Letter #34 from Australia

March 14, 2016

Dear Family and Friends,

          This week has been great, but also challenging and hard. The Lord has given me some trials that I currently have to go through, but I am so grateful for them. I love trials because it is Heavenly Father way of helping me to change and be molded into the man that he wants and needs me to be. That’s a weird way of looking at trials I know, but that is the whole reason why we have trials and challenges in our life. Heavenly Father needs us to change and become better. Although trials and challenges are hard to go through, I know that they are given to us out of pure love from our Father in Heaven.

          The work here in Yarra Valley is going great, but we have had a lot of set backs this week within the work. So our investigator Jeremy didn't make it to church on Sunday and we haven't been able to get a hold of him for about a week! We had to drop his baptismal date because he is two weeks away from it and he hasn't come to church yet. We are really hoping and praying that he will get back to us in the next day or two so that we can continue to help him progress in the gospel. He has a great desire to follow Jesus Christ and to be baptized into the church, so we are really hoping that his desire to do both is still burning. We have followed up with a couple of new contacts that we got a couple of weeks ago, and sadly to say, it didn't work out with them. We met with a couple that seemed really interested in learning about the gospel. They even said they had a friend who was interested and that she was going to come to the first lesson too! We were really excited for it, but when we got into their home and sat down, we realized that we had just walked into a Bible Bashing lesson.

          For two hours we were asked question after question and when we answered, they brought out Bible verses and anti-Mormon materials to "prove us wrong." Ultimately, it ended with us bearing our testimonies of the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith and with me politely rebuking them. All I said was that we, as missionaries, have been called to invite others to read the Book of Mormon, pray about it, and ask Heavenly Father if it is true. We have invited you to do this, and now it is up to you. If you want to find out if it is true follow our invitation. But if you don't want to, then that is okay. But we have done our part as missionaries. After I said that, there was silence in the land for the space of many minutes. Hah. We thanked them for letting us come over and then left. It was good, but not the kind of good that we wanted it to be!!

          A part-member family moved into our area and ward this past week! The Mum and her 3 oldest girls are all not members and are very interested in learning more about the gospel and being baptized. So we are really excited and grateful for that blessing in our lives right now.

          I want to bear my testimony again about the Plan of Salvation. Last Sunday, I lost a woman who was very dear to me and who I love so much! On Sunday night my dear Great Grandma Merle Mills passed away. She was really old and so it was more of a blessing than a trial to my family and me. She was a beautiful woman who had such a profound impact on my and my life. She helped me to grow stronger both in life and in the gospel. She had such great advice and council to give to me whenever I needed some uplifting and encouraging. All of my many memories with her will forever be in my mind and she will always be in my heart. I know that she is in a better place right now and that she has been reunited with her Husband Paul, who I am named after, and her son Boyd. I also know that one day, I will be reunited with her again and know that she will give me a big kiss on my cheek and will embrace me warmly. I know that my Great Grandma lives on and that she is still one of my guardian angels, but now just in spirit form. I love you Grandma Mills.

          I am sorry that this update is so long. I just had a lot to talk about and say this week! I love you all and am grateful for the love and support that you show my family and me! Have a great week and stay safe!

Love,

Elder Wheeler

​Going for the green!! Such a fun day!

Went golfing yesterday for P-Day! ​It was a lot of fun and for only playing twice
within my 8 months on my mission, I played really well! Had the longest drive and
the only birdie of the day out of Brother Bryers, Elder Zimmerman and me!!

Elder Richard Long has finished his mission. Everyone go to his homecoming 
and hear his sweet as 'Stralian accent! Also ask him about me;) Jk! But seriously
 go to his homecoming! I love him so much and he is my brother!!

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.

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!

Letter 31 from Australia

February 21, 2016

Dear Family and Friends,

          This week has been a very good one, but also a very sad one. It is the end of another transfer, it seems this one has disappeared too quickly, and we received the transfer news last night. "Elder Wheeler...you will be staying. Elder Theurer...you will be leaving. Elder Wheeler, your new companion will be Elder Zimmerman. Elder Theurer, you will be transferred down to the Mornington area." It came as a shock to the both of us and we are trying our best to handle it! Elder Theurer has been my favorite companion that I have had on my mission thus far! It will be good though and we will make it through! Besides, he lives in Salt Lake City, so he is only an hour drive away! So we will see each other again! I don't know my new companion, but I have heard that he is great and that he is from America! So he will be my 3rd American companion! Haha.

          I am very excited though to be staying here in the Yarra Valley area! This past transfer, all we have been doing is finding, because we need people to teach! Well this week we had some amazing miracles and we now have quite a few people who are interested and ready to learn! On Tuesday and Wednesday, while we were GQing, I talked to 4 people and all 4 of them were interested! It was a huge confidence booster for me and one that I needed.  It was also a huge miracle for Elder Theurer and me! I met a guy who is in his mid 20's, who I have met and talked to twice before. He is very interested and we will be meeting with him this next week! We also met a couple of families who are interested who we will also be following up with and teaching this next week! The work here in the Yarra Valley area is starting to pick up and it is so exciting to be able to stay here and continue working with the people we have found!

          We went to lunch today with Elder and Sister Murray, who will be going home on Wednesday! They have been a huge support to me while being on my mission and I love them so much! They are like family and I am so grateful for the opportunity that I had to serve around them and serve with them up in Wangaratta.

          I hope you all have a great week and keep up the great work that you are all involved in! Huge shout out to my great friend Kayla Green, who got her mission call this past week! Congrats Kayla and good luck in China! I love you all so much and am grateful for all the support! Have a safe and exciting week!

Love,
Elder Wheeler

​Found my true colors in a mall last week! haha

Saying goodbye!!!:( It is a hard thing to do!​ I loved Elder and Sister Murray!

Got a little sun while working on a retaining wall! haha​