One Year Mark and New Apartment

Hey All!!

This week has been a good one. We figured the car situation out with the sisters and now we get the car half the week and they get it the other half! So it will be a lot more effective for both of us.

Well, I have loved my mission! There has been the hard times I talked about in my letter. But there has been wayyyy more good times that cover all of those up! The holy and happiness that we get to see all the time is way better than the hard times on the mission.

We really didn't have the most eventful week this week.. We stayed busy all week but I feel like we accomplished nothing.. Haha we knocked a lot of doors and we talked to a lot of people. But none seemed to be interested. We did pick up 2 new investigators this week. One is a Part member family and one is a door knock investigator. So that was good!

Unfortunately I was not able to burn my year mark shirt.. President Mutumbo said no more of that.. To quote him, he said to the mission: "No more False Traditions" haha so it was kind of scary. So I didn't do it. I will have to send it home and you can all burn it for me haha

This week we were knocking doors in E-Town and we knocked one door and she said she was already a "Born again Christian" she then directed us to the house across the street and said they were new to the area. We happily walk across the street and knock on this door. A girl comes out and she is about 13. Not only is she 13 but she is from India.. Haha she speaks perfect English and we ask if we can talk to her mother. She goes and gets her mother and she too was full blown Indian.. Just didn't speak a lick of English. So we begin to speak and she tells us her name which was "Maldy" well me being deaf called her "Baldy" good thing she doesn't understand English because if she did she would have been offended. The daughter looked offended for her.. Haha So we start trying to share our message with her and make signs and gestures, but the daughter keeps translating all that we are saying. The mom continues to nod her head with a smile. So finally after about 10 times of saying "We are missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and we are here to share a message about Jesus Christ and His prophets with you" the daughter finally gets tired of translating for us and just walks away.. The mother is just still standing there looking at us awkwardly. We sat there for a little awkward pause and she finally tried to tell us she was going inside. You would have had to be there while this was going on.. But it was the most awkward door approach I have ever had on my mission! Haha

Elder Dixon and I were adding up all the math of approximately how many doors I have knocked on my mission. If I have at least knocked 5 doors a day on my mission.. (Which I have indeed done that.) I would have knocked 1,825 doors. If I knocked around 8-10 doors a day (Which I have come close to that almost all days) I will have knocked 3,650 doors in a year while being a missionary. It's crazy to think about! I've seen alot of "No" because I know for a fact that not all 3650 of those doors and people have been baptized.. Hahahaha

Unfortunately Elder Killian had to go home this past week. He was having medical issues. But it was so weird to see him leave! I was looking forward to hanging out with him in the mission home the night before we were going home. But I will see him when I get home. It was super weird and trunky seeing him in a video stepping off the airplane.. Haha I wasn't expecting him or me to do that for another year.. So it was weird and sad. I know he didn't want to leave early.

We also got to go to the E-town fair, and it was sooo legit. A member named Brother Adam Mcbride took us and he is awesome. He actually works for the church over here! But anyways there were hundreds and hundreds of people and he took us there and was introducing us to everyone! And there were so many people asking us questions about why we were here and what we were doing on our missions! It was so cool! The fair was awesome too. We talked to alot of churches little booths they had set up and really got talking to these people called the Gideons. It was kind of interesting. Haha

But anyways not too much has gone on this week. There will be more next week. We have Zone Conference this week and that will be good!! I love and miss ya!

Love, Elder Welling

New Area, New Companion and My Year Mark

My new area is Elizabethtown Pennsylvania! My new companion is a kid named Elder Logan Dixon. He is from Olympia Washington and he has been in the area here for only 7 weeks. Elizabethtown has a Dove chocolate factory in it so it always always smells like chocolate..haha so it's pretty good. The hardest part is biking. I have biked up and down these Pennsylvania roads for a week now and it has been super hard. Haha I've had a car my entire mission and then boom... no car and 2 new bikes. My legs are sore but I'm a firm believer they are getting bigger already. Every night we come in from the humidity and rain and wet sweaty weather, and I’m just soaked. From head to toe the humidity is just killing me. Haha you would think that during the day it’s hot and humid and at night it would cool down.. Nope! It feels like all that changes is the light and dark! It’s still hot and humid during the night here! Elder Dixon has been out only 4 and a half months and was in the MTC for general conference. That's how new he is! Haha the members here are awesome. There is a family called the McBrides and they are legit. They are taking us to the fair today and we are going to have a good time! No worries.. We will not be riding any rides..haha

Well!!! The week is here! My YEAR MARK is this week! And I cannot believe it is half over. This last year has had its ups and its downs. I’ve had some really hard times, but I’ve also had a lot of really good and happy times. I’ve come to know that the Lord allows us to experience and suffer the hard times and some of the trials so that we would be able to really cherish the good times. Through the trials and sorrow I've felt this past year, it has given me a testimony of something that I will cherish forever. Because of the hard times we are given in this life, we are able to see a glimpse of the pain the Savior felt for each of us. We are able to recognize the Saviors healing touch as we understand that he felt all that we feel on a daily basis. I have come to understand that everything, trials, pain, and sickness we receive in this life is allowing us to appreciate the Atonement on an even greater level. On my mission so far, as I have looked at the trials I am given in this way, I have come closer and closer to my Savior Jesus Christ. Because all that I go through now, he felt 2000 years ago.

I'm so happy I decided to serve a mission. The experience I have gained and the testimony that I keep gaining of the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ are of highest value to me. And I will forever be grateful for the Opportunities I have been given to grow and learn myself.. but to also help others around me find the light of the Gospel. What an opportunity!  But most of all I know with all of my heart that this is the true church of Jesus Christ on the Earth today. And I know without a doubt that Joseph Smith truly was a Prophet of God who was chosen since before the world was to restore and bring back the truth that was lost years ago. I love this church and the peace of heart it brings.

It still blows my mind that I only have about 365 days left. At the beginning of my mission I thought this day would never come.  But it came way faster than I thought.  It has been crazy. These last 6 months especially have flown by!!  I'm excited for what the next year will have to offer!

Last night while it was raining and windy and humid, we were riding our bikes through E-Town and decided we would get off and walk because the humidity was killer. So we begin to walk and we decide we would stop by and try and visit a potential investigator. We walk up to the door and see that he lives in a locked door apartment building. Which means we have to get buzzed in to get in. But Elder Dixon decided to be bold and test the door and he grabbed the handle and it was unlocked… strong Faith we had I guess ;) so we walk up these stairs and knock on the apt.

 door. A man opens and we ask if he was John. He says "No I'm actually Chris. John moved out before I was here." So we ask this guy if we could talk to him about Jesus Christ and he looks at us for a second and says "Well.. ehhh maybe not tonight. I'm kinda busy." Then he looked at us for a good 30 seconds and there was an awkward pause. Haha he looks us up and down again and says.. "Well.. actually come on in and talk to me." So we go in and have the coolest Restoration Lesson ever! After we finish he turns to us and says " it's funny that you 2 showed up today. Because just earlier in one of my classes we were learning about your church. I had so many questions about it." So it was quite the miracle here. He even told us he wanted us to come back. So it was littttt!

Anyways I am so thankful for the opportunity and call I have been given to be here at this time and in this place to serve my Heavenly Father. 1 year down and another to go. This one will go a bit faster so buckle up everyone. Haha but I love and miss you and thank you for all you have done for me this past year. I truly appreciate all of it. I love ya!


Love, Elder Welling!

Wild Turn of Events

Well.. Wild turn of events over here in the East coast. 7 weeks ago, President Christiansen moved a ton of missionaries around to New areas so that President Mutumbo would not have to worry about anything coming in as a new president. Well.. President Mutumbo completely swapped everything around too. He changed so much this transfer. So we got the news last night that Elder Jackson and I are both being doubled out of Shrewsbury. And Sister Missionaries are coming back into the area. Which isn't anything new because Shrewsbury goes back and forth between elders and sisters. But I found out I will be now going to a place called Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania. So I will be just going across the Susquehanna River and I will still be in the same stake! Haha elder Jackson will be going to Bel Air Maryland next to Baltimore.

I'm sooooo sad I am leaving after only being here for 7 weeks. The ward is so awesome and I'm sad that we have an investigator on date and we will not be in the area.. The bright side is that I will still be in the same stake as I am now.

This was pretty unexpected. But I guess it will do. I wasn't too happy. A lot of missionaries aren’t happy from what I've heard. But you got to do what you got to do I guess! We will see what happens. My new companion is Elder Dixon. Not sure where he is from yet. But I will see Wednesday. I will still be a District Leader and my district is hugeeeee! We have 12 missionaries in it! Haha so I'm looking forward to that.

We still have Robbie on date for Baptism for August 25th.. So I am going to try and get to the Baptism that day. I'll be in the same stake and only an hour away so it won't be bad.

My new address is this:

123 Rouen Place
Elizabethtown, PA
17022

Well.. This past week we came in contact with a Motorcycle/ Biker gang church.. I'm pretty sure you have to own a Harley or some kind of motorcycle to become a member of this church.. I'm not quite sure where Jesus talks about owning a motorcycle and also being born of the water and the spirit in the Bible.. But I must have missed that part. Haha

We also got to go to a member of our wards wedding this past weekend!! Josh Stackhouse got married and it was so legit. We helped the family set up and everything and then they invited us to the wedding as well. I love the Stackhouses so much. They will for sure be a family that will be on my visit list when I come back to the mission. They are so cool. They had fireworks going off that evening and everything!! No worries though.. Elder Jackson and I took no part in lighting them off. We just observed. ;)

This week has been wild.. Haha I wasn't expecting a move like this to happen so suddenly. But I look forward to what the Lord has in store for me and our mission. It's been crazy to see the pace of President Mutumbo. The work is moving and so is our mission.. Haha and my hump day (year mark) is coming up this next week!! Holy cow!!!!! I hope you have a great week! I love and miss you!

Love, Elder Welling!