Los Tres Estados & Some Of That "Hasta Que La Muerte Lo Separe..." - Preacher Wilson

And for the moment you've all been waiting for......(drumroll please.....).................

Me quedo aqui! I think they can just about count me as a resident here in Gilmer because I'm still stayin! So the way it worked out was that we were in Stake President's report this last weekend, and during the meeting President Austin asked President Durrant, "Now President...I'm gonna politic and plead with you for a minute. I want to know if you can leave this companionship here for at least another transfer..." and then just went on to explain his reasons why and all that jazz. President Durrant replied, "Got it noted..." and then proceeded to say "Elders, you know that whatever President Austin asks for becomes law." And now the rest is history haha. Everyone thought I was going to leave and it's super rare for a missionary to stay in an area for 5 or more transfers, but I can't lie, President Austin is a boss and to know that he still wants to work with me just got me even more stoked, so I'm ready to go and get-er-done...lock stock and barrel.  

One of our added requests in Stake President's report was to re-open the De Queen, Arkansas area...or at least to build up to it. And you wanna know why????

Well this last week was spent in the farthest corners of our Mission...uncharted territory in Oklahoma and Arkansas!!!! It was sooooooo sick! There are only a handful of Texas Dallas Missionaries that have ever been to Oklahoma and an even smaller amount have ever been to the widely heard of but never seen...De Queen Arkansas!!! I felt like Marco Polo as we crossed on over into areas that haven't held missionaries since 2008! (I know it doesn't seem that long ago but 6 years is 3 lifetimes to a missionary.) All I've got to say is wow...that place is absolutely beautiful!!! If you think that the East Texas landscape is cool just wait till you get farther into the Southern States and see the Trees and mountains....but even more breathtaking.....TAQUERIAS!!!!! And where there's taquerias...there's MEXICANS!!!!!!! There was enough Spanish work there to satisfy the dreams of any Spanish missionary...and tons more! It felt so different to be there and join a select group of Elders!

It's such an awesome area that we chose to explore at the wrong time when the ice storm blew through (coldest place ever!!! All of y’all from the west coast need to get some of the humid heat and cold...it just cuts you straight through and freezes you from the inside on out.) But lucky for us we got to cruise around with the English Elders from Idabel Oklahoma in their truck and get to know the territory in 4 wheel drive....because all explorations have to be done 4x4. When we got there we talked to one of the two active families in De Queen (Guerrero and Mejilla, both of which are 100% mexican only spanish speakers that go to the Idabel branch and listen to the translation.) The looks on their faces were unbeatable when they found out that there were not only missionaries, but Spanish missionaries working in their area for the first time in 6 years! They got so excited as they related the glum history of the De Queen Arkansas branch that was ultimately shut down due to lack in Priesthood and confusion between half of the branch that spoke nothing but Spanish and the other half of the Branch that Spoke nothing but English. They told us about how difficult it is to drive the hour to church and to sacrifice the Gas money but bore strong testimonies of the importance of the Gospel in our lives and no matter what it takes to live it, they're going to do it. They gave us some referrals to stop by and teach while we were there along with their hot Canela Drink and we headed off on our way. There were four of us that convoyed around in the truck, and so I dropped off Elder Trias and Elder Rodriguez (one of the Mount Pleasant Elders that we got to exchange with Idabel) at la lavanderia to teach one of the Guerrero's referrals while Elder Carli (an English Elder that was born in Italy) and I left to end up knocking doors. The first door we knocked just once and it immediately opened like they were expecting us. So we asked them if we could come in, out of the freezing cold, to share a message with them. And it was one lesson down and a baptismal date to come right along with it. Elder Carli enjoyed sitting there and listening to 30 minutes of pure Spanish haha and as they say...ha sido un tiempo!!! When we left our lesson we saw that the Elders had tried to call us and get us to come pick them up. Once we met them at town square (which had only a million taquerias) we were planning on picking up some tacos....because tacos are like oxygen for me, and sadly there's no taco shops out in Gilmer or all of upshur county, but as we picked up Elder Trias and Elder Rodriguez, they informed us that the Mejilla family found out we were in town and wanted to feed us lunch! It was at this moment that we knew what it's like to be a General Authority. Once people know you're in town they can't wait to meet you and feed you and bend over backwards to help you out! So we cruised on over to the Mejilla's, and when we showed up she said she needed just a few more minutes to finish preparing lunch/dinner, so we decided that it would be a great idea to go make some contacts! So Elder Carli and I leave their house and walk right next door to start our tracting...and then again... We get right on in to start our next lesson. So I spent the next 45 minutes teaching while Elder Carli spent the time staring at something out the window and trying to see if he could relate anything in Spanish to Italian. We showed up a little late to lunch/dinner....but all I've got to say is that I've never lived so high on the hog (or I guess I should say high on the Razorback...haha I hope someone got that one) before!!! They sat us down and placed my favorite tacos right in front of me!!! We had a prayer, and then just breathed in the first few. Then Hermana Mejilla came by always asking, "Mas???" I would just say the word "Si" and three more would magically appear right in front of my face! I don't know how many times this process repeated itself, we lost count at 12...or it could've even been 15...but to say the least I fell in love with Arkansas that day.

Our voyage in Arkansas ended with even more contacting, getting into every door we knocked (quite the miracle) and hitting up all the Supermercados. We ended up leaving Arkansas with some flags, Razorback gear, and Luchador masks, and plenty of baptismal dates haha....living the dream in Action! So we're going to work on getting something started up there, but with the church being about an hour away and with almost no member support it'll be tough. All I've gotta say is that De Queen hasn't seen the last of us yet!!!!

The trip through Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas was hit with the cold and freeze storm way bad and lots of towns lost power, but as always...we just had to take advantage of it by drinking some hot cocoa and eating more tacos in De Kalb Texas with some contacts we made passing through. We found out that area of the 259 is out of our mission....whoops. The Jacksonville Missouri mission will enjoy those referrals!

The next highlight of our week was an interesting experience to say the least, especially since we had seen a temple sealing only a few weeks ago. This past Saturday we got to see the worldly marriage ceremony, but I was able to see it up-close and personally! The Dawson family in Gilmer 1st Ward had a Daughter that was getting married to this mexican dude named Jimmy Aguillion, and almost all of his family spoke nothing but Spanish. So the Dawsons invited us to the wedding and asked if we'd translate it. I figured it would be a small deal and of course we'll jump on any occasion that allows us to use our Spanish! I assumed we'd be up with a bunch of people speaking and switching off, but once we showed up, the venue manager came up and asked us, "Alright so which one of y’all is going to be translating???" And Elder Trias threw me under the bus and said "He will!" Then he took off to go find someone else to talk to. I can't lie, I was probably more nervous than the bride as we got put up there as the center of attention. It was the first wedding I'd ever been to so I had no idea what in the world we were planning on saying up there. Luckily, it was Bishop Jones that was marrying them, so he gave me a little preview on what he was planning to say and I made sure that everything was all good and that I had the translation right...and right then and there, they tacked some corsages on us and we heard Canon in D Major by Pachelbel start to play in the cultural room. They had just rounded up the groomsmen and as the lady was whispering out the orders, she told the groom..."Hurry up and just go stand behind the Preacher!!!" So he scurried over to his spot right behind me while I stood behind Bishop Jones. Yup. Pleasure to meet y’all. Mah names Preacher Wilson. Or I could do the classic introduction of...the names Wilson....Preacher Wilson. Right after that Bishop Jones started walking... the first one down the aisle, with me right behind him. It was kind of weird since I barley knew the Dawson family and had met the Groom about 5 seconds before we started walking out (I originally thought he was one of the groomsmen...whoops.) But playing a large role in Strangers lives is what we're supposed to do as missionaries anyways so I was used to it enough haha. Then the bridesmaids and then the groomsmen came in while Bishop and I stood on the stand.  Looking over the crowd of 300+ people, half of which were Mexican, and the other half was Gilmer 1st ward, I wondered what on earth I was doing up there with Bishop. I was praying my little heart out that I would get this right, not mess up, and that my Spanish wouldn't sound so gringo...and all I've gotta say is that God decided to grant the gift of tongues at the right time!!!! Everything just seemed to flow as I started to remember words and my "r's" rolled like it wasn't nobodies business. For all they know I was born down in Chiappas haha. (And I only called the Bride by the Groom's name once! Straight put me on cloud 9 haha)

I'm not going to lie I though, it was kind of weird with the "who do you present" and "who presents the bride" and the lighting of the candle, but the saddest part was marrying them "only for their mortal lives." Bishop was a pro at it, but you could tell that it wasn't his favorite thing to do. After the whole ceremony and being the centerpiece of so many pictures haha, I talked with Bishop about how heartbreaking it is to marry a couple outside the House of the Lord. I'm sure all the nonmembers think we're crazy as we seem to mourn at weddings, but doing the translation and having to say everything exactly perfect and using all the correct words, I had to pay special attention to everything that was said. I still clearly remember the covenants that they made that day and got to see first hand just what they're missing out on. They covenanted that they would love, care, and cherish each other for this small span of mortality. That was it. Then I remembered the covenants that we make in the temple even before we're sealed. It seems like every step we take in the Gospel prepares us to be sealed in the Temple and to prove to God that we will keep his commandments and that we will not only stay faithful to him forever, but also our spouse. Family is a big responsibility and we have to work every day with families that are dealing with heartbreak because they aren't living the gospel. With the truths of the Restored Gospel and the Priesthood Power to perform the ordinances and live according to our covenants,  God has paved the way to happy families, the fullness of joy, and life eternal.

But as for now you're probably wondering what the happy new couple is going to think when they look back at their wedding day and see the pictures of them with Bishop Jones and...some random missionary??? Well that's what all the Gilmer 1st members asked...and all I've gotta say is that it's not the end of the story yet. When we were up there I knew that I was going to see them in a situation similar to this, but instead of Bishop Jones or me marrying them, it's going to be someone with the Priesthood to seal for time and for all eternity. So let me answer your question....what are they going to say when they look back at their wedding day and see the pictures of them with Bishop Jones and...some random missionary??? They're gonna say..."Yup...Bishop Jones and Elder Wilson....I remember when Elder Trias and him started teaching us....what do you think our lives would be like if they hadn't brought us the truth..."

Yo les quiero mucho y les extraño, pero tenemos un trabajo para hacer y andaremos hasta el dia en cuando todo esta logrado...

Elder Wilson!!!

P.S. Muchos felicitaciones a Rachel for the call to serve in Milwaukee Wisconsin?!?!? Much respect haha...I would die if I had to endure that cold! Your mission even stretches into Canada. So go mark the uncharted territory of Wetmore!!! I'm gonna miss you and I'm still a little depressed...okay maybe more than a little, but I'm bummed you're leaving before I get back, but I hope you know I'm super proud of you! Now go learn Wisconsonese you cheesehead! Enjoy the cows, love the Packers, tell the Bucks and the Brewers that they'll never be championship material, rep the Badgers hardcore, get tons of snow gear...and remember...."Oh Canada, Oh Canada!"