(Elder Wilde's family was given permission by the Mission President that they could call the Mission Home and tell them about his brother, Parker's mission call when it came. Then they would pass that news on to Elder Wilde.)
I got the call!
I had literally just finished church and Sister Howes called me and told me all
about it! I can't believe it! I am so excited for him! He is going to love it! It is going to be a great opportunity for him. After I got the call, I went
around and told everyone in the ward. They are so excited for him! This is just
so awesome! Surely there is not a more proud brother in all of the land :D He
will love the East Coast. It will be cold, but it will be awesome!! Heaps of
people said that Philly is where they wanted to go if they were serving in the
States. It is a coveted mission for sure!! He is going to do awesome!!
(Elder Wilde's brother, Parker, received his two-year mission call to Pennsylvania Philadelphia English Speaking Mission and will be leaving in August 2015.)
(A very happy family who will be sharing the joy of having two missionaries serving!)
Hello!
This has to
be one of the best weeks of my mission by far. I think Parker's mission call is
the best thing that I was able to experience this week. As we closed Priesthood
meeting on Sunday, I received a call from Sister Howes who proceeded to tell me
that Parker received his mission call. A huge smile came over me, and many
people stopped talking as I sat there listening. I continued to listen and she
proceeded to tell me that soon to be Elder Parker Wilde has been called to the
Philadelphia Mission. I was ecstatic!!! I still am! I cannot believe that my
little brother, my best friend, and teammate will be serving a mission. What
makes this even better is that he and I will be serving at the same time. I
cannot wait to share stories with him and to watch as the Lord works miracles
through him. CONGRATULATIONS, PARKER!!!!!!!!!!!!!
There were
also so many other miracles and funny moments that happened this week that I
would like to share with each of you today.
I will
start with one of the funniest moments that took place this week. Many of you
are aware of the question that has risen from Singapore that has questioned
most of the world. Elder Hung and I didn't know anything about it until we went
over to a member's house one night and they were telling us about it. Elder Hung
and I could not believe it was that hard, so we asked to see it. Well, we didn't
end up solving it at the dinner, but we took it home and after planning up until
9:30, we sat there and figured it out. Well we got the answer after a very
frustrating hour and were pleased with that.
The next day Elder Hung asked me
if I knew any riddles. I thought back and told him I didn't know many. I told
him one that my dad had told me long ago. The riddle goes, "Two men go into the laundromat, each with eight pairs of socks. Each pair of socks is a different color, but both have the same eight different colors. Then they run into each other and the socks get mixed up… How do they walk out with the right
socks?" Anyways Elder Hung took this to heart and while we were eating
lunch one day went and got heaps of pamphlets and started to match them like
they were socks. Then he mixed all the pamphlets up to see the probability of
pulling out socks to see if they were the right ones. Needless to say, that
method didn't work out and I had a good laugh about it. In the end, he ended up
figuring it out. So the question is...can you answer the riddle?
Because it
rained the majority of the week this week, we found it hard to go out to talk to
people. In general, people don't like the rain but the Chinese people detest the
rain. It is impossible to talk to them when it rains as they flee for cover. On
Tuesday we decided that we needed to go to the office to get a few things done
and it would be a good time to do them as there was little else we could do. When we got there, the Fleet Elder came up to us and asked us if we would be
willing to help him as there wasn't anyone else available. We told him we would
love to him him. We came to find out that a tree had broken and a branch had
crashed into two of the cars. The back window and roof were smashed in and
another car had damage to the hood and fender. He asked us if we would be
willing to drive them to an auto repair shop so that they could limit the
damage to the cars. We said we would and Elder Fowler and I ended up driving
the car with the smashed window. I guess there is something to be said for
being at the right place and the right time. Anyway, I attached a picture of
the car that I drove. It was an interesting drive to say the least. (Don't freak
out, Mom, I am fine!)
Well now
that we have had a good laugh, let us turn to things more spiritual. The other day Elder Hung and I were are home and I asked Elder Hung
if we could just go on a walk and see whom the Lord would put in our path. He
agreed and we went out. As we were walking, a man stopped Elder Hung and I and
said that he was an inactive member of the Church from New Zealand, and that
he wanted a blessing. We said we would love to give him a blessing. We tried to
find a relatively quiet place to go as we were in the middle of Eastwood. We
eventually made our way over to a park that was occupied by many others. We sat
down and got to know James a little more before asking him who he would like to
have give him the blessing. He looked at me and Elder Hung and then back and me
and said, "You." I didn't know this man. I had met him ten minutes
prior. To be honest, I was more than nervous. Before I laid my hands on his head, I said a silent prayer and asked Heavenly Father to bless me that I might be able
to concentrate and listen to what the Spirit and what He would have me say. There
were many people around whom were screaming, running, playing sport, and
laughing. In short, it was not as quiet as I had liked.
After I said the prayer, I placed my hands on his head. I took a deep breath and said his name and
followed, "By the authority of the Holy Melchizedek Priesthood." Right as I said those words, everything else seemed to have tuned out or just
stopped. Everything became really quiet and I felt calm and composed to which I
proceeded to pronounced the blessing on his head. After the blessing, he said he
felt heaps better, a weight was taken off his shoulders, and he knew what he
should do next. We talked with him a little more and then parted ways. I know
that a single thing was not done by me or my companion. It was the Spirit who invited
Elder Hung and I to go out and make contact with this man. It was the Spirit
who prompted him to stop us. It was the Spirit who brought an answer to my
prayer, and it was the Spirit who ultimately calmed and directed this man's heart. In short, my prayer is that we all turn to the Spirit and be directed by Him who
knows all. I would invite everyone to go and review D&C 121:33-46. We
recite these verses everyday in our mission and there is so much
power held therein.
I know I have written
heaps and that's my bad, but I wanted to share one last thing before I
close. Shortly after I got the call from Sister Howes
about Parker, we went and met with an investigator who
had planned to come to church but later canceled because she had a concern
she wanted to talk to us about. We met with Michelle (From Shanghai!!!!!) and
she told us that she used to be a Tarot card reader and she didn't know if she
would be accepted into the church. She proceeded to tell us that she does it as
a hobby and believes in God. We felt the need to be bold and to teach
her about the Holy Ghost. We told her that there was nothing wrong with
her Tarot card reading, but that the Holy Ghost would teach her all that she
needed to know. It is safe to say that her concern was put to rest. As we closed
our remarks she asked, "So when can I join your church?" She was
actually a new investigator and Sunday was the first time that we actually sat
down with her to have a lesson. We were shocked and set a date with her for the
23rd of May. We taught her the Restoration last night and she loved it! We are
meeting her again late this week. I will keep you updated on how she
progresses. Please keep her in your prayers.
Today was a Temple
P-Day, so that is why I am emailing today. Elder Hung and I were able to go and
to do a session. I really do loving going to the temple. I hope we all make
times to go to the temple frequently that we may feel the Spirit that resides
there.
Thank you for the love
and support that you each show me. I would now ask you to turn that same love
and support towards Parker as he prepares to enter the mission field and the
best time of his life. How grateful I am for his example of sacrifice and his
example to me. I hope that we can all learn from his faith in Heavenly Father
as well as the Savior and know that great things await for those who believe.
Love,
Elder Wilde
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