Interesting Week

     My week has been quite interesting!! We had our ward Christmas party and it was pretty fun! They didn’t have Santa come for all the little kids which was kind of weird! Me and Elder Cook were going to bet on something and the loser was going to have to sit on his lap! haha Last night we went to a family in our ward and they were having a ward caroling party. So a bunch of ward members gathered up and we all went caroling. It was so much fun. I love the people in my ward. There is a guy named Brother Oliver and he is 30 and he served in Argentina. Then there is a guy named Don Bishop and he is from Provo. Those 2 are the funniest guys ever! Don likes the Steelers!

     I have received the package and have loved all the little notes and all of the presents I have received so far! The Steelers socks, The Hickory Farm, the CDs, the ties, and the Buffalo Wild Wings gift card!! I also got the cool Christmas tie that lights up and plays a song! I will be wearing it on Christmas!! Thank you for the package. I love it!!

    Well like I said.. This week has been interesting. The general summary is this... Prostitutes and Miracles!! Now.. you are wondering how the heck those 2 go together? Well they don’t. That’s what made it so crazy! haha Remember that crazy lady I was telling you about last week?! I will tell you about her again. Last week we were going to see Ray the black guy. Ray lives in a big house that just looks like a normal big house. But when you walk in, there are a bunch of little rooms. It’s an apartment complex! The outside of this house is scary looking. It looks like a haunted house.. haha Bricks are falling off the house and windows are broken and all in all it is just a sketch house. So, inside the house there are narrow hallways and there are no lights. So walking up the stairs is a little creepy. Anyways, every time we walk up the stairs.. this building has a lady named Tisha. She wears a white jacket and she has black spiked up hair. And every time we walk past her door she will throw open the door and scare the freaking crap out of us! I was half tempted to hit her with a Book Of Mormon. lol ANYWAYS.. We are going to see ray this week and we get out of our car and start heading for the house.  And up on the second floor there is a big bay window that is huge. haha I look up into the window and I just see this lady staring at us.. So instantly I know she is going to be hiding somewhere in this building and she is going to scare the crap out of us again. So we walk in the front door and we walk up the stairs. As we are doing so, We hear this lady talking to herself and she says "Hiiiiiiii" in a golum like voice. Elder Cook and I look at each other and we just book it down the stairs and out the door and we legit ran half way down the street. Freakiest noise I ever heard. So we finally get the courage to go back inside and we head for the stairs once again. We turn the corner and see nothing. We take one step down the hallway and boom.. The lady is standing in the hallway looking for us. The first thing she says is "Ive been watching you" and I’m like oh yeah?? And she says "Yes, I am always watching you guys. I see you all the time." So I start to worry only a little.. haha So then I ask her for her name because even though she has scared us 15 times, We never asked her for her name.. haha So her name is Tisha! So we get talking to her, And she is crazy! In her dark room, she has a round table and she has it right in the middle of her room. She just walks circles around it... Anyways, we get talking and I say "So I’m glad we finally met. Now we can be better friends." And she responded with a weird like happy grunt like "Ohhhhh yeah??" and I was like "Woah woah.. Just friends!" and she responds with a disappointed sad grunt.. I didn’t think much of it at the time. I then asked her Who the man was that was picking her up the last time we saw her?? She Responds and tell us she really didn’t know who the man was. Well at this point it finally kicks in. She is a freaking prostitute! So we walk slowly past her door and we haul butt up the next flight of stairs. We run into Rays door and we lock it! So we ask Ray about her and he tells us that she is a street walker. Which means she walks around the streets looking for men to sleep with! Ray then tells us, that there is also a man (Whom I have met and shook hands with) That is a gay Prostitute.. They have those?!?!  It was just super weird because this lady wanted everything I owned. haha

      The miracle side of it was 2 different days this week we saw 2 different cars that were broken down on the side of the road. We stopped for both and helped them. We also gained 2 new investigators! They both accepted a Book Of Mormon! It was crazy that on 2 separate days this week we found 2 different cars broken down. And now they are our investigators! lol The lord puts us in the right place at the right time!! 

So about the pictures! One family, Is the Bishop family! His name is Don Bishop and they are in our ward! His wife in that picture has parents in Evanston that substituted my seminary class! It’s pretty crazy! I will have to get the names of her parents again. I can’t remember! The other family is our investigators! Daniel and Angelique!

    I just finished the Book Of Mormon for the first time on my mission. My testimony of Christ power and divinity grows stronger and stronger each time I read. I love the book so much. I read it so much that I usually take it in the bathroom with me when I have to sit on the john... hahaha awkward I know. But revelation comes in weird ways sometimes right?! ;)

      Well Thanks for the prayers and the packages and the support you all send me daily

                                                                               Love, Elder Welling!

Two Wyoming Boys

Hey!!

Well things are about to get crazy.... We went to columbia and dropped Elder Fitzgerald off. Then we picked up my new trainee! His name is Elder Colton Cook! The crazy part is, He is from Jackson Hole Wyoming, andddddd We played basketball against each other in High School!!! What are the freaking chances?! haha Its so crazy. Has soon as I walked in the room and first saw him, I recognized him. Then we found out that we were going to be companions and it was so weird! President Christiansen told me that since 2 Wyoming boys were in Cumberland together, Cumberland would never be the same! haha When I found out Elder Cook was going to be my companion, I instantly thought... Whats kin of things did I say to him on the court?!?! lol I cant remember, but im sure there was something.. haha

Everything in the area is going great. We have 6 on date now and they will all be baptized this transfer. Ray, he agreed to be baptized on December 30th!! I cannot wait. This gospel is going to change the mans life!! We have been trying desperately to get him off smoking and alcohol. We taught him the Word of Wisdom after church yesterday. We even bought him Zonic, which is a preventing smoking gum. We bought him mints and all sorts of things to get him off smoking. We have been showing him all the Joseph Smith movies and he loves them all! haha He knows with all his heart that Joseph was a prophet. Its amazing to see! 

 I havent handed any of the nativity scenes out yet. I was going to wait until Christmas, and then hand them out to investigators and the Ward members! I love the little things! haha

Its super funny that the kids asked santa for weird things! haha And that jessicas sister said you werent real!  haha I guess you need to gain a little weight huh?! haha Im sure ya looked just like Grandpa Welling! It woulda been awesome to see! haha I remember when I was a kid, I would always get so nervous when santa came into the gym and the bells were ringing. Then me and Katie would run outside to see if we could see his sleigh taking off.. haha we would stand out there for a solid 10 minutes looking dumbly into the sky.. hahahaha Good times! 

My first week taking over the area was a little stressful. We have a lot of investigators we have to see and then when the sisters left they handed us all of there investigators too! Which, we will stay busy. But its so much to take on at once. My companion is pretty homesick. 

     In the MTC, They keep you so busy, you dont have to think about home. But has soon as you hit the field, it all comes around and smacks you in the face! It all comes back to you and themn 2 years starts to seem like a loooooong time. Which it is. But when you first come out it feels even longer. So thats where he is at right now. Its kinda cool to see how far I have came though! I mean, just 4 months ago I was where he was at! But he is pretty homesick right now.

     This last week has been great though. We have 6 people on date that will be baptized this transfer! I seriously cannot wait. 4 are set for Dec. 30th, 1 for January 6th, and another for January 12th! They are all great people. I love every single one of them!! 

     No, I did not feel the earth quake! But im sure the missionaries in Baltimore did! haha How would you feel if I got transferred to Baltimore next? haha 

This past week we were going to see Ray. Ray lives in an apartment building. But the outside of this building looks like a big sketchy house.. haha So we walk in and are standing in the downstairs lobby thing and the stench of smoke is unreal. Cigerettes out here are the worst. Ive had people blow smoke in my face on the streets.. anyways we are standing there and niether of us are wanting to walk up the scary, narrow steps first.. I have been up there before, but I hate it every time. So since I am now the older guy, I decided I was a pretty tough guy and that I was gonna walk up first. So we walk up these loud wooden steps and get to the top.. Now this is a 3 story house, all the lights are off and it smells like smoke. So we get to the top and turn the corner and look down the long dark hallway. Me, still thinking im pretty tough proceed to walk down the hallway. Well, Out of freaking no where this lady with long, spiked up, black hair jumps out of her door way right in front of me and just stares at us. Of course this scares the heck out of me and I screamed a little.. haha I really wanted to roundhouse kick her in the face! So after she jumps out, we kinda just stood there for an awkward 30 seconds. She then walked into her room and we hurried and ran passed the door. I looked into her room and ashe was just walking laps around the round table in the middle of her dark room.. Im pretty sure she was a little messed up. haha Anyways we get to Rays room and he tells us that this lady always waits for people to come up or down the stairs and then she scares them! And she isnt a pleasant sight. I really did feel like I was in a horror movie! She looked like the grandma off of the visit.. haha 

    Anyways, Im glad you all are having a great week. The work out here is moving forward and the Lord is hastening it. When I used to hear the Lord is hastening his work back home it didnt really mean a thing to me. But now that I am here in the middle of it, It means the world to me. The gospel blesses lives and saves many. My testimony grows every time I testify of the Savior. Its crazy how much love I have for the guy. Even in the loneliest moments on my mission I have found that I was never alone. This is his work! Anyway it also sounds like you will have a busy week! Im glad that the snow isnt crazy over there yet! haha It snowed here for a bit and then it melted and we are just back to the cold air! haha Anyways I hope you have a great week! I love and pray for you all daily! Love ya!

                                                                                      Love, Elder Welling!

A Crazy Week!

     Well this last week was a crazy one! I’m glad you all enjoyed my letter and I love Ray!  Ray has a pretty hard life to live!! He has been trying to get anything he can! He has now been to church 2 times and loves it so much! We have 8 investigators ready to be baptized and 5 on date!

The reason I say this week has been a crazy one is because of transfers... Elder Fitzgerald is sadly getting transferred to Jones Falls, which is the out skirts of Baltimore. He is kind of nervous and kind of sad to leave. Then, we got news that The Cumberland sisters will be completely taken out of Cumberland! So now it will just be 2 elders in the huge Cumberland area. Then we get a call from the assistants and they asked me if I would train a new missionary! So I guess I’m training a new guy in the exact same area I was trained in! It was crazy to hear. I’m excited but also nervous and sad about Elder Fitzgerald and the sisters leaving me. We are all best friends and we get along so well. But we get all of the Sisters investigators! haha They have made the last transfer so much fun for me. 

      Elder Fitzgerald loved the package and he loved the sock and letter you sent him!! He says that I have a very nice family and that he loves you all! I received the Christmas tree and all the ornaments and I loved it!! The packages where we are at don’t usually get stolen. We live outside of Cumberland where nobody can really see us haha so I think the packages will be good!

     This last Sunday we had 4 investigators at church and we now have 8 investigators ready for baptism and 5 on date to be baptized! Working in Cumberland with Elder Fitz has been a blast. We work but also know how to have fun while doing it! 

       I put the little Christmas tree up as well! And I love the sweaters!! I have been wearing them when it is really cold!! This last week We were talking to a catholic guy on the street, and after our talk he shook Elder Fitzgeralds hand, but when he shook it he didn’t let go for like 30 seconds. So when the guy let go I went to shake his hand. He grabbed my hand tightly and held it for 30 seconds. Then he looked at the top of my hand really close to his face and began to tighten his grip. He then looked up and yanked my harm, pulling me in towards him. I legit had to pull my hand and arm away from this guy and I was just like what the heck man?! So I just walked away and he was still trying to talk to me. I felt bad but the guy freaking creeped me out! 

       Nothing else is happening out here at the moment. I have to go to Columbia on Wednesday to big up my new son!! (Trainee) Elder Fitzgerald is my dad and Im Elder Fitz son. Which means Elder Fitz is now a grandpa!! He was pretty happy about that! 

       Im also super excited for Christmas!! I can’t wait to see all of your faces and be able to talk to you again!! It’s going to be the best thing ever!

   I love ya all and pray for you and your safety each day. I will talk to you next week. Love ya!

                                         Love, Elder Welling!

Mission Life and Thanksgiving

How’s it going?

     Well, the mission life is an interesting one. One day you are seeing miracle after miracle, and the next you see nothing.. But this week we made contact with long lost investigator of ours! His name is Kevin and he is 21. He was homeless and disowned by his parents. He is mentally disabled, but is very accountable. Kevin was homeless for 4 years and then eventually found a very crummy house. He was on date to be baptized in August but that fell through. So, we thought we would go see him again. He doesn’t have a phone so it is pretty hard to track him down. So we prayed and prayed that we would find him. We went out that night and walked down his street and walked into his creepy apartment building. We get to his room and knock and he doesn’t answer. But then he came out of the room next door! haha So we walk over and start talking to him about how he has been! Well the thought came to me to ask him if we could meet his friend. He agrees and he takes us over and introduces us to this 46 year old black man. We walk into this room and my head is hitting the ceiling so you can imagine how small it is.  His name is Ray! We got talking and this guy is pretty poor. For Thanksgiving, he and Kevin had nothing. They told us that over behind the train tracks in the tall grass is a thing they call "Wild Bird", and for thanksgiving they went over there and caught a wild bird, which is no bigger than a chicken and ate it. They are living off wild birds.. So they point to the counter and there is a gooey, cooked up, torn apart bird.. Honestly I felt so bad for these 2 I wanted to cry. They had NOTHING. So we told them to get dressed and we walked down the street with them to get them pizza. We sat and ate and you could just see a light in their eyes has they ate actual food. We invited Ray to church and he came! He accepted the Book of Mormon and wants to come back to church next week! 

     The Lord leads and guides his work! From a thought to helping one of Gods precious children. We have been blessed this past week with charity and seeing how it works in people’s hearts. 

     Hopefully all is going well at home! Thanksgiving here was great. We went to the Buttermarks. They took us to Gettysburg back in October! I don’t think any Thanksgiving is better than Grandma Hatch’s or Grandma Welling’s! It just isn’t the same! haha For our preparation day today we are going on a hike with a ward member. I will take pictures and then send them next week! 

     Pray and rely on the Lord for strength. That’s why I have loved my mission so far. You never knew how much you needed to rely on the Lord until you have no one else. And I promise the Lords help is sufficient for us. Well not much else has happened lately.  Well are you excited to see me at Christmas or what? Less than 4 weeks away! haha, Everyone, can promise you more than I ever could at home, That this gospel is true. And that God loves his children. My testimony has slowly grown into something that will never leave me. In the 4 months I have been out, The Lord has shown time and time again that he loves me and the people I am teaching. Whenever anyone doubts, all they have to do, is READ the Book of Mormon!! I love that book so much. I am about to finish it for the first time on my mission! I started at 1 Nephi in the MTC and I’m close to being done now! By Christmas I will be done! I just finished Alma!

    Well I hope you have a great week! Tell Grandma I love and miss her and that I think about her often!

Love Elder Welling

Happy Thanksgiving and Being Patriotic

   It is amazing how the Lord works. When they say he is at the head of this great work, they are not kidding. I’m glad that you have received all the photos and videos of us! They like taking pictures of us! Her real name is Sister Spears! I’m looking forward to the package from you all though!! Missionaries live and die for packages!! haha 

    Nothing much has been happening this week. We wake up and we get to work and then we go to bed.. haha But it’s a fulfilling work! We found 5 new investigators to teach and we also had mission president interviews with President Christiansen! I love my mission president. It’s crazy how much that man has helped me. He is called of God, and he has blessed my life in so many ways. 

   This week has been good! Every Sunday we get asked to teach some kind of lesson. This week we taught the Young men’s, and the week before that we taught Gospel Principals! Not gonna lie, I love teaching classes for some reason! It brings me joy for some odd reason! The other thing a mission does for you is it makes you AWKWARD. I feel like I am so much more awkward now that I am a missionary! haha I accidentally called a ward member a man this week, and it turns out she is actually a masculine woman.. I felt sooo bad. But we say things like that all the time! haha 

    Not any outstanding miracles this week.. 3 investigators dropped us this week.. that was really sad. They all knew it was true also. It’s so sad to see someone change and then just throw it all away. People don’t understand the blessing from the gospel. Elder Bednar said: true Doctrine understood, changes behavior! It’s true. If they understand, then they change. If they aren’t changing then we change the way we teach! haha 

    Thanksgiving will be good this year! A lot of ward members have invited us to dinner so we will be doing a ward tour Thursday.. I’m probably going to get pretty fat.. lol It won’t be like Grandma’s that’s for sure.  Sorry there wasn’t much to say this week. But there will be more next week!  Happy Thanksgiving!

                                                                                                              Love, Elder Welling!