July 24, 2017
Hey hey!
Ohhhhh boy what a WILD, WILD week it's been!! Things are
happening...not just in our area, but in our MISSION as well!
On Friday before weekly planning, our ZLs sent out a mass
text to the zone telling us all to be on time for weekly planning because they
had a huge announcement to make. Usually these "big announcements"
end up being pretty lame...but this time it actually was a HUGE announcement.
Alright everyone, buckle up...by the second or third week of August...every
single missionary in the Arizona Gilbert Mission will have a SMART PHONE!!!
That's right, we're getting technology!! Not only that, but church headquarters
has chosen our mission to be the first mission to pilot the use of smart phones
mission-wide. We get to choose what phone we want, purchase it, and at the end
of our mission, we take the phone with us. This means that all of our area
books, planning, EVERYTHING is going to be on our phones. There's still a lot
we don't know, but what we do know is that both companions will have a phone,
each companionship will have one phone number and one SIM card. When you're
transferred, the phone goes with you and the SIM stays in the area.
In addition, starting next transfer (so next week!!) our
mission is a social media mission. We'll be on Facebook! Legit last week I told
Sister Rudd that I would be a much more effective missionary if I could keep
tabs on our investigators via social media....I think the Lord heard me. ;)
We're waiting for more information on that as well!
IN ADDITION! Since we're piloting the smartphones...the
church is sending a team of filmmakers to film our mission implementing this
technology....and the films they make will be used to train missionaries
worldwide. So those videos called "The District" that you're supposed
to watch before your mission? Yeah...my mission is being used for The District
4.
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| Trainer vs. Trainee |
Next transfer we're obviously going to have a massive
training on how to use this technology effectively, and the exciting part
is....we're going to be trained by a big General Authority. We're not sure if
it's going to be a broadcast or if he'll actually come here...but as of right
now it sounds like he's going to come here!
So yes....we are very, VERY excited. Just this week I had a
crisis-moment where I realized that I'm learning all of these amazing skills on
my mission, and I realized that when I go home I'll have all of these skills
but I'll also have all of the distractions that I don't have now...and it
really worried me, but at almost the same time I felt the worry, I felt this
overwhelming sense of peace. When the ZLs told us about the technology I
realized that the Lord has prepared a way for me to learn how to use technology
on my mission so it won't be as big of a distraction when I go home! I am so
thankful.
But anyways, after that exciting news...let me talk about
the work this week! It was one of those weeks where we worked really hard, saw
lots of people, had lots of really great discussions, but I can't think of any
amazing earth-shattering stories to share.
This week we had a lesson with our cute 11-year-old
investigator M. We taught her the Plan of Salvation and it was probably one of
the sweetest lessons on my mission. We had the lesson at her member friend's
house, and her friend's family was being really loud and distracting. For a
minute there I was really worried that we wouldn't be able to teach her a
lesson...but M kept telling us that she wanted a lesson, so we asked the family
if we could say a prayer. As soon as we said "Amen" the atmosphere in
the whole room was different; the Spirit was present and we were able to teach
her! M was listening intently the whole time. As we were talking about our life
here on Earth, we were talking about the experiences we gain here, and how many
of the things we experience prepare us to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. I
felt impressed to ask her if she'd ever felt the Holy Ghost, so I explained
briefly how I feel the Holy Ghost and then asked her if she'd ever felt His
presence. She nodded and then I asked her if she could share a time. She got a
little choked up and said, "I think I feel it right now." And then
she described what she was feeling. She also told us that she feels the same
way at church and every time she reads the Book of Mormon. It was a very
sweet moment. At the end of the lesson, we asked her what she understood of the
Plan of Salvation and I was shocked at how much she retained! She really did
pay attention! And then, we invited her to say a prayer with us and she did!!
She was so excited to have the opportunity to pray, and I think she thanked the
Lord for "the missionaries coming to teach her a lesson" like three
times....it was one of the most genuine prayers I've ever heard. We are praying
that her parent’s hearts will soften soon! We talked with her parents briefly
this week and slowly but surely I think they're coming around. :)
Also this week...a boy from one of the wards I'm serving in
got his mission call to the IDAHO BOISE mission!! Yeeeaaaaahhhhh!!!! He leaves
in October. Look for an Elder Wagner rolling into Boise in November!
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| Visited a family who live in a hill |
We also had a super cool miracle this week. We were out
working on Friday night and we had an appointment at 8, and it was like 7:50 so
we had an awkward amount of time. We were nearby this one family who NEVER
answers their door, but I thought "eh, let's try them." And honestly
in my mind I was like yeah by the time we knock this door, and they don't
answer, and we get back to our car, it'll be right about the time we need to go
to this appointment. But to my utter surprise...they OPENED their door AND
invited us in!! It was so surreal; I've knocked that door so many times and
never ever gotten in. But then we were in a pickle because it was like 7:55 and
we had an appointment in like 5 minutes...but the appointment was with a recent
convert so we chose to stay a little longer and be late to our appointment. We
ended up getting to know this family, building a really good relationship, AND
getting a dinner appointment. The Lord's hand is in everything!!
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| Member dinners always an adventure! |
Haha this week we got stranded on the border of our mission
and the Tempe mission. A member took us to this really good Chinese restaurant
for dinner, and honestly every time we've had dinner with this member something
crazy has happened. Her oldest son went into the MTC this past week--he's going
to Sweden--and she told us that she needed some comfort, so she took us to
dinner. Well, this family has just been plagued with trial after trial these
past few months (anyone who has ever had a member of their family go on a
mission understands haha) and one of their trials has been random car problems.
She picks us up for dinner, and on the way to the restaurant she goes, "Look
what I pulled out from my car today!!" and it's literally a belt from the
engine. We were like...that's not good. So we make it there just fine, but then
we come out and the car won't start haha the key was just clicking back and
forth. She wanted us to go across the street to wait at the Circle K, but we
were like...that's outside of our mission (small mission problems) haha so
that's the story of how we ended up sitting at a KFC a couple blocks away from
the Chinese restaurant waiting for a ride.
Anyways, it's been a good week! Life is so good; mission
life is the best!
Have a good week; I love you all so much! Thanks for all you
do!
In addition, starting next transfer (so next week!!) our
mission is a social media mission. We'll be on Facebook! Legit last week I told
Sister Rudd that I would be a much more effective missionary if I could keep
tabs on our investigators via social media....I think the Lord heard me. ;)
We're waiting for more information on that as well! 
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