Week 8: Life just keeps on rollin' 9/17/2018

Man, it feels like I was just emailing you all yesterday! I can't believe another week has come and gone!! It went by so fast!! Thanks to all the people who took the time and wrote to me. Glad to hear that you all are doing well. Next time you all hear from me, I will be a 19 year old man as my birthday is this Sunday. It is gonna be soooo weird celebrating it out here in Vernon Texas instead of home, but I am still excited for that day to come. Well it has now been over a month since I got on a plane, and started my journey to OKC!! I have been out in the mission field for almost 5 weeks and in a week and a half, my first transfer will be ending. All the missionaries out here seem to becoming pretty anxious for the day we get our transfer docs, but since I am still being trained, I am sure president will be keeping me here in Vernon! I would be surprised if I got transfered. Almost half way through my training! Man I am tired of being a greenie! I feel like I am looked at as a little kid and everyone having way more experience than I do!! But the missionaries here have been really awesome and have taught me a lot!!!

Well, like I said, this week was a blur! I can't believe it is the start of a new week already! Even though it felt short, it was nothing short of amazing!! Probably the best week of me being out here!! We were able to find a lot of people who seem pretty interested and our investigators are doing really great as well. First, Kerry and Lisa Olliver. We have continued to read in the Book of Mormon with them. Ever since we have started doing that with them, I can see the change and how much it impacts their lives. They ask us some great questions about it and I can see there faith growing everytime we meet with them! For them, the next step is getting them to church. Lisa, because of her health problems, has not been able to leave her couch for months and she has a lot of anxiety about leaving her house!! We are trying so hard to get members over there to lessons with them so they can get to know the members in our branch and form a trust with them. Hopefully that will work!! They understand how important going to church is and we have been teaching them a lot about the Sacrament. Just getting them to go is the hard part. Another guy we have been talking to who I have probably mentioned before, is Bryan Sweitzer. He has met with the missionaries even before I got here and HE LOVES US!!! He takes us out to lunch every Friday and he is probably the investigator we spend the most time with. He has been to our church numerous of times, but he believes that all churches our good. Yes they are all good, but there is only one!! That is the thing we have a hard time getting him to understand!! He seems to believe everything about our church like the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith, but still loves going to his baptist church as well!! I do commend him for the faith in Jesus Christ he has though!!! Those two are probably are strongest investigators!!

On top of the investigators we do have, we were able to meet a lot more people! A lot of OYM's (open your mouth). This week we were pretty successful with that and were able to get a lot of people to listen to us!! Got some new investigators out of it and some potential ones as well!!! We have a new investigator named Don,a really funny black guy,  who we ran into a few weeks ago while he was taking the trash out. Finally we were able to meet with him again and got to know him a little better and what his views of god and religion are!! We were able to teach him about the restoration and committed him to read the book of mormon. We are actually meeting with him tonight to see how that has been going. That lesson we taught him, was probably the best lesson I have ever taught!! I hope he felt the spirit as we taught him and that he is continuing to feel it as he reads!!! We also have this new guy named Tallon. I think he is about 19 years old. Man, his girlfriend is a member and she REALLY is pushing him to join the church. We need to help him understand that it is not her decision. The decision is entirely up to him. Also taught him the restoration and promised him that if he continued to read the Book of Mormon everyday. He will find out for himself how he can become converted personally. Lastly, this guy named Fred, a single guy who is probably in his mid 40's early 50's. He does uber for a living and talked to us a lot about that. It was mainly just getting to know the guy and what his interests are. Didn't get a lesson in with him yet. He probably smoked 5 cigarrettes while we were talking with him. Haha! That'll be a challenge!!! Hopefully we can meet with him again and possibly get a lesson in!!

Well, that was kinda the run down!! Me personally, I am still doing awesome and having a blast. Even though I do miss you guys a lot!! This past week I saw a sign in Walmart for 2k19. You could have probably caught me staring at that sign for 20 minutes. Haha!!  Also whenever we go in members homes, they either have some video games going, like fortnite, or some movies on that I loved to see back home. It is still a working progress trying not to get distracted by that stuff. Well thank you all for your continuing love and support. Send me some pics from home!! I'd love to see what you all have been up to! Love you guys, talk with ya'll next week!!

Love,

Elder Weese

1) Mirror selfie just for kicks!!

2) Only ones at the YSA face to face with Elder Cook

3) Helped move out a family! (No one was ready for the pic)

4) My everyday view!!!!