Week 64: Tough Week But Things Are Coming Alive!!! 10/29/2019

Hey ya'll! Sorry for the confusion of me not writing yesterday. We actually had a meeting yesterday and I got to talk to my mission president for a bit! It was a good time! The sister training leaders in our zone gave an amazing training on being motivated by the Atonement of Jesus Christ. We listed a ton of things on the board of who Christ is to us personally and it was very cool to see the many thoughts that were put into it. There are many things Christ did for us, and if that doesn't motivate us, I don't know what will. I have come to find while being on my mission that trying to do it by myself does not work at all. Missionaries need the Lord to help us with our efforts because first and foremost it is all his work. He knows what's going on, and he knows in whom he is preparing. Also, we need him and his atonement to constantly pick us up and keep us moving forward because times can be super hard. I don't know what I would have done without that driving power to get us through the hard times. I know that he is real, and that he is the son of God, and his sacrifice is there to help all of us and to help us have an increase of hope.

Well, I don't really have much to say about this week. It was a LONG stormy and freezing cold week. I think Oklahoma decided to skip Fall because it still felt like summer like a week ago, and now currently it feels like Winter. I think we are in for quite the rowdy winter if this is already coming along. Since the work has been slower here, it was a week where we really had to grind out trying to find people to teach. We have been working in every possible way we can and we have found a few people who seem somewhat interested in the Gospel message. I think over this weekend I was a little frustrated because we had set up these appointments and most of them fell through. One in particular, we talked to this lady for 30 minutes on her front porch and she seemed pretty excited to have us back over. When we showed up, she acted like she didn't even remember who we were. There was that plus many other appointments that fell through the mud. It's ok! Just have to be positive and keep seeking the elect. We have an appointment today with Blair soooo just pray for us that we might be able to get in with her and have a solid lesson with her. It will be much appreciated.

Well, I'm very excited for these upcoming weeks. I hope we will start seeing some more fruits of our labors, but I am committed to be patient for them. I know that the city of Norman is where I need to be. That either there is something the Lord wants me to learn while I'm here, or legitimately, there is someone in specific that awaits my arrival. I'm bound to find out! Well, thanks for all the love and support. I'll talk to you all next week to see how things go!! Love you all!!

Love,

Elder Weese

Pics from last p-day!!!!!!

Week 63: They Poisoned Me!!! 10/21/2019

Alright, well how's it going everybody? Things are going pretty good here out in the new area of Norman!! The work is still a little slow here, but is progressing. I guess I'll start off with why I chose this title today. Just a joke that I thought of because of the sickness I had this last weekend. All missionaries were required to go in and get a flu shot and just like last year, I became instantly sick because of it. So they literally poisoned me! Haha!! I'm doing pretty good now but that was probably the hardest thing about the week! Other than the OU football games. Man it looks like we are in for the long haul with these saturday's which are owned by college football. People are never happy to see us on that day and that is just a testament as to what happened on Saturday. It is definitely Idol worship when it comes to football. It's like a religion!! 

So Matt, the man I told you all about last week, we had another lesson with him this last week! We did some research on his teaching record and found out that he had been taught everything, multiple times, not only that but as we were talking to him, he says he has been around missionaries ever since he was 5. SInce he is as smart as he is, we invited our mission president over to the lesson with us and from what was planned to be a lesson on Moroni 10, turned into a jabber war with my mission president as to why he hasn't been baptized yet. He claims to know the church is true, that what we are doing as missionaries is the literal gathering of Israel... don't ask how he knows that, the book of mormon is true regardless of who wrote it, and said that the Gospel message has changed every aspect of his life. He just won't get baptized and join the church for some reason. He just thinks to much and I learned something valuable from my mission president from that lesson, how we should all be accepting the Gospel, as a child would. That is literal doctrine straight from the mouth of Christ, and I think the simplicity behind the Gospel is too hard for him to grasp. He thinks he could hold advantages over his friends by just staying neutral as he presents the Gospel to them, that's how much he likes it. He is a missionary! His views and his concepts are quite interesting I don't know how to describe it. So unfortunately since he knows everything, there is nothing more we as missionaries can do. He is going to stay in touch with our mission president, but as for right now there is nothing else to teach him. I do think he is going to remember the things we talked about in this lesson and I think that could lead him to be baptized in the future, but as for right now he is not quite ready.

Alright, so another cool story that transpired this last week. We had a lesson with devout catholics that the sisters were teaching and Elder Williams and I were like, why the helk are these people being taught?? They were literally trying to convert us the whole time as they told us stories about all the saints to have ever existed. So we had to let them go as well, and that was frustrating because of how empty our teaching pool was after that. Even though that was hard, me and my comp just took a deep breath and decided to knock doors in that neighborhood right after that. There, we met this lady named Blair! When we showed up, she was like," hey I have students that go on missions, in fact one of them left 2 weeks ago and gave me a book of mormon and taught me a little about the church, she then asked me if I would meet with missionaries and I was like, that would be awesome." So then uncoincidentally, we showed up at her door! She even mentioned that it was a sign from God. Her and her husband are looking for a church that is the same everywhere you go since they travel a lot for military purposes. We asked her if she and her husband would like to learn more about the church and she got super excited and said yes!! So what had been a waste of time getting lectured at by some catholics turned into a testimony builder for me of the Lord puts us where we need to be. He needed us at that lesson because we wouldn't have been in that area if we hadn't had it. I'm so excited, we have a lesson with them next week and we are so stoked.

Well, life is good! I have been doing amazing and this area is growing on me. The members here are awesome and super happy that we are here. We still have a lot of work to do, but I can see great things coming. There are prepared people here, we just need to trust in the Lord for us to find them. Have a great week everyone, love you all!!

Love,

Elder Weese

1) Sorry, just the one! Elder Williams and I say hello!!!!

Week 62: The New Mormons in Norman #sorrypresnelson 10/14/2019

Hey everyone! It's Elder Weese coming at you live from Norman Oklahoma!! I have officially moved on to some new beginnings and I can't wait to see what happens in the future in this area. I miss Edmond dearly, but I am so happy to be here. The work here is a little slow, we only have one person on our teaching pool, there is a lack of member trust because of what previous missionaries have done here... but all of this is going to end!! We have already visited a lot of our members and we let them know that we have some great plans getting ready to take place in this area. They all seemed pretty excited that they are getting Elders now because there were sisters here for a very long time! As much as it is hard being able to see this challenge we have ahead, I can't wait to take it on and be able to see some growth happen here!

I'm not going to lie, I wasn't too excited that I was going to be not only training, but training in an area where we both have no clue what is going on, but I have literally gotten probably the best new missionary that came out in the group this last week. His name is Elder Williams and he is a stud. He acts like he has already been out for a year and he is a work horse.  Not nervous at all to talk to people! It has made this assignment a whole lot easier. He is from Roosevelt Utah which is right near Vernal Utah. He likes a lot of the same stuff I do so we have a lot in common. We are already killing it as a companionship, Norman had no idea what was coming. Church was pretty good! This ward is a lot different from the Edmond wards I used to be in. Up in Edmond, it was more of a richer environment with a lot of very sophisticated people, here everyone is more laid back. It is more of a cowboy town, and everyone here are Sooner fans. Everyone welcomed us tremendously which is weird because we have been told that they aren't really missionary minded, maybe it was just because they are happy to have Elders now! It was a super good day at church with fast and testimony meeting! The weekend was pretty hard though because of the huge football game that happened! Sooners vs. Longhorns, we decided it would not be a good idea to knock doors during that game, so we went to a strip mall to see if anyone would talk to us, and everyone there was rushing to get back to the game, so everyone here loves the sooners so it was kinda a lost cause for us.

Well, the only person on our teaching pool is someone named Matt. We had an appointment with him the 2nd day we were here and he has a pretty neat story! He is THEE smartest guy I have ever met and his brains led him to great wealth. He is an product inventor for this company he works for and I don't think I have met anyone that matches his level of intellect. His house is HUGE! The reason why he is meeting with us is because he went to the temple open house and filled out a card for missionaries to come and meet with him, and they have been ever since. He loves our church, loves the Book of Mormon, and has admitted that meeting with the missionaries has changed his life! You may be thinking, we isn't this dude already a member by now, the answer is his intelligence. He has done a lot of study of other religions and even though he says that ours is his favorite by far, he believes that being open to all religions is what helps him learn about God and he doesn't believe that one religion holds all the truth. I think he needs to think more outside the box, and turn to the Lord for answers because right now it seems like he is just getting information from us, but if what he has been getting is changing his life, there is still a whole lot of potential with him. He also asked us to set up a meeting with the prophet and he was DEAD SERIOUS! We encouraged him to write a letter to him, and asked if we could bring our mission president over. He says he is open to it! He is awesome, I can't wait to work with him throughout the course.

Well ya'll, I feel blessed! I am super happy to be here! I can already see the growth that is going to happen as time goes on and I am super excited. Time is going by fast! I can't believe I am down to 9 months left. I might have 1 or 2 more areas left in me! It is exciting times! The church is true, missionary work is the best, and I know God loves each and everyone of us! Love you all!!

Love,

Elder Weese

1-8) Goodbye Edmond!

9,10) Elder Williams (my new greenie)

11,12) Getting acquainted!

13,14,15) Luxurious life style!- I forgot tell you all how sick our new apartment is. It is like a 5 star resort!!!!

Week 61: All good things come to an end!! 10/7/2019

Heeeyyyyyy!! What's going on? I hope everyone had a tremendous conference weekend and that you are filled with much new knowledge and inspiration! It was a very eventful week for the most part! I guess I'll start off with the big news, I am sad to say that after 7 months in Edmond, my time will be coming to end here. I have been moved down to Norman which really isn't too far away, but far enough that I can't come back up here consistently. I am very excited about this new opportunity I have ahead of me. I will be going in right after sister missionaries were there and I am taking a brand new missionary straight out of the MTC down there with me. Yes, I will be training again! Haha, what?? I don't know who he is yet but this Wednesday I will be finding that out! I can't wait to make another great friend while I'm out here again. This go around, I am a little less stressed than what I was when I trained a few months ago. I'm glad I already had that opportunity and I will definitely take the stuff I learned, and the stuff I could have done better to this companion I will be getting. I know that I told you all last week that a new missionary came in. His name is Elder Hofer and he has been pretty awesome! It's kinda weird being in a trio especially when you bring all 3 of us to someone's door. It's quite interesting! I am definitely going to miss Elder Stolte! If you all would have seen us together, you all definitely would have noticed the difference in interests we have, but the reason why he was one of my favorite companions is because we didn't let any of that get in the way of the work, and the relationship we built. We kept our minds focused on what matters most, and that is why we got along so well.

So, as we went hopping around members homes during conference sessions, I got to say goodbye to a lot of people. I said goodbye to Henry, who literally started crying. It was very sad!! I don't like goodbyes, they bring the worst feeling once it is over and you know it will be a while before you see them again. During all of those visits, I was able to get a TON out of general conference. I think the most important thing that I learned is the covenants we make with Heavenly Father need to be taken seriously. I have been pondering the question, am I half-hearted about the promises I make with him, or am I strict in my approach to it? It gave me the notion that I need to improve! I think the best way to do that is through daily repentance, which we should all be doing. We should know that it is impossible to avoid mistakes and slip ups, but we should also know that through those we have someone who suffered for those so that we could be forgiven. Ya, it is hard sometimes, but it is totally worth it. When we repent daily, we yoke ourselves to the Savior and the more we do that, the easier and more natural daily repentance is for us.  I also like what was said by Elder Christofferson that because of the world we live in, it is inevitable that we will experience hard times, afflictions and difficulties. We can't expect to avoid those because we have the Gospel in our lives, but the Gospel surely can help us overcome them. I hope as you all each watched conference that you considered how blessed we are to have the Gospel in our lives. I can't wait for next conference which will be in 6 short months.

Well, I am super thankful for the time I had here in Edmond, it has been real! I have been here for 7 months and had 6 different companions here. This area truly was my growing ground. I was able to experience much sorrow and disappointment... tremendously, but much joy and happiness which always swallows up the hard times. It was here where I found out what type of person I would like to become! That is a more devoted follower of the Savior, more commited to the covenants I have made with him, and someone who has divine potential because of how much I have felt the love of God. I can't wait to start a new chapter in my journey out here and I know that I am needed down in Norman! I have recieved that assurance right after I found out I will be going there! As for my time in Edmond, I can relate to one of my favorite scriptures which is Alma 26:11-12: "But Ammon said unto him: I do not boast in my own strength, nor in my own wisdom; but behold, my joy is full, yea, my heart is brim with joy, and I will rejoice in my God. Yea I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land (Edmond) for we will praise his name forever."  Love you all!

Love,

Elder Weese

sorry, just one...

1) Trio gang in the park