Letter from Kelson - Week #45 - Wahoo!!! This is a ride beyond all proportions!!!

Good Morning From Sunny California!!!!

This is the e-mail you have all been waiting for, the week of anticipation has been building, and everyone is on the edge of their seats just waiting to hear what body part Elder Wheeler has hurt this time...I know you're all thinking about it, no need to deny it.  Oh, and hey did you know that Denial is a river in Egypt?!!!  It is true, if you still don't believe it, go look it up. I just checked with my android brain...I am always hooked up to the internet because I have become a cyborg and will now be know as E-D-R W-E-L-R...or Elder Wheeler for my human viewers. The computers call me E-Dub for short. we be tight....hehe

This past week I was graced by the presence of my brand spanking new companion who is so fresh that it is almost like he was picked from the Idaho Potato Farm yesterday... His name is Elder Hale and he is from....you guessed it, Idaho. It is a small town called Rupert and they manufacture sugar beets there. That is right, all your granulated sugar was made in his home town, TAKE THAT SPLENDA!!!!  He is a pretty nice kid. Think of your friendly neighborhood missionary, Elder Wheeler, and then think about him about 10 months ago...and there you have it. He is almost exactly like me. We like the same things, we act very similar and we also have some of the same jokes/movie quotes. It is kind of like a breath of fresh air, Elder Nethercott and I were great companions, but you know when you tell a joke and it seems that the joke isn't making it through because they either don't get it or they shoot it down...yeah that was Elder Nethercott. He knows it and he professed his mastery of killing my jokes often. I now have someone who appreciates the humor that I have and then somewhat adds to it. 

About the area, we have some super things going on here. We have people who want to be baptized, and come to church and also keep reading the Book of Mormon!!!! This is awesome. What better time than this for a missionary to be "Born" and to have him see success. I only hope and Pray that I can keep myself in the running for the blessings as I try to teach him good missionary habits and standards...Being a trainer sucks. It has all this responsibility that comes with it, and then on top of that it is physically taxing. I have found myself feeling extra especially drained each night, to the point of falling asleep in my evening prayers. That didn't used to happen until I was trying to pray at like 4 in the morning back home... This work is hard folks, but it is totally worth it. OOOOOooooooo Super experience. Last night we had the prompting to go see this lady, whom when I first got here we added as an investigator and then she said she knew it all already. We felt prompted because we saw her at church that day and didn't have the opportunity to say hello, let alone good-bye. We stopped by, and as we knocked on the door I was hesitant because I felt like it could have been an overload...church and then a stop by the missionaries all in one day, almost makes us seem like we are vultures just preying on anyone who comes to church. Anyway we did it and so as we waited for the door to open I just thought well, I have already met and talked with her before, just talk like we had been old friends and try to remember what we talked about last time. When she opened the door it was almost as if I stopped thinking and words just came out. We started talking about the lesson that her friend, a member, taught that day and how it applied to her. (The lesson was on repentance) AS we talked about that she opened up about her concerns and we ended up talking for about an hour and then set up an appointment for Thursday... This is awesome. I can't promise that she will be baptized in 3 weeks or anything, but I can tell you that she felt the Spirit last night, because Elder Hale and I taught with unity and power, plus we said somethings in our closing prayer that she had had on her mind, that we didn't even know about... THE SPIRIT!!! IS AWESOME!!!! 

We are super stoked for this transfer and the next because Elder Hale and I get along so well...It is still not anything compared to what I had with Elder Baryshnikov, but I will work super hard to make it close. But nothing can top my experience with Elder Baryshnikov...I miss being his companion....  Although he is my district leader now and we get to go on exchanges...YAY!!!!  

I am excited for things to come in my journey to the center of the mission, but I am also a bit sad. I am now a senior companion and this means that I have to do more teaching than learning...I can still learn, but it just isn't the same as being the junior companion and having someone to look up to or to think they can help you grow better. But I am learning now that we can learn things no matter who we are and no matter what position we hold. I have learned many things about myself that I might have missed had I not been given this opportunity to be the senior companion. Elder Hale has already taught me that I was hard to deal with when I was being trained...hum Now I feel for Elder Outlaw. 

Until next time, keep being awesome and remember God made you special, and he loves you very much...GOOD BYE!!!! (VeggieTales, please don't sue...hehe)

Love,

Elder Wheeler

P.s. MOM I know you have a lot of things on your plate, so hurry up and eat your dinner, there are words to correct in my letter....TYPOS Please!!!