Well, I think this
week is officially one of the most humbling weeks on my mission. I hope by the
end of this letter you feel just as humbled as I do.
Well, during the last
week there were two major things on my mind. The first was that because it was
the last week of the transfer, I wanted our area to finish on a good note so
Elder Hung and I decided to make an extra hard push. The second thing on my
mind was that we wanted to make sure that Michelle's baptism went through smoothly
and to make it a very spiritual experience for her. Let's begin with Michelle's
baptism.
Michelle's baptism was
a great success. It was an incredible opportunity to participate in her
baptism. As many of you know, Michelle is from Shanghai so it was incredible
for me to see someone from the city I hold so dear to enter into the waters of
baptism. It truly was a special experience, and I loved being a part of that. I am
grateful for the time I had to teach her and to grow with her.
Often times I
think people seem to believe that all the missionaries do is teach and that
they just somehow know. In my own time as a missionary, the greatest times that
I learned about the Savior and the Plan of Happiness were when I was teaching it
and received further light and understanding. I hope that each of us, when we
teach, can have these experiences which will lead to deepening and lasting
conversion.
After that baptism we
returned home and received a call from President Howes that I would
subsequently be transferred, released as a District Leader, and called as a new
Zone Leader. There were many emotions that hit me. I was most excited to
leave the area that I had served in for over a year, but over the days between that
call and transfers I became increasingly sad. Saying bye to an area and a ward
that I had come to love and had put so much work into became so much harder for
me than what I thought. As we were at church on Sunday, the High Counselor of
our ward came up to me and reiterated what I thought to be a joke. He had told
me a few weeks ago that he emailed the stake president to ask if they would
make me a counselor in the Elders Quorum Presidency. I laughed it off and moved
on. On Sunday, the Stake President was in our ward and told me that our High
Counselor had emailed him about calling me to be a counselor in the Elders
Quorum Presidency and that they wanted to officially call me. I thought they
were all joking with me but come to find out our Elders Quorum President had
been talking to the High Counselor and to the Stake President for a while and
they had finally gotten it all arranged. Anywho, I ended up having to tell him
before Sacrament began that I was being transferred but that I appreciated the
thought. That was a crazy turn of events to say the least.
Over the weekend,
when time permitted, we went around and took a few pictures at the various
spots of Eastwood and MacQuarie where I had served. The first picture is me
outside a Chinese butcher where Elder Lee, Elder Vaughn, Elder Hsu, Elder Hung,
and I would always go and grab a cheap meal. When I told them I was leaving
they shouted all four of us a free lunch!
The next picture is me standing with Nick who works at the Eastwood train station. He would always talk to us on the
platform and say hi to us!
Next is the Eastwood Shopping Plaza where we would
go and buy the majority of our groceries.
The following picture is the field
that I would go and run at every morning for morning exercise with my
companions. We would also go and play sports there with the other Elders and
Sisters in the area.
The next picture is a one of me standing outside the
MacQuarie University where we taught almost daily for a year.
The next picture
is one of a building that hadn't even been started when I arrived in Sydney but
the outside was completed while I was there. Truly the building was a symbol of
my time there.
Next picture is Elder Hung, me, Elder Laurenson (AP), Elder King
(AP), Elder Fowler, and Elder Yang. We would go and play basketball with the
assistants every Friday morning which was heaps of fun!
Finally I have added a
picture of the Ryde district.
Now I am currently
serving in the Harbour Suburbs Zone. My new companion is Elder Davey who is
from England. He and I were just shotgunned into the area which means that we
replaced two Elders who left. We are subsequently the new Zone Leaders to the
Zone. It's been an interesting couple of days, and I already feel like I have
learned so much from Elder Davey. When President Howes pulled us aside on
Monday at transfers, he said that they had never done anything like this in the
mission before (Shotgunning two Zone Leaders with one being a brand new Zone
Leader). He then proceeded to say that it was all the Lord and that his
complete and total confidence was in us. I am grateful for this opportunity I
have to serve with Elder Davey, and I am excited for the work we have ahead. Our
own personal area is on the UNSW (University of New South Wales) campus. It is
going to be an exciting experience!!!
Well, I know I have
talked heaps today, but I hope you know how humbled I feel and how thankful I am
for the Savior. I know that it is only through him and through the great plan
of our Heavenly Father that these things are brought to pass. I thank you for
your prayers and the support that you continue to show me. I could not do this
without you!
Until next week,
Love,
Elder Wilde
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