Merry Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Had a fun Zone Activity this week where we did a White Elephant gift exchange. And the gift I ended up with was a very useful water bottle actually. So I think I got very lucky! And one fun thing from the zone activity. Elder Daley had some stick on mustaches that we wore when we first got there! It was a lot of fun!

Tuesday we got to go to the mission office again so that Elder Daley could get his new companion...hopefully for the last time...and the new Elder's name is Elder Green. When we found out his name, Elder English and I were hoping that he was a new missionary...but he wasn't. He has been out 13ish months. But it is all good, and he is a really awesome guy!

I got to go on exchanges this week with one of the zone leaders. The reason why being the other zone leader and Elder English had a recent convert of theirs that went through the temple for the first time this last week, so they got to go with her to the temple. We had a lot of fun on our exchange, and at one point we visited some of their investigators for a Christmas party thing at their house, and the investigators member friend showed up from Fallbrook. And it was the couple that I had dinner with the first night I was back in the mission! The Grigg's family! I didn't remember their names until the party when they introduced themselves, but it was still really cool to see them again! Also on exchanges we got to go to a baptism of a lady Elder Petersen (the one I was with) had taught before she moved to another Oceanside ward. It was cool!

Other than that there really isn't much to talk about for this week. But I want to end with one of my personal favorite scriptures predicting the birth of Christ. Isaiah 9:6-7, "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this." I love the Christmas season, and I really love the added blessing that we have from our Heavenly Father that is the priceless gift of His son Jesus Christ.

I hope you have a merry Christmas!

Love,

Elder Wixom

Christmas is Around the Corner!

So this last week has been pretty exciting. Let's get to it!

Last Monday was really fun. After emailing and shopping and stuff we played some awesome games! First we got all the Nerf stuff that we had and had a giant Nerf war in the church gym! We got chair racks and tables to hide behind and stuff. It was really fun! And then afterwards we sat in a circle of chairs and played some small games. It was a very very fun day!

Had a very fun Zone Training Meeting this week. At the meeting there were lots of trainings about working with members, which is part of our mission's "Phase 2" movement, which is focusing on receiving referrals from members. We also had a training called, "Who What What When" with that being an easy setup for asking for a referral. When we practiced this, I was actually practicing with one of the Assistants who was visiting the meeting, and we got it done very quickly, and then for the rest of the practice we talked about how easy this actually was. Because in less than 5 minutes both of us had thought of a person in our lives we had hoped to work with.

It was pretty damp here this last Friday. Thankfully most of the dampness was during our weekly planning time, so we didn't really get wet at all. But it was pretty fun the rest of the day, because we ended up going to the church to meet our Zone Leaders to get mail for people, and then President Kendrick showed up, so that was really funny, because Elder English asked him what he was doing there, and he said, "I work here Elder." And it turns out he had a meeting with someone. But then even better! Elder Daley and his companion showed up as the people President was talking to (about splitting the YSA ward with some Sisters), and after their meeting we talk to Elder Daley about exchanges, and end up going on exchanges that night! So I was with Elder Dunford, Elder Daley's companion, who was on a knee scooter/crutches because of a bone in his foot being out of place. But it was a really good exchange, we had a lot of laughs and Elder Dunford is a really cool guy!

And then Saturday night we had our Ward Christmas Party, "Angels Among Us." It was really good, and there was a great turnout...especially as far as Elder English and I were hoping. Because a couple less active members came to the event, socialized with quite a few people, and overall had a great experience. One of the cool parts was that we had a part where the youth (and the missionaries because some youth missed the party) read stories about service people had turned in anonymously for the event. It was really cool!

Then some less exciting news was that Sunday night I was on splits with Elder Dunford again because his foot was bothering him too bad. And then because of that he actually had to go home for medical reasons for a while. So that was not fun because Elder Dunford was a really good missionary, but thankfully he plans on coming back out as soon as he is ship-shape again! And for a couple days I am back in the trio with Elder Daley!

That's pretty much all for this week. For my spiritual thought I'm going to share an old favorite from the New Testament. Matthew 25:40, "And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." This is to go along with the Christmas party theme, because we never know the impact even the smallest act of service will have on someone else. And on mormonchannel.org there is a Christmas Video called "The Old Shoemaker" that I would encourage you to watch. It is a touching story about service to others.

Thanks for all you do! Love you all!

Love,

Elder Wixom


You can link to the video, The Old Shoemaker, above or watch it here:

The End of the Trio...

Well, as the title says, this week Elder English, Elder Daley and my tri-panionship ended. But before I get to that there is some other stuff to say!

Just like last week. We have been really really really busy this week since we were covering all three wards. And also just like last week half the time I didn't even know what was going on! But we had some really fun lessons with a few of the less-active members of our ward.

One of those lessons started off with the ward council giving us a name that none of them knew who it was. So, us, being the missionaries, went to go stop by. We knocked on the door where the less active member was supposed to live...and found him! And then he let us in! He was a very nice guy and was very open with having us visit him. And he told us that he was wanted to start going back to Church regularly again. We had a nice visit with him, and then we invited him to come to church the next Sunday, and he said he would. Sure enough, he was at church yesterday! He told us he was only going to stay for sacrament meeting but that next week he would stay the whole three hours.

With Elder Daley

Another fun story from later in the week. At one point we were trying to figure out some logistics for some lessons we had (one in Elder English and my ward and one in Elder Daley's family ward), and in the end we decided that Elder English would go on splits for the one in our ward and that I would go with Elder Daley to his. We get to the lesson, and it goes really good! The lady we were teaching said that she wasn't planning on getting converted, but that she would love to have us keep coming by. So that was really good!

But the fun part is what happened after the lesson!

After we got out of the lesson Elder English was still in his, and so Elder Daley and I just decided to go contacting. We start walking down a side street and we see a family talking pictures in front of a tiger mural. So, me, trying to be nice while also trying to lead into a gospel conversation, asked if they wanted me to take a picture of all of them. They respond with something like, "Oh no, we're good. We don't take help from Jehovah Witnesses. We're actually LDS." So we all start laughing at that, and then the man in the group turns to us and says, "Ok, I actually have a magic trick for you two." Elder Daley and I are just like, "Sweet." And he says, "One of you...you I think..." pointing at me, "...is from La Verkin, Utah." I said, "Yeah" thinking in my head that it must be a member from one of my old wards (which made sense because I thought I had recognized him). Then he said, "And your dad is in the bishopric." I thought, 'Oh, must be from Temecula, because Dad didn't get put there till just before I came back out' and then he said, "and your mother just recently got a new calling." At this point I was a bit shocked since I hadn't told anyone that. Ever. Lastly he says, "and you have a brother who is a priest." At which point I said, "Nope."

Anyways! Turns out that it was Brother Gary Chaves! The high councilman that covers good old La Verkin 6th ward! It was really funny to run into someone from La Verkin in Carlsbad! So we got some pictures, talked for a few minutes, and then Elder Daley and I went on our way laughing about it.

Elder Wixom with the Chaves Family

After that nothing too dramatic happened except that Elder Daley finally got his new companion. His name is Elder Dunford, and he is a pretty cool guy! It's kind of sad that the trio has been split apart, because it was a lot of fun. But at the same time I'm glad that it is over, because now I can give all my efforts back to the Carlsbad 3rd ward!

My scripture thought for the day will be Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace."  I really like it just because there really is a time for everything according to the wisdom of the Lord. For me specifically there was a time to be in a trio, and now it is time to not be. And there is a time to be a regular person, and then there is a time to be a missionary, and it's my time to be a missionary.

Reading a good book at the Free Library

Love you all! Thank you for all of your support!

Love,

Elder Wixom

It's Beginning To Look a Lot Like Christmas! Well...Sort of!

I am shocked that it is already December! The last month of 2014! The year has really flown by! And Christmas lights have started popping up everywhere I look now, but that's about the only sign of Christmas here. Because the weather here is still bright, sunny, and pretty nice. Not cold really at all. It's a little bizarre honestly for it to be Christmas time, but being able to walk around comfortably in a short sleeve shirt.

Anyways! On to my week!

This week was actually really exciting. Not so much because of what happened as far as missionary work. But as far as what happened with us missionaries. So last week I told you that I had Elder English as a companion, well this week we got another missionary temporarily. His name is Elder Daley (and was actually one of the missionaries I split my ward in Murrieta with), and the story behind it is that he is our district leader, and a couple weeks ago his companion had to go home for medical reasons. So he got a temporary companion who was waiting for his companion to get into the mission, and this last week the other missionary's companion arrived. At this point he got put with us for what we thought would be the rest of the transfer, but then President Kendrick told us it would only be for a week or so. One of the best parts though! Elder Daley covers two wards, and so us three have been covering three wards for the past week! It has been one wild ride!

Elder Wixom, Elder Daley, Elder English

Well, now for some actual exciting things we did this week.

Thanksgiving this week was a lot of fun! The morning actually got made into our P-day, and last Monday our P-day got shortened (pretty much just time to email and shop). So what we did was first we had breakfast at a members home in Elder Daley's family ward (the other is a Young Single Adult ward). It was really good! We had the two members, us three Elders, and the two Sisters that Elder Daley splits his ward with. We had a yummy breakfast, set up their Christmas tree, and then played some games for a while until us Elders had to leave (then the Sisters stayed and helped decorate their tree for a bit). Later we had three dinners over the course of the night. One with members in my ward, and then one with members in Elder Daley's family ward, and then lastly with one of Elder Daley's investigators. It was very very VERY filling, and I am personally a little bit glad I don't have to do it again. One Thanksgiving is plenty enough for me.

The other fun part of the week was figuring out church. What we ended up doing was having Elder English go with our ward mission leader on splits for our ward, then Elder Daley and I went to meetings for his family ward, but ended up having to not go to that ward for meetings in the YSA ward, which then we went to. It was a lot crazier to figure out than that description made it sound. But it was a very exciting Sunday.

Other than that not too much happened specifically. We were just really busy covering three wards. We did some service for a member in our ward this week, some service with other missionaries for someone in their ward, and then we also got to meet some really cool members in Elder Daley's family ward that the husband and kids are recent converts. Fun thing from there is we ended up talking about the meanings of names, and what we figured my name means: Jonathon - "Gift from God" (which I already knew that was why you named me that), Dean - either "Valley" "Leader of church or school" or "Law", and then Wixom - "from a town in Hampshire, England originally spelled Wyckham" So I guess I'm a gift of God that is meant to be a leader from Wyckham...or something like that!

Some awesome sunbeams and stuff we saw this week.
Totally made me think of the glory of the celestial kingdom when I saw it!

Now for my spiritual thought. The Church is starting a "Christmas Initiative" with a video entitled "He is the Gift" it's on christmas.mormon.org and it is about Christ being the "first Christmas gift" and how we need to remember what He has done for us. The scripture that goes along with it is John 3:16, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." So what I would encourage is watch the video, and then share this "gift" with as many people as possible so that we can all remember the true reason for the season.

Happy December! Talk to you again next week!

Love,

Elder Wixom

He Is the Gift

Happy (Early) Turkey Day!!!

Hello everyone! Happy Early Thanksgiving! And Black Friday!

So...the results are in...I am now officially in.......Carlsbad 3rd ward!!! With Elder English! And so far I haven't almost died like last time in Carlsbad, so it seems to be going pretty good so far. But one really funny thing is that one of the wards that we share the church building with is Carlsbad 4th, and yesterday someone who I don't remember made came up to us at one point and made the comment about how I was in their ward for a short time before my accident...so apparently it was pretty memorable for the ward.

A last picture with Elder Ball

Well, now for the other fun stuff that happened this week, lets get to it:

My last preparation day in San Marcos was pretty fun. We went bowling! And I've decided I really stink at bowling, but that is OK because I still really love to bowl! It was really nice to be able to have one last really fun activity with my San Marcos district before I got transferred (because I am actually the only one in the district who ended up leaving). I'm really going to miss that district, there is something about riding in a minivan that brings people together...or something sentimental like that.

Then of course we had transfers which was really fun! I'm glad I got the chance to serve with Elder Ball for the time that I did, and now I'm looking forward to the chance that I have to serve with Elder English. I served around him in Temecula and he is a really awesome Elder! He is originally from Florida but his family has since moved to...Escondido. So that is always a funny topic.

We have been working really hard the past few days, constantly stopping by anyone and everyone we can. Potential investigators, less actives, active members, etc. It has been crazy! It doesn't help that I still hardly have any idea about where we are going so I'm pretty much just following along and hoping that I don't get lost.

One fun story from this week is that we were visiting a young man who is a recent convert this last week, and we get there and he tells us that he isn't sure how he is feeling. So he goes and uses the restroom quickly to try to see if that will help his stomach ache, and it does...for a bit. But after a few minutes into the lesson, he says he isn't feeling good again, so we take a quick pause for him to get some stomach medicine, goes upstairs, and well...threw up. It was really "exciting" and his mom (who is also a member) felt really bad about that happening while we were there. I felt really bad for the young man but it is something I won't soon forget happening.

Well, for my spiritual thought today I'm going to use a scripture Elder English and I have shared a lot this week. Mosiah 4:29-30, where King Benjamin, in his discourse, is talking about sin and how we need to avoid it. "And finally, I cannot tell you all the things whereby ye may commit sin; for there are divers ways and means, even so many that I cannot number them. But this much I can tell you, that if ye do not watch yourselves, and your thoughts, and your words, and your deeds, and observe the commandments of God, and continue in the faith of what ye have heard concerning the coming of our Lord, even unto the end of your lives, ye must perish. And now, O man, remember, and perish not." It is great counsel about how we need to always watch ourselves so we don't slip into sin, but stay on the straight and narrow.

That's all for this week! Have a great turkey day!

Love,

Elder Wixom

Someone's Having a Baby....Missionary!

First and foremost, the results from transfers.....I'm getting transferred! And the reason for my title is that Elder Ball is getting a brand new missionary! Straight from the MTC! So now Elder Ball is going to be a "father" and train his "son" starting on Tuesday. It's pretty exciting.

Now on to the rest of the week!

So one thing that I didn't mention last week that I meant to was that we were going to have a special speaker come to the mission this last week. Elder Teh of the Seventy visited and we had a Multi-Zone Conference this last Tuesday with him. And it was really good! There really wasn't a specific theme to the whole meeting (which is pretty understandable since it was a 7 hour meeting) but there was a lot of really good stuff shared there. On a side note, one really cool part of the meeting was that Elder Teh didn't have a single page of notes even though he was the one who spoke for the majority of the time (can anyone say...really good at following the Spirit?). But some of the best parts that he talked about were he talked about faith at the beginning of the meeting (and so did the couple other people who spoke then, so that was cool), in the middle he talked about how saying we "Almost Always" do something can be very good, but also can be very bad, especially when we relate it to inviting others to do things that will help them reach salvation, and lastly he also talked about how when we are part of any organization there is a current we have a tendency to slip into over time where we aren't making a complete effort, but we are doing "good enough" to get by. And he counseled us to make sure we don't slip into the current, or if we slip in make sure that we get out. (Below is a drawing I just made that he used to illustrate this current. The top is where we start off, where we are making every effort we can to help further the work where we are, and then in the middle is "the current" where we still make effort, but we let some things fall to the side, and we just kind of coast through and go through the motions, and then the bottom is...well...you don't want to be at the bottom.

Other than that we had another really cool thing happen this week. Elder Ball and I were going around visiting less active members that we didn't know in this one apartment complex in our area. And we knock on one of their doors and the member we are looking for lets us in as soon as we knocked on his door, his name is Damian, and when we got in we met his wife Crystal and their two kids. The thing is, we weren't expecting a wife and kids because on the ward list he was the only name. But his wife is a member, and we think his kids are too. But they were very friendly to us, and had us give their son, the younger one (probably about 8, and his sister is 10) a blessing because he broke his leg, it healed, and then he ended up breaking it again, damaging his growth plate so he might need surgery. And then before we left Damian said that they would come to church on Sunday, and if they didn't to come back by until they did come to church! They did end up coming last Sunday, and Damian plans on getting work off on Sundays so they can keep coming! It was so awesome!

Lastly, we had a baptism in the ward this last weekend! Except due to a miscommunication the person baptized was actually taught by some other missionaries in another ward! They street contacted a 15 year old named Malik, and found out he lived off of a certain street, but this could have either meant our area or theirs, so they thought it meant theirs. And they taught Malik at the church, so they never found out where he lived. Well, one night a member had them and Malik over for dinner, and then when they dropped off Malik the two Elders realized he actually lived in our ward! So, since at this point the baptism was the next day, they called us and had us try to get some of our members to the baptism (which we were able to do). And then at the baptism more trouble happened. Because he isn't 18, the Elders had to get permission from his parent's to baptize him, and so they got his dad's signature. But it turns out that that isn't his biological dad (even though he was living with him since he was 4 months old) and doesn't actually have legal guardian rights, and it is his aunt that does. So about 10 minutes before the baptism starts is when they find this out, and the aunt tells Malik that she isn't going to give permission! Malik and her start talking, and it gets to the point where she tells him that if he can say what baptism means then she'll give permission. He does, and she finally gives him permission! It was a pretty exciting thing to be a part of! But pretty stressful as well! In the end though, Malik was able to get baptized and the service itself was awesome!

Well, in closing, my spiritual thought comes from the Gospel Principles class we had yesterday. We were talking about faith and blessings, and how sometimes we think of blessings being in a big rain cloud above us, but no matter how hard we try, God never lets the rain pour down, because of some imaginary expectation that we don't measure up to. But in reality, God is continually pouring blessings down, and we actually have an umbrella blocking the blessings from reaching us. This "umbrella" can be fears, doubts, disbelief, sins, pride, etc. And even though God wants to bless us we through our own choices stop the blessings from being ours. Below are a couple little doodles I drew in my study journal to help me remember this, so I hope you enjoy!

Well, that's about all there is from me this week. Next week you'll be hearing from me in a new area!

Love,

Elder Wixom

Knock Knock!

"Who's there? Missionaries? Oh, I'm not really interested but I really respect what you do!"

We heard this (or at least some variation of it) quite a lot this week. The reason why is Elder Ball and I are in major finding mode right now, and we did a lot of tracting this week. Probably more than I have ever done on my mission before! We had a few people that showed some potential and told us that we would be able to come back, but didn't really give us a specific date, just a general response. I can tell you that daylight savings ending is going to make missionary work very fun though, because quite a few times we would knock on doors, and even if it wasn't even 7 yet people would ask us if we knew what time it was because of it being pitch black outside. But nighttime isn't going to stop the work of the Lord, and Elder Ball and I know that we will be able to find someone to teach that really wants to hear about the Restoration of the Gospel.

Other than tracting we had a few fun things that we did. Last Monday we had a combined District Activity with another district and we had a major Nerf gun war, and played a few games with our arsenal of Nerf guns and bullets. It was a lot of fun!

This week we also started teaching an active family the missionary lessons. This was something that was an idea from another missionary to try to help missionary work, by bringing the Spirit that comes from the message of the Restoration into members homes so they will have a greater desire to do missionary work. We have been starting to try to do this, and as an added bonus it gives Elder Ball and I more practice teaching! Which is always something that we need as missionaries! And with the members that we started teaching this last week it has another bonus as well because they have a son who is working to prepare to go on a mission, so we may start having him teach a bit as some missionary preparation.

We had the chance to meet some really awesome members of our ward this week. They were in our records as being less active, so we went by where they lived, and it turned out to be a 96 year old man and a 90 year old woman! And the only reason they are "less active" is because the husband can't physically get to church right now due to some walking problems. But they are hoping to be back before too long. We had a really awesome conversation with them, and the wife, who was a convert that was originally Jewish, gave us some good advice about teaching, specifically Jews, but really anyone that has a strong belief in the book of Isaiah.

That's about all for this week. My spiritual thought for this week is to invite you to read or watch President Uchtdorf's talk from this last conference, "Lord, is it I?" This talk was the focus of Sacrament meeting this week, and it is a really good talk. One of the quotes from this talk is, "My beloved friends, a first step on this wondrous and fulfilling path of true discipleship starts with our asking the simple question: 'Lord, is it I?'” And the focus of the talk is how we need to, when presented with correction, not say that the correction is for someone else, but to be humble ask ourselves if the correction is meant for us. And as we do that, we will start "on [the] wondrous and fulfilling path of true discipleship..."

Thank you for all you do!

Love,

Elder Wixom

To read President Uchtdorf's talk referenced above, click here.

Where Did October Go?

Wait, it's November? When did that happen! It's crazy to think that one year ago I was a broken and battered temporarily returned missionary!

This last week was a pretty fun week! So how about we get to it!

To start off, our ward had their ward Halloween party with a trunk or treat, and that was really fun. It was exciting to see quite a few members of the ward in creative costumes, and even Elder Ball and I dressed up! Guess what as? You got it! Missionaries!!! Who would have thought? But the activity itself was very fun, and some people were pretty creative for the trunk or treat, especially one of the members who turned their car into the "Teeny Tiny Tunnel of Terror!" A couple of our investigators were at the activity as well and they really seemed to enjoy it.

Got to go on exchanges this week with an Elder named Elder Phillips. He has been on his mission for about...a month, and this was his first time being in charge of the area. He did really awesome, and we had a really cool time together. One awesome part is that the members we ate with that night fed us tri-tip steak and s'mores for dessert, and Elder Phillips normal companion was pretty upset that it was on the one night he was gone. Also we got to teach one of their investigators, and that was pretty cool, we read Moroni 10 with him and just talked about the chapter, and it was really good.

Also this week it was Elder Ball's birthday, October 30th, and that was pretty fun. Not much different from any other day except for the fact that it was Elder Ball's birthday. Started off the day with a pretty fun District Meeting where we had a missionary relay race where we practiced the lesson bullet points, finding desires, and contacting all at once! And then later in the day the members that we had dinner with picked us up in their dune-buggy, so that was pretty fun to ride in!

As far as Halloween goes...honestly not much happened. We had a pretty awesome dinner with one of the sisters in our ward and a couple other members who were there as guests so she could feed us, and then we went in for the night because of it being Halloween. So Elder Ball and I just played a few games in our couple hours of "spare time" I guess you would call it. But overall nothing too exciting for the holiday. Thankfully there were no trick or treaters as we had no candy to give out.

And then Saturday was pretty fun. In the morning we got to go with some other Elders and clean up the stake center with one of the wards here, and that was pretty fun. And then for lunch that day one of Elder Ball's recent converts took us out to lunch. The reason why this happened is because Elder Ball used to serve in the Young Single Adult ward that covers San Marcos and Escondido, so now since he is back we have come across quite a few people that know Elder Ball, including one of his recent converts from the ward. It was fun to go to lunch with him, especially for Elder Ball.

My spiritual thought comes from something our ward mission leader shared in Gospel Principles this week. We were talking about the blessings of righteous living, and one of the scriptures brought up was Matthew 5:6, "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled." And he brought up that in Greek the word "filled" could be better translated as "satisfied" and how when we are living righteously we really are "satisfied" and happy with our lives, and then someone brought up how Satan makes sin look appealing and "satisfying" but in the end we never are satisfied with our lives when we sin, and we are always looking for the next thing to entertain or "satisfy" us.

That's all for this week! Thank you for all of your support!

Love,

Elder Wixom

I Love To See The Temple

Well this last week was kind of slow as well. I wonder if that is because of the holiday season, or the fact that it is almost pitch black outside by 6:30....but either way, not too much happened. But we did have a couple cool things happen!

One of the cool things is that we got to go to the temple this week! So that was as wonderful as ever! There is something about the temples that as soon as you walk inside you just feel, well, wonderful! I really do love going to the temple though. I feel so much better, and I know that that is because of the Spirit that is there, and the lack of distractions from the world is very refreshing! I would suggest that we all take every opportunity we can to go and serve in the house of God!

Another fun thing from this last week is we had a zone activity where we got to play some sports and decorate some little pumpkins, which then got critiqued and the winners got candy. Some people got very very creative with theirs. One Elder made his pumpkin into a Liahona (his won first place) another made his into a turkey by putting some leaves on it with a push-pin, and a Sister made hers into a tomato (she colored it red and put green glitter glue at the top for leaves). It was a very fun activity, and I made my pumpkin into a very confident pumpkin on one side, and a holiday greeting on the other (pictures are included). But other than the pumpkins we played some basketball and football which was really fun, even if I am not very good at either!

And one other fun thing that happened this week...that I wasn't a part of! Well, sort of. Remember how a couple weeks ago I talked about that really cool experience where we met the guy that invited us over for bread and milk and we taught his two sons, and then we had to pass them off to the other Elders? Well, this last Tuesday we went on exchanges to officially do that pass off lesson, and Elder Ball and the other missionary Elder Paget, had a really good lesson with the older son. Apparently his dad didn't really want to hear the lessons, as he had taken them as a kid, but he knew that his sons would benefit from them, and that is why he invited us over originally. So on Tuesday Elder Ball and Elder Paget taught the older son, and were able to commit him to a baptismal date! And when they talked a bit about church on Sundays, the son said that he would try to get every Sunday off! It was awesome!

This last Sunday was the primary program here, and it was really good. I really love hearing little kids bear their testimonies, because they are always so simple and true. They don't have all the stories and distractions that can sometimes distract from the testimony being born, but what they do have they share, which is a knowledge of the truthfulness of the Gospel! Which is why I think that Christ has commanded us multiple times to become as a little child, because that is who is most willing to listen to Heavenly Father, and not be distracted by all the things of the world, and it is children whose testimonies are, in my opinion, the most pure in heart.

Thank you for all you do! Your prayers really give me strength and motivation to keep on doing this work!

Love,

Elder Wixom

As The Talking Camel Says....

HUMP DAY! WOO-WOO!

Officially one year of being a missionary! It's been a blast! But I guess now I am on the downhill slope...

Now on to this week!

Spent a lot of time walking around this week. And in all honesty. Not too much actually happened this week. All of our investigators were busy this week and had to cancel. So that was a bit of a bummer.

District Meeting this last week was really fun. Elder Ball first gave a great discussion on humility, which went really well. And then we had a really fun training on door approaches, specifically for less active and part member families. The point was that if you bring a gift (like for us it would be jam or cookies) then they will be more open to talking to you rather than if you just start trying to teach them. But it was really fun because During the practice where Elder Ball and I were the missionaries, we taught one of the Sister missionaries as if she was a less-active member, and it went good, but then for the repractice, the person running the stopwatch told the Sister, and the Elder who was acting like the less-active at the other door where others were practicing to switch places, so we suddenly found ourselves teaching a whole different situation. It was really fun!

Another day this week we got to go to a baptism that another set of Elders was having. And it turned out really good. The Elders were worried that not many people would show up for the baptism, but by the time the service started the entire room was filled! It was so good! And when their investigator actually got baptized, he was smiling and laughing so happily when he came up out of the water! It was such an amazing thing to see how much the gospel has changed his life! And on a side note, another cool thing about the baptism was that it was on his birthday! And the birthday of the missionary who baptized him! So overall it was just a very special day!

For my spiritual thought, I want to share some thoughts I heard about the verse Mosiah 18:30, "And now it came to pass that all this was done in Mormon, yea, by the waters of Mormon...how beautiful are they to the eyes of them who there came to the knowledge of their Redeemer; yea, and how blessed are they, for they shall sing to his praise forever." I heard once about how for us, the place of "Mormon" can be really anywhere where we are converted, or reconverted, to the true Gospel of Jesus Christ, and wherever that is, it will be a beautiful place for us. For the brother that got baptized last Friday, I know that he will always remember that service, and how he felt there.

That's about all for this week. Not much actually happened on the day I consider my year mark other than we got apple pie and vanilla ice cream for dessert (my absolute favorite dessert), so I guess Heavenly Father felt like He should give me a year mark present or something!

Thank you for all you do! I love you all!

Love,

Elder Wixom

Meet the Mormons and Miracles!!!

This last week was really really good! Lot's of really cool stuff happened! So.....enough blabbering about!

To start off, last Tuesday was really cool. As a mission we got to go see Meet the Mormons! It was a really awesome film about some really amazing people. I absolutely loved the Spirit that was there during the film. And it was also really fun to go to the theater as a mission for our special screening! Going to the movies was not something I ever expected would happen to me on my mission, but I feel really blessed that I am serving at this point to have seen this wonderful movie about some of our Heavenly Father's children.

At Meet the Mormons

 

After the movie we then had transfer meeting, which Elder Ball and I got to go to even though neither of us got transferred, and that was really cool. President Kendrick took the opportunity as all of us were together to give us some awesome counsel and to share his thoughts as to why missionary work is so important. It was really cool!

Saying goodbye to his trainer

Another really cool thing that happened this week! On Wednesday we went out with one of our ward missionaries for some lessons...and everything fell through. No one was home. So after we went by some less active members....same thing. We decided at this point to get dropped off and just talk to people on the street the rest of the night. The first person we start to talk to is carrying some groceries, and he says that he just bought bread and milk, and invited us to come over and have some. So we go over, talking to him while we walk, and eventually we get to his apartment, where he gives us some bread (which is actually a Mexican bread called "pan dulce" that is kind of like doughnuts) and milk. We then ended up talking to him and his two sons (one 17 the other 14) for the next hour or so about the Gospel and about what they believe.

Now, the really cool part! During the conversation, the dad told us that he had been asleep taking a nap, but that he had woken up and felt like he needed to go get bread and milk, even though they already had both at their apartment. And then when he saw us he felt like he needed to invite us over! It was so cool to see how the Holy Ghost inspires people! At the end of the night they invited us back the next day to have another lesson as well!

So then, the next day. We went by again, and had probably the most spiritual lesson I have ever had on my mission! We taught the Restoration to the two sons, Joey (17) and Jordan (14), but their dad was asleep because he had a really bad day at work. And the lesson went really good. They both loved the message of the Restoration, especially Joey, who part of the way during the lesson said that he thought he needed to get baptized. It was such an amazing lesson! And by the end both of them had said they would get baptized. And another really cool part was that Joey, who hadn't been in the room when we got there, but had been doing homework with a friend, told us that he really loved the message and the evident authority we had as we presented it, and that when we had walked in he had noticed a change in how the apartment felt. It was so cool! We sadly won't be teaching them much more, as they live just outside of our area, and so we need to pass them off to another set of Elders, but it was still really cool to see such an evident miracle happen!

For my spiritual thought today I want to share one of my favorite scriptures on miracles. Moroni 7:35-37, "And now, my beloved brethren, if this be the case that these things are true which I have spoken unto you, and God will show unto you, with power‍ and great glory at the last day, that they are true, and if they are true has the day of miracles ceased? Or have angels ceased to appear unto the children of men? Or has he withheld‍ the power of the Holy Ghost from them? Or will he, so long as time shall last, or the earth shall stand, or there shall be one man upon the face thereof to be saved? Behold I say unto you, Nay; for it is by faith that miracles‍ are wrought; and it is by faith that angels appear and minister unto men; wherefore, if these things have ceased wo be unto the children of men, for it is because of unbelief, and all is vain." I know that miracles still happen. And that Heavenly Father had His hand in the work of salvation, so that His children can learn of the truth and return to live with Him again.

Thank you for all you do! I really appreciate all of your support!

Love,

Elder Wixom

Conference Was Awesome!

I loved getting to watch General Conference this last weekend! Part of it was because I got to sit and relax during the sessions rather than being outside sweating...but mostly because of the great opportunity we have to hear counsel from living prophets and apostles of Jesus Christ!

But more on that in a little bit. First, some other exciting stuff from this week!

We had a really cool chance to get to know one of our investigators a bit better, through giving his and his wife's baby a blessing. We were going to dinner at another member's house, but before we did, because this couple lives about a 2 minute walk from dinner, we decided to go and say hi before going to dinner. When we knocked on the door, the wife answered. She is a member by the way, so we talked to her for a minute or two, and she asked if we could come back after dinner when her husband got home to give their baby a blessing because their baby was sick. We agreed, went to dinner, and then while told the members that we were going there after. So the members, being awesome, asked if they could tag along to meet them, of course we agreed.

We got to the house, and our investigator was home at this point, so they invited us in, and the members we brought with us talked to the couple for a little while. After a bit the members had to leave, so then we gave their baby a blessing, talked for a couple minutes, and then left. It was really cool!

Also this week we had a Zone Training meeting, and that was really good. We focused a lot on setting S.M.A.R.T. goals (Smart Measurable Attainable Realistic Timely). It was a good meeting.

Other than that not much happened this week. So now on to Conference!

I absolutely loved Conference. So many of the talks were very inspiring! And I can't wait to reread the talks so that I can learn more from the counsel given. Some of the things I picked up on from Conference were that we all need to make an effort to reach out to those who are less fortunate than ourselves, and help them to better their lives. Also, I really loved Elder Scott's talk about helping maintain protection against Satan by doing small, simple things together as a family to strengthen ourselves. And I really loved how many talks were about how we won't always being choosing good or bad, but sometimes good or best, and if we only make good choices, we are limiting our potential, rather than if we had made the best choices.

One of my favorite quotes though came from the Priesthood Session. It was President Monson's talk, and one thing he said was, "A man without a purpose is like a ship without a rudder. Never likely to reach home port." And that is really true. We all need a purpose, a drive, some sort of direction that we want to go in life, or we'll end up just floating wherever the sea takes us. And at that point, "staying in the boat" as Elder Ballard said is about as effective as being in the water. Either way you aren't going anywhere quickly.

And as for transfers this week....drum roll.....Elder Ball and I are both staying in San Marcos! But we get to go to transfer meeting this Tuesday anyways! Because we get to see the new Meet the Mormons movie! I am really looking forward to this, because from the commercials that I have seen, it seems like it will be an amazing movie, and I would encourage you all to go watch it!

Thanks for all you do! Love you all!

Love,

Elder Wixom

To watch or listen to the 184th General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (October 2014 General Conference) and hear the inspiring messages referred to in this letter, click here.

One Week Till General Conference!!!

I am really looking forward to Conference! But anyways, that is next week. Now on to this week!

This week was a pretty good week. And we had some really fun stuff, and a few really cool things happen. One of those cool things was talking to a less active lady in our ward. Elder Ball and I have tried to stop by less active members a lot in the recent weeks in hopes that we'll be able to find someone to teach through them. And we have gotten very used to doors opening, a quick, "We're not interested," and the doors closing again. But this time! The door opened, and the lady was really nice to us, and when we asked if there was any service we could do for her, she actually said yes! But she didn't want us doing anything in our shirts and ties, so we scheduled to come back the next day in regular clothes.

The next day, we came back and helped her out, and over the course of the conversation she told us that her husband wasn't a member, but she thought he would be willing to listen to the lessons if we could fit it into his really busy schedule. She also was very appreciative of our help, and even though she said that she had gotten baptized, but then started going to another Christian church because it was more entertaining, she said that she would be more than happy to have us come by and talk to her about religion. And she also mentioned that when she did get baptized, she had felt extremely happy for a while afterwards (can anyone say Holy Ghost?).

Also this week we had a cool lesson with a part member family in the ward. they are the home teaching family of one of our ward missionaries, and so he invited us to come along with him to his home teaching lesson, and it was really good. The wife is the member, and her husband is not, but her husband comes to church with her frequently, and even came once by himself! So sometime this week we plan on going by and inviting him to officially take the missionary lessons, and hopefully he will decide to get baptized!

Another fun thing this week was we got to go to the baptism of an 8 year old girl in our ward. It was really good, especially because a year and a half ago their family was pretty much completely inactive, but have since become active again. The reason why we went is because recently they have started wanting the missionaries to teach a short Restoration lesson (usually, unless the family requests something else) while the people get changed after the actual ordinance. But I really enjoyed being able to go to the baptism, and I always love the feeling of the Spirit at them.

My spiritual thought this week is based off of a quote from our ward mission leaders lesson this last Sunday, and a spiritual thought I gave in our District Meeting last week. The quote from the ward mission leader is, "The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing" which he applied to keeping our main thing following Jesus Christ, and to tie into that my spiritual thought was about the missionary purpose, "Invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end." Which is how we as missionaries, or members of the Church in general, can help others find the main thing so that they can keep the main thing the main thing. It's our duty, and should be our desire, to help others come to know of the truthfulness of the Gospel that we have in our lives.

That's pretty much all for this week. I'm really looking forward to next week and the chance we'll have to hear from living prophets and apostles of the Lord!

Love,

Elder Wixom

To watch or listen to the live broadcast of the LDS General Conference, click here.

A Quiet Week

Not too much actually happened this last week. But on the bright side! The week really seemed to fly by so now we are passed it! And hopefully on to some more exciting stuff! But I'll try to think of some fun stuff to tell you about!

Last week after emailing we had a really fun District Activity. We played a game called "Assassin" where we had two missionaries with Nerf swords, and the rest of us with Nerf guns. The ones with the swords went and hid in the church building, and the rest of us waited outside...until we realized it was way to hot to wait outside and so started waiting in one of the rooms. Then after a little bit so the assassins could hide, a few people went out as the first group and a few minutes later the second group went out. And then the goal of the assassins was to poke and "kill" everyone with their swords, hiding around while they did, while the rest of us tried to shoot them with our Nerf guns before getting stabbed. It was a lot of fun and a really intense game! Oh, and I forgot to mention, all the lights are off when you play. It was a blast!

On Wednesday we were out with one of our members going and knocking on the door of a referral and when she answered she said she didn't have time to talk because she was just leaving. We go back to the car, wondering if "I'm just leaving" really meant "I'm not interested but too nice to tell you" (which is actually an excuse some people use, believe it or not), but sure enough! A couple moments later she pulls our and leaves! So I guess we'll go by later and try to catch her when she isn't busy.

Had dinner with our investigator couple and their RM son this week, and while there talked about his mission. It was really good, and his mom actually said at one point that she knew what his favorite part of the mission was. Namely...baptizing people. So in my head I was thinking, "Yes, that is his favorite part, and most missionaries favorite part. Want to help out Elder Ball and I with that!" But it was really good, and this next week we have a lesson planned with them, where hopefully we'll be able to talk to them along with the help of their son.

On the note of not much happening this week, there is a Mormon Message that I really like about patience. It is called "Continue in Patience" and is from a talk that President Uchtdorf gave a few years ago. And the message is so true. Sometimes we need to be patient in our circumstances, trusting that things will happen in God's time and in God's way.

Thank you for all of your support!

Love,

Elder Wixom

Surprisingly Calm

 My mom passed away this morning.  This is Elder Jon Wixom's response to the news.  He is such an amazing young man.  Rick and I are so blessed to have our children. 

Before I write my weekly report email. I wanted to just write about your last email.

To be honest. I'm really calm about the whole thing. I'm not entirely sure why, but I think I'll attribute it to my knowledge of the Plan of Salvation.

Rick's mom Lorraine, Jon, my mom Janet, my dad Henry

I know that Grandma is gone from this life, and honestly, this morning I had a feeling that something like this was going to have happened. But I find peace in the fact that even though her mortal life is over, Grandma is just beginning the next phase of her eternal life.

I know the Gospel is true, and that I'll see Grandma again.

I love you all very much.

Elder Wixom

Read more about the Plan of Salvation here.

Week of Gratitudes!

Hello everyone! This week has been a really good week, and a lot of things are happening that make it seem like the next few weeks are going to be really exciting!

First off, last Monday we had a really fun Zone Activity. We went to a local sports/rec center and went ice skating! And I've decided I'm really terrible at ice skating! But it was still a lot of fun, and by the end of the day I was actually able to shuffle along without the help of a wall or person! So I feel accomplished!

The next day we had the chance to help out the kids of someone in our ward. And why I say kids, they are actually all adults. We had the chance to help them out because their mother, who was a member I had visited a few times and had been ill with a terminal cancer since the beginning of the year, passed away earlier this week. So Tuesday morning we visited and asked if there was anything we could do to help out, and they said no (at first) but expressed how grateful they were for the members that all week had been helping them out.

 Later in the day however, they called us again and asked if we could act as greeters for the viewing. And that was a really good experience being able to help out there, and though none of the guests talked to us much, we heard that with the other guests many people commented on how nice it was that we were there. The whole experience really made me happy to know about the Plan of Salvation, because without that wonderous plan death would be much more painful, because there would be nothing past it. But because of that plan I know that we will have a life after this one with those that we love and hold dear.

 Also this week we were able to officially meet a really cool couple that recently moved into our ward. The wife is a member, but her husband is not, and had been investigating for a while back where they used to live a few months ago. At church he even introduced himself to everyone as an investigator. So that was a little funny to see everyone's faces at that. But we are hoping this week to meet with them and try to help him get baptized so that their family can be eternal.

This week I have really been thinking a lot about eternal families. And in one of my favorite Church documents, "The Family: A Proclamation to the World" a line says, " The divine plan of happiness enables family relationships to be perpetuated beyond the grave. Sacred ordinances and covenants available in holy temples make it possible for individuals to return to the presence of God and for families to be united eternally." I know so much that families are eternal, and that the Plan of Salvation is real and is designed by a perfect and loving Heavenly Father who wants the greatest degree of happiness for all of His children. I rejoice to know that even when I die I will be able to be with those I love, and with my Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ!

 I love you all! And I am grateful for all of your support. I hope you enjoy my list of "gratitudes" that I've had this past week.

Love,

Elder Wixom

Blindfolded Teachers of the Gospel...Sort of

This last week has been really good! And some really fun stuff happened! So now let me tell you about it!

First off, we had a chance to go and do some service as a district. And that was really good. We were helping to move and organize some supplies at a foster care facility, and it went well. I always love it when I have the chance to go and do some service for someone else!

missionaries being funny at the service project

The rest of that day was really spent on exchanges, which was really good...but it was one of the weirdest exchanges I have ever been on, because a lot of it was spent in the car dropping other missionaries off at one place or another. Eventually we had some time to do some good ol' fashioned missionary work though, and it was really good. I like working with other missionaries on occasion, just to see different ways that missionaries do things. It's kind of fun for me. But then after exchanges I was really glad to get my regular companion back.

 lunch with some other Elders one day

We exchanged back at our District Meeting, and that was really good. We had a training at one point where we tried to find our "investigator's" (a missionary acting as an investigator actually) concern....but both missionary companions were blindfolded. It made it a bit more difficult to teach together, because we weren't able to use nonverbal cues to signal the other missionary to teach, but it was really cool because it really helped us practice truly listening to not only our companion, but also to the investigator. And it really helped with listening, because we couldn't be distracted by things we see in the room. Overall it was a really cool training.

Then this last Sunday was Stake Conference for us here in San Marcos and Escondido. And that was a really good meeting! The messages that were shared there were awesome. Some of the best were one about charity, one about how the Atonement not only heals us spiritually but also heals all other aspects of our lives, and a talk by President Kendrick about being ready to give an answer at any time we are called upon to talk about the Gospel. In the end, it was an awesome meeting.

 One character in the Book of Mormon that I really like is Zeezrom, possibly because that is one of the big characters I have been reading about at the time. But anyways. I really like how Alma and Amulek are teaching those in Ammonihah, and Zeezrom, as well as the other lawyers, start contending with them. Over the course of chapters 11 and 12 of Alma, Zeezrom goes from trying to trick and deceive them, to beginning, "to inquire of them diligently, that he might know more concerning the kingdom of God." And then Zeezrom believes their words, and eventually gets baptized in a later chapter. And I really like this story because it really shows how the Spirit can soften even the hardest of hearts, and help convert even the most cunning and deceiving of people.

That's all for this week! Talk to you next week!

Love,

Elder Wixom

We're Out Here Having A "Ball!"

So, the title is just a little bit of a joke because my new companion's name is Elder Ball. And I just figured I couldn't resist the opportunity to make a cheesy joke. Anyways! Now on to bigger and better things!

Elder Wixom and Elder Ball

Elder Ball is really awesome, he is from Idaho Falls, and so far we have been getting along really good. And this last week we have spent a lot of time going around, and knocking on every possible less-active member's door we could. This was answered with...mixed results. Some of the doors the people were really nice to us, and some even invited us to stop by another time when they weren't so busy. But then other doors, though the people were still nice, they said that they weren't interested and to not stop by again. Which in all honesty makes me really sad, because I know how much the Gospel can bless their lives from seeing how it has blessed mine. But we have to let people have and use their agency.

One of the cool experiences we had with knocking on the doors though is that we stopped by the home of one less-active member, and ended up meeting his parents, who were really nice to us, and when we said that we were also looking for opportunities to help out and do service, they asked us for our phone number and seemed to be really genuine when they said they would call us if they needed help. So I am really hoping they call!
Had a cool "Zone Review" meeting. And during the meeting President Kendrick talked about how it not only the physical action of baptism, or any other ordinance, that makes it important, but it is the physical action with the covenant that really make an ordinance. It was just a cool way to describe what an ordinance was that I had never really thought of before. That an ordinance is covenant plus physical - and very symbolic - action.

I am really looking forward to this next week though! Because that investigator couple that has a son on a mission. Well, he gets back from his mission this week! And so Elder Ball and I are really hoping to have a lesson with them sometime this week with him there!

Another cool thing that happened this week was we got a referral from another set of missionaries for a couple that was being taught somewhere else, but has now moved here. The wife is a member, and the husband isn't, but did have a baptismal date in their last area. So we went by, and talked to the wife for a few minutes, but we couldn't stay long because they were putting their baby to bed. And we told her when church was...and they came last Sunday! So hopefully this week we can set up another appointment with them!

So for my scripture thought this week, with how hot it has been recently, I have been thinking a lot about one of my favorite scriptures, that I think is a bit funny from the perspective of a thirsty missionary, but actually in my opinion teaches a really good lesson. "He that receiveth‍ you receiveth‍ me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me. He that receiveth‍ a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward. And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water‍ only in the name‍ of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose‍ his reward" (Matthew 10:40-42). I really like the "cup of cold water" part, but even that simple act is a great act of service. And as we know from other scriptures, that when we do service for others, then we get blessed by our Heavenly Father. So even simple service like giving someone a drink when it's hot, or pulling some weeds for another person, will not only greatly bless the life of the recipient, but will also make us feel really good about helping someone else out.

Well, that's about all for this week. Hope you all have a good week!

Love,

Elder Wixom