Doing better than ever!

Hey Fam,

Well it has been a great week. I was able to find a converter for my thing so here are a few of the pics that I have taken. First of all we are getting new cards in the mission so we had to take all of our money out and what better idea than taking a picture with it. So that is what all of that is. Then there is a sign that we are by and that is where the people that are supposed to get baptized this week live. He is one of the bosses at this place. It is way nice and they have a security thing out front and everything, but they know us already so we just walk in now. Pretty dang cool. Then there is a pic of a sunset we were looking at behind the mountains and finally look at that little guy that I found. Also from those peeps that live in Atamisque. They have a 4 year old son and that is his little toby. So I took advantage and snagged a pic with the little guy. And then another one of our families that is going to be getting baptized has a guy named bongo that looks just like the gar bear. So I took some pics of him but I can`t send them all on this one so I will see if I can send another with more. 

But anyway this week has been awesome. We had zone conference so we got to see President again. Always fun to see him and also President Rastelli. He is such a good guy. And then yesterday for church because we are part of the district so he is in the mission presidency and came to our branch. So I got to see them again. His wife and daughter came as well the ones you know. And Yamina the daughter is going back in april hopefully soon so that she can get tickets to conference and then Adriana the mom is headed up shortly after so you will have to keep an eye out for them.

 

Well as you can see from the pics we are in a pretty place compared to the places I have been for a while. There isn`t much city which is what I love and really nothing happens here which is really nice. 

Let´s see there isn`t much else that I really have to share. It has been a good week. Always full of excitement. But we are just enjoying our time and hoping to stay together another transfer even though it doesn`t look like that will happen. Because it has been so much fun, the time has just flown by and we are already starting week five of the six week transfer. This is nuts how fast the time is flying. I can`t believe that we are already this near the end I just want to enjoy my time that I have left because I know that this time will never again come like this in my life. It is amazing the experiences that we are having. We are hoping for a big week this week with around 6 baptisms. There are two that are iffy but 4 for sure if everything goes as planned so we are way excited for that! Just a great time and I hope all of you are doing well!

I love you all and hope that you have a great week. talk to you all next week!

Love,

Elder Wheeler

So many miracles!

Well Fam,

It has been a great week this week. Yesterday we saw a bunch of miracles. Well I will start with how it went. We were walking to church and this family of recent converts was walking and yelled Elder Maughan`s name. So we looked back and it was all of the girls the mom didn`t get baptized, but the three girls got baptized and their little sister that is like seven also came with them. But they brought a friend so there we had one person in church that we are going to start teaching.

We then walked into church and as we were walking down the hall we saw the niece of some members that said she wasn`t ever going to be able to come because she is baptist and her fam doesn`t want her to. So we stopped trying with her and then she showed up at church. So ya you can never be sure.

Next ran into a girl that got baptized a couple months ago with her mom and sister who are waiting because the husband doesn`t want to let them yet. 

Then the parents of another family of like four older kids that got baptized came.

And last but not least our couple that we have been working with.. Enrique and Laura. Enrique is in charge of a fruit plant. He is one of the big dogs in this place he works. It is a farm owned by french owners. And he is in charge of all of the fruit that passes through. But just the coolest guy ever and Laura already decided that she wants to get baptized we are just waiting for him. 

So we had 9 people in church yesterday that we will be teaching. It was just so much fun. We took my ipod and Elder Maughan`s speakers and we played the hymns on that and it was a big help because everyone sang and it has been a while since that has happened which was another miracle. Just a great day.

This week we had consejo which is our zone leader meeting and I got to see president and his fam. His kid just got back from his mission in Spokane, Washington. So he speaks pretty good english. It is pretty cool to see the other side of it. He is just like his dad. Just always wants to go out with the missionaries now haha. A good kid. 

I got to talk to sister Avila, President, their son Pablo that just got back, and their daughter Leticia. It is just so cool to know them. Because they are great people and not everyone has the chance to get to know them. But from being in the offices I got to know them really well. We also saw the Rastelli´s and as always they were asking about the fam. So they said to tell you hi. I think we will see them again in zone conference this week so I will tell them hi for you mom. Just a great fam. The mom is coming back up in April I think for a few months to stay so maybe you can meet up again if you want... I will make sure she has your number if you want to...just let me know.

We are just having a blast and doing everything that we can to help these people that we have because we have a ton that are getting close to getting baptized. It will be a good month I pray. We are just enjoying our time we have together because we both know that it will be short haha. But it has been fun while it has lasted...

I hope all is well at home and that everyone is doing well. I got my package this past week and it was wonderful. Just a little late for the balentimes stuffs. But that is ok. I am just so happy and love this work so much. We have seen so many miracles in such a short time...and I just hope and pray that we can see more to help these people in the ways that they need.. such a great privilege to have had and to continue to have in this wonderful time. So I hope you all have a great week and we shall talk next week!

Love,

Elder Wheeler

I think this is Paradise.. or Kamas

Well Fam,

I can safely say that this has been the most fun week and one of the most successful weeks I have had in a long time. I was with Elder Maughan who is just already a good buddy so we were able to skip that awkward getting to know you stage and we just went to work.

The  new area is nothing like what I came from. It is out in the country and we have the mountains all around. It is cool and not boiling hot all of the time. I can sleep all night because it isn`t an oven outside. Seriously I think it is paradise. It reminds me a lot of kamas. Not much going on, and everybody knows everyone.

I have taken lots of pictures this week only the only thing is is that there is no adapter to send them. So I am going to have to go buy an adapter to send pics next week. Sorry for the inconvenience. I took them all week thinking that I was going to be able to send them, but then I got here and realized that that was not going to work out as planned. But anyway I love this area. We have already seen so much success. They have had a ton of people to work with and we found even more this week that are just great people. It is amazing how easy the work is when you don`t have to worry about what the other is doing because you know he is going to do everything he can to help the work along. It is just like walking on the dirt road in Kamas all of the time. We have a couple of places that are a ways out there, so we have to do a little walking to get there, but nothing that I am not already used to. So that is fun. I am definitely a lot happier because I have a companion that wants to work it it makes everything a lot easier. 

We have been talking all week about how we can`t believe that we are actually together. We said we wanted to in the mtc but never really thinking that it would happen. Just a far off hope. And then when we got transfers we both flipped out because it is what we were hoping for. And now we are just showing President why he needed to put us together.

There was a kid getting set apart this week to leave for his mission and because we are part of the district President came to set him apart. And just so happened that we were teaching some people in back of the house of these members. So we saw President`s car and decided to go in and say hi. The first thing he says was what are you two doing together...haha I love that man, and we were able to talk to him a bit and tell him about the success, so he was super happy. This is going to be a great transfer and I don`t want it to go by too fast because I am enjoying it too much.

Just happy as can be and loving the work as always. Just a great branch that is really strong and everyone likes the missionaries. You can tell when you get somewhere if there were missionaries that worked before you or not. Because it shows in your relationship with the members. It is great. Just a fun place. I had to give a talk again as always to present myself and then give a short message. So ya I have given quite a few talks in the last few weeks. But that is what happens as a missionary...so you just gotta be ready when they ask. 

Well fam that is all for this week I am hoping to find an adapter for this camera this week so I can send pics because I have taken a lot of good ones. So hopefully by next week I will have that ready for you.  I love my area, I love my comp, I just love being a missionary and this will just be a great transfer that I am so excited for. Thank you all as always for the support and I hope you all have a great week this week. I love you all and we will be in touch next week.

I´m outtie,

Elder Wheeler

Transfers are in.. Valle de Uco! (wherever that is:)

Hey Fam,

Well this has been a good week...well kind of. It has been a lot of work. We had an activity this week, and we put a lot of work into it, but the ward didn`t really show up. They all complain about that there are no activities, but when we have one, they are too busy to come and support it. So that was fun.. we enjoyed it anyway.

I would send some pics, but this computer doesn`t allow me to. So next week. Transfers are in.....And the verdict is....I am headed with Elder Maughan to a place called Valle de Uco. Elder Maughan is my buddy from the MTC, we slept in the same room and have been planning to be comps since then. So we are both really excited to be able to be together and get some work done. I am looking forward to the new changes. I will be there as zone leader and just super happy to be with Elder Maughan, because I already know him and know that we are going to be able to work well together.That is the great news for this week. So I will still be in the province of Mendoza...I haven`t left to the other as an area. But I did get to visit them all when I went with president so I am not too worried about it. But this is the transfer that I really wanted, so I am really excited and I hope everything works out good to be able to get some people helped.

I am looking forward to all of that, but really that is the only excited thing that has happened this week. Well the other Elder that lived in our apartment decided that he didn`t want to be here, so he left this week. He was being trained so he didn`t even have a transfer yet and decided that he was done and that he didn`t like the rules...So he took off this week and we have been in a trio for a week now. It is interesting because we are having to work both areas with the three of us. But they had 4 girls ready in their area for baptismal interviews. I had the chance to do the interviews, which was pretty cool because that is just one of the best experiences ever. I love being able to do interviews, because it is a time where you can feel the spirit so strongly. Something that you can`t feel in many places...

For sure I will send some pics this next week when I can get a good computer. Elder Boyd is heading home this week. It has been fun to be able to hang out with him one last time before the end. Because tomorrow he will be on the plane home. Crazy how time flies by. I met him when he had much less time than I do now, and it doesn`t feel like it has already been so long. So I am trying to just enjoy the time I have left because I know it is going to fly by. He wants you to know he is a clippers fan. But he is still cool. He is from cali so I guess we can forgive him haha but no it will be sad to see him go because we have become really good friends!!

Anyway that is all I have and I hope you all have a great week. Thanks for the prayers always. Love you all.

Love, 

Elder Wheeler

Zone leader prediction!

Hey fam,

How is everybody? Sounds like you were doing lots of celebrating this week. And lots of good eatings. Feel free to send some of that down when you get a chance. First off I don`t have any idea of where I am going this next transfer...But hopefully I will by next monday. Transfers are next week, so I have a week and a half more in the area...I will miss these people a ton, because after six months it is like you become part of the family. It is a great ward and we have just found people now that want to get baptized, so I am a little sad that I won`t be here for those, but it´s all good because the most important is that they get baptized and that they can have the blessings that we all so freely have in our lives. 

So ya I am pretty excited. This past week I was invited to zone leader council which means that most likely I will leave this area as a zone leader. So that should be fun. I am ready for a change. We got to go to Presidents house after and we ate tacos for all of the zl´s. The rastelli´s always do the food and so I was talking with them for a good while. They always ask about the fam to see how you guys are doing. Such a cool family. It was fun to catch up on things and be able to chat for a while. I also saw a bunch of my buds there. It is amazing how fast time goes by. I have only six months left. I know it is good chunk of time, but with how fast the rest has gone so far, I feel like I am not even going to see it go by. So ya but I am excited to see something new. 1 year in the same city gets kind of boring because you already know everybody and you see people thinking that you know them, but really you just have walked by them like thirty times so you think you know them from somewhere. I hate that.

No but it has been great and I have loved every second of it. I saw Elder Maughan there, he was in my same room in the mtc and we were planning how we could be comps this next tranfer, but I don`t know how it will work. I would love it, but I am not sure if it will happen...but we are hoping.

So fun to be able to have such good friends in such a short amount of time. The people you are with you will either love or not, there aren´t really any in betweens so I try to love them all and it has worked out so far. haha

Well thank you all for the letters this week I look forward to hearing from you next week. I thank you all for the prayers and the support it is much needed and appreciated. I am doing wonderful and just loving the work as always. Something that I can`t explain you just have to experience it. 

Until next week,

Elder Wheeler

A few pics

Normal week so far.

So how is everybody this week? It has been pretty normal this week but we shall see how this one goes. I mean normal is a relative term. I am now on my fifth companion this transfer. Because the mini missionary was sent to another area so that I could show this area to someone else because I am out of here at the end of this transfer. It has been interesting. Trying to show him as many things as I can so that he will know it before I go. His name is Elder Cornejo and he is from Peru. He is a really cool kid and we have had some fun. I mean it has only been like three days but we have had some fun to be able to just work and talk to people instead of having to worry about what is coming next because he will be here now until the end so we don`t have to have any more changes. Now that we can work and we are having success I will be heading out. That kind of stinks, but that is how it goes sometimes. But we are doing good now. I was realizing that I hadn`t had a native companion in my first like 15 months and then in the same transfer I had 5 haha. So ya I guess when it rains it pours...

So this week I had to give a talk in church. This time it was a little bit easier because I got the subject of the book of mormon and it´s influence in the world today. Pretty easy to talk about what I do everyday and I found some stories from the liahonas that talked about how people´s lives had been changed by the book of mormon. It was a fun experience. And the ward was pretty full. I mean there were some of the families that we have been working with that are less active were there. That was so fun to see.

The nine year old that we baptized when I first got to this area, his family was completely inactive and now they go every week and had an interview with the bishop because they want to go to the temple. That is just super cool to be able to see. It is pretty fun to be able to help people. I think that it is just as important retaining people and reactivating people as baptizing new ones. Because if those that are already baptized aren`t able to continue what is the good of baptizing more. That is the focus of what we are trying to do now. It is hard work but it is very rewarding. 

This family that has started coming back, his parents and sisters are starting to come as well so that is cool. The parents have a son that served in texas and now lives in rexburg. So he was on the phone with them when we passed by yesterday and the mom was like oh I am going to get the phone so you can talk to him. So ya kind of awkward, but it was cool. He has two almost three kids and ya just a cool guy. 

Cool experiences everyday. Weird sometimes, but very cool. There is nothing like being a missionary. It is an experience that I never would have been able to have and I am just enjoying it so much right now.

I got my trunky papers today that I need to fill out. I will send you a copy mom so that you can fill in the info that it needs because I don`t have the info of the stake president or any of that. But ya that just makes me realize that the time is short and that I have to keep working hard because that is the way to be happy. 

Well fam thanks for all of your help and support always. I love you guys so much and hope you have a great week. I am hoping for a calm week but we shall see what this one brings. 

Love,

Elder Wheeler