Week 14: Happy Halloween 10/31/2018

Howdy howdy y'all!! what's going on?? Well, I am sorry that I am sending my email out this late in the week. P-day got moved to today since it is Halloween. President told us, due to some bad experiences in the past, we will not be proselyting on Halloween. So he just decided to move p-day to today instead of Monday this week. Don't worry, I didn't forget! After this, I will be going down to Wichita Falls to spend the day with the missionaries down there since it is an all day p-day today and there is literally nothing to do in Vernon. This week has been a really crazy week. On Thursday we had interviews up in Lawton, we had greenie graduation yesterday up near OKC, which is 3 hours away, and now today we will be driving to Wichita Falls. A lot of miles being used this week!!

Soooo, last email I talked a little bit about how the last week my motivation to go out and work was taking a slide. I felt the need to ask President in interviews what I can do to boost my motivation to work hard. He told me the reason why I have taken a slide, is because my love for the Savior has taken a slide. Not that I don't love the Savior or anything, I just need to find ways each and every day to help strengthen my love, faith, and testimony in him. We do that by learning more of him and what he did for us. As we learn of him, we recognize what he truly did for us, when we recognize that, we love him, when we love him, our desire to serve him grows. That has definitely influenced me and has driven me to build my relationship with him. I can definitly tell a difference with that and in reward, I was able to see many miracles happen. One that happened, is we got a new investigator named Diane, an old lady who lives in a nursing home who was a referral from the branch. She was sooo interested when we told her that God has made a plan for us to have the chance to live with our families for eternity. She had recently lost a husband and her greatest fear is that when she will go to heaven, she won't know who her husband is. Just imagine how miserable that would be to not know our families up in heaven. They call it the plan of happiness for a reason. Not the plan of misery!! We didn't have time to teach her the full lesson, but we will be going back on Friday to clarify it some more to her. Other miracles that I have seen in result to working hard was we have been able to meet some really awesome people as we have continued our search for those who are prepared to receive the Gospel. It is hard to meet people who are willing to learn more because everyone out here is soooo involved with the church that they already go to and most believe that it doesn't matter what church we go to, as long as we believe in our Savior, we are saved. C'mon faith vs works people.....

Yesterday, I graduated from being a greeinie. That was also a very rewarding experience. It was also very nerve wracking as well because in order to graduate, we had to teach all the lessons from preach my gospel BY OURSELVES to the trainers, AP's, or possibly President. I knew this day was coming for a while now and I was looking forward for it to be over. But, it was a really good experience though. I learned a lot from it and received so much advice and now it is time to go back to work and showcase all that I have learned from my 12 weeks of training. We also get our transfer docs this week as well. I will let y'all know what happens with that but in preparation for that, president told us that alll the former greenies our now in charge of the area they are currently serving at. I am soooo excited to see what is ahead as time goes on.

Well, It has been a pretty awesome, productive week. I hope you all have a really fun, safe, Halloween!!! Let me know how it goes. Love y'all!!!

Love,

Elder Weese

1) Emailing headquarters

2) Oh, the rainy days.....

3) Someone's a little sleepy!!

Week 13: Nearly 3 months out!!!! 10/22/2018

Hey y'all!! Whats going on??? Man, this week flew by!! It has been a little over whelming of how fast time has been going by recently!! The longer I have been out, the faster time has rolled on by!! All the missionaries that I meet out here... my comp, missionaries from my district, or even senior couples tell me... Just wait until you hit your year mark! Naw that still feels like it is century away! Haha!! Well nothing has really changed in the life of Elder Weese!! It was a really slow week in the work, fast, but the work was slow!!! I can take the blame for all of that!! I wasn't really too motivated this week to go out and do the usual, which is knocking doors, talking to people, and trying to set up return appointments! I know what I was doing wrong and I know exactly what it takes for me to be able to fix it!!

Well, when I say nothing happened this week! NOTHING HAPPENED THIS WEEK! Ya we still had a few lessons with some of our investigators, but even with those, I feel like I didn't get any where. In order for me to gain that motivation back and desire to do the lord's work, I need to make sacrifices. Sacrifice my time, my thoughts, and my energy EACH and everyday. I know how happy I was when I was motivated to to thy work. I have found happiness through even the hard times and the unsuccessful times. I made that mistake by losing that motivation!! I will get that back though and I am not going to drop it off ever again!! Well, last week we went to the jump zone up in Lawton as a zone!! It was pretty fun jumping around with all the missionaries. Our mission president and his wife even came with us!! We had one Elder blow out his knee while we were jumping soo it was especially good that the mission president came with us. It was a pretty nasty injury. I even have a pic of how it looked which I will send below!! 

Well guys, I'm sorry that this email was shorter than the others. Just didn't have a lot to write about this week since nothing really happened!! I promise that I will be a lot more interesting next week. you can put that on me!! Just know that even though my motivation dropped this week. My testimony of the restored Gospel continues to grow each and everyday. I know that this is the true church and that we have called living prophets and apostles to help guide and direct God's children. We need that comfort especially in this day and age!! I have found great joy reading through past conference talks. I consider the order of all these talks pretty ironic. I know that all these talks are key for helping us prepare for the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ!! I know for a fact that he lives and that he is the only begotten of the father and that through his grace and mercy, we will eventually make it back to our father in heaven as long as we do according to his will and always repent!! Thank you all soooo much for everything you do!! I love you all, have a good week!!!

Love,

Elder Weese

1) 24/7

2) Fun at the jump zone

3), 4) Poor Elder Whitehead :(:(

5) Behold, my noble steeds!! #bikingalternative #jk

Week 12: Hungry, "hopeless", and cold... but still kickin'!!!!!!!! 10/15/2018

Howdy!! How have my favorite people been this fine week. I appreciate all your emails and your wonderful uplifting words!!! I love starting a new week this way. Makes the Mondays a little better!! Well, to explain my title to this email.... Temperatures in Vernon have dropped dramatically this weekend. Yesterday was the coldest day on my mission and from what I hear, it will continue to get worse!!! Thankfully, my mom sent me a package that contained sweaters, a hat, gloves... all the warm stuff and she sent it right on time!! If she wouldn't have, I probably would have froze to death, therefore, I would not be speaking to you guys at this moment!! Haha!!! Well, even though it was pretty cold outside!! The work still goes on!! It is a lot more satisfying at the days end when you examine how hard you worked today knowing that you gave your all, especially under heavier circumstances!! This last week, we took a 3 hour drive up to OKC for zone conference in the pouring rain!! All the roads looked like rivers and you could barely see them at times especially since we were driving in the dark. Had to be very careful not to hydroplane!! Zone conference was pretty good!! Had to get a flu shot during it!!! It was kinda weird!!! All these missionaries coming together to get flu shots. We kept those nurses pretty busy. I felt pretty sick after I got mine which is kinda weird. Stomach felt weird and I had to deal with a killer head ache for the rest of the conference. But I am doing better now don't get me wrong!! Learned a lot from this zone conference and it also made me realize how much I need to improve. There is always something I can be doing a little better. I am focusing on staying motivated and setting better goals. Goals that will help push you each and everyday to do the Lord's work!! The motivation comes after that!!

Speaking of the work, it still goes on down here in Vernon!!! On Thursday, I went on an exchange with one of the zone leaders named Elder Whitehead. When we first met up, he told me... "all we are going to do today is FIND." I have never spent more time knocking doors and OYMing people ever than I did when I was with him!!! It was pretty fun... hard... but fun!!! Met some cool, nice people and not so nice people. Probably met the meanest guy I have ever met during that stretch of door knocking! I am glad Elder Whitehead had the patience because this guy was letting him have it!! I was waiting for the dude to get knocked out, but Elder Whitehead kept his cool and we went on throughout our day!! I asked him after that how he keeps such a positive attitude after something like that happens. He tells me, the harder you work, the more you will love the work, and won't care what anyone says to you or thinks about you. That is why I am trying soooo hard to boost my motivation each and everyday!!!

Sooo today, I will be going to a jump zone for our zone p-day today!!! I am super excited for that!! We originally planned to go to the Wichita Mountains again. but it is too cold for that!!! President and Sister Mansell will also be spending the day with us!! Can't wait to tell you all about it in my emails next week!!! The mission is still treating me well though!!! Still trying to meet with as many people as we can. Especially our focus people... the ones who are closest to baptism. We have been trying really hard to get them to come to church. That is the hardest thing to get them to commit to. They do all the other things like reading and praying, but when it comes to sacrament, we aren't as successful with that. They always tell us that they will be there but don't end up coming. Can't give up on these people though!! I know it is a very hard decision to make!! We are pretty much asking them to change their lives!! I always thing of Elder Hollands talk and the quote that sticks out the most in that talk: "salvation was never easy!!!!" I know I will find someone out here on my mission who was meant for me to go talk to!! The one the Lord has prepared the most for me!!!

Well, Another week down!! Still happy and healthy. My comp will tell you otherwise with the healthy thing. Been drinking a lot of soda and eating a lot of candy. Halloween candy is on sale so I am making the most of it right now!! HAHA!! Well I love you all and miss you!! Keep on keeping on!! Have another good and safe week!!!!

Love,

Elder Weese

1) All geared up!!

2) Cooler weather ahead!!

3) Winner winner, steak dinner!!!

4) Wasn't kidding about the cold!!!

Week 11: The Lord is INDEED hastening His work!!!!!!! 10/8/2018

Another week, another fortune!! Am I right??? Well, I can't believe it is the start of another new week. These weeks are going by heart beat after heart beat!! It was good to hear from you all and get your take on what happened in this year's General Conference! It was a really unique conference to say the least!! These last few conferences have been solid evidence of the Lord hastening his work to prepare for the time of the second coming!! It is right around the corner ladies and gentlemen!! Start preparing if you haven't already!! The shorten church time is not for the purpose of going home and having an extra hour of your Sunday nap! haha! But it is to deepen our conversion and to strengthen our faith as we study within our homes!! Also with the announcement of 12 new temples!! That is pretty crazy! I have never heard them announce that many all at once!! I love hearing from our prophet and his invitation to come or stay on the covenant path. In my own words, "to keep on keeping on!" Got to watch a session with our investigators, Kerry and Lisa Ollivers. You can tell that they have never experienced anything like that before. There were some really good talks that I hope they were able to get a lot out of. Missionaries can't control what is going on in the minds of other people which kinda sux! Haha!

Well, conference was definitely the high light of my week!! With the work this week, it was a little slower than usual, but things like that happen. Just trying super hard every day to not be sooo upset with myself. We set new goals every week of how we wanted to find new people to teach. Whenever I set an expectation for myself and am not able to achieve it, I tend to get a little too hard on myself!! I am working really hard on improving that and to just be a little more patient with myself. Perfection doesn't come over night. It takes an eternity to obtain it!! 

So, we got a few new investigators this week!! We have been trying to get with this guy named Adrian for a while!! He seemed soooo interested the first time we met him, but that was weeks ago. We have tried him almost every other day since then and he is never home, We finally got with him this last week! He still seems super interested in us and tells us all the time how much we are an inspiration to him. We talked with him a lot about prophets and how God continues to call prophets even in our day. Gave him an invitation to watch genereal conference so he kind find the difference of what makes a prophet more unique than other church pastors or preachers!! Hopefully we can see him again this week and teach him more about how we have re established the pattern of prophets back on the Earth again!! With Tiffany, the screaming lady, she is gonna be really hard to teach. She has always had trouble believing God. She was a member of a church, but she has told us how she has lost hope. She doesn't believe we existed before we were born, nor that we will exist after death. She seems to know these things pretty well, but is having trouble believing them. She asked us sooooo many questions. Questions I could not even answer!! We invited her to read the plan of salvation pamphlet to see if it would answer any of her questions. Lastly, we had a really good lesson with another investigator named Talon last night. He hasn't been reading the book of mormon like we have asked him to do. We told him the only way you are gonna find out for yourself if all of this is true is by reading it. He said he will try a little harder to find the time to do it. Gave him a lesson on faith and repentance. Told him that we are all human, we all make mistakes. We challenged him to along with his personal prayers, to take time to ask for forgiveness from God. We all sin, sometimes we do it with out even knowing it! That is why we should always be repenting ever day of our lives!!

Tomorrow is zone conference. It will be up in OKC so I got a long drive ahead of me. We are heading up there tonight and staying with other missionaries up in that area!! Well I hope everything with y'all is running smoothly! Love you guys!! Have another fun and safe week!!!

Love,

Elder Weese

P.S. Next week is zone P-day on Monday so expect my email to come on Tuesday next week!:)

1) I want to be a cow for Halloween

2) The old times live on, #carnivalhelper

3) Conference views!!!

Week 10: New Transfer, new me....hopefully!! 10/1/2018

Hey guys!! It is sooo good to be writing you again!!! Thank you for all your wonderful emails and your powerful words of encouragement!! It has been a pretty awesome week!! Can't believe this is already my 10th p-day, or is it my ninth? I can't tell! It gets hard keeping track the longer being out here!! Well, it was a pretty slow week with the work part of it. It was still really busy nonetheless. Had some more good experiences and was able to get in with a lot of people and met new ones for sure!! Got to meet some more missionaries as well. Since transfers just recently happened, my district and zone got shuffled around a little bit. Said goodbye to the missionaries getting transfered and said hello to the new ones in our area. Also, some new, new missionaries in the zone as well. I am glad to say that I am not the least experienced missionary in the zone as we got some new, fresh ones who recently got done with the MTC!!

Again, since this past week was the start of a new transfer. We were also busy creating new transfer visions and set new goals as well. Personally, and as a companionship!!! For the next 6 weeks, the thing I am working on is- "forget yo-self." Last transfer, I have found that it was super hard to be desirous in doing the lord's work when I had other things from back home, like family, friends, music, 2k, distracting me from what I really came out here to do. What I am trying to do is to put all of that aside so I can be more focused in doing the lord's work. I have seen in the past week with me experiencing with that a little bit, the promptings and guidance from the Holy Ghost a lot more!!! I have made plans that instead singing or thinking of my favorite songs from back home while biking, play the book of mormon audio on my phone while I am biking. It is still really hard to not get distracted though. When you get to that point when you feel totally focused and thinking to yourself: nothing can distract me anymore! Boom! A car pulls up right next to me playing a Post Malone song. Than it feels like I go right back down to square one again. With this new transfer vision, it is also going to help me out a lot of putting other people before myself. To always be looking for ways to turn outward. I have found that out here, it is impossible NOT to think about yourself. But when you are constantly thinking on the welfare of others. It makes it easier!! As a companionship, me and my comp are trying really hard to get into the spirit of finding. We have set a goal for with every planned appointment that falls through, we will knock two neighbors doors on that same street!! That is in addition to are regular tracting schedule. Hopefully with that, we can find those people that the lord has prepared for us to give them the message of the restored gospel. 

Well, like I said, it was a slower week with the missionary work. A lot of appointments fell through at the last minute. We had 7 people who said that they would try to come to church. Set some pretty high expectations on ourselves on got a little to overly excited with that number. Guess how many people actually came yesterday... A flat out zero. We were pretty disappointed. We are gonna work extremely hard this week to try and get these people to come to church!! We need to help them take that next step. It is a lot harder than I thought it would be!! Our investigators and members are still doing pretty well though. It felt like a pause in progression with some of our investigators because it feels like we haven't been able to see them in a while. We will get with them this week though! That is priority number 1. A funny story that happened. Remember that girl Tiffany, the yelling lady, who I told you about last week.we tried to go see her last week. Man, whenever we are on her street, something bad happens, like when she yelled at us all those times. We call it the street of unfortunate events. This time, when we were talking with her, there was this cat getting absolutely MAULED by these two huge dogs. She, being the animal lover that she is, started freaking out and screaming bloody murder. Eventually she saved the cats life. She was ticked!!! The person who owned that cat came over and she started screaming and cussing at him for not keeping an eye out on his stuff. THen she came to us and started talking about how much she really hated that guy. Saying he treats his kids really bad and doesn't give a crap about anything. Well, that was quite a show to watch!! She is pretty scary when she gets angry. (Us knowing from experience). We are still trying to find a time where we can actually get in with her and have a conversation about religion!!

Well, that was the rundown this week. Always looking for more things ahead. Never satisfied!! I love all of you and I hope you all have another awesome week!! Stay healthy and safe!!!!!!!!

Love,

Elder Weese

1) View from the apartment balcony... before a rainstorm

2) These things are getting out of hand!!!

3) Satan's trickery!