Tuesday, March 8, 2016

Letter #33 from Australia

March 6, 2016

Dear Friends and Family,

          What an amazing week here in the Yarra Valley area. We are now working with quite a few investigators and have a couple of baptism dates set. We have been working really hard to follow up with our new contacts and have had many miracles when we do. We are very excited about the progress of our area and the progress of the people we are working with!!

          So last week on Monday, we met with a gentleman by the name of Jeremy. I think I have talked about Jeremy before, but if not here is some background info. We met Jeremy at the train/bus station and talked with him about the Book of Mormon. He was quite interested, but had to leave quickly to catch a train and we didn't give him any of our contact info. A week later we met him again, and then another week later, we met him the third time. We told him that obviously God wants us to meet each other, so he agreed to listen to our message. We taught him on Monday about the restoration of the gospel and about the Book of Mormon. It went so well!! He said multiple times that he could feel the Holy Ghost really strong when we talked and told him about the gospel. He said he wants to know if it is true and will do anything and everything he can to find out if it is true. He is so PREPARED and so KEEN!!! He texted us yesterday, informing us that he couldn't make it to church, but that he was very excited to meet with us again tomorrow (Monday) and how he is ready to continue down his spiritual path! HE IS SO KEEN!!

         We met with a former investigator of some past missionaries that were in our area and he is prepared too! His name is Mark and he too just wants to find the truth. He told us that he really wants to listen to us this time, because God keeps leading us back to him. He told us that this is the fourth time that he has prayed to Heavenly Father for help, and then a couple days later, the missionaries knocked on his door. He is so prepared and we have set a baptismal date with him as well. His is on the 9th of April and Jeremy's is on the 26th of March. We are really looking forward to continue the work with these two. The Lord has blessed us with the opportunity to help them find the truth and to help them learn about His restored gospel.

          This past week on Tuesday, we had a visit from a General Authority. His name is Elder O. Vincent Haleck. He is currently serving in the Pacific Area Presidency. We had a great mission conference with him and I learned so much. But the one thing that hit me the most was when he talked to us about how our decision to serve a mission will affect every other decision that we make in our life. How is affects our choice on who we will marry, how we will raise our children, what career we will go into, how much schooling we will choose to receive, Everything! It really hit me and made me glad that I made this decision to serve our Heavenly Father, Savior Jesus Christ and the people who live here in Melbourne Australia. I love this gospel so much and I am so grateful for it in my life. It truly has helped me make some of the most important decisions in my life, thus far and I am glad to say that it will always affect my decisions in life. I love you all and I am so grateful for the love and support you show me and the other missionaries out serving our Father in Heaven. Have a great week and stay happy, healthy and safe!

Oh and HUGE Birthday shout out to one of the two best sisters out there!!! Happy 17th Birthday Nicole! I love you so much and hope you enjoy your special day!! I love you heaps!!

Love,

Elder Wheeler
This is why it is called Sky High. On a clear day, you can see the skyscrapers in the 
city of Melbourne. On this day it was cloudy, but we could barely make out 
the outline of the skyline.
District P-day last week. We went to Sky High national park.
Youth car wash fund raiser for their trek activity this year.
Sold some sausages, drinks and some cakes too!! Really fun day to mingle
with the members and help the youth set and reach a goal to raise the money.




Thursday, March 3, 2016

Letter #32 from Australia

February 28, 2016

Dear Family and Friends,

          What a great time in the mission right now!!! I absolutely love it and I am so happy!!! I know that it is because I am beginning to loose myself in the service of others!! It is so great! Elder Zimmerman and I had a great week and we were able to find some more people to teach! Getting a new companion is hard, but it is so cool cause you get to know more of the missionaries in the mission.

          Okay, so the work here in Yarra Valley is progressing and we are finally meeting up with the people that we have found, last transfer!! We have also been able to find people, but with our phone, let me explain! So on Tuesday and Wednesday, the temperature was about 43 degrees Celsius. (110 degrees) Hot as!! As missionaries, if the temperature gets above 36 degrees (97 degrees), we have to be indoors. Well we had planned to do some tracting, but since we couldn't, we decided to go through the contacts on our phone.   On missionary’s phones, we organize the names into categories. For investigators we put an 'I' in front of their name, so we can get to in fast and know who is who in our phone. Well, I counted how many investigators phone numbers we had, and the total count was 104!!!!! 104 names and phone numbers of former investigators in our area!! So we decided to call all of them one by one and see who they were and if they would like to learn more about the church! Some of them hung up on us, some yelled at us, others bible bashed with us, and then about 4 of them said they would love to meet up and continue to learn about the church. So we will be teaching them all in the next couple of weeks!!! Haha miracles happen!

          This week we are meeting up with the two families that we found last transfer and a couple of individuals that we found as well. We are praying that they work out and that these people have all been prepared by Heavenly Father to hear the message of the restored gospel!

          Okay, so about my sweet new companion Elder Zimmerman! He is from West Haven, Utah and he went to Fremont High School...so that could be a problem...hah just kidding! He has been out for about 15 months and graduated the year before me! He is really cool and super funny! I am really excited to get to know him and to serve with him! From my first week with him, he is the man and is an awesome missionary!

          Well that is about all that happened this week! I hope all of you have a great week and stay happy and healthy!! I love every single one of you and am so grateful for your support! Remember to E.S.P. (Everyday scriptures and prayer) Love you!

-Elder Wheeler


​Our final goodbye!!! He became one of my best friends. I love Elder Theurer!
Brother and Sister Byrom invited us over for tea(dinner)!  For dessert
we had a Tim Tam Slam Challenge...I beat Brother Byrom with a total count
of 26 Tim Tams slammed and eaten. I know I am fat...! If you don't know what
a Tim Tam Slam is, look it up on YouTube. ​
The wreckage...oh and yes, I did feel very sick after. 
Brother Bryers, our ward mission leader, is an amazing pie baker!  His catch
phrase in life is "Sweet as", which he replies to any question asked. 

He decided to decorate the pie he made for tea the other night. Haha, and y
es, the pie was sweet as;)​
(Left to right) Elder Zimmerman, Me, Elder Barrozo, Elder Cajocson, Elder Eustaquio,
and Elder Angar. We went to a religious interfaith conference. Many religions in the
area set up tables and talked to people about what they believe in! It was a great
way to find people to teach and we all had a great time!