Dear Family,
I'm glad to hear that Uncle Paul is doing well after the surgery. Thanks for forwarding Zach's email as well.
My last week was great. I really don't deserve all the blessings I've received. Words can't describe how grateful I am for having come on a mission. It was worth every minute (and every dollar, Dad ).
Surreal is a great word to describe how I feel. During many different times last week I realized that it was going to end. I'm just glad I didn't break down and cry randomly. Even though these past two weeks have been the hottest of my mission, I want to be out in the heat. I know every ounce of sweat (more like gallons!!!) is for the best. Wednesday I had my 'exit interview' with President Smith. It was great. I can't believe its over.
Tonight we have dinner with Caleb and Wendy Michaelis. They are very excited about the gospel. Every night they read a chapter in the Book of Mormon together. Next August I'll probably come out to Texas for their sealing. I feel so privileged to know them.
Elder Dytrt is getting transferred as well for his last 6 weeks. The ward was sad to see us leave, but not as sad as we are to leave. Its a small ward in a very diverse area, but there is such a strong spirit of unity and acceptance. There are some great families that I hope to be like.
So I'll see everyone Wednesday. I sent one box of books home today (media mail).
Basically, having served a mission, I know who I am and who I want to be. I know that my Heavenly Father and Savior love me, for me. The reality is that I'm human and make mistakes, but the Lord can help me change. Before my mission I "knew" I was a literal spirit child of God, but now I not only know it, I feel it deep inside my heart. I don't know what the rest of my life has in store, but I know who to trust in.
God Bless.
Love,
Elder Kevin Wagner
A Note from Judy: Wow!! It is hard to believe that his mission is coming to an end. I won't lie and say that I didn't miss him!! But, even as much as I missed this boy, I am so grateful that he was willing to serve the Lord for 2 years. Our family has been blessed in so many ways because of his service. I wouldn't have wanted him to spend the last 2 years any other way!! Thank you for all of you who have read his letters, written to him, and prayed for him. It has been an awesome experience!!
Monday, August 16, 2010
Monday, August 9, 2010
So much to do, So little TIME!
Dear Family,
The title says a lot about how I feel. We are being blessed with many people to teach and I don't want to have to leave them all. However, such is life.
By the way, Texas is really hot in the summer.
Here are a few signs that mean my mission is coming to a close:
1. I no longer own white shirts, for they are not white, they are threadbare, stained and yellow-gray.
2. My bike tire tread is wearing down.
3. I have an amazing collar tan line.
4. My shoes are finally starting to show some wear. (they were really nice shoes)
5. When I left on my mission, George W. Bush was the president.
Anyways, there are constant reminders that my mission is coming to a close. Mostly, I feel so grateful for this time the Lord gave me to serve. Words can't describe the many testimonies and miracles I've received. Now I know why the Lord wants every young man to prepare and serve a two year mission. The Gospel means so much more to me now.
Yesterday we had an awesome day. PEC meeting at 8am was great (I'm in an awesome ward). A less-active family we've been working with for several months came to church (a mom and her three young daughters). It was sweet!!! She has a ten year old who wants to get baptized. The two little girls (3&4 yrs old) were looking around after church saying, "Where are the missionaries?". We shook their hands and said goodbye. You should have seen the smiles on their faces.
Another family came to church for the first time since we've been here. The wife isn't a member but she came. We are going to start teaching them the lessons tomorrow. I'm pumped!!!
During the third hour Caleb Michaelis received the Aaronic Priesthood. His wife watched and I though to myself how awesome it was that her and her daughter now have the priesthood in the home. Caleb is loving church and the gospel.
After church we tried to visit a couple less-actives, but no one was home. We had like forty minutes so we tracked this street. It was uneventful except for the return appointment we got with a Hispanic family. The 20 year old daughter answered the door and I explained what we do. As I spoke her mom came from behind and told her in Spanish that she should listen to us and learn more because it is good. The daughter 'translated' for us, but little do they know we both speak Spanish. Muhahaha. Anyways she told us to come back and share more about the plan of salvation.
Dinner was good with two of the young married couples in the ward. We had lasagna which is always good. After we stopped by an investigator who wasn't home and we didn't know what to do next. I had the crazy thought to try a part member family that hadn't been answering our calls and we hadn't seen in two weeks. It was crazy because it was like a twenty minute bike ride from where we were at the time in the opposite direction of our apartment. (it was like 7:40 ish) We did it anyways and guess what, they were there!!! We set up a return apt for next week (the 20th) and I had to break it to them that I wouldn't be there. I got to bear my testimony to them and leave their house with a prayer. It was very cool.
So I've rambled a lot but a long story short is that missionary work is awesome. I can't wait to lure all my unsuspecting friends and acquaintances into meeting with the missionaries. It will be exciting.
Tell Uncle Paul and Aunt Susan that I love and pray for them. I hope all goes well.
God Bless and see you soon.
Love
Elder Kevin Wagner
PS. I will be emailing next Monday too. To send the bike home is 70 dollars so don't worry if it is no longer in my account.
The title says a lot about how I feel. We are being blessed with many people to teach and I don't want to have to leave them all. However, such is life.
By the way, Texas is really hot in the summer.
Here are a few signs that mean my mission is coming to a close:
1. I no longer own white shirts, for they are not white, they are threadbare, stained and yellow-gray.
2. My bike tire tread is wearing down.
3. I have an amazing collar tan line.
4. My shoes are finally starting to show some wear. (they were really nice shoes)
5. When I left on my mission, George W. Bush was the president.
Anyways, there are constant reminders that my mission is coming to a close. Mostly, I feel so grateful for this time the Lord gave me to serve. Words can't describe the many testimonies and miracles I've received. Now I know why the Lord wants every young man to prepare and serve a two year mission. The Gospel means so much more to me now.
Yesterday we had an awesome day. PEC meeting at 8am was great (I'm in an awesome ward). A less-active family we've been working with for several months came to church (a mom and her three young daughters). It was sweet!!! She has a ten year old who wants to get baptized. The two little girls (3&4 yrs old) were looking around after church saying, "Where are the missionaries?". We shook their hands and said goodbye. You should have seen the smiles on their faces.
Another family came to church for the first time since we've been here. The wife isn't a member but she came. We are going to start teaching them the lessons tomorrow. I'm pumped!!!
During the third hour Caleb Michaelis received the Aaronic Priesthood. His wife watched and I though to myself how awesome it was that her and her daughter now have the priesthood in the home. Caleb is loving church and the gospel.
After church we tried to visit a couple less-actives, but no one was home. We had like forty minutes so we tracked this street. It was uneventful except for the return appointment we got with a Hispanic family. The 20 year old daughter answered the door and I explained what we do. As I spoke her mom came from behind and told her in Spanish that she should listen to us and learn more because it is good. The daughter 'translated' for us, but little do they know we both speak Spanish. Muhahaha. Anyways she told us to come back and share more about the plan of salvation.
Dinner was good with two of the young married couples in the ward. We had lasagna which is always good. After we stopped by an investigator who wasn't home and we didn't know what to do next. I had the crazy thought to try a part member family that hadn't been answering our calls and we hadn't seen in two weeks. It was crazy because it was like a twenty minute bike ride from where we were at the time in the opposite direction of our apartment. (it was like 7:40 ish) We did it anyways and guess what, they were there!!! We set up a return apt for next week (the 20th) and I had to break it to them that I wouldn't be there. I got to bear my testimony to them and leave their house with a prayer. It was very cool.
So I've rambled a lot but a long story short is that missionary work is awesome. I can't wait to lure all my unsuspecting friends and acquaintances into meeting with the missionaries. It will be exciting.
Tell Uncle Paul and Aunt Susan that I love and pray for them. I hope all goes well.
God Bless and see you soon.
Love
Elder Kevin Wagner
PS. I will be emailing next Monday too. To send the bike home is 70 dollars so don't worry if it is no longer in my account.
Monday, August 2, 2010
Baptism, Wedding, and Confirmation
Dear Family,Cool pictures from camp. I'm glad to hear that young men's camp was a success. Seeing Riley's picture from Mount Langley made me think back to when we went. Now many of us are on missions or are returned from missions. I can't believe how big Riley and Andrea are. How crazy.
That is very exciting news for Keith. I'm excited for him. As for the sports pass, I'd love to go with him to games. Marissa and I can go to the basketball games together. Off the top of my head I can't think of anyone to buy the other half of the contract. I haven't kept in touch with many of my buddies from Helaman Halls, but I'll think about it.
I am very excited to go to the temple with everyone. It will be a neat experience. This last week I got to go do an endowment session in the morning. Its a very special place. I talked with the Ortigoza's in Nacogdoches and the started the 6 week temple preparation classes. They haven't set a specific date to go get sealed but it will be after I leave Texas (but it'll give me a good excuse to come back).
We had a very fun week. Elder Dytrt had some leadership training tuesday to thursday so I got to stay in the area with a brand new missionary named Elder Pope. It was fun. He is easily distracted but wil be a great Elder. Friday night and Saturday morning we helped with two moves in the ward. (my back is sore....).
Caleb's baptism went very well. He said that it had been an awesome day. The wedding was simple, done by Bishop at the church right after the baptism. The spirit was very strong and I feel so blessed to be a part of it. My time is short in Texas but we are working hard. We have so many different families to teach but they all will progress in their own time frame. This week we hope to set many more baptismal dates. The Gospel is awesome. I've run out of email time but God bless.
Love,
Elder Wagner
P.S. Tell Uncle Paul and family that I'm praying for them.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Come Unto Christ
Dear Family,
The Lord is really blessing us with many people to teach. I feel humbled to be in his service. I'm so grateful for the time I've been a missionary and the time I still have left.
I love reading Elder Zach Wagner's and Elder Jensen's emails. They are great missionaries and are blessing so many people. I hope that they both read, study and love Preach My Gospel. I still find amazing things in that manual.
So the title of my email means a lot to me. I found a conference ensign from Nov 1990 and there were two awesome talks that helped me a lot this past week. One by Elder Maxwell about putting off the natural man and the other by Pres. Hunter called 'Come Unto Me'. President Hunter talked about Matthew 11:28-30 'Come all ye heavy laden....' and described the background to that passage. Yesterday we had dinner with a long time less-active family (20 years) and their nonmember teenage kids. We taught The Gospel of Jesus Christ for the lesson. As we taught this scripture came to mind. Christ makes the invitation to take his yoke upon us. A yoke is a big hunk of wood that ties two oxen together, thus balancing the yoke. Just imagine how much more peaceful our lives would be if we were yoked with Jesus! Our Savior wants to help and strength us. If we follow him we will find rest for our souls. Does that mean that there won't be trials and pain? Of course not. But we will be forgiven of sin and healed spiritually.
I find that I like to figure out my own solution to problems and too often I harden my heart in pride and choose not to humbly submit to the will of the Lord. All of us suffer from the same problem in varying degrees. However, the solution is the same for all. Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior is the only way to overcome our weakness. I love all the challenges in life. Sometimes they seem overwhelming but if we think of Jesus and trust him, He will guide us and strengthen us. In our greatest trials we grow closest to God. How grateful I am for the Restoration of the Fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Without the Restoration we know very little about our Savior and how to follow him.
This Saturday, Caleb will be getting baptized and then right after get married to Wendy (a member). We thought that Caleb would have to go to another ward, but since they are getting married he will live in the ward boundaries. He is really cool. He is like thirty years old, but has really changed his life. A lot of his extended family will be coming to see because they can't believe that he is getting baptized (regardless of the denomination). He said that they view him like the Prodigals Son. It is such a great blessing. It definitely wasn't us, but the Lord changing and preparing him.
I love you all. Take care.
Love,
Elder Wagner
The Lord is really blessing us with many people to teach. I feel humbled to be in his service. I'm so grateful for the time I've been a missionary and the time I still have left.
I love reading Elder Zach Wagner's and Elder Jensen's emails. They are great missionaries and are blessing so many people. I hope that they both read, study and love Preach My Gospel. I still find amazing things in that manual.
So the title of my email means a lot to me. I found a conference ensign from Nov 1990 and there were two awesome talks that helped me a lot this past week. One by Elder Maxwell about putting off the natural man and the other by Pres. Hunter called 'Come Unto Me'. President Hunter talked about Matthew 11:28-30 'Come all ye heavy laden....' and described the background to that passage. Yesterday we had dinner with a long time less-active family (20 years) and their nonmember teenage kids. We taught The Gospel of Jesus Christ for the lesson. As we taught this scripture came to mind. Christ makes the invitation to take his yoke upon us. A yoke is a big hunk of wood that ties two oxen together, thus balancing the yoke. Just imagine how much more peaceful our lives would be if we were yoked with Jesus! Our Savior wants to help and strength us. If we follow him we will find rest for our souls. Does that mean that there won't be trials and pain? Of course not. But we will be forgiven of sin and healed spiritually.
I find that I like to figure out my own solution to problems and too often I harden my heart in pride and choose not to humbly submit to the will of the Lord. All of us suffer from the same problem in varying degrees. However, the solution is the same for all. Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior is the only way to overcome our weakness. I love all the challenges in life. Sometimes they seem overwhelming but if we think of Jesus and trust him, He will guide us and strengthen us. In our greatest trials we grow closest to God. How grateful I am for the Restoration of the Fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Without the Restoration we know very little about our Savior and how to follow him.
This Saturday, Caleb will be getting baptized and then right after get married to Wendy (a member). We thought that Caleb would have to go to another ward, but since they are getting married he will live in the ward boundaries. He is really cool. He is like thirty years old, but has really changed his life. A lot of his extended family will be coming to see because they can't believe that he is getting baptized (regardless of the denomination). He said that they view him like the Prodigals Son. It is such a great blessing. It definitely wasn't us, but the Lord changing and preparing him.
I love you all. Take care.
Love,
Elder Wagner
Monday, July 19, 2010
The Infamous "Trunky Papers"
Dear Family,
It was a solid week. The Texas heat is in full swing, but don't worry, Dad, we stay hydrated.
So Jessica and her family were in Austin this past week and then with their dad on Sunday, but we are going to teach them on Tuesday.
The family that we saw sealed in the temple was the Elmore's, they are from here in the Dallas 6th ward. However, the family from Nacogdoches, the Ortigoza's, are soon to start temple preparation classes. It means that the will probably get sealed after I leave Texas, but it would be a good reason to come back. :)
This past week I received the infamous 'trunky papers,' meaning that I received my departure flight information. It said that the 'average cost' for sending a bike back home is 70 dollars. The other luggage costs at the airport are covered by the mission.
Random 'small world' moment: So Elder Olson (who I trained in Garland) had a greenie named Elder Solis who is training an Elder Moorhead (sp?). I spoke to him and he was in the same MTC district as Zach!!!! Tight!!!!
Yesterday at church I heard a quote that goes, "One true key to happiness is to labor for the happiness of others." I thought it was profound and an important principle of missionary work. I'm so proud that Andrea is being a great missionary to her friends. We can't force anyone to accept the Gospel, but it is our duty to invite.
Oh, before I forget, Riley, have fun at camp and I think you should do cross-country. It will be a great experience. I loved the time I had doing cross-country. And also, if you could, I'd love to eat tri-tip!!!!! Maybe with potatoes and creamy peas and whatever else.
Last week we had dinner and a lesson with a very cool part-member family. Geno Garcia (less active member) and Beth invited us to come over for dinner. The lesson was amazing. I don't think Elder Dytrt and I had ever taught that well together. We taught the Restoration. It was great because they took a trip to temple square in Salt Lake a couple of months ago. We also gave a blessing to his daughter at the end of the lesson. I was so grateful for the spirit being there to testify of the truth.
I love the 'ah-ha!' moments that I have about the Gospel. As I was reading in Alma 34:8-17, I realized that Christ's Atonement is the key to us being able to repent and change. Maybe I already knew that but the Spirit helped it enter into my heart in a different way. I love the Book of Mormon.
love
Elder Kevin Wagner
It was a solid week. The Texas heat is in full swing, but don't worry, Dad, we stay hydrated.
So Jessica and her family were in Austin this past week and then with their dad on Sunday, but we are going to teach them on Tuesday.
The family that we saw sealed in the temple was the Elmore's, they are from here in the Dallas 6th ward. However, the family from Nacogdoches, the Ortigoza's, are soon to start temple preparation classes. It means that the will probably get sealed after I leave Texas, but it would be a good reason to come back. :)
This past week I received the infamous 'trunky papers,' meaning that I received my departure flight information. It said that the 'average cost' for sending a bike back home is 70 dollars. The other luggage costs at the airport are covered by the mission.
Random 'small world' moment: So Elder Olson (who I trained in Garland) had a greenie named Elder Solis who is training an Elder Moorhead (sp?). I spoke to him and he was in the same MTC district as Zach!!!! Tight!!!!
Yesterday at church I heard a quote that goes, "One true key to happiness is to labor for the happiness of others." I thought it was profound and an important principle of missionary work. I'm so proud that Andrea is being a great missionary to her friends. We can't force anyone to accept the Gospel, but it is our duty to invite.
Oh, before I forget, Riley, have fun at camp and I think you should do cross-country. It will be a great experience. I loved the time I had doing cross-country. And also, if you could, I'd love to eat tri-tip!!!!! Maybe with potatoes and creamy peas and whatever else.
Last week we had dinner and a lesson with a very cool part-member family. Geno Garcia (less active member) and Beth invited us to come over for dinner. The lesson was amazing. I don't think Elder Dytrt and I had ever taught that well together. We taught the Restoration. It was great because they took a trip to temple square in Salt Lake a couple of months ago. We also gave a blessing to his daughter at the end of the lesson. I was so grateful for the spirit being there to testify of the truth.
I love the 'ah-ha!' moments that I have about the Gospel. As I was reading in Alma 34:8-17, I realized that Christ's Atonement is the key to us being able to repent and change. Maybe I already knew that but the Spirit helped it enter into my heart in a different way. I love the Book of Mormon.
love
Elder Kevin Wagner
Monday, July 12, 2010
Finish to the Wall!
Dear Family,
So Sunday morning we were scambling before sacrament meeting to make sure our investigators were coming. As I turned around I see Uncle Russ, right in front of me. We gave each other a big hug. It caught me offguard. It was very cool to see him though. He is right, there is a great missionary spirit in the ward. I love it.
I'm so glad to hear that the Family Reunion went well. I loved seeing the pictures of everyone. Riley and Andrea are like giants now. We can't call them 'the little kids' anymore. Its very cool that Brandon and Garrett are taking off on their missions right now.
This last week the Quorum of the Twelve make some significant changes in the way missionaries are trained in the field (not MTC). Zone conference and interview are now every 3 months instead of every six weeks. They gave us some new things to focus our trainings on, most importantly, teaching with the spirit. I think it is much needed and a great blessing. Its strange to me because I'm finishing, but the Lord's work never ends. It means I won't have another zone conference on my mission, but I'm fine with that.
Saturday we went to the Dallas Temple. A family of four who were baptized last march (09), went and were sealed. Elder Dytrt and I had a chance to go which was awesome. I had never been to a sealing before and to see it was amazing. And guess what, the sister missionaries had knocked on their door. How cool!!!
So about the title of the email. Finishing to the wall is very important to us swimmers. (I still call myself a swimmer despite not being able to swim right now.) Its easy to give up and coast into the wall, but you'll lose lots of races. I'm working to finish to the wall on my mission. It doesn't mean guaranteed baptisms and lots of them, but it does mean that I'm going to work as if I was staying. We set a new baptismal date last week with Caleb (who is dating a member), but he lives in another ward. But it was still cool. A new family came to church which was a MIRACLE!!! Two weeks ago we had nothing to do at like 7:30pm Sunday night. We started knocking a street. We met a college-age girl home for the summer, her name is Jessica. So we gave her a Book of Mormon. This last Friday we got to 'teach her' at a local McDonalds, since her parents are going through a divorce. We invited her to church. Not only did she come for all three hours, but brought her three younger siblings (all baptismal age...).
Lots of great things are happening. I love being a missionary. Words can't explain the joy of seeing others accept the gospel. Be missionaries to those around you. Please, please greet new faces at church. It is so important. I love you all.
God bless.
Love,
Elder Kevin Wagner (since Zach is Elder Wagner too)
So Sunday morning we were scambling before sacrament meeting to make sure our investigators were coming. As I turned around I see Uncle Russ, right in front of me. We gave each other a big hug. It caught me offguard. It was very cool to see him though. He is right, there is a great missionary spirit in the ward. I love it.
I'm so glad to hear that the Family Reunion went well. I loved seeing the pictures of everyone. Riley and Andrea are like giants now. We can't call them 'the little kids' anymore. Its very cool that Brandon and Garrett are taking off on their missions right now.
This last week the Quorum of the Twelve make some significant changes in the way missionaries are trained in the field (not MTC). Zone conference and interview are now every 3 months instead of every six weeks. They gave us some new things to focus our trainings on, most importantly, teaching with the spirit. I think it is much needed and a great blessing. Its strange to me because I'm finishing, but the Lord's work never ends. It means I won't have another zone conference on my mission, but I'm fine with that.
Saturday we went to the Dallas Temple. A family of four who were baptized last march (09), went and were sealed. Elder Dytrt and I had a chance to go which was awesome. I had never been to a sealing before and to see it was amazing. And guess what, the sister missionaries had knocked on their door. How cool!!!
So about the title of the email. Finishing to the wall is very important to us swimmers. (I still call myself a swimmer despite not being able to swim right now.) Its easy to give up and coast into the wall, but you'll lose lots of races. I'm working to finish to the wall on my mission. It doesn't mean guaranteed baptisms and lots of them, but it does mean that I'm going to work as if I was staying. We set a new baptismal date last week with Caleb (who is dating a member), but he lives in another ward. But it was still cool. A new family came to church which was a MIRACLE!!! Two weeks ago we had nothing to do at like 7:30pm Sunday night. We started knocking a street. We met a college-age girl home for the summer, her name is Jessica. So we gave her a Book of Mormon. This last Friday we got to 'teach her' at a local McDonalds, since her parents are going through a divorce. We invited her to church. Not only did she come for all three hours, but brought her three younger siblings (all baptismal age...).
Lots of great things are happening. I love being a missionary. Words can't explain the joy of seeing others accept the gospel. Be missionaries to those around you. Please, please greet new faces at church. It is so important. I love you all.
God bless.
Love,
Elder Kevin Wagner (since Zach is Elder Wagner too)
Monday, July 5, 2010
Final Transfer!!! I'm Staying!!
Dear Family,
So Elder Dytrt and I are staying in the Dallas 6th ward. We were suprised but excited to stay. We have a lot going for us here in the area.
This past week was filled with lots of rain, thunderstorms and humidity. It was great though, we saw lots of miracles. On Tuesday morning we rode in the rain and mud to teach Sal Parada. His wife couldn't sit in on the lesson but it was a great lesson. We read Alma 32 had a good discussion about he can really find out for himself that this is true. The spirit was really strong during the lesson which was great. Sal and his wife and three kids came to the pancake breakfast on Saturday. They are a great family!!! I'm really excited for them.
The pancake breakfast was great for us. We had like 10 nonmembers there that we had invited. Some members also brought friends. This ward is smaller in size but very united and close. Its such a blessing to be here.
So we were going to email on Wednesday but the assistants changed their minds on us, so we are doing it today. Tonight we are taking a new missionary out for his first night in the Texas Dallas Mission. It should be fun.
Its surreal to me that its the start of my last transfer. The time seems to have flow by. I'm so grateful to have made the decision to come on a mission. I went on an exchange last week with Elder Davis, who flies home to Oregon on Wednesday. At the end of a good, productive day, we talked about how great it is to be missionaries. We talked about how we never expected to feel how we feel, to know what we know and to have done what we done before we came out on the mission. I though I would come here to help others come unto Christ. I have, but I feel like I've benefited so much too. The Gospel means so much more to me now. What a priviledge it is to be members of Christ's church.
Something I've been learning about is how diligence is not working at a superhuman level, but is rather doing our best consistently. 'Don't run faster than you have strength' is a phrase used often in the scriptures. It doesn't mean we cn slack off, but to have reasonable and realistic expectations of ourselves. I'm grateful for the Gospel. The scriptures bring me peace and clarity of mind. I love my Savior. Have fun in Idaho!
Love
Elder Wagner
PS. Frisco IS in my mission! Its the stake just north of ours.
So Elder Dytrt and I are staying in the Dallas 6th ward. We were suprised but excited to stay. We have a lot going for us here in the area.
This past week was filled with lots of rain, thunderstorms and humidity. It was great though, we saw lots of miracles. On Tuesday morning we rode in the rain and mud to teach Sal Parada. His wife couldn't sit in on the lesson but it was a great lesson. We read Alma 32 had a good discussion about he can really find out for himself that this is true. The spirit was really strong during the lesson which was great. Sal and his wife and three kids came to the pancake breakfast on Saturday. They are a great family!!! I'm really excited for them.
The pancake breakfast was great for us. We had like 10 nonmembers there that we had invited. Some members also brought friends. This ward is smaller in size but very united and close. Its such a blessing to be here.
So we were going to email on Wednesday but the assistants changed their minds on us, so we are doing it today. Tonight we are taking a new missionary out for his first night in the Texas Dallas Mission. It should be fun.
Its surreal to me that its the start of my last transfer. The time seems to have flow by. I'm so grateful to have made the decision to come on a mission. I went on an exchange last week with Elder Davis, who flies home to Oregon on Wednesday. At the end of a good, productive day, we talked about how great it is to be missionaries. We talked about how we never expected to feel how we feel, to know what we know and to have done what we done before we came out on the mission. I though I would come here to help others come unto Christ. I have, but I feel like I've benefited so much too. The Gospel means so much more to me now. What a priviledge it is to be members of Christ's church.
Something I've been learning about is how diligence is not working at a superhuman level, but is rather doing our best consistently. 'Don't run faster than you have strength' is a phrase used often in the scriptures. It doesn't mean we cn slack off, but to have reasonable and realistic expectations of ourselves. I'm grateful for the Gospel. The scriptures bring me peace and clarity of mind. I love my Savior. Have fun in Idaho!
Love
Elder Wagner
PS. Frisco IS in my mission! Its the stake just north of ours.
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