Heyyyyyy Babyyyyyy

Hey all,

I'm having a great time here in Romney with Elder Munden! He and I get along great and we laugh all the time.  The area here is getting a lot better! We are now correlating with the branch leaders daily and it is awesome! The branch leadership here is awesome. We are getting a lot done and getting some Less Actives back!
This last week Elder Munden and I were walking down a dirt road in the back hills of Romney and we see a little red beater car rolling up and almost sounding like it's about to fall off its wheels.. The car pulls up to us and there is a man driving and there is a woman in the passenger seat. The woman leans out the rolled down window and looks me in the eye and says.. "Heyyyyyyyy Babyyyyyyyyyy"... Wasn't sure how to respond.. So I just said hi how are you? Hahahaha that's was for sure the weirdest thing all week. Elder Munden and I almost died laughing.
The investigators are going pretty well! We found two new investigators this week named David and Louisa!! David, after teaching him a doorstep restoration told us that he has been going to a few churches over the last couple of years and every single one of them has confused him. So we invited him to our church and he was very interested in coming to church this next week so hopefully he comes!! I would say the closest investigator we have to baptism is Jesse. She is awesome we taught her the full restoration lesson last week and after talking about the Book of Mormon she asked how and what she has to do to be baptized!! It was awesome!! I'm hoping she gets baptized soon. She would be awesome!!

Then later this week we knocked on a door and an older guy answers.. He invites us in and we see that he has 2 ping pong tables set up and 4 older guys in the room with him! So they invite us to play.. It has been 8 months since I have played ping pong. So I was awful. But these old guys all were like freaking Japanese warriors at ping pong. We got wrecked.. They invited us back so that was cool though!! Haha
Thanks for the birthday wishes! I can't believe I'm 19..haha how does it feel to have a 19 year old?! ;) I'm looking forward to it though!
 
I hope you all have a great week! Thanks for all you do! I love and miss you!

Love, Elder Welling!

Great Week!!

How's everything going?! Everything this week is actually going quite well!! Haha we found another investigator named Tiffany!! We were actually sitting in our car looking at our maps on our phones and this lady walks by and waves at us. So we get out of the car and start talking to her and eventually start teaching her!! Haha it was awesome!!  We were able to find 2 new investigators this week! Their names are Jessi and Tiffany!! They are awesome! Both were very shocked that there was a modern day Prophet on the earth today! Haha so that was awesome to see them have a spark of interest!
          It's been pretty warm this week! We have been walking around without jackets on and the leaves are starting to come back over here!!
That's scary to hear about Colton and the wreck he was in. Tell him that at least it wasn't a bus this time ;) hahahaha but that's scary. I'm glad he is okay!!
          I saw on Facebook that Shandee and Josh had their little baby!! It was awesome to see. Josh emailed me this week and talked to me a little bit so that was cool too.
         
          Dad are you doing a 20 mile hike with them?! Or are you just sending them up the mountain and telling them to hurry? Haha that sounds like a lot of work for a little merit badge ;) but it is better than swimming I guess... Haha
         
          We also have another family we found that we want to start teaching! They are Metonite so that will be interesting. But they are the nicest people ever!!
          It was sad to hear about what happened to the sister missionaries in Evanston!! Hopefully that guy doesn't show up to your ward and actually do what he says he is going to do. Haha that would be super awkward. He claims to be a Prophet then huh?! That's weird!! Haha who is the guy? Evanston is too big I might know him hahahaha.
          Well one of the nights we came home this week, we were kinda feeling fed up with the Cockroaches. So we took the nasty sticky traps and put them in a frying pan and burnt them all. Kinda brutal, but it relieved some anger that was kindling inside of me towards them, so it was a good thing right?! Haha I didn't hear them scream or anything so that was good. Hahahaha
          This week's district meeting went pretty good actually!! We had a good time and I enjoyed it!! The Zone Leaders came and all of that so it was good!! We then went on exchanges after district meeting with the ZL and I went to Woodstock for the night!!
          All these Welling women are pregnant?! Haha jeez!! I had no clue Carly was having a baby too?! That's awesome! And Brittany! Haha a little Chevy is gonna be running around.
          This week has been super busy. We have done a ton of service and it's been awesome. We found 5 more potentials this week over service!! We posted on some local pages on Facebook and offered free service to some people and people are asking us to come over!! It's been awesome.
Well I have officially decided that I Love Romney. I'm going to ask President if I will be here another one! Hahaha me and the Roaches have made pretty good friends I guess!!
          West Virginia gets better and better every day. Haha we see something new every day and it just makes me and Elder Munden laugh! Haha
          Well in about 10 days I will be turning 19!! I'm kind of sad that I'm getting older ;) I'm really starting to feel it in my back. Hahahaha jk I'm excited but I can't believe I will be 20 when I get home haha.
Anyways I hope you have a great week!! I love and miss ya!

Love, Elder Welling! 

New Companion and Lots of Service

Hey Everyone! 

I am going to be an uncle in September to a little Boy! I hope he is ready.. He is about to have the greatest uncle ever.. ;)
Well this past week has been a busy one. We had transfers on Wednesday and all the missionaries like usual meet in Columbia Maryland and switch Companions! I dropped Elder Brown off and he went to be a Zone Leader in Woodstock! I then picked up a guy named Elder Kolton Munden! He is from Bountiful Utah and is 19. He has been out on his mission for just over 6 months. He is about 5'6"! He is a pretty chill guy. I think we are going to have a good transfer together! He and I get along and we have similar interests. Very easy to get along with and he loves to work hard. I love the guy already! 
This past week we have been visiting a lot of Potential Investigators and it's been good! We have also received 4 referrals this week! It was awesome! We don't have a ton of investigators right now. But we are currently working on getting more.
We actually had a really good night this last week and taught two Door Step Restoration lessons to a girl named Rebecca and then knocked on another door and taught Thomas! Both accepted a Book of Mormon. And both were very interested! It was an awesome night! Rebecca especially was interested in learning more about how Families can be sealed together for time and all eternity. We asked her the question of this: "Rebecca, God gave us families here on earth and they make us the happiest. They bring us joy in this dark world full of trouble. Why would God take families away after we die if we have so much joy in them now on earth?" she thought for a while and had a lot of questions about how to do be sealed! It was awesome! They both agreed to Read and Pray about the Book of Mormon.
We also went and did a lot of service this week for some members! It was legit. We went to The Pownalls family house and they had baby bunnies and we got to hold some of them! Haha it was awesome! We also fed a lot of chickens and held baby chicks! They are an awesome family and I love being over there with them! The baby bunnies were seriously so small they fit in the palms of my hand. Haha
All in all this week has been full of Miracles. My Companion and I found 1 new investigator and 10 potentials including a family!! It has been amazing to see the work progress and the miracles start to come in! I honestly am starting to love this area.. But I am learning so much here. I am loving the people I come in contact with and am finding joy in the back hills of West Virginia. Haha it's been quite the ride here and I look forward to 5 more weeks of it! 
Elder Cook did get transfered out of Cumberland. That's why I hope that the new missionaries there keep on top of all the people I love over there. I was told Ray hasn't missed a week since I left. He is faithful in the Gospel and that makes me happier then I can explain. Elder Cook was transferred to an area called Damascus. I'm not sure how he felt about it. But he will be fine. 
We got to do some service this week for a friend of mine here in Romney. His name is Dick and I love the guy! We got to mow his lawn and help him with his garden. He is 79 years old and he is so funny! We do service at the Methodist food Pantry with him as well! He always has a new quote for us and they are sooooo funny! Haha while mowing his lawn on Friday, it actually reminded me a lot of when I used to mow Grandpa Wellings lawn. This week while serving I was able to feel the love that grows stronger with serving someone. The more you SERVE a person, the more you love them. Funny how that works! 

My first week of being a district leader was quite fun actually. All the meetings start this week for it all though. We have ZLC this week and MLC. And we also have district meeting! My first one ever that I am in charge of! Haha but I have enjoyed it!  As a district leader we are not set apart. But we are just called and asked to serve as one in leadership. 

I'm glad you all enjoyed the gender reveal that night. You all were on my mind because I knew it was happening!! Haha I'm glad the sisters like being in your home. I can't tell you how much it means to have a members home where they are welcomed and feel at home. I'm serious when I say this, when the sisters say they love being in your home.. It means they feel like they are welcome and right at home. It means so much to missionaries to have home members to go to when we feel down. Trust me.
Everything here in Romney is going great. Great success this week. I'm learning to love the area and the people. West Virginia is so beautiful. The leaves and flowers are coming back. And I'm enjoying my time here serving the Savior. I've learned this week why missionary work is hard. Why we get rejected even though we carry the true message. And after I realized that, I grew a greater love and appreciation for the Savior and what he suffered. When missionaries ask why it's so hard to be out here and to be rejected and to be sad and to ask if there is any other way to do this? We all just need to remember that we walk Shoulder to Shoulder with the greatest and far better missionary that ever lived. The Greatest man who ever lived, was rejected, cast out, spit upon, beaten and tortured. For what? Carrying the same message we do today. The Savior too cried out to his Father in the Garden of Gethsemane that night saying "Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt." The greatest of all even asked if there was any other way to accomplish what he had been sent here to do. It's not easy for us, because it was never easy for him. 

Well thanks for the emails and for letting me know how you and the family are doing! Thanks for all you do! Have a great week! I love and miss ya!! 

Love, Elder Welling

New District Leader and Cockroaches

Well the time has come again for another Transfer! We received a call last night from our assistants Elder Marshall and Elder Palmer.. And they tell Elder Brown that President would like him to be the Woodstock Zone Leader. Then they tell me that President would like me to be the Romney District Leader!! I was pretty excited. I think it's going to be really fun. Our district is awesome!  We have the Romney Elders, Petersburg Elders, and Luray Elders in our district! So 6 of us which is average size for a district here! Elder Killian my MTC companion is in it!! Elder Brown is my Zone Leader so he and I will be attend a ton of meetings, interviews, and exchanges together!! So he isn't going far. But I am excited for this next transfer! My new Companions name is Elder Mundon! He came in a transfer after me! 

      Well so far this week has been a good one!! This area has its struggles.. But it also has a lot of things that are fun. I can't believe the influence and motivation that our Prophet Russell M. Nelson has given our mission. Ever since conference, our entire mission has been going crazy hard. It's been awesome. Everyone is talking about how great it was. Even the nonmembers Elder Brown and I have talked with have said they saw all of the temple announcements and other things all over the internet!! Haha it's been amazing to see!!

We are very fortunate to live in a time when there is a modern day Prophet!! And he even speaks to us!! Haha

        This past week our mission president sent an exterminator to kill the Roaches in our trailer.. He sprayed everywhere and after he sprayed we sat there for about 5 minutes and then the roaches started falling out of the ceiling cracks, kitchen cupboards, light sockets and more. It was crazy!! Elder Brown and I were just scooping them up and throwing them in the sticky traps!! We caught a ton of baby roaches on the one sticky trap so we had to throw it away.. But we set out another one and caught 5 more big ones! Haha it was quite disgusting.. But I'm super thankful President sent an exterminator! Haha we asked the exterminator how to get rid of roaches and he says.. "Guys.. You can't get rid of these things completely.. They have survived since the dinosaurs."  I thought that was pretty funny! Haha

        So the exterminator did very well this week! He came in and sprayed.. And he told us in about 5 minutes after he sprayed roaches would be everywhere.. Well sure enough 5 minutes later there were roaches crawling out of the ceiling and falling on the ground.. Coming out of cracks.. And out of our sink even. It made me sick. But we killed them and we are still finding some crawling out! 

        Well this last week we were busy knocking doors in Downtown Romney and we knocked on about our 3rd door of the day.. And this older fellow, about late 50s early 60s comes outside towards us with a pamphlet in his hand.. Elder Brown and I both have the instant thought of  "oh crap.." haha  this guy came out with a pamphlet in his hand ready to Bash us! So the whole time he is walking over to us we both knew that the pamphlet was something anti. He gets to us and gives us the pamphlets and tells us to read. He continues to ask us "if we even know what Joseph Smith really taught" then goes onto tell us how we preach a false Christ and false Prophets. I then ask him if he had ever attended a Mormon church? He says no I won't go to a Mormon church. And I say "Sir I don't really think you have the right to judge our church then." he says Have you ever been to a Baptist church (he was American Baptist..) and I say "well to be honest I don't really see a need to ever go to one." and so then he goes off on how Joseph Smith taught about evangelizing the moon and all this crap and how the BOM is a false book. As we finally get walking away, he starts yelling at us that we would and are going straight to Hell if we keep preaching a false Christ. I look back at him and wink and give him a thumbs up.. Hahaha that guy came out ready and prepared to bash against our religion. I've found that all Baptist people do out here in bash Mormons.

                We have been cleaning our trailer all day and getting Elder Brown ready to leave! He is ready to leave! Haha he hopped out of bed this morning yelling and screaming with joy hahaha he is pretty happy to be leaving. He is ready to move on to something new!!

          We also found 2 new investigators this week!! We walked into a recent convert house this week and they had friends over and we began to teach them the restoration! We didn't get all the way through the lesson.. Haha so the next day I was talking in sacrament meeting and they were coming to Church! So I totally changed my talk the night before Sunday and I went to the pulpit and basically taught the restoration from the pulpit! Hahaha hahaha it was actually pretty cool! 
Well I'm excited for this next transfer. It will be good! Hopefully all is going well at home! You all sound like you are doing great! And summer is coming!

        Well thanks for the emails! It sounds like you are all doing great! And I'm excited to see what Colton and Jessica Have! I'm hoping Jessica finds out she is having a boy for her birthday ;) I'm hoping for a boy!! Haha anyways have a great week! I love and miss ya! Thanks for all you do!

         Love, Elder Welling!