Monday, February 18, 2013

Hola de Peru!

Hello Everybody,

This week was so amazing and I am so grateful to Heavenly Father for blessing me with this time to be a missionary. Last night I had a dream that I was back at home. My mission was over and I was just talking with Mom. We were talking about missions and I looked down at my watch at the date and realized it was 6 months before I should have been home. I got really confused and then really sad. Mom said that she had no fear on her mission to talk to the people and I felt bad. I wanted to come back to PerĂº so badly and just knock on every door and talk to every person. I woke up with pure excitement to do the work of the Lord and I am so grateful to be on my mission. Another thing she said was something like ''why are the obedient ones the ones who suffer''. I don't have an answer but I think it was something special for me to think about.

I looked back on my mission this week and was amazed at all the growth I have made. Before my mission I knew I would grow, but had no idea in what ways. I have learned to be so much more accepting and loving of others. I feel I have become more humble and teachable, but still have a really long way to go. It's definitely not easy work to be a missionary, but when I look back at it all it is so worth it. It amazes me how quickly the bad times go away when we focus on all the good and one of those amazing days just comes along.

I'm so excited for Hillary and really proud of you for your decision to serve a mission. The next couple months you will go through a lot of ups and downs, but I promise you it is all worth it. I feel like I was in Sacrament Meeting giving my farewell talk not too long ago, but I guess time is just a trixter like that. Enjoy your time in the MTC because I have so many great memories of that place. I guess that's something I'm learning on my mission too. I am really trying to learn to be grateful for the present and just soak it all in because when it's gone, it's gone and it's up to us how much we grow.

We found a family this week that was baptized a year and a half ago in the south of Lima and moved up here. It was so awesome to finally find them and they had been reading the picture Book of Mormon. I don't really know why they hadn't been going to church but they came with us yesterday to Stake Conference and said they will be going to church every week from now on out so that was really great. Also being in Stake Conference in PerĂº was an awesome experience and I was grateful for the opportunity to sustain the leaders of the Church.

Yesterday we went by an investigator that wasn't in church. We found him lying on his couch and he said he was in a lot of pain. He had an accident a year ago where a big hole was made in his leg all the way to the bone. It hurts him a lot, but yesterday more than ever. We were with a member and all three of us felt that we should give him a blessing. The member asked if he had faith and Ysidoro of course said he did (he is one of the most faith filled men I have met). We explained what a blessing was and he said he had been reading about that in the Bible. I was able to give him the blessing and it was a really special experience for me. It is so crazy to me how many blessings we give as missionaries and I am so grateful for the Priesthood of God given to us to bless others. I am so grateful to see the faith of investigators and the members here who are such loved children of God.

I'm looking forward to reading Mosiah with you Mom and love the words of King Benjamin. It is so fun to think of you reading along with me and it amazes me how far we get when we just are diligent and read everyday.

I just told Mariah and feel like you would be happy to know I AM GETTING LOST IN THE WORK. The mission is the greatest decision I have ever made and I am so excited for all the people who are getting ready to leave.

HAVE THE GREATEST WEEK EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Keep praying for all of us missionaries because we need it and remember that you are all in our prayers too.

Thank you for all the love you show to me. And I love the long emails from you and my friends attached (I just read them all later).

Happy President's Day! I hope you are enjoying the snow because I am tearing it up in the sand dunes.

Love,
Elder Aaron Micah Wheatley


Shining my Shoes!


No comments:

Post a Comment