There has been so much that has happened
throughout the course of this week, it's hard to squeeze it all into one
letter that can keep your attention! I will try to do my best but bear
with me!!
First, I want to thank each and every one of you for
taking the time to send me something for my birthday. It was truly
amazing to read all of your cards and see the time that you put into
them. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!
Second! While I do not have the fan base, prestige,
or time of LeBron James, I am sad to say that I will not be able to air
my big announcement on a special segment on ESPN (Sorry, Parker). I will
tell you though that on May 5th, 2014, I will be taking my talents to the
land down under! Yes, you read it correctly! I will be heading to Sydney
in a little over two weeks!! I am both so excited and so sad about this!
I feel that I have rooted myself here and really connected with the
people whom I am teaching, but I know the Lord is preparing others for me
down in Australia! Thank you so much for all your prayers and thoughts
as I waited for my visa!!
Next, I want to talk about the opportunity I had this
week to stand outside the doors of the "Book of Mormon" play and pass out
cards to those going in to see the show. It was such a neat experience,
one headlined by me saying, "The book is always better," maybe about 200
times in the course of 45 minutes. As people were going in, we had the
opportunity to tell them about the book that this play was based on. I
am so grateful for this opportunity and decided to have as much fun with
it as possible. It was such a neat experience, and I am glad that I was
able to be a part of it!
This week also entailed saying goodbye to one of our
investigators with whom I had gotten very close with. Hong and his wife
Jing Ying are here studying in America. Hong is studying Computer
Science and his wife Jing Ying is doing Cardiovascular research for a
hospital here in Boston. They are such great people and I enjoyed being
able to teach them. They plan to get baptized after they return home
from China and move to New York. They both have such strong testimonies
and are amazing people to say the least!
Elder Wilde, Hong, and Jing Ying
With that being said, on Friday we picked up a new investigator! If you remember, I discussed how we contact people on the subways here in Boston, and there was a lady that I contacted that showed up to church the day after we talked to her. Well, after finishing a series of interviews and traveling, we were able to set an appointment and taught her on Friday! It was one of the best birthday presents I could have received as I have seen her grow. Lucy is very eager to learn more and already has such a strong testimony!!!
Furthermore my birthday got even better as we were
asked by our ward leaders to go and help out at a youth temple trip on
Saturday. As missionaries don't get the opportunity to go to the temple
very often, we seized the chance and found a way to get there! It was
such a neat experience as I was able to be a witness and help out with
confirmations! I loved the opportunity that I had which reaffirms my
testimony of the temple and what a wonderful place it is!
Yesterday my companions and I had the chance to go
and watch a Boston Red Sox game! It was so much fun! I have to admit
that my companions and I got burned but agreed that it was a small price
to pay for the fun that we had! Thank you so much, Mom and Dad, for
helping to get us to the game! It was such a fun time!!!
I know I have written a lot for my letter this week,
so I will try to keep my closing remarks to a minimum. While I can tell
you that each day of the week brought something special and that I was
able to have a great birthday, it does not compare to what I was able to
celebrate this last Sunday. Easter Sunday was a very special day as we
were able to sit and reflect on the life of the Savior and what He has
done for each one of us. I love the notion that we are able to return to
our Father in Heaven because of what Christ did here on the Earth.
Something that has really stuck out to me is that God has everything but
our hands. I love that. He can do any and everything he wants, but at
the end of the day, He lets us decide. I am grateful for the Atonement in
my life and am grateful that I have been able to further my
understanding of it while out here on a mission teaching others how it
can impact their lives. I thank each and every one of you again for
sending me your thoughtful gifts but conclude by saying that each and
everyone of us has already received a priceless gift individually
wrapped. It is up to us to take it and use it throughout the rest of our
lives.
I love you all and thank you for everything!
Elder Wilde
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