June 6, 2017
Dear Family &
Friends,
Well, the time
has come to write my final words as a full-time missionary. Seeing that I won't
have the opportunity to email next week before coming home, this is it. I have
so much to say, but with the time constraint and with the time that it will
take you to read this, I won't take too much time. I will just say everything
that I want to say in about a month when I report in Sacrament meeting! The
exact date and time of the meeting will be July 9th at 1 p.m. The chapel is the
same one that I gave my farewell at. The chapel on Hwy 89 in Pleasant View!
More details will come when I get home, but just so you have it now.
Well this week
has been an emotional roller coaster and has been all over the place! I have
had some really amazing experiences this past week and a couple of not so
favorable ones. I had to bear my final testimony in MLC, the mission leadership
council, and that was pretty hard, but I made it through. The work has been really
good over the past week, but sadly to say, Bobby and Nahid won't be being
baptized this weekend. They have some more struggles to over come, but they are
doing so great with them right now and are really looking forward to their
baptism here in the next month or so! Fernando and Jun are doing so great too
and are eating the gospel up so fast! They hopefully will be baptized here in
the next few weeks and I can't wait! Although I won't be here, it will be so
comforting to know that I was able to help them! We found a new investigator
though, Matthew and he is so great! He is 18 and has gone through a lot over
his life and is just looking for God again! We invited him to be baptized on
the 15th of July and he said yes! So all in all we are working with 5 investigators
total and all 5 of them are working to be baptized here in the next two months!
The Lord has blessed us so much and we are so grateful!
As I come to the
end of my mission, I am so sad to see it pass by and so amazed and shocked at
how fast it went by! I have pondered this week about how I could describe my
mission, and have come up with this analogy. Serving my mission is like giving
a dandelion to my Mum or Dad when I was little. But the only problem is, half
of the pedals on that dandelion are squished because I carried it in my hand.
When I give it to them, they smile and accept is and say thank you for it, but
in all reality, they don't need it. But because of the thought and act of love
that I showed towards them, they love my half squished dandelion and me. My
Heavenly Father didn't really need my service. To be honest, He could have done
this great work all on His own, if He really wanted to. But instead, he allowed
me, as imperfect as I am, to serve this mission. I know that my mission isn't
that extravagant or beautiful to some people. But only I know just how much my
mission has meant to me and to the people that I have been able to help. Soon,
I will offer up my imperfect little dandelion to my Father in Heaven and I know
that He will smile, accept is and thank me for it. He will love me and my
little dandelion for the rest of my life and oh how grateful I am to Him for
that!
I am so grateful
for my mission and the way that it has shaped and molded me into the man that
my Heavenly Father wanted and needed me to be. I will be forever changed
because of my mission! I know that I have been able to teach others and help
them come closer to their Father in Heaven and Savior Jesus Christ! I have
loved seeing the Atonement work in my life and the lives of others! This Gospel
is true. This is the only true church on the Earth! Joseph Smith did in fact
see God the Father and Jesus Christ. They did commune with him face to face and
through the prophet Joseph Smith the Everlasting Gospel of Jesus Christ has
been restored to the Earth again once more! We are led by a modern day prophet,
Thomas S. Monson and through him, we can know what God wants us to do to find
true joy in this life! The Book of Mormon and The Bible are the true words of
God! I love them both so much and I know that if we will read, ponder and pray
about them both, we can know for ourselves if they are true! God lives, His son
Jesus Christ did live, die and now lives again! I know these things to be true
and I bear this short and simple testimony in the name of Jesus Christ,
amen!
I love you all
and hope that you have a great week! I will see you all soon and can't
wait!
Love,
Elder Bryce Paul
Wheeler
MLC selfie! |
All the Elders and Sisters who are leaving with me! And a pic of all the boys! |