Don't Blink

Kenny Chesney has a song called Don't Blink. It says don’t blink life goes faster than you think, so basically talks about how fast time moves.

I can honestly say that at the beginning of my mission 2 years seemed like an eternity. No golf, no family, no friends, no Taco Amigo, no sports, I didn't know if I could do it, but then I blinked, and 2 years was coming to an end. 

In 2 years I have recognized the love of my Savior more than I have my entire life. In Alma chapter 7 verse 11 it says "And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people."

On my mission there has been pain, affliction, temptation, and sickness. But above all there has been Joy. 

I was blessed to serve in 8 areas. I was blessed to have 20 companions. I was blessed to love and serve the Dominican people for 2 years. I can truly say that I have been blessed. 

I was blessed with amazing mission leaders. President and Hermana Bretón are like my second set of parents. 

I started my mission in a place called Pueblo Nuevo. It was hard. I didn't know the language and I didn't know the culture. But I did have faith. Pueblo Nuevo taught me that faith and hope can overcome any obstacle. Even if that obstacle is Spanish. 

Soldado was my next area. It taught me that patience can provide miracles. 

Villa Vasquez taught me humility. I will never forget the houses and the circumstances that I saw and taught in during my time in Villa Vasquez. 

Bonao taught me diligence. When we are diligent in all things the Lord blesses us. Bonaos branch grew because we were diligent. 

Hato Mayor taught me obedience. I served closed to President Bretón during my time in Hato Mayor and he always taught that obedience brings blessings and happiness. 

Samaná taught me to have charity for others. Some of my biggest challenges in the mission came from Samaná and love was always the answer. Hermanas Mirabal taught me that missionary work is a lifelong calling. Never quit serving the Lord in his vineyard. 

Licey taught me to endure to the end even when it gets hard. 

All of these areas helped change and mold me into who I am today. They all taught me something that helped me become more like my Savior Jesus Christ. Like the scripture says, Jesus Christ suffered for my pain, my afflictions, my temptations, and my sicknesses. While I served Him I felt the healing power of His atonement. 

I want to thank all of those who have supported me throughout my mission these last 2 years. I have felt the power and strength of prayers said on my behalf from each one of you while I strived to do my best. The Dominican Republic will forever and always hold a very special place in my heart. It was home for 2 years and will always be known as my home away from home. 

I know Jesus Christ lives. I know that His atonement is real. I know that the Book of Mormon truly is the Word of God and what it has written inside of it is true. Joseph Smith restored Christs Church. President Nelson is the living prophet today. 

I love you and I can't wait to see you all!

Elder Wilde 

How Do I Say Goodbye?

I said goodbye to President Bretón this week. 

It was sad. President Bretón has had a huge impact on my life. He has taught me life long lessons that I will never forget. Obedience, diligence, not procrastinating, being a disciple of Jesus Christ, not just a missionary. 

I had the privilege of serving in the mission office with him for close to 7 months. I will never forget the memories made with him while I was there, and the lessons he taught me. 

Not only saying goodbye to President was sad but also saying goodbye to Hermana Bretón. 

Unfortunately I didn't get to see her this last week to officially say goodbye, but I truly love Hermana Bretón. She gives the best advice and is the funnest to go shopping with. The Bretón family will ALWAYS have a special place in my heart. 

With that being said, this week President Brueck arrived! He and his wife are amazing people. We felt the spirit so strongly in their first Zone Conference and I know that they will do great things here in the Santiago mission. Unfortunately I will only get to serve with them for 2 weeks. I am excited for those two weeks though. 

This week was a good one. It sped by quickly. We are teaching so many cool people and we are excited with the progress that some of them are making. 

This week we found the mothers of 2 different members! One of the mothers being Ines and the other being Iris. They are super cool. They both have not been baptized because they both have boyfriends that aren't the biggest fans of the church. 

Pray for them and their significant others so they can get married and be baptized. 

This week we are hoping to marry Daniela and Valdemiro so they can be baptized on Saturday! It would be a HUGE miracle if it all works out. Please please please pray for them. 

I hope you all have a happy week! Next P-day will be my last;)) love ya’ll! 

Elder Wilde 

If It Doesn't Challenge You, It Doesn't Change You!

When my brother Carter was serving his mission, he sent me a letter. In the letter was a little card that said "If it doesn't challenge you, it doesn't change you." I don't think he will ever understand how much of an impact that had on me. 

This week I have repeated those words in my head a least 10 times. Having less then 20 days left on the mission isn't easy. Sounds stupid I know, but I am getting so excited to come home while trying to stay focused on the work. It’s fun. Also my companions are cool. One of them may be more of a challenge than the other at times, but it is changing me to be a better person. 

I hope you all have been enjoying your summer. Is Utah hot? Cause wow the DR is like an oven. The second we leave the house we are sweating bullets. Even when it rains haha. But it's all good. At least it has pretty scenery. 

As far as the missionary work goes here in Licey, it's rough. We are working hard. Finding new friends. Trying to help them come unto Christ, but wow, not many of them are doing anything to do so. Please pray for the ward and the area of Licey. 

On the other hand there have been some HXP groups or something like that out here and it has been fun seeing them every week at church. Basically a ton of white kids from Utah and its super funny cause they all think its crazy how I am almost going home from my mission.

Anyway, I am sorry this email hasn't been very interesting. I promise I'll make my last 2 better. Love you all. Miss ya’ll. 

Elder Wilde 

Changes

Change is good for you. It is hard but, it’s the hard things that change us. Make us better. 

I've been a missionary for over 22 months. Change is still hard on the mission, but it always has a positive effect. This time the change for me is in  my area, and companions. I am now in a trio. Elder Hernandez and Elder Willden are my comps. They are two big boys and make me look like I’m small  lol. 

To be 100% honest it's been a hard few days. Being so close to finishing my mission I have felt the want to just throw in the towel and quit. But I haven't, and I won't. 

My dad sent me a verse from the Bible yesterday that says "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith" I know that for me to be able to say these words I need to keep on going. 

My new area is called Licey. It is in a pretty rough place right now. I mean we have almost nobody that's progressing and the members don't love missionary work as much as other wards have. But we are positive and working hard. With the attitude of "we do this for the Lord" we have found success. 

Our most progressing friends right now are Daniela and Vladimiro. They need to get married and for that reason they haven't been baptized yet. They need to save up money! Please pray for them so that they can save money and be able to make their first Covenant with God. 

I hope you are all doing well at home. I hope you're keeping the faith. I have come to realize the the thing that gives me the most joy in life is reading the Book of Mormon. It's a peaceful activity and blesses our lives. I invite you all to read it. 

A few emails left after this one! See ya’ll soon! Love ya!

Elder Wilde

Trio Time!

We are now a companionship of 3! I was trying to think of cool ways to say that. Like "you know how things always come is 3's? Well now we do too!" Or "the 3rd times a charm" But decided to just put it out there. Trio time it is! But here's the catch, it’s only for a week. 

I come home to Utah in about 5 weeks. Therefore our mission President is putting a new missionary in our area as ZL and taking me out as ZL to finish my mission in a new area. I don't know what area yet. It will be exciting to find out on Wednesday. 

As for our new comp, he's awesome! From American Fork. Named Elder Orton. Played baseball for AF. He's got 18 months on the mission. He's super cool. 

Anyways the work is going. We had 3 people come to church yesterday. Like I said, everything comes in 3's lol. Francy was one of our friends who came. 

Francy is cool. He's in his 40's and is a good man. Has problems with sleeping. I think he struggles with depression as well. The good news is that Francy enjoys coming to church. He's been 2 times now. He has a lot of potential. I hope he gets baptized so he can have the comforting companionship of the Holy Ghost. 

We also sang in the choir yesterday at church. That was exciting. The Ward choir here is not good at singing. We will leave it at that. Sometimes the truth hurts. My mom and dad say I am too honest sometimes. Sorry:) 

I love the mission. Its actually super super not easy. Especially the last little bit, but it is worth it. Challenges help us improve. 

I've been studying some cool talks about Prayer this week. Here's a spiritual poem to end this weeks email. 

"I know not by what methods rare, But this I know, God answers prayer. I know that He has given His Word, Which tells me prayer is always heard, And will be answered, soon or late. And so I pray and calmly wait. I know not if the blessing sought Will come in just the way I thought; But leave my prayers with Him alone, Whose will is wiser than my own, Assured that He will grant my quest, Or send some answer far more blest"

Love you all! 

Elder Wilde 

Summertime

Kenny Chesney has a song called Summertime. It's fantastic. I think ya’ll should go listen to it since we are now officially in the month of June! 

Anyway, I hope you are all doing well! The grind out here just keeps on moving along. It was another decent week, but we had yet again 0 friends that we are teaching come to church. 

It's hard when nobody comes to church. My comp and I are working hard visiting lots of people. Having 7-12 lessons a day, and still our friends just don't come. But we gotta look for the positives.

For example, this week we had the opportunity to fast. Before the mission I was not great at fasting. In fact I don't think I ever accomplished a 24 hour fast. But while on the mission it is somewhat required of us, and it has been a blessing. It's crazy the strength God can give us while we fast. I invite you all to do a fast the next time you get the chance. 

As far as our friends in teaching go... we are having a hard time. This week we are gonna stop teaching most of them. They just aren't putting God in first place. Never let God lose his spot as the most important thing in your life. 

I'm trying to think of some cool things to tell you guys but it's hard cause this week was pretty average. I am however starting to get good at Dominos. Wish I started to play earlier in my mission but I didn't. If ya’ll didn't know, the Dominicans LOVE to play dominos, and shocking enough you don't play by just standing them in a line and knocking them over ;). It's been fun learning how to actually play! Anyways. 

Love you all! Hope you aren't getting bored of my emails. Only 5 more ;)) Have a good week! 

Elder Wilde. 

El día de las madres

Another week has come and gone! In case anyone was wondering I'll only send out 6 more emails!

This week was good! We are working hard and seeing little miracles here and there. Only problem is that our friends we are teaching have been awful at keeping their promise of coming to church. It’s rough. But we keep on working. The Lord continues to bless us and them in their lives so we just keep on going. 

This week we had some fun lessons and found some cool new friends. One of them being Andres! He is a good dude and has family members that go to our church but a different ward here in Navarrette. He loves to talk to us and is always joking around so it's a good time. Pray for him so he can actually act with faith and come to church!

This week we found an inactive member named Karina! She is super cool. Mid 20's and has a 4 year old kid. We taught her 2 times this week and she hadn't been to church in over 10 years but yesterday she came to church! These are the little miracles that truly keep us going. 

One highlight of my week has been my personal study. I've been studying in the later chapters of 3rd Nephi when Jesus Christ is ministering to the Nephites. Truly amazing scripture and has brought me closer to Jesus Christ. I invite all of you to go and read the Book of Mormon! It changes lives. 

My comp and I have been having a blast out here. We both have the same amount of time on the mission and we just keep on working! If you guys have seen the viral @pointerbrothers you know they make hilarious videos. We are currently recreating some and it has been a blast lol. 

Almost forgot to include on here a list of friends ya’ll could pray for! By name! It would help a lot! Ready? Amauri, Raquel, Ines, Andres, Guillermo, Jose, Luis, Carlito, Karina, and the ward of Hermanas Mirabal! Better get busy praying! 

I love and miss all of you! Hope you have a good week! 

Elder Wilde