Letter from Kelson - Week # 33 - Transfers, with a hint of Christmas Ghetto!!!

Good Morning From Sunny California!!!!

Guess who it is? That's right it is I, Elder Wheeler, the one and only. So I have some crazy news for the whole world to hear!!! Are you ready World??? Are you sure?...Come on put your back into it...Alright i think you're ready now...I am being transferred from the beautiful lush El Dorado Hills to the most amazing and humble place on the earth...South Sacramento, where they have roads that are off limits to missionaries after the sun goes down, and the possibility of death and mayhem...I told you that you weren't ready. Gosh, come on world get with the program. Actually it really isn't that bad at all. I am super pumped to go down to South Sac and to teach. Elder Baryshnikov actually started his mission there and he said that the people are humble and ready for me to walk into their houses and baptize them. There may be some sketchy stuff that I will be surrounded by, but who cares!!! I am going to go teach someone who needs a 20 year old kid from Ohio to come and tell them that God Loves them! I am so stoked; my companion will be Elder Nethercott and he and I are going to baptize nations this holiday season!! 

This new area is not as well off as the one I am in now, but if I were to stay among the well off I would get jaded and become a snob..."Hello" not on my top ten things to do before I die. I love the excitement that comes from moving to a new area, plus it helps me see how much of a pack rat I have become in the past few months. Right now I think I can still fit everything I have in 2 suitcases and two carrying bags, along with my bike. I am pretty good at keeping my stuff limited...I don't need anything too fancy, more temptation to have it get stolen. The area I am going to is a bike area, however, which means I am going back to riding down the street in a suit and tie talking to people we pass. I will once again build up my Thunder Thigh muscles and become the Incredible Hulk and rip my pants at the stitching on the side. I am looking forward to that, but I am not looking forward to California Winters...lots of rain.. 

That is right, there are weeks upon weeks where it just rains everyday and there is nothing I can do, but go out and work...I love working in the rain.  .     .   . . . Yeah, I am not looking forward to the rain... ;P

Enough about Transfers; I want to talk about this week. So We had a pretty remarkable week starting on Tuesday. We had our normal P-Day on Monday, but on Tuesday we received a super sweet referral from one of our recent converts, Michael Z. We went over to see him and we caught him right as he and his mom were leaving to run some errands. We talked for a few minutes, but he told us about this friend of his that he sees while out on his walks around the neighborhood. Her name is Sam C. and she is definitely searching for some stability in her life. She has 4 children under the age of 8 and she is going crazy. The reason he told us to go see her is because the day after he was baptized she asked him what was different about him...He said that he was baptized on Saturday and received the Gift of the Holy Ghost on Sunday and that was a huge change in his life. She noticed the drastic change that the atonement brought to his life and she wanted it too. We invited her to church and a Christmas party, but unfortunately the missionaries don't have the right information, so we sent her to the wrong building...we went to the wrong building, too. So she didn't go to the party and I think getting 4 children ready for church, probably made things difficult for Sunday services. So she hasn't attended either of them, but she is still wanting to meet with us which shows a great deal of Faith and a desire to change. This just goes to show that when we pray and fast for Miracles they can happen. We are going to keep teaching her and I hope that she still has the desire to join the church...If not I know that seeds were planted so she may in the future. 

Elder Baryshnikov and I are being separated ...  We are both pretty bummed. We both had such a fun transfer and enjoyed every minute of it. I really wish that he and I could have had more time to spend together preaching the Gospel and bringing more souls unto the fold. This is one of the worst parts about transfers...we make friends with our companions and then when we have to leave we can't help not wanting to say good bye. I will forever remember Elder B and I will also be part of his wedding party...so we are most definitely hanging out after the mission. Along with the companion separation, there is the Ward/family separation. There were so many good people here that we have become such good friends with that I will probably end up living in El Dorado Hills when I am rich and famous, or at least when I have nowhere to go and I can take them up on their offers to come live in their garage.  This feeling of separation is everywhere, whether in East Sac, or El Dorado Hills, or soon to be South Sac. I guess that's what I get for leaving a part of me in every place I go. It really makes me super glad for the Plan of Salvation, because I can say that I will most definitely see all of them, because we are all part of our Heavenly Father's Eternal Family!!! And we will party like it is 2012!!! Every Day!!!

I love you all and Hope that you have a wonderful Christmas Season, filled with Joy and Gladness because of Christ.

Love,

Elder Wheeler

P.s. Mother TYPOS!!!! Love ya