Repent Repent!!! For The Kingdom Of Heaven Is At Hand!!!

"Repent!" (Slam!) "Repent! For the Kingdom of Heaven is at Hand!!!"

Yeah, it may not be the greatest contact of 2014 since we saw the door slammed in our face after I got out the first "Repent!", but at least I haven't been beheaded for giving it a try haha. 

So as y'all have asked I did get to speak in Stake Conference and it went awesomeeeeeee!!! And you can take this part out when you forward it onto other people just because I don't want to make it sound like I'm into myself, but I love sharing and hearing accomplishments with from the family so I'll give y'all the low down haha. 

This past whole week I have been polishing and putting my talk together just the way I wanted it. I've had about three weeks to write it and just had ideas passing through my mind for what seemed like just a couple days, but I finally was able to buckle down, and as hard as it is as a missionary, set apart some time at the computer where I can do nothing but focus on the talk. I was so nervous as I really didn't know how to start it all off and get what I wanted across, but it felt so great to just keep getting ideas and just write and write and write and see it all come together and get some structure. 

President Austin is a stickler for time and told me that my 10 minutes translates to "9:59 is great, 10:01 is very bad." When I practiced my talk for the first time, I looked at the stopwatch and saw that I'd made it to 24 minutes and thought "well, time to just chip tons off! So I took out stories and got it to 16 and then to 14 then to 13 then to 11...then 10:39....then 9:36!!! I felt like such a baller haha it was so tough to choose which parts I wanted to keep or toss after having so Much good stuff, but I finally got it ready after tons and tons and tons of practices (and writing it down word for word...now I know why the General Authorities look so good on General Conference-- they have it prepared straight up and don't have to just stop and think...that's all done behind the scenes.) Then I found out later on, due to the distance that it takes to get from all the ends of the stake to Gilmer, that the Conference would be broadcast to 3 other buildings and more homes...so covering the three states we have. I practiced and practiced and prayed and practiced and prayed some more that I'd be able to take advantage of this opportunity to speak on Member Referrals (as President Asked me to) and win some points for our Elders to get more people to teach and help the members hasten the work of salvation. The time finally came and as we left tracting (which we did just to keep me cool and keep my mind busy) we got a text from the Gilmer Elders saying "Less than one hour before you are subject to humiliation and rejection from the whole stake....Good luck"

It was too funny but nerve racking too. I was sooo ready for it and again I just remembered how much I love speaking! It's a thrill and normally turns out super well and feels like such a relief when it's done. I thought that President was jipping me on time, but I had a lot compared to everyone else and I spoke almost right before President. But once I finally got up there with the cameras and everything, it felt saweeet! Speaking to multiple states with a packed Stake Center and other buildings and homes, it felt super legit!!! It was especially funny seeing everyone I knew crack up as all the people that spoke before me were super quiet and soft-spoken...and then comes me ready to go lock stock and barrel!!! I was so excited and I've got it recorded because I thought it would be cool to hold onto later on in life haha but I'll let yall listen to it later. I had to drop a couple bombs on them and do some calling to repentance, but it turned out fantastic and we've already seen tons more invitations and referrals since then! It was the best and especially when I was quoted in a few other talks, but the part where you can tell that I've been here forever is when the Primary President spoke the next day and quoted me from when I gave a training to the primary presidencies around the stake a couple months ago. President Austin also called me out in his talk and said, "Elder Wilson, when you head back home in these next couple weeks you need to know you're still under covenant to be a member missionary and I want to you tell me how many referrals you've given by April..." haha so now the whole stake knows that I'm leaving.

And as you can see from Cody's e-mail, we got him down here and it felt like I was introducing family to all my friends out in Gilmer and starting to realize how much time I don't have down here. It's getting crazy, but thanks so much for yalls prayers because they're working! Pray that I'll get something started with the hispanics out here or that I can see miracles with them or something! It's so tough around here with like Zero hispanics but I want it to start up so bad! 

And yeah we've had members praying for us since conference. President Austin has been a boss about hitting that principle home and it's really overwhelming but very empowering to hear your name prayed for in every meeting and the trust that they have in you. I'm gonna miss it. But Cody came on over for the night and slept over to save time so that he didn't have to drive up and back to Gilmer again for the Stake Conference. Super crazy haha and he still feels like he's been out forever...6 months is nothing. I asked him all sorts of questions about the family and all that Jazz and he'd just say that he's been out too long to know...cry me a river haha. But it's pretty cool being out here with him, getting him sent out here and we get to do exchanges all the time! It's gonna be balla!!! I truly felt part of the happiness that Alma and the sons of Mosiah felt in Alma chapter 17:2 that he is still my brother in the Lord, ready to serve alongside us out here in the Gilmer Stake!

Well I could go on forever and ever but so many crazy stories and too much good stuff going on out here but send me Rach's addy out in Wisconsin sometime so I can send her some in field love! Gotta go baptize the world! Les quiero muchisimo! Estamos ensenando como un negotio de nadie! Que les vayan con Dios y vean milagros cada dia como los mensajeros del Senor!

Elder Wilson