Flying Solo = A Week Of 50 Companions!!!

 In Gilmer there are three Wards and I cover the Gilmer 1st and 2nd Wards. After Elder Browning left, the Gilmer 3rd Elders kicked it with me until I was supposed to get a companion. We tore it up last transfer by covering just the Gilmer 2nd Ward, and since we were put over all three, we had to just milk the Young Men's and Elders Quorum for all they're worth! I was pretty much exchanging this whole week like it wasn't nobodies business!!!
The first day, it went down super well, scrambling from one appointment to the next; setting baptismal dates, checking on baptismal dates, getting new investigators...the works haha. Then I got to spend the next day in Paris......wait....Paris?!?!?! Yup...it's true...there's a Paris Texas that's right next to Athens, above Pittsburgh, across from Palestine...(you can tell they kind of stopped getting creative when they started naming the towns.)

I got to go and tag along with the Elders up there after some problems came up (I personally think the biggest problem was their odd collections in their refrigerator. The worst one I found was a jar full of these huge spiders stuck in the freezer that had started before either of the Elders got there. So the idea (that was started I don't even know how long ago) is that when you see a big spider, you've gotta catch it somehow, put more water in the jar, drop the spider in the jar, and then stick the jar in the freezer until your new eight legged friend freezes over. (By the way...the bigger the spider, the more points you get, and it only counts if the spider was found INSIDE the apartment.)

"You hungry?" 

    "Yeah Man..."

    "So what do you feel like eatin???"

    "Dang man....I'm thinkin a frozen spider would just hit the spot"

It turned out to be such a great visit and the Lord got things going again as we prayed like it depended on him, and worked like it depended on us! It was such an awesome experience that started with the Elders telling me they had tried everything they knew to get new investigators and more baptismal dates, but had no success in doing so. They had been teaching the same group of people for the past 4 months and felt like it was a lost cause to get new investigators and get the ward amped about missionary work.

I searched my mind remembering some of the greatest missionaries I know and what I'd learned from them. It was one of the clearest answers I've received to a prayer, and a strong Testimony building experience when I said, "Elders, we're going to see miracles today.", just like other Elders had told me in the past when I was down. I felt inspired to use some of the tactics that I'd used before, but felt a little concerned since they hadn't always yielded success in such a short amount of time. So I prayed constantly, telling the Lord that with only a day to work with them, I felt just about helpless without some divine intervention.

It was absolutely amazing...just breathtaking, as I saw the Lord answer my prayers that we would find someone new to teach! I didn't even know if my Faith was sufficient enough for such a miracle, but after a few failed attempts, we continued to work with the confidence that there's SOMEONE to find and... BAM...we finally found 3 new people to teach! I just thought..."Wow...that was fast." And even though it didn't just come to us, I could see that the Lord was satisfied with our efforts, knew we were in a time crunch, and bailed us out! We were all of the sudden so stoked for the miracle, so grateful for what we easily saw as the hand of the Lord, and saw Alma 17:3 come to life as we began to teach with clarity, power, and authority.

The best part is that not only were our new investigators an answer to our prayers, but we were an answer to theirs as we found out that their son, Westley, had a close friend that had died only about three days earlier and said, "I've always been praying since then for God to tell me what the next step I should take is." Seems like a crazy experience, but thankfully, not a rare occasion if you're serving in the Texas Dallas Mission! 

To celebrate the God sent miracle, we got some pics in front of the Eiffel Tower!

The next day was absolutely insane as I went through about 10 companions in one day...and here's how the cookie crumbled:

I started out with the Paris Elders and we planned my trek back home. Due to their shortage on Miles given to drive the mission cars, they recruited a member to take me to Mount Pleasant (since Paris to Gilmer is a 2 hour drive....). So one of their members took me down there and I was able to check up on the Mount Pleasant Elders and party with them until my homies from Gilmer came to pick me up. Then I just about lost my patience when I found out that some of the Young Men I'd recruited to take me out made "other plans" and canceled on the huge night I'd put together. I was scrambling around, trying to find someone that could take me out so that the Gilmer Elders and I didn't have to cancel any of our conflicting appointments.

Then the crazy thought came to me that since we'd worked our behinds off to get these investigators taught in member homes, I would just have a different companion for each appointment. I'd just have them pick me up at one person's house and take me to theirs while I'd get another member to pick me up and take me to their home for the next appointment, and so on for the next four lessons. It seemed crazy and I'm pretty sure I lost too much hair trying to plan what I was going to do for the night, but that was the best choice there was.

So I called everyone to get them on board, and then it just worked like clockwork! The Gilmer Elders dropped me off at the Dawson's house and Benjamin Dawson was my companion there, and right when I'd told him to, Brother Child picked me up at 5:15 on the dot. Then after he was my companion and we had a lesson at his home, Brother Pritchett picked me up for the next appointment as my companion, right when I'd told him to and the rest of the night just flowed like that!

It was insane as I stressed my mind out planning it, but for the rest of the night there was no waiting, every lesson ended when it was supposed to, the spirit was there, and almost the best part, I always agreed with myself and what I wanted to teach! That's the tough part about companions, is that you both have to agree on whatever plans you have, then explain the whole idea to them again if they don't get it, and sometimes when you're teaching they'll go in the exact opposite direction than you wanted to go, so I didn't have to counsel my companion or anything and just thought it all over and it worked out! Well enough of the craziness, and as nice as it is to plan it all out yourself, nothing beats having a companion that always has your back, and someone you can always count on to help you out....so as fun as this week was...I'm stoked to finally get a comp!

I love yall and miss you tons! Shout out to Shaners for his birthday!!! Double digits baybay!!!!

Les Quiero Tanto, Elder Wilson!!!!

Deep in the heart of....Oaklahoma???? And Quaid Is The Man

Dang straight haha the title is true! This past week I was able to go on exchanges and check out how the work is doing out in Idabel Oaklahoma!!! It was pretty crazy because on the way out there after our Zone Conference (which was pretty baller by the way) we had to leave THE MISSION BOUNDARIES for like 15 minutes as the freeway wound back into our territory and we approached Texarkana. So on we went until we passed the Red River and wow is it quite the change. It felt really weird for a second when you're confined to a certain amount of land every transfer and then all of the sudden you're in a different State?! It was pretty crazy and the Oaklahoma people are pretty backwards. There's Casinos all around, along with tons of other Gas Stations/Firework shops run by Choctaw Inc. The American dream..."let's take the 'Trail of Tears' and see how much money we can get out of it!" There's definitely a lot of work to do in convincing the Laminates of the "wicked alcoholic traditions of their fathers", but out in Idabel and Broken Bow we're just stacked with tons and tons of Marshalese people from the Marshall Islands and a ton of other little islands around there and it was so sick!!! I got to start learning Marshalese and some other language (can't even remember what it's called) but it's a new culture full of tons of humble, but way good people. Apparently the factory for Tyson Chicken (yup...the ones in your freezer come straight from Broken Bow, Oaklahoma) fly them out and pay for their first year in the states to get them on their feet and give them a steadier income than they had back home. 

They're still super poor and live in the slums of all slums, but as terrible as it looks on the outside, they keep the inside super clean with tons of seashell art and just all sorts of Islander decorations everywhere! So before you ever go in you always have to take your shoes off which is a real pain and they can understand a little bit of English, but still need a translator pretty often. It was way fun getting to know these people and their crazy kids that just run around the house screaming all day. There's definitely some cultural no-no's as far as the commandments go, but it turned out to be a cool experience up there and I learned "Yapweh" means "Hello/Hey/Howdy", and "Yahmon" means "Good", but I made sure that you can use it to mean "Sick/Sweet/Legit/Tight/Baller/Sweet Action/Money/Classic/Bank/Classy/Child's Play"...because I had to make sure they could understand me somehow haha. And the Elders also have a truck up there just for security purposes out in all the mud so we just cruised around like a couple true Okies (except we were just missing about 6 people with overalls and a couple banjos and fiddles riding in the truck bed...) 

We finally got back in Texas and I felt like I was back at home (kinda weird to say that I feel at home in Texas), and whenever you hear about the "Red River Shootout", just know it's a real deal. There's tons of bullet holes in the "Welcome To Texas" sign from a bunch of Okies, but at least Texans actually get the job done and because of them the "Welcome To Oaklahoma" sign got completely destroyed and doesn't even exist anymore haha. 

This past week I killed off another missionary as Elder Browning finished his two years and I think is on the plane right now. So for now I'm companionless and just kick it with the other Gilmer Elders and Milk the Young Men's program for all their worth so that we can cover all the three Gilmer wards with more than just one companionship. I'll be out with someone different every day and night so it looks like another crazy yet exciting week ahead. 

This last week we were also able to have an awesome baptismal service for my main man Quaid Wilburn (such a stud, and finally got his mowhawk cut for such an occasion). We've been working with him for about 6 weeks now and to see him get baptized was such a fantastic outro for Elder Browning's mission. His Grandparents are way active in the church, but are super shy and the rest of his family is either super inactive or super Anti (other than his Sister that got baptized about 9 months ago.) So it's another one of those great experiences that with him comes his family, and not only was he able to make a covenant with his Heavenly Father, but it pushes his Family to renew the one's they've made a long time ago (and I also got his Grandma to speak!! She's probably the shyest lady I've ever met, and when I asked her to give a talk, she just about had an emotional breakdown and said that she couldn't, but after a little persuasion, she said she'd try her best. So the talk that we told her was supposed to be a max of 3 minutes turned into 20 and she was just a pro up there! It was pretty funny though before it all started because the whole family has anxiety issues and they were all super super nervous, so as we went down the line to shake their hands we shook the sweatiest hands ever haha it was too good.) We went out to dinner with his family after and then we all started talking about missions and how Quaid's getting right at that age (going to turn 18 next year)! He was pretty stoked about it so all we've gotta do is just keep that fire burning and he'll start preaching up a storm! He wants to be a Congressman, so we all concluded that the only way to prepare yourself is by serving a mission-- soooooooo stoked to see where he'll go! 

I also keep getting updates on my old areas and they're still going...still baptizing like it's nothin but a G thang!!! One of the people we taught out in Garland got baptized last week and another one of my best friends will be getting baptized at the end of August out in Plano! Shout out to Ryan Primmer and Waldo Gonzalez!!! Dang I just can't stop getting stoked for all these people!!!!!! It just gets too good to be true....so I must be living the dream!

Les Quiero Tantisimo!

Elder Wilson

By the way....EVERY companionship in our Zone has a Baptismal date (some haven't had one all year!) and everyone got an investigator to church again! We don't take breaks...we just break records!!! 

Well I Could Take You For A Ride On My Big Green Tractor

I hope the title speaks for itself haha. After last transfer, our Farmboy missionary that taught me how to work a tractor finished his mission and headed back home to his town of less than 700 people in a break-off of Alamosa Colorado. As sad as it is....I am now the Designated Tractor Driver and am the only one (other than Grandpa Bill whose got alzheimers) who knows how to work that old John Deere of his. So you can only imagine what that means for service......party time!!!! We were basically lumberjacks clearing out Grandpa Bill's ravine and let me tell you...that green machine is unstoppable! Compared to what we were able to get done with the axes, the tractor just tore it up and I am completely convinced that it can go anywhere and do anything!!!! If we take these machines out to war there's just no stopping us!!! Well it was way legit and really made the job SO much easier which was much appreciated in the 104 degree weather (don't forget to add another 15 degrees for the humidity). This August is just killer, but isn't nearly as bad as last year's when I was on bike out in the Cliff....God Bless our bike/walking missionaries because they need it! Well this last week we seem to be getting deeper and deeper into hick territory as we've started teaching way back in the hills! This last transfer we were given another ward to work with and inherited the Kelsey part of Gilmer which is super super beautiful with so many trees and pastures...but a lot of rednecks. We just started teaching a family that really puts our last find to shame. They're a part-member family that lives in this little community that they started just nestled in a small spot of this forest.  To get there, you've gotta hit way out in the hills and leave any spot of phone service for about 15 minutes, pass a 100 plus acre pasture, and then hit a narrow road barely big enough for one car. You follow that road for about a half a mile until you start to see what looks like a junkyard (given all the broken down trucks/cars) parked in-between trees and what not, and then you find...surrounded by tons of trees and out in the middle of nowhere, the Pritchett community. There's only one way in and one way out of this little neighborhood where the Grandparents live in the Wood house at the top (that's still under construction and has been for the last 45 years). Next to it you'll find a bus where one of the Grandkids live, and as you keep going down, you'll find more broken down cars and a few campers-- the homes of the rest of the kids and grandkids until you hit the (nicknamed) "love shack"...this rickety old...shack...that's been vacated for a couple years now.  Since they're surrounded by so many huge trees, they're somehow convinced that one of the trees will blow over and land on the shack any day now...and it's been any day for over 10 years haha so I'm stoked to see how that'll go down. But it's such an awesome family with some of the most diligent Grandparents I've seen out here, setting aside every thursday as a family so that everyone can sit in their old home to listen to the missionaries in an effort to get their wayward family to live the gospel. We're always crammed together in a small room, knee to knee and elbow to elbow as we teach, but I for reals have never enjoyed lessons so much! There's never a dull moment there while jokes are dropped and pranks are pulled, and you can easily feel the spirit in their home as they magnify family unity.  I just about lost it when we asked if we could start with a prayer and saw about 5 hats taken off simultaneously to be accompanied with 9 heads bowing in unison. It was just classic and this family rings true to every "you know you're Redneck when..."  I know I said it last time, but just use your imagination when I say they're Redneck and you're probably not far off. They have the thick beards, the Texas and confederate flag tattoos all over their bodies to go perfect with the barbed wire, crosses, and the last touch with the cow skull right next to some flames. My favorite part was when their teenage daughter Emily, who at first tried to represent herself not as Redneck as they are, got so excited to tell us some story and said "So the other night when I was going to the bathroom outside...." and then her whole family just roared with laughter as they saw the look of embarrassment on her face when she finally realized that some of the details in her story may not have been...very normal to us haha. So everyone accused her of the redneck in her that she had been denying and it was just hilarious to see that it was impossible to dig her way out of it. Then as they started talking about their toilet....a bucket outside with duct tape for the seat, Elder Browning and I just couldn't hold it in any longer and just lost it. But it was like that the whole night. We had a great lesson, where everyone would laugh, and with the attitude there that everyone was family, there was never an awkward moment and we just seemed to mesh right on in and enjoy every minute of it! This past week the Zone is getting super amped as we started a competition called the "Gilmer Gauntlet" with points for each Key Indicator and everyone is getting sooooooo stoked! I'm so grateful to be apart of such an awesome experience and to see everyone put in better than they ever have before as we had a total of 47 investigators at church this last week, almost doubling the amount of the next highest Zone and we have the highest amount of baptismal dates per missionary! I'm tellin y'all, better watch out for the Gilmer Zone because we're gonna tear it on up!!! We be destroying records every day!!! Update on Raigan: Yesterday she had an interview with Bishop and came out with a  1. Temple Reccomend 2. The Stake Patriarch's Phone Number 3. Bishop's Ecclesiastical Endorsement to attend either BYU, BYUI, or BYU Hawaii Yeah...dang straight...she's going!!!! She also talked to him about serving a mission (while I was hearing all this I had to pinch myself and hope it was real!) But bishop in all his wisdom told her to spend some time at one of the church schools, put some more time and prayer into it, and then report back on her decision to serve a mission. She truly is the story of finding the light at the right time, the right place, and especially with the right people as she's had all the support from her friends. Her parent's are super against everything (except for the church schools and the super cheap tuition), and she's had to stand up for her Faith quite a few times. We'll always get a random call requesting a scripture reference as she testifies of the Book Of Mormon or of Joseph Smith, but we're so proud of her. Elder Browning and I just thank God daily for the blessing we have to see her progression! It's full of miracles and isn't stopping anytime soon.  I love yall and hope you can someday get a taste of the Gilmer dream! Elder Wilson

Well looks like that's 'ol Bubba again...

Wow, I feel like a wrote y'all just yesterday. But then again you did miss tons of stuff going on down here in the sticks so I figured I'd fill you in on a few sweet stories. To start, I decided I'd tell yall about when we were endowed with Power from on high. 

A few weeks ago our Ward Mission Leader asked us if we had our keys with us, and we remembered giving them to the other Elders to get into the building, so we told him we didn't. Then he started to laugh with this creepy grin on his face as he lifted up a pair of keys that looked just like ours specifically pointing out the key to our apartment. We were a little shocked and ready to lay down a beating on the other Gilmer Elders. We tried out the keys on our apartment to make sure they were ours, but lo and behold they didn't work...so then we called the other Elders to ask if they still had the keys that we had given them and they drove over to give us our keys. 

Now we had two sets of keys...and figured that the other Elders may have been given keys earlier on....so we just gave them a pair not thinking anything about it. When we showed up a week later for District Meeting, Elder Miller exclaimed, before we could get a word in, "Hey guys check this out" as he unlocked the door to the Stake offices. We just stood there....with awe and amazement on our faces. We took the key that had somehow gotten itself in our possesion, and tried another door.....The High Council Room....OPEN!!! So then we went to all the closets.....OPEN!!! Then the Genealogy room...because only like five people have keys to the FHC....OPEN!!!! Then curiosity got the best of us as we saw that the FHC was placed right next to Bishop Seahorn's office.....BAM OPEN!!! We figured he must have forgot his keys, but just to make sure....his office was right across from Bishop Jone's office and BAM OPEN!!! We all looked at each other wondering what this key couldn't do!?!? It was obviously higher than a bishops key because it could get us into any Bishop's office....but it surely wouldn't work on President Austin's office....until.....BAM OPEN!!!! It kinda scared us as we found out that we had a key that could (and this is a proven fact) open ANY door inside that building! (I just realized how big of a deal I'm making out of this, but please bear with me...when you've been on a mission this long ANYTHING is exciting haha.) We coulda made this story really interesting but we decided to only do a few mischievous things before going back to being honest about it and after our Stake President's Report, we went up to President Austin and said, "So we think we may have a Stake President's key...and we're not saying anything but it does open up EVERY door inside this building...." Then he just looked down at the key for a minute....then looked up at us and said...."......This is a very powerful key.....not only does this key open every door inside this building but every door to every building inside the Stake....." Then he looked down and paused for a second, staring at the key and said, ".......How on earth did you get hold of the Grand Master Key...." And that experience was about the closest a missionary will ever get to Lord Of The Rings as Elder Browning and I broke into laughter thinking about how movies were made about this stuff and how dramatic it turned out to be as we held the power of the Grand Master key! And if you are wondering...there isn't anything really cool or exciting in a Mormon church building...anywhere....it's just cool to get past a lock haha.