Letter #84 from Australia

February 26, 2017

Dear Family and Friends,

What an up and down week it has been here in the Doncaster area! First off, we are doing really well and still are just trying to find people to teach! It is really hard in this area and we are always just praying to meet someone who the Lord has prepared! But in the meantime, we are just working with a couple of less-active members and with the few investigators that we do have! We have about 4 investigators that we have found since we have been here in the area, but they are all not progressing and don't really want to change, so we are just trying to stay positive! Of course, it is really easy to stay upbeat and happy when you are serving with one of your best friends! Elder Wiser and I are continuing to get along and are always having a good time with the work! We have received so many compliments from the members on how well we get along and how we are both great missionaries! They tell us that it makes them way more comfortable around us, when they see how comfortable we are with each other and with them, the members! So overall, the Ward is beginning to trust us! 

Well, this week wasn't all rainbows and unicorns, as all weeks aren't. The mission has been a big learning period and has trials all along the way, but they just make me a better person, so I love it! Well on Wednesday, I received a phone call that no missionary wants to receive. It was from Elder Lawler, my last companion, and he informed me that Dale Potter, the young man who we taught and baptized in 2 weeks before I left my last area, has decided to remove his name and records from the Church. We aren't exactly quite sure as to why he would like to do that, but they think that it has something to do with his family and some compilations and pressure that they are giving him. It was hard to hear, but all I can do is fast and pray that he decided to stay in the Church! I would just ask that all of you please remember Dale in your prayers! Thanks! 

We had a great experience this past week while visiting a very cute lady friend of ours! Her name is Katie and she is severely mentally and physically handicapped. We met her while trying to visit a former investigator and she was so open to talking with us and reading in the Book of Mormon with us! She has such a positive outlook on life, even when she could have so much anger and hatred because of her situation in life. Well this week we were talking with her about how much God loves her, and we asked her how she knew He loves her. She paused for a couple of seconds and then said, while smiling and looking at us, because He made me. It brought the sweetest spirit to the room and even tears to my eyes! I love being able to meet and serve such great people like Katie! I hope that you all have a great week! I love you so much!

Love,

Elder Wheeler

P.S. Huge Birthday shout out to my Grandfather! Happy Birthday Grandpa Bawden! I love you so much! Thanks for all that you have done and continue to do to support me and help me be a better man! 

Us with our great friend Katie!

Some cool shots!

Here is Elder Wiser with his handstand at the top of a waterfall! 

And here is mine! I have been learning from the best! ha

Letter #83 from Australia

February 19, 2017

Dear Family and Friends,

Well this past week has been a great and a sad week for my companions and myself!

I don't have too much time, so I will just give you a bullet list of what happened! 

-Elder Shreeve went home on Thursday to get the surgery on his knees. Pray for him!

-Elder Wiser and me found some investigators to start working with and we committed one of them to baptism on the 18th of March! 

-We had a zone conference with the whole Missionary Department from Salt Lake City!

-We began working with a lot of part member and less active families in the ward!

Sorry that this email is so short, but we have to go!

I love you all and know that this work is true and I am so happy to be apart of it!

Have a great week! 

Love,

Elder Wheeler

Elder Shreeve, Wiser and me...one last time!

Zone Conference with the Zone!

Went bowling last Pday and here is Elder Wiser dancing!

It was a really old and creepy bowling alley! Haha
Just look at the score screen!

Letter #82 from Australia

February 12, 2017

Dear Family and Friends,

So this week was both a hard one and a great one! So hard because I finally had to leave my Greenvale Family! Monday was my last full day in the area and so it was hard to go around visiting the members and saying my final goodbyes! I will miss that area and the ward! It is such a great place to serve in and I will always hold it dear to my heart!

Well Tuesday brought transfers and some unexpected news! Not only am I companions with my Best Friend from back at home, Elder Wiser, but we are also companions with Elder Shreeve! He has been out for about 6 months and he is from Idaho! But bad news... so the main reason why he was put with Elder Wiser and me is because he is going home this week for medical reasons! Because he is 6'8" he has a lot of knee problems and on the mission he hurt his knees playing sport. Well they have gotten so back that we will need surgery to fix them, so he will be coming home to have the surgery! It has been a great week with him and Elder Wiser! We all were moved to the area, so we have no idea for anything! So we are all starting from the beginnings here in the Doncaster area! We all get along so great and we are always laughing with or at each other! haha 

It will be sad to see Elder Shreeve leave us, but we are praying that he will be back soon! 

Elder Wiser is the man and being his companion is the biggest dream come true! We get along so well, of course and it is so cool serving with one of your best friends from back home! We have slipped a couple of times and called each other by our first names haha, but that is just expected when that is all I have known him by since we were little. Getting moved into a new area is always a scary thing, but it made it better by having a friendly and familiar face as your comp. 

Now, let me tell you a little about the area and ward! Doncaster is the name of our area, but we cover other areas like Ringwood, Box Hill and Nunawading. The area is very close to the city and super close, like 5 minutes away from the Temple and the mission office. There are no Samoan people my new area...haha so all of the Samoan that I know, doesn't help me at all. I now need to brush up on my Chinese because there are so many Chinese people! Like SOOO many! Ha. It is really cool and I am excited to be able to be in a new area and experience new things and meet new people! The ward is an Aussie and Chinese ward. There are about 100-150 members that actively come to church each week! The members are really cool and they have welcomed us into the ward already! The work here in the area is at a stand still. There are about 2 investigators that the past missionaries were working with, but they aren't really progressing, so we have a lot of groundwork to do in the area. This past week was filled with cleaning the flat, organizing all of the area book records and meeting all of the members on the Ward Council! (You know, just the basic things you need to do when you get transferred to a new area) All in all it was a great week and we are so excited for the work that we will do this transfer! 

I hope you all have a great week and keep up the great work that you are engaged in! I miss you and I love you all so much! Stay safe, stay happy and remember to read your scriptures and say your prayers! 

Love,

Elder Wheeler 

Perks of living 8 mins away from the Temple! haha

Selfie with Elder Wiser, Albrechtsen and Chappell! All of us
from the same MTC room and intake! Now we are all grown up!

So the flat that we live in is made out of concrete! So this past
week when it was 38 degrees celsius  (100 degrees Fahrenheit)
outside, it was 43 degrees celsius (109 degrees Fahrenheit) inside.
So we went to Macca's for our weekly planning session and we
all drank a lot of shakes...hahah

Elder Howell went home this past week! Back to North Ogden!
But here is a picture that we took before he left...WEBER!!!

Letter #81 from Australia

February 5, 2017

Dear Family & Friends,

What a week it has been! We have been non-stop busy from sun up to sun down every single day and it is so great! I am loving everything about my mission right now and I can't wait to begin proselyting this week! So some big news items this week! So first off, Dale was baptized on Saturday and it was such an amazing day for him! It was absolutely amazing to see how someone could change his life in just two weeks! He was and definitely still is being prepared by Heavenly Father! He is so solid in the gospel and in his testimony of the Book of Mormon and Jesus Christ! One of the YSA members in our ward who helped to fellowship Dale, baptized him and I had the privilege to confirm him a member of the Church. It was a great baptism and we had a total of 6 non-member and investigators come to it! But we had a super funny experience with the baptism. So at the end of the program, one of the members of the bishopric welcomed Dale into the ward and then began preaching about the gospel! He ended up taking about 15 mins and then when he closed and sat down, Elder Lawler, without even realizing it, stood up and began giving the closing prayer! We had planned to sing 'I Am a Child of God' as the closing hymn, but I guess Elder Lawler was just really excited to say the prayer! Needless to say, he will never live that moment down in this ward! haha

So here is the other big news item before we have to go! So it saddens me to say this, but I will be transferring to a new area tomorrow...I am so sad to leave this area, as I have been here for the past 10 1/2 months! Half of my mission, practically! I have grown to love this area, the members and the Samoan culture so much! I will never forget this area or any of the members that I have grown so close to here! But my new assignment will help me to grow in so many ways and I am excited for it! Also, we have a little news as far as who my new companion is going to be! So I am sure that all of you who are living in Pleasant View, or who went to Weber High School with me, will remember a Elder Wiser, or Stanton as he was known by back at home! Well, we had always dreamed of serving together ever since we found out we were going to the same mission at the same time! Well on Saturday, President Vidmar called me to inform me that I would be moving to the Doncaster area and ward and would be serving as a Zone Leader in the Maroonda Stake. But then he told me that I would be white washed into the area, which just means they moved both missionaries out of the area and moved two brand new ones in, and that my new companion would be ELDER STANTON WISER!!!! HAHAHA We called each other right after and freaked out together! I am so excited to be serving with him and to be Zone Leaders together too! We had always joked with President about us serving together and now it is actually happening! 

Well that is the big news and I will let you all know some more details next week! Sorry that I don't have a lot of time to email this week! If you emailed me and I didn't get to reply to you, it is not because I don't love you, cause I do! I just don't have any time left! So sorry! Have a great week! I love you all so much!!!

Elder Wheeler

Me and my new companion, Elder Wiser!!

Companionship photo in front of the chapel, one last time!

Dale at his baptism!!!