Just Like that I was Kissed

Hey All!

What a week! First off everything went great with the transition of companions! On Wednesday we got everything lined up and then we traded companions and started off the new Transfer! My new Companion is Elder Tyler Beus. He is San Diego California and he is a surfer dude! Haha he has been out 7 months and was in my district over in Virginia for a while from December 2018 until March 2019. And now he is my companion! He is super cool and we are getting work done here in Baltimore! We are hitting the work hard and keeping everything going.

On Wednesday of this week our ward had 5 baptisms! The Adeloula Family from Nigeria decided to be baptized and it was so amazing to see. They are such an elect family and the joy on their faces that day was amazing to see. The speaker for the Baptism didn't show up.. And so the other elders in our ward kindly asked me to fill in with a few minutes notice. Haha so I ended up speaking on spot, but by now I should be used to that as a missionary. Haha on Saturday of this last week another person in our ward named Jamar Coleman got Baptized! He is so cool and I sent pictures of him and I home last week.

Earlier this week we received news in the mission that our mission presidents wife, Sister Mutombo, has given birth to a baby girl! It was so cool to hear. She gave birth three weeks earlier than the due date, but the baby is happy and healthy and President just got a whole lot busier. Haha I can't even imagine hot busy that man is!

While working in an area south of Baltimore named Dundalk Maryland, it was blazing hot but the weather app was calling for rain.. So I brought a rain jacket. During the day I regretted my decision to bring one because I needed uo carrying it ALL day. Haha but then, just as the weather had predicted, big rain clouds came and a classic east coast rain storm hit in minutes. The rain in the east is a whole other caliber than the west. Rain on the west coast is weak compared to the east coast rain! In the east, if you walk outside for 5 seconds it looks and feels as if you just stepped out of the shower completely dressed. Haha when the rains hit that day I was no longer regretting my decision to bring a rain jacket.. But even with the rain jacket, I was soaked from head to toe and we even left puddles and puddles of water on the bus. Haha

A funny/Scary story that happened this week was at church yesterday.. A guy we haven't been teaching very long showed up to church. As he was approaching the building we went out and greeted him. I brought him in for a Bro Hug and then BOOM. He pulls me in for something a little more than I intended.. He straight up kissed me. But no worries I barely dodged him and he got my cheek.. Haha so after this happened we all went in and attended church. Half way through priesthood he pulled me out in the hallway and asked me a few questions. At the end of our talk he pulled me in for another hug and kissed me on the cheek AGAIN. I looked at my companion pretty terrified this time. Haha I had no idea what to do. Its something I'll never forget that's for sure! I guess I can officially say I have been kissed on my mission. Haha

Anyways, This week Elder Beus and I found 5 new elect people to teach here in Baltimore, our goal is to find new person to teach every single day. So we came close this week, but still fell a little short. But there is always this week ;)

Well thanks for the emails and support! I love and miss you! I hope you have a great week!

Love, Elder Welling

Great Easter Week

Hey All!!

My week was super great and got even better with Easter on Sunday! Our week was super busy and full of things to do and people to talk to. Haha

To start off this Wednesday I will be getting a new companion named Elder Tyler Beus! He came out in September 2018 and he was with me over in Frony Royal while I was in Luray! So we know each other and we are gonna get it done! Haha

This week our ward is having 6 baptisms, so I get to interview 6 people for Baptism! The first 5 are a family from Nigeria. They are super solid and ready for Baptism! Their name is the Adeloula Family and they will be baptized this coming Wednesday! Then we have a kid named Jamar and he is 17 and from Baltimore. He is super excited to get baptized and he is super solid as well. He will be getting baptized this coming Saturday!

For Easter this week we got to eat with the Goncalves family! It was super good! They had some Brazilian food called Adobo on rice and that stuff was goooooood. Haha

The city of Baltimore is getting a little more wild at this time of the year. It starting to get hot here and that means that everyone is out on the streets. Which also means every single day in the city is super crazy here. Haha but it also means that there are a lot more people to talk to!

Anyways, my week has been good and I have loved being here in Baltimore! Have a great week! I love and miss ya!

Love, Elder Welling! 

Crabbing, False Prophet and Miracles

Hey All!

This week has been great! To start off the week I had the opportunity to do service for a man named Perry. The other elders in our ward are teaching him and he is superrrrr cool. Perry is a professional crabber and so when we did service for him we helped him paint 1200 crab cages which in Maryland crabber terms are called "Pots" it was super cool learning about all the crabbing stuff. Haha he makes some serious $money$ catching crabs too! Haha

Earlier this week we got a call from the elders serving in the Sesquehanna ward and they told us that a nonmember man called them by the name of Kenny, and that he wanted to attend our church. So they handed him over to us as a referal because he lives within our boundaries. So we call him and give him the details of church and set up an appointment to come and meet with him in person. Well. . . . fast forward a week and here he shows up at church, he is an older man, and drove taxi night time shift in the city of Baltimore for 40 years straight. Haha so he has seen some wild things. Anyways, he came on fast and testimony meeting. So while sitting there he leans over to my companion Elder Howell and asks, "Hey can I get up there? And do you think they have an outlet for my tape-recorder?" Instantly fear comes over my companion, . . like what the heck was on his tape recorder?? Haha anyways we thought it was strange. Then during priesthood, our friend Kenny stands up in the middle of the lesson and literally declares himself as the Prophet in front of the entire priesthood body... He then goes on and says that he is the lord of Baltimore. My companion who was sitting with him in priesthood, sunk sooooo deep into his chair. . . Hahaha anyways, it was super embarrassing. Kenny also had an entire presentation to show Bishop Fa, and the rest of the ward, so I'm super concerned about what was actually on that tape recorder. The whole time Kenny is standing in front of the congregation declaring himself as Prophet, he was telling everyone how he can see the future and then he started to prophesy and tell us about things that are to come in 6 weeks time. It was CRAZY!

We had miracle this week though and it was CRAZY. Earlier this week we got a call from the Jones Falls Elders in our zone. They told us that there is a man in our area named Herman and he was at one point on date to be Baptized. But while they were teaching him, he disappeared and they couldn't contact him. Well one day, the Inner Harbor Elders (on completely opposite ends of the stake then the Jones Falls Elders) hopped on a bus and started talking to a man. While talking to him, the man told them that just recently he had been meeting with other missionaries and wanted to be baptized. So they get all of his info and then call the Jones Falls elders. They all figure everything out and then send elder Howell and I the information here in the Chesapeake ward because he apparently moved into our ward! If anyone reading this understands the size and craziness of Baltimore, and you also understand how many different busses there are, then you understand how crazy this miracle is. Haha this man was basically found by 3 sets of missionaries, 3 different times, and in 3 completely opposite ends of the city! So we started teaching Herman again this week and hope to have him baptized in the coming month! 

Elder Howells bus pass stopped working this week so we almost got thrown off a bus. Haha but we smooth talked the driver and he let us stay on for about 20 minutes and then he made us get off.

We have 3 companionships in our district, and we are all in the same ward! This week as a District we found 26 new people to teach, it was crazyyyyy! The Chesapeake ward was on fire this week. Haha We had 10 people at church and we have 7 on date for April 27th!

I have had a great time here in Chesapeake and I love the city! It's hard to believe that I have 4 months left. It really does go by so fast! You never think it would when you first come out, and then boooom.. It's almost over.

I love and miss ya! Thanks for all you do!

Love, Elder Welling!

General Conference... Come Listen to a Prophets Voice

Hey All!

This last weekend marks my fourth General Conference on my mission, which means it was my last one! It is so weird and hard to believe that I have no more General Conferences as a full-time missionary. 

Over the last 4 conferences, I have learned how great of a blessing it is to have living modern day Apostles and Prophets. Yesterday as I listened to President Nelson, and heard his warning voice to the people, I was filled with so much gratitude for the amazing blessing it is to have a Prophet of God to guide us in these Latter-days! As I have followed prophetic counsel on my mission, I have seen a significant change in my life. When I follow the Prophet there is a dramatic change in the joy that I feel DAILY! Yesterday he reminded each of us that it is absolutely essential to make and keep Covenants with God if we ever desire to live in an exalted state with our families in eternity. His talk was bold and Soooo powerful! He truly is a Prophet of God. I hope that everyone takes his counsel and follows it with exactness. 

It was such a great weekend, and I will for sure miss conference weekends as a missionary. I seriously get more excited for conference weekend as a missionary then I did as a teenager for the super bowl.. Haha I love it!

In between conference sessions, we and the other elders in our ward had a little challenge. Haha we had 2 hours in between sessions, and the companionship that found the most people to teach in Baltimore within an hour won.. So they dropped us off in the middle of the city and we went our separate ways. About an hour later, Elder Howell and I found 1 new person to teach named Marvin. After this find we felt pretty accomplished and called the elders to come pick us up. When we got in the car we asked them how many they found in an hour. (We were pretty proud of our one person haha) when we asked, we assumed that they had found none.. But they then informed us that they had found 3 new people to teach in an hour.. So we lost. Haha But it wasn't too fair because they found a part Member Family, which gave them an easy three! ;) 

What a week it has been here in Chesapeake! It has flown by and the work moves on here! I would have to say one of my favorite things about being here in Chesapeake is that we get to see the other missionaries in our ward 5 out of the 7 days in a week! Haha in some of my previous areas, we would only see missionaries once a week at District Meeting. But in this area I see them every day and it's so legit. Haha it makes everything more fun that's for sure. Our ward has 7 Baptisms coming up on April 27! So we are finding and baptizing a ton of people in this ward. It has been amazing!

We had interviews with President Mutombo this last week and I love that man! While I was in my interview with him, he got a call from a Salt Lake Doctor who was calling to check up with his wife. Apparently, Sister a Mutombo is pregnant and she is due in May! I thought that it was super cool that they are having a baby. President Mutombo is only 42 and he has 5 kids so he is still pretty young! Haha

We had exchanges this week with some of the Elders in our district. I brought Elder Coombs back to my area and him and I cruised around on the busses in the city of Baltimore all day! Haha we had a killer day and found 3 very elect people that were searching for the truth. All of them said they were down to come to church!

I'm so glad that all of you are doing so well. It makes me happy each week to receive emails that contain positive and healthy updates on the family! I'm glad everything is moving forward again. 

It has been a challenging and inspiring week. I am so grateful for a loving Prophet to lead us through a darkening world. One of my favorite things said in Conference was how "Salvation is a personal matter, but Exaltation is a family matter!" I love you all and thank you for everything!

Love, Elder Welling! 

Miracles and a New Suit

Hey All!!

No worries! I am alive and well, and I still love the city! Haha

It has been a wild week! This week just as the recent few have flown by!! Monday to Monday feel so fast now. It's crazy!

To start off, this week we had the amazing opportunity to participate in the baptism of our friend Travis Shultz! He is doing so great and it was a great service. He received the Aaronic Priesthood yesterday and is going to the Philadelphia Temple on April 13th to do baptism for the dead. His progress is amazing and he will be a great leader and member of the church! Very intelligent man.

An amazing miracle we saw this week was with our friend Wali. One night we had 20 minutes left in our evening, with nothing to do. So we decided that we would walk down the street and see who we could find to talk to. As we are walking, we see a man walking his dog. As we get closer we say hi and introduce ourselves. He then tells us that he knows who we are and that he used to talk with missionaries! We then set up an appointment with him to come and talk with him. On the day of our appointment we show up, and sit down with him. By the way, Wali is musilm, he was born in New York, and he is very into his religion. Anyways, as we sat and talked with him we asked him what he remember from the last time he met with Elders. He explained a few things to us, and then told us that earlier that day before we had come over he was reading The Book of Mormon that we gave him a few nights earlier. He told us that as he was reading in 2 Nephi, he had the most overwhelming feeling, as if a fire was burning all over his body. He told us that it was so powerful that it brought tears to his eyes and he began to cry. Now.. This man is high up in the Muslim religion. He lives his religion and he loves his religion. After he told us about his feelings he experienced, he put The Book of Mormon down in front of us on the table and said to us: "I bare my witness that The Book of Mormon is The Word of God. If a book can make me feel like that and bring tears to my eyes, it is of God." as you can imagine I about fell off my chair because of shock. Haha it's not every day that you hear a Non-Christian say that The Book of Mormon is the word of God! It really showed me how powerful The Book of Mormon is and the spirit that it contains when the earnest seeker of truth opens its covers and reads from its pages. The power and witness the spirit can give us as we humbly seek the truth of The Book of Mormon is so powerful and this experience I has shown it to me!

Another funny experience we had this week was one day we were walking the streets and talking to people. We decided that we would stop by a potentials house and see if she would want to talk with us. We knock on the door and wait. We then see a young black kid, probably 3-4 years old, come up the porch stairs behind us and run inside, he then yells to his mother when he runs in: "Mom there is 2 white boys out there!" I don't think I have been called "white" so many times in my life then I have the last 2 weeks here in Baltimore! It's been pretty funny.

I am loving the city life and loving my mission! Everything is crazier here in Baltimore! Nothing ever gets old. Haha anyways I hope that you have a great week! I love and miss you a ton!

Love, Elder Welling!