Week 20: December Starts = Light the world starts (Week 11 on the field)

- December 03, 2018

Hey,

This week has been full of excitement and worry. I'll start with the good stuff; "Light the world started" (https://www.mormon.org/christmas). The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints runs this campaign called "Light the world" in which there are certain ways people in all cultures to help out and give back to their community. Since for many people December is the time of year for service and helping others , it's appropriate to say that we, missionaries, did some too. This year, December 1st was on a Saturday. That day was "A Worldwide Day of Service" and we, missionaries, picked up trash at this beautiful beach. When we first saw the beach, we all were kind of like "Is there any garbage to pick up?", but there was tons of it. In these big rocky areas, heaps of trash were littered there. All-in-all, we collected loads of trash. Some of the weird objects we found consisted of: a broken TV, a tire, a buoy, some underwear, an old radio, and a rusted over bike basket rack. Even though it was gross at times, I loved doing service so much. One of the many reasons why I came on my mission is because I love helping/serving people so much. It's not always about the big things in life, sometimes just small acts of service can go a long way. In the Book of Mormon, there is this person named King Benjamin. He gives this amazing speech to the people of his kingdom. King Benjamin was a really wise king and led his people to prosperity. One of the many quotes he's spoken is in Mosiah 2:17, it says:

17 And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.

Service sure isn't a miss. Keep helping. Keep loving. WE NEED LOVE! December is the season to help others but that doesn't mean that this is the only time service is allowed. "Now ye may suppose that this is foolishness in me; but behold I say unto you, that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise." (Alma 37:6)

Okay, Now for the worry of the week. One of the Elders has been sick for 3 weeks, and ended up going to a hospital and had a spinal tap and some other testings. There were two big problems. He was supposed to get his pulse taken but the machine they used wasn't large enough to fit his arm through. The other funny thing was when he had the spinal tap. The doctor was like "Okay, what are the longest needles we have?" and the nurse said to the doctor "6 centimeters or 7 centimeters" and the doctor responded "Hmm, we'll definitely need the 7 centimeters". The doctor jabbed this Elder in the back 4 times with the needle and they were like "I don't think it's long enough". The doctor then called another doctor in (this time from a different hospital) and the doctor was able to finish the test. That one Elder had to stay in the hospital for 3 days but is now all fine and well.

Well, That was pretty much my week... Oh, wait...I almost forgot! Mr. Miura got baptized on Saturday! The first person that I've seen have a baptism on my mission so far--and I influenced this! I'm so grateful I was able to find him with Elder Boll, teach him off-and-on, and see him progress. I sat in on his baptismal service and realized I haven't been to a baptism in maybe 5 years--at least as far as I can remember. While the Naha missionaries were singing a musical number, the spirit hit me hard and I just started bawling. I felt so much love and so much peace. It hadn't occurred to me that I haven't had a cry in that way since my first EFY camp (Especially for Youth--church camp to strengthen one's testimony). It felt so good. Now that I felt that, my desire to baptize the people Elder Uhlig and I are teaching, has grown. My しんこう/Shin-ko fire (Faith fire) has been resprung and I'm go out and dendo! Good Luck with your week! I pray for all of you! I Love you!

Elder Wilson