I REP THAT WEST!!!

Hey howdy hey! I just have to say that whoever has been praying for me...it's working!!! This past week has been fantastic, a tad overwhelming, but still has been full of so many blessings!!! Well this past week we have been working way hard to get paperwork, interviews, and the last of the remaining lessons done with the Gomez family, but I'm so stoked to say that David & Henry are getting baptized this Saturday at 11!!! But the big news for the week is that I'm getting transferred...but deeper into the heart and farther into the Ghetto of Oak Cliff! The whole time I've been here, Oak Cliff was separated into North, Central, and South. North has generally most Latinos and some blacks, Central only has Latinos, and South has...pretty much all Blacks. So I still loved it here in the South part of Oak Cliff, but we don't have that many latinos to teach so the work down here is a little difficult and I wanted to serve in North or Central somewhere in the mish. But this next transfer, they changed the Oak Cliff area to....East and West...and along with my California West Coast loyalty...I'm in WEST!!! So I'll be covering the west part of North, Central, and South!!! Sooooooooo stoked! And my new companion is actually going to be the guy that took me out my very first night here, Elder Rodriguez! He's from Monta Rey, Mexico and is going to help my Spanish out so much! I truly feel like everything is being given to me on a platter, so I'm a little nervous, but way excited! President Durrant made these past changes because Central, which is full of Mexicans, has not been able to baptize anyone in the past two transfers, so he's expecting to see some success and I'm way ready to help bring these numbers up! But I'm moving up to Central's apartment so my new address is: 2950 Spruce Valley Lane Dallas, TX 75233

Another miracle was with one of our solid investigators who has been coming to church all the time, but his Dad just won't let him get baptized. So much fasting and praying has been going on for him, and the whole ward had a fast this past week for the Missionary Work, and that led to him waking up yesterday with his Dad telling him that he can finally be baptized!!! So we will be having a Baptismal Service for him as well this upcoming Saturday. But probably one of the coolest parts of the week was when I was talking to my amigo Jacobo.

He's been probably my best friend in the ward ever since week one because he rocks the cowboy boots, wranglers, and all the western wear and so we always have something to talk about. He's from Mexico and always shows me pictures of his family's ranch with the horses and the whole deal! He also doesn't speak a lick of English which is great for me because it helps me get that much better at Spanish. But he's like 25 years old and is up here looking for a lady...so if anybody knows any eligible ladys here in Texas...you know who to call haha. But we've always been tight and these past few weeks he's been asking me how much longer I'm going to be in the ward and so I told him that we'll find out on transfer week. Every week he asked me if I knew the transfers yet and I would just tell him that it's a couple weeks away until I finally got the call that I'm going to stay for the next 6 weeks! So yesterday when I saw him at church I told him that the President has blessed me with another 6 weeks in the Cliff and he responded with, "Ah que bueno! Usted puede bautizarme???" ("Can you baptize me?) My jaw just about dropped to the floor! He totally took me by surprise, but once I made sure he was serious, cloud 9 had nothing on me! Probably one of the best moments on the mish....no doubt! What happened was that he was baptized when he was 8 down in Mexico, but due to the effectiveness of the paperwork down there, they completely lost his record and we're going to get to teach him again! It's pretty humbling to have the opportunity to be able to baptize one of my best friends and I just can't believe how much the Lord blesses us. There was also an inactive lady that just decided to come back to church and has two kids that she wants to get baptized and has asked us to teach them as well...and gosh I could just go on forever about how blessed I've been this past week, but I can only write so much and just want you guys to know that when you serve the Lord, you get way more blessings than you've worked for. I'm super super stoked for this next transfer and hope everything is going well back home!

Elder Justin Wilson

Una Semana Mas Con La Fiesta En Tha Cliff

Hola! Wow this week has just flown by and we've been able to see some good and...not so good experiences. We've come up with a whole new battle plan on finding and working with the members down here so we're stoked to see how that goes. But as far as this past week we've had a few interesting experiences while out tracting. One of my favorites was when we found this one Mobile Home complex that I have to say, is possibly the sketchiest area I've ever walked in in all of my life. We decided to go out of the area that we normally search in and went down the our borders deeper in Dallas, and found this complex somewhat secluded in this little jungle area off the freeway. It felt like I was an Indiana Jones movie the whole time being chased by I don't know how many different creatures, almost falling into the nails protruding from the roof, floor, and steps, trying to leap up the stairs with just about zero foundation (and a couple of those wood planks that they used as an excuse for stairs totally gave way.) There was one home where I thought I would be safe as I made it up the stairs, but once I stepped on the porch floor, I came to learn really fast that there was absolutely nothing under the linoleum lining and one leg went straight through. So after getting out of that hole and wondering just how many people had fallen in that trap, we knocked and found out that she wasn't all that interested haha, just another day in Texas! It also had the natives that looked just like they were from the movie, but all that they lacked was the blow-darts and that was about it. 

Another awesome time was when we were coming down another street just knocking doors, and we saw this old lady that looked like she was about 85 years old that was sitting outside on her porch. Once she saw us coming down the street, she just about launched herself off the chair, and was crawling at the wall to get inside. Her legs just weren't as fast as her arms though, so she was stretched out to the point where it looked like she was just crawling to the door, reached for the handle, and just about collapsed from the doorway inside her house....safe from the Mormons. Given her age, this process took about a whole minute to happen and looked like it was going in slow motion, so we just about lost it watching her use all the energy she had to escape the missionaries. We also saw this as another opportunity to perform service...and we thought it was pretty ironic anyways that we would be helping her to avoid us, but the experience made me see someone go to measures that I have never seen before just to escape the missionaries!

Another great experience was when we went to follow up on a referral that dear old Elder Lee left us. He said that the family was way solid and that we need to follow up with them. So we were pretty stoked at the possibility of new investigators and went to search out this family. Well it took this house that was way secluded from its neighborhood out in the middle of some bamboo forest and was built on the one existing hill in Texas. It had a couple hundred stairs leading up to the front door, but once we got up there, we found out that the porch (which extended around the corner beyond our sight) was gated off. So we tried to open it, but found that it was nailed shut, which was a little weird because you think that someone would try to open the gate to the front door every now and then but whatever floats your boat I guess. So we went around the house to see if there was maybe another way that they came in or another door that they would normally use, but only found the backyard and decided that taking them from behind would be a bad idea for a door approach. So we decided to go and hop the gate guarding the front door, and right as I got to the other side, I heard a clicking sound come from the other end of the porch. About two second later, I saw a dog/alien/creature (think of "The Beast" from the Sandlot) come around the corner with its two counterparts. After one second of complete silence...while the Alpha dog stared me down....I just ran and leaped (probably higher than anything y'all will ever see in the 2012 Olympics) over the gate and took off down the stairs. Elder Henze was still trying to get over the gate when I first saw the dog, but he most definitely got the message after my glorious bound over the fence. After we were safely over the fence, we saw that these dogs (no joke) had nails that were about 3-4 inches long and looked like the offspring of a rottweiler/bulldog and the Chupacabra. So we decided that maybe there would be a better time to come and try to bring this family the gospel haha.

Well thank you all so much for your prayers and all the support you guys give me out here on the mission! I miss you all and hope everything is going well!!
Con Amor
Elder Justin Wilson

Message From President Durrant

On Mon, Jul 23, 2012 at 10:35 AM, Texas Dallas Mission <2013606@ldschurch.org> wrote:

July 2012 #3

Monthly Focus for August 2012

• PMG 5 What Is the Role of the Book of Mormon?
• FUNDAMENTALS 4 Revelation through the Book of Mormon
• PMG 9 How Do I Find People to Teach?
• Train on the Missionary Handbook pages 69-82

Weekly Letter Request

Thank you for reporting your "Line in the Water" hours during July.  I hope that exercise was helpful in understanding how you and your companion spend your time and how you might use your time more effectively.

Please report each week during the month of August on one of two topics 1) how well you work with your companion as a team.  Send examples of companionship unity and service to each other.  Please also include how you and your companion overcome problems in the companionship when they arise or 2) share your best finding ideas. 

I may share some of your thoughts with others but only with your permission.

From President Durrant

I look forward to our August Zone Conferences/Texas Dallas Mission 2012 Olympics.  I loved interviews with each of you over the last few weeks.  You are an amazing group of people.  Thank you for inspiring me with the scriptures you memorized and for sharing your trials and triumphs with me.  

Thanks to Elders Bishop and Crockett for letting Sister Durrant and I teach with you all last week.  Your teaching and your counsel was very helpful and appreciated.

Let me also thank Elders Clark and Anderson and Elders Morris and Calderwood for inviting Sister Durrant and I to Kacie Kiser's baptismal service.  I loved every minute of the service, especially listening to Kacie's testimony after her baptism.  What a wonderful step for her to take in life particularly as she begins college in a few weeks.  And I'm confident that the presentation of The Restoration by Elders Morris and Clark touched the hearts of the five investigators that were present.  Well done.

Elder Morris also taught me a powerful lesson in our exit interview.  In response to my question about what he had learned on his mission he said, "The Lord will provide when you do your very best."  What a true statement!  But it does takes a lot of faith and a lot of work.  Sometimes we wonder why the Lord isn't providing.  Maybe the reason is because we aren't doing our very best.  I add my testimony and witness to the profound words of Elder Morris.  We will all miss you along with the 17 other tremendous missionaries who will be leaving us next week.

Upcoming Events

August 2 - Longview and Tyler Zones at the Tyler Shiloh building for Zone Conference/Texas Dallas Mission 2012 Olympics.

August 7 - Dallas English Zones (Northwest, Northeast, Southwest, Southeast) at the Carrollton Nazarene building for Zone Conference/Texas Dallas Mission 2012 Olympics.

August 15 - Dallas Spanish Zones (West Spanish, East Spanish, Suburbs Spanish) for Zone Conference/Texas Dallas Mission 2012 Olympics.

August 31 - Sisters Conference.  More details will be given by Sister Durrant at a later date.

News from the Field

Miracles - Elder Wilson

This week has been sprinkled with miracles everywhere where Elder Henze and I have been able to see really how ready the Lord is to bless you when you truly strive to be more obedient.

God sent you - Elder Allasia

E. Chappell went for it. 2 of them said no!! but one said yes, I going to listen, so we went away from the others and he told us, that last night he was praying to God, because he did some stuff wrong, and he was looking for direction, and we appeared, he said I know that God sent you. And we taught the restoration.

Best week - Elder Ricks

We had a fantastic week this week! It was the best week I've had in Duncanville. We found 3 new investigators! And we now have 3 baptismal dates! We had a lot of miracles happen.

Prayer - Elder Sorenson 

I know that the Lord answered our prayers of Faith! Prayer is the best way to see those miracles that the Lord wants to give each and every one of us! Through our diligence and our prayers of faith, we will be ready to receive those blessings. My testimony of prayer is strengthened every day because I see the blessings that come from sincere prayer. 

Fish - Elder Sinclair

We are trying our best to make the most effective use of our time as we travel, contact, and teach. ...We might have to switch our bait so we can catch more fish.  (From President Durrant: I liked how he extended the LITW concept.)

Humor

Joke from Hermana Spenner: Why were the Lamanite's knees so sore? Because there were too many Knee-fights (Nephites)! 

Joke from Elder Cox: Cual es la diferencia entre una pera y una novia de un misionero? Una es pera y la otra no esPERA! 

Humor from Elder Browning: Elder Stead will be getting his physical fitness merit badge here pretty soon with all of the hard core biking that Elder Moffitt puts out.  (From President Durrant: Anyone who can keep up with Elder Moffitt on a bike deserves some kind of a reward.  I think a merit badge is very appropriate.)

Contacting competition - Elder Weatherford

I can't tell you how grateful I am to be with Elder Jones. I also am grateful for the chance that I have to serve those around me. This week we had a contacting competition with Elder Kruger and Elder Haskin to see who could contact more people in a week. Well, it was close, but Elder Jones and I pulled it off. We beat them 201 to 198. It was really exciting. One of my goals this transfer was to contact over 200 people in one week. I've never done that before. Guess what we did it! I'm reaching all of my goals with Elder Jones: standards of excellence, 200 contacts, and just becoming a much better missionary. Things are going great. I'm so grateful and happy right now.

Love - Elder Keeney

I just wanted to say that I love being a missionary and serving here in Sulphur Springs. I love my Savior. I love my companion. I love the members here. I love the people I am able to meet and bring closer to Christ out here. I am so blessed. 

Conclusion - President Durrant

Have a great week.  Get ready.  The 2012 Olympics are just around the corner.  Thank you for all you give as you represent Jesus Christ in your respective areas.

3 Nephi 5:13 Behold, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I have been called of him to declare his word among his people (in the Texas Dallas Mission), that they might have everlasting life.

Texas Dallas Mission

"Mission of Miracles"

Living The Dream In The OKC!!!

Wow this has been quite the week. Well to start it off I guess I would have to talk about my sweet opportunity to celebrate the birth of this great nation! One thing that did take me by surprise (because I thought I was in the middle of the super patriotic Texas) was that in oak cliff they only hold parades for cinco de mayo...and that's it haha. Down here the 4th is yet again an excuse for people to drink and go shooting so at first we tried to keep a tally of gunshots...but once we started losing count we decided to call it a night and head on in. At first I thought that they were just fireworks and wasn't too worried about them...until they tore through the trees and the sirens went off. But probably the craziest event for the week was when we decided to follow up on this family that we had taught before. So we had a whole lesson plan and all that jazz worked out on how we were going to teach them. We got super amped for it and when we showed up the kids were way stoked to see us and ran us over to their cozy little mobile home. We were so excited to get another lesson in and a progressing investigator, but as we walked in....DUN DUN DUNNNNNNN!!! Their pastor and his ever so lovely wife were already halfway through a lesson. Well I've been in some pretty awkward moments in my life but the moment we stepped in that door tops them all. We introduced ourselves and you should've seen the look and the pastors face when he told us his name was...Moises. Haha me and E' Henze just about lost it and knew that he totally had it changed to that but we were able to keep a straight face and just sit down and let them continue. It was terrible because they kept looking at us to get us to agree with whatever they were saying and even though we couldn't understand their Spanish perfectly...we knew that they were spewing false doctrine everywhere and so we just didn't say a word. So while they would just go on, me and Elder Henze were formulating a battle plan under our breath on what we were going to do. But then I remember hearing the wife talk about how the authority of God is pure faith (without works) and I got into it a little with her, but then I knew I had to stop and that the Spirit would just cruise on out if I started arguing. So Henze's watch alarm went off and we told them that we had another appointment to get to, stood up, just straight testified, said goodbye and took off. It totally killed me but I knew there was nothing that we could do about it but testify. I wanted so badly to prove that what they were saying was false and show them that we had the truth but that would've just led to a bash and a bad taste in everyone's mouth...so we did what we could. But all I have to say is that if I can't get this family converted in this life...they sure will be in the next. On the good news for the week, we did get a refferal from the Elders in Ohio and started teaching an old investigator from there. She is way solid and we set a baptismal date with her this week and are so amped for that! The funny part was that she lives in the very bottom corner of our area...down in good old hickville. I didn't know that any farmland existed in our borders of the outskirts of Dallas, but as we were driving we saw a man with the classic stick and knapsack tied to it...and then we knew we had reached hickville. It's way awesome to have the Ghettos of the city and the very corners of the farmland in our area haha getting the best of both worlds! Well I love you all and miss you so much and hope that everything is going well down in the chosen land of Southern California! 
Con Amor y Deseo a vivir con este humedad y calor,  Elder Justin Wilson

   

OaK Cliff Party Continues Strong!!!

Whats up everybody! This week has been pretty interesting and we had some pretty sweet findings out here in Oak Cliff recently. To start off I wanted to talk about the D.A.R.E. drug free program and say that all I remember was that in elementary school we just got the whole police department, fire department, (and I'm sure I remember a helicopter was apart of it somehow) but they were all telling us not to do drugs. I firmly believe that they should draft some people for this program out here in Oak Cliff and once these kids get to see these people...it will be forever burned in their memories not to do drugs! First off there's the zombie guy...and the name should explain it all. He always two steps down the middle of the street...at zombie speed with his arms always dangling and swaying haha. We took a video of him one time and he walked right by the car...totally unphased with his eyes still staring off into the distance while he (for some strange miracle) keeps slowly going two stepping down the street with his whole body swaying from side to side. I'm pretty bummed I can't send everyone of a video to really put in perspective just how "zombie-like" this person is, but it's an Oak Cliff classic! The next person is spinny guy. He cruises around always wearing a orange shirt, jeans, and huge orange shoes. He can't go 7 steps without spinning...unless he is crossing the street haha. He always starts off with a spin and then will just book it across the street, then once he gets to the other side he'll immediatley spin and get back to his 7-step, jump over and avoid every crack in the cement routine haha. So Oak Cliff has been a little too exposed to the drug market but I guess that's what we're here for. Speaking of which, one of our investigator's invited us to his Alchoholic's Anonymous meeting and he said there we can have the floor and contact everyone about a "spiritual awakening" so we are getting so stoked for that! For reals it's like 30 contacts in five minutes! He also invited us to this car show yesterday that was so awesome! It was full of scraper trucks, tricked out Crown Vic's, Lincolns and Mercurys with 30's, and then a whole section with cars decked out for the Dallas Cowboys. Coming from California I didn't think it was possible that Latinos could like any team other than the Raiders but I guess the Cowboys are the exception haha. My favorite part was when they had show off battles with the Hydrolics and just see who could get higher or scrape longer haha. We also got to have a very rare opportunity to meet an apostle yesterday! A little different from the apostles that are ordained of God, he had two tatoo's under both eyes that said "Jesus Saves" with the three crosses tatood on his forehead along with any other Christian symbol or saying that has been created (like the fish, lord's prayer, all that good stuff). His name was Jeremiah and he had this sweet staff and beard....like he probably thought he could turn that staff into a serpent and it was pretty much a 28 year-old, black version of Moses haha but my favorite part was talking to his wife. She was so matter-of-factly when she told us that her husband was an apostle. Once we heard that I had to take over the conversation a little because Elder Henze had just about lost it but whatever floats your boat I guess haha.

This past week has been super hot given the 103 degree weather and the 20 degrees that the humididty just about tacks on...and yes Dad...the thought did cross my mind a couple times this week that wishing to avoid the cold was maybe a bad idea. I'm not going to lie, I've definitely had times in my life where I thought I was sweating a lot, but I remember this one door approach that we did after spending about 20 minutes on the bikes, and with the sun completely to our backs...It didn't feel like water was leaving my body, but I seriously felt like my skin was just melting away. I felt just like a popsicle and that if that lady wouldn't stop talking that I would just melt down to bones or faint or something! I was ready to just about run because we tried to tell the lady that we'll come back another time, but she spent like 5 minutes just venting about this and that haha but that whole in-the-oven experience was one I'll never forget haha. We also found the one exsisting hill in all of Texas, and one of our refferals lived at the bottom of it. So the faster we were going the more we realized just how much this ride back was going to kill us...and it was then that I recieved another testimony that the church is true. As I was biking up the hill...in 107 degrees...wearing church clothes...with the humidity...the song "I Hope They Call Me On A Mission" came in my head and I thought, "There is no way they would make children sing this song unless it truly is worth it." Even though things get really rough and difficult days are more often than the good ones...like this past week when we had 6 appointments in a row and every single person dropped out, I love all the experiences I'm having out here, friends I'm making, things I'm learning, and know it's a good start to what will be an awesome 20 months!

Love and miss you all!

Elder Justin Wilson

Speaking of which, I had a really crazy dream this last week that was pretty much a flashback to the first grade, but instead of calling me Justin, everyone, even my teacher said "Elder Wilson" haha so I guess I'm getting used to the name change! Thanks so much for stopping by King Family! I had such an awesome time seeing you guys and will forever treasure my Mosque!