. And now everyone wants one. Starting trends.