Our mission is growing really fast.  I am not sure about anymore changes.  I won't be surprised if there were more changes to be made.  We are going to go from now to the end of the summer from 120 missionaries to 170.  Its crazy!  That's a lot of missionaries for our small mission.  Thanks for all your emails; I love reading them.

Elder Willden

Hola Brethren and Sisteren.  Elder Roundy and I have had a good week!  We are still working on getting more investigators.  I don't know if I told ya'll or not, but our area was split this transfer and all of the investigators went to the other area, so we pretty much started at zero.  But, it is going well.  We are working with a man named Bobby Harris.  He is an older gentleman and is really smart.  When we first met him, we had a long discussion with him and after; he said that if we had just talked about something he already knew he wouldn't have listened to us.  He has a different personality, not weird just different.  He wants to learn more, but our appointments keep falling through because he is too busy.  He isn't coming to church either, so we are really hoping to get in with him this week.  

We had a crazy experience that consisted of Tuesday and Wednesday.  Tuesday night while we were planning, I got the distinct impression to visit an older lady in our ward who can't ever make it to church because of medical issues and no one hardly ever visits her except us.  So, on Wednesday we went to go see her and she came out and we started talking and she said it was her birthday.  And, right then I knew that we were Heavenly Father's gift to her.  Heavenly Father loves us.  I have seen it over and over again.  His love is unconditional.  He is a perfect Father.  He knows what we need when we need it.  And, he will do all he can to bless us.  The way he blesses us is through commandments.  He gives us commandments so that we can live them, so he can bless us.  It is truly amazing.  

Anyways, we are also working with a 10 year old boy named Trey Woods.  His mother is less active and wants Trey to be baptized.  But, you can't be baptized unless you are coming to church.  So, we finally got them to church this Sunday!  Trey is really smart he is a quick learner....  Like Luke.  He reads the Book of Mormon every night now and wants the Holy Ghost to be in his life.  He is a good kid.  

Anyways, the reason why I didn't email yesterday is because our mission was meeting with a General Authority.  Elder Golden from the first qourum of the Seventy.  It was really good and he taught us a lot.  Anyways I love ya'll and hope all is going great.  Love my mission.  Love the work. 

Elder Willden

Howdy!  Hottitude just continues to rise.  My clothes are begining to turn yellow from my sweat, so thats always a beautiful sight!  haha.  Anyways, Elder Roundy and I have been working it up.  We had a lot of appointments fall through this week from people we tracted into or talked to on the street but thats okay because the lord has a plan in everything.  I got to go on an exchange this week with Elder Ek.  Who is a spanish missionary.  I didn't really say anything in any of the lessons except for Hola haha.  It was a good experience though.  So, we have an Investigator named Esther, she is an older spanish lady(74) and is a strong believer in Christ and likes the Book of Mormon and she teaches english in High School, and we went and had a lesson with her on Friday.  I asked her a few questions and even though the other missionaries have been through the lessons with her twice she still didn't know what preisthood authority was.  So, therefore we are going to reteach the lessons and make them as simple as possible.  I had an interesting experience Saturday night.  We went over to a mans home whom we had talked to in the street and he came outside and talked with us for a bit.  And, he was trying to preach to us and every time we would say a few words he would just start talking again.  And, then he started talking about why we don't need and shouldn't have the Book of Mormon and I got the impression to just bare my testimony about the Book of Mormon.  So, I did so and then he started going of on how I was wrong.  And I said a prayer in my head asking Heavenly Father to bring the spirit to the conversation if it was his will.  Then, I saw a devil standing next to the man whispering into his ear and smiling at me.  It brought tears to my eyes realizing that this man has made his decision at this point in his life.  All I wanted to do was help him.  But, he would not accept.  Anyways, I told that story because Heavenly Father has given us all agency.  We all have the ability to choose the light or the dark.  I hope and pray that, that man will one day choose the light and that we all will continue to choose the light and if we arent doing so at this point to change our direction and start on the true and living path to Christ and our Heavenly Father.  I love this work my mission is the best thing that has happened to me so far in my life.  This church is true and I bare witness of it in the name of Jesus Christ amen.  I love all of you and pray for you every night.  I feel your prayers in my life and thank you for them.

Elder Willden

How ya'll doing?  I am doing well.  It is crazy how President Crawford is moving me all over the place, but it's working out.  Elder Roundy and I have been working hard.  Fall Creek got split into 2 different areas when I got here.  So, we don't have very many investigators. So we have been working really hard on finding people to teach.  On Thursday we had to go to Beaumont because of my knee(football injury).  It was not wanting to work anymore! haha.  We saw a man named Doctor Hayes who is a member and he gave me what's called a Cortisone Shot to fix my knee hopefully.  We will find out if it worked next week.  So, until then we will be driving around in a car.  Anyways, later on thursday night we went to teach a man named Arlen.  Arlen is an older gentleman and has slightly lost his mind.  We started talking to him and he really loves music.  He especially loves listening to the piano.  So, he sat us down and pretty much forced us to listen to his favorite piano song and while it was playing he was moving his hands in the air dramatically like he was playing it!  haha.  Then, once that was over we tried to have a lesson with him.  It  was the craziest lesson I have had.  Everything we said he wanted to tell us that we were wrong.  He was at one point talking about how the story of Christ forgiving the Adulterous woman wasn't a real story and told us all this false information about why it is then he asked us "do you believe that?"  And I was straight forward with him.  I said,"No."  And he looked stunned and Elder Roundy told him a few things about the Book of Mormon and I testified that those things were true and that the Book of Mormon is true.  The spirit was there and he blatently ignored it.  From this experience I have truely learned the meaning of Agency.  People have thier ability to choose.  We did all we could but this old man just wasn't willing to accept.  

Anyways now for some positive!  We were out tracting for an Hour on saturday and we knocked on a house and no one answered.  We turned around and started walking to the next house and we saw a man outside.  The spirit told me go talk to him.  I kind of shrugged it off thinking it was just my thought.  Then, it came again. Go talk to him.  I stopped right where I was and said hey Elder lets go talk to this guy.  And, I started running!  We got up to him and started talking he was a nice man.  He said to come back because he was really busy at the moment so we will be seeing him this week.  

Thank you for all the prayers on my behalf.  I have really felt them, this past week, working in my life.  By the way, Elder Roundy has just finished training. He is a good Elder and wants to work.  He is from Moroni, Utah.  This will be a good transfer with him.  I want ya'll to know that I know this church is true.  Christ is the head of this church.  I love my mission.  I love the work.  And I love ya'll!  Have a good week!

Elder Willden

Thanks for all you do mom; you are amazing.

Howdy ya'll.  I got transfered again.  I am now in Fall Creek, Houston.  My new companion is Elder Roundey.  I had a good week last week with Elder Meyer.  We had a really cool experience with a man we were teaching named Sam.  We went over to have a lesson with him and he wanted to do it outside because he had a friend over that didn't want to be around us.  And, there was a man across the street blasting music out of his truck.  We were trying to have a lesson, but the spirit wasn't there because of the music.  So, in the middle of the lesson I said a silent prayer asking Heavenly Father to please make it so that the spirit could be here and closed.  Then, I looked up and a lady came out of the house that the guy with the truck was parked in, holding a phone.  He then turned off the music and went inside.  Heavenly Father answers our prayers it is amazing the way he works.

 I was on an exchange Friday night with my district leader Elder Halter, and our Zone Leaders knocked on our door.  They then proceeded to tell me that Elder Meyer and I were going to be transfered and our area was going to become bigger and they are going to put sisters into it.  I was really sad.  But, I once again referred myself back to 1 Nephi 3:7.  

I just barely got to Fall Creek, so I will tell ya'll more about it next week.  Thank you so much for the package and tell aunt Mimi and Grandma and Grandpa thank you.  It really made my day when I got those, so thanks again. 

 President Crawford said that he is excited to see what I will do with this area now, so I need to work my behind off haha.  Elder Roundey said that they have been struggling with investigators and that the area in general is struggling.  Elder Roundey and I recently decided to just put our shoulder to the wheel and the lord will do the rest.  

I love ya,ll and I wrote a letter... I just need to find the time to send it.  Thank you for all ya'll have done for me to prepare me for this opportunity.  Love my Mission.  Love the Work. And Love ya'll.

Elder Willden

Elder Willden and Elder Meyer

Elder Willden and Elder Meyer in front of Houston, TX  Temple

Elder Willden looking at Houston Temple

Elders touring Battleship

Elder Willden and a BIG Gun

Olegario Garza's Baptism on 5/18/13
Pasadena, TX

 

This is Olegario.  I will be confirming him this coming sunday!  It was an amazing baptism.  He bore his testimony after and it was awesome!

Howdy Ya'll!  We had an awesome week this week!  We had the Baptism of Olegario Garza.  It was so good.  He was so excited for his baptism.  He had a dream two nights before of getting baptized and he went in the water and came out and he said everything looked different.  Then, the night before he couldn't sleep.  And, at his baptism he was really excited and after he got baptized at the end of the meeting he bore his testimony.  It was so powerful.  Everyone who was there could feel it.  He told us that after he got baptized, as he was getting dressed he looked into the mirror and saw a new him.  He said he saw a grown up version of himself.  It was an amazing experience to teach this great son of God and get him baptized by proper authority.  He was supposed to get confirmed by me on Sunday.  But, he spent the night in the hospital, because he ran outside on the pavement without shoes and was missing a huge chuck of skin on both feet.  He still showed up, but it was too late; so we will be doing it next week.  We have been working hard and have seen the hand of the lord in the work.  The family that we met during Hour of Power is Shurly(70's), Tracy(40's) and Crystal(15).  We got to meet with them twice last week.  And, they are reading the Book of Mormon and have committed to be baptized on the 29 of June.  So, that is going well.  They are struggling a bit though because Crystal (Tracy's daughter) is failing all of her classes except for one and is really stubborn and won't listen to what they say.  So, they weren't able to show up to church because they were having problems with her.  Anyways, we are teaching another guy named Kenieth(16).  He is a black boy and plays football.  He is really athletic, so we get along well.  Haha jkjk.  We have been trying to get him to church, but like every other teenager in the world all they want to do is hang out.  So, every time we go to pick him up he is gone hanging out.  If we can get him to church, I am sure he will want to keep coming.  His baptism date is the 22 of June.  Well, I don't really know what else to say besides I love ya'll and it is getting extremely hot here!  I sunscreen myself twice a day haha. 

Elder Willden