Week 14 - November 28, 2019

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

Hello hello hello everyone!!  I hope you are all enjoying a wonderful Thanksgiving together!!  Today, for Thanksgiving, we all met up as a Zone!!  All the missionaries brought food, we had a testimony meeting, ate food, and played games!!  It was such a fun day!!  A couple really funny things happened throughout the week!! 

So, 1. I ordered a "grilled cheese" at a restaurant, hoping to get a... well a grilled cheese sandwich!!  To my astonishment... They literally brought me out a block of grilled cheese with two little pieces of bread!!  So that was a good laugh for the day 😂. 

A couple days later, we went to the same restaurant, and asked for a burger!!  When we had ordered, we had asked them to put the lettuce on the side.  For some odd reason, they brought us out the meat, tomatoes, and lettuce, all separate from the bun!  WE WERE SO CONFUSED 😂.  So, that was pretty funny.  

Later in the week, our whole district shaved our heads!!  So, right now, for the first time in my life, I have a buzzed head.  It was a full send, and it is something I will never be doing again 😂. 

This week, we decided to tract in a little different part of our area!!  It was up by the forest, and it was SO awesome!!  It was definitely a little more insight to culture.  There were tons of houses, mostly abandoned, torn down, or incomplete, and then some really nice ones out of nowhere lol.  

We, also, almost walked into this sketchy road there with a huge dog at the end of the street.  We decided to take a different path rather than face the bear looking dog head on lol.  (The dog pic  I attached is not the dog I am talking about.  That was just a super cool dog a soldier had that we met as we were walking 😂 IT WAS SO FLUFFY).  

I really want to share a spiritual thought in the light of Thanksgiving and upcoming Christmas!!  Although, sadly, I don't have time.  The next email I send (Monday), I will make a spiritual thought!!  So, prepare to get testified to!!  LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH, AND AM SO GRATEFUL FOR YOU ALL!!  Make it a great Thanksgiving!!  Love one another, be thankful, especially for your many blessings from God!! 

Elder Wilde

Pics of the Week

Enjoying sushi with a recent convert.

Week 13 - November 18, 2019

Great week here in Ukraine, and a crazy one!! 

Our power went out one night, just when we had gotten back from shopping and had bags of milk.  So, that was sour curveball 😬😂 Then a couple days later, our CO2 alarm went off at 1 A.M. and we had to dip out of there and get it all sorted out 😂  We ended up sleeping at Elder Molnar and Glass's apartment the next two nights because of it.  The sleepover was pretty hype though, so worth it!! 😂 

Our week was filled with appointments, along with gathering more contacts on the streets!!  It was so awesome!!  On Tuesday, we went into Dnipro for our mid-transfer training meeting!!  We got in this van that took us there, at around 5 A.M., and oh my gosh let me tell you... that guy drove like a mad man! swerving in and out of traffic, going on side lanes and everything 😂😂  I just decided to take a three-hour nap and hope I came out alive lol.  But anyways, when we got there, we got to see all our friends we came in with from the MTC!!  It was awesome.  

Also, the mission office there has a bowl of mambas (the candy) and I lowkey highkey went to town on it, it was bad 😂 but no regrets lol.  Also, I absolutely crushed the other Elders in a game of Settlers of Catan. LITERALLY WASN'T EVEN CLOSE!!  Practicing to beat my dad in 2 years haha :). 

OH, ALSO!!  The new missionary white handbook (now referred to as "Missionary Standards for Disciples of Jesus Christ") came out!!  So that's pretty exciting in the missionary world!!  It says we're allowed to now go and proselyte in sweats!!  HAH psych. That would be pretty dope though... maybe in the next edition 😁😂

On Wednesday, we did something super awesome... HARVEST DAY!!  It was super amazing!!  On Harvest Day, every missionary stacked up on Books or Mormon, and went and tried to give them to as many people as possible that day!!  A full day of pure Book of Mormon contacting.  As a mission, we handed out a total of 202 Books of Mormon that day!!  

Elder Williams and I ran into this man named Andre. He wanted to talk but had no time, so we quickly switched numbers!!  About an hour later, he called and we met up for a quick meeting at the church!!  He LOVED our message!! At one point he asked if we were allowed to drink or smoke.  We replied no.  And he said, "Well, I don't drink because I know how bad it is for my health, but I do smoke a little... But I'm going to stop!!  I like this!!" AHHHH it was awesome!!  We have another appointment coming up with him this week!!

This Saturday, we had the opportunity to witness the baptism of Martin!!  Martin is the cutest person ever, and he is from China!!  After his baptism, we talked, and I said the few phrases/words I could remember in Chinese to him.  He was so shocked how good I was with the tones haha.  He continued to compliment me and just freak out!!  He said, "You are the best American boy at Chinese!!"  Definitely not true 😂 but I told him how badly I wanna learn it again after my mission!!  We also had the chance to bring three investigators to his baptism!!  They loved it!!  Along with that, we got four investigators to church this Sunday!!  Things have been going pretty well!!

Love, Elder Wilde

Week 12 - November 11, 2019

Hey hey hey, everyone!! 

Had another great week here in Ukraine!!  Probably my favorite one so far, actually!!

This week we went and made brownies over at лиза and никита house.  I shared with them 1 Nephi 19:17-19 (two of my favorite verses in the Book of Mormon), and talked to them about the Atonement of Jesus Christ, along with what it means to be Christ like, and what we can do to be more like him each day.  Aside from that, I murdered myself at the bakery this week and murdered myself by getting like four different kinds of pastries/bread 😂 fat worth it though.  We, also, went to this extremely nice mall this pday!!  It was FAT and honestly either just as nice, or nicer than others in America lol.  I was shook.  THEY HAD EVEYTHING.  Stuff I had never seen in the U.S.!!  Lol.  I stayed strong and didn't buy anything though.  Shout out to me!!  Lolol.  Besides some McDonalds 😅😂.

This week we also had Zone Conference!!  I really wasn't looking forward to Zone Conference just because I struggle to sit down and listen to people talk for hours straight, but instead I ended up not wanting to leave!!  It was amazing!!  President Wirthlin (our Mission President) is such an amazing speaker, so I always enjoy hearing from him. President Widthkin shared the message that, "We should never compare ourselves to others, because when we do, only two things come, PRIDE and/or DISCOURAGEMENT. Only compare yourself to yourself, and the Lord.  Those are the only two people!!  The Lord is always a hand up. Celebrate gifts and talents of other people instead of compare.  And lastly, give people a reason to meet with you again."  

We, also, had such a lucky opportunity to hear from Elder Boom, who spoke in this previous General Conference we had!!  He was SOOO funny and just so amazing!!  I was honored to have the opportunity to meet with him one-on-one after the conference and talk to him about questions and concerns I had.  Elder Boom shared the message to, "Figure out why we are here.... to never compare... rejoice in success of others... the fact that we are always missionaries... and that you always have to walk the path of faith.  It will always be the last door you knock when you're about to give up, that if you continue with faith, a miracle will come."

Now, I want to speak about the highlight of my week.  This was another one of the moments where I could feel the Spirit so strongly on my mission so far, but in such a simple way. This week we had the opportunity to meet with Yamma. Yamma is from the Middle East, speaks perfect English, and always asks us to come over and play Call of Duty :))  (Sadly, we decline the cod offer lol).  On Saturday, he called us asking to hang out, and we said we could meet at the church!!  We sat down and explained how we were missionaries here so we couldn't play games like cod, and that we were on schedules.  He understood so quickly, and then out of nowhere asked... "You have the Book of Mormon right?  Can we talk about that?"  YES, YES WE CAN.  It was hype.  He asked great questions and loved what we had to say.  

At the end before leaving, we asked if we could pray, and asked if he could for us.  He said, "Yes," and asked us how to do it.  It was his first time!  We got on our knees, showed him how to fold his arms, and how to open his prayer, and how we closed our eyes while we did (he kept asking when to close them haha).  He started.... "Dear Heavenly Father, I'm sorry for not having talked to you in a long time, I love you, thank you for my Xbox and my 4k screen TV, and for my new friends, Elder Williams and Wilde," (and so on).  The whole time the Spirit was so strong, and I couldn't help but to tear up mid-prayer.  It was the most sincere, cutest, heartfelt, unique prayer I had ever heard!!  Afterwards, he stood up and said, "The room feels so much brighter now!!  I feel like there is some sort of weight off my shoulders, can I pray whenever??"  AHHHH, IT WAS SO AWESOME!  I WAS SO HAPPY."  We asked if he would take a Book of Mormon home and read it so we could talk about it more the next time we met.  He said, "Yes, of course, I'm going to read this!!"  He said he had lots of time cuz he only liked to game and that he loves to read haha. 

Now, I want to conclude by pulling from this story and sharing from what we can learn.  I learned so much from Yamma and his prayer.  Our prayers are literally conversations with God.  I feel, at least in my own prayers, that I take this for granted.  I don't give God full attention and gratitude when praying. What a blessing it is to have a way to communicate with our Father in Heaven!!  We need to all have the sincerity and love-felt prayers that Yamma has.  To pray with all of our heart, might, mind, and strength.  Just as we should when we serve him.  I am so grateful for the opportunity I had to learn from Yamma, as well as for the gift of prayer.  I invite you all to ponder this message and follow/continue Yamma's example of sincere, love-felt prayer.  It's such a blessing. 

Love, Elder Wilde :))

Pics of the Week

Letter from Mission Secretary Regarding Elder Wilde's Arrival in Ukraine

Hello, Wilde family,

I have attached a few pictures of your son when he arrived.  Thank you for sharing him with our mission.

Sister Crisp

Ukraine Dnipro Mission Secretary

 Elder Wilde with his Mission President and his wife.

Elder Wilde and his first companion/trainer

Week 11 - November 4, 2019

WADDUP, ALL Y'ALL!!

Yo, waz cookin'!?  Ukraine has been lit!!  But man has it been tough.  The language is really kicking my butt lol.  It's difficult when you want to tell someone something so so badly, but you have no idea what they are saying, so you have no idea how to respond lol.  I had my first couple English practice classes today and that was way fun!!  And we do game nights on Saturdays and had a huge turn up of people!!  I WORKED them all in Ping Pong.  Nikita, an 18-year-old, one of the people who always comes and loves to talk to me about movies, went, "Why do you even play them if you know you're going to win?" 😂 I love Nikita.  He walks home with us every single time after English practice and game night.  He has perfect English, but an even more perfect soul.  The only thing is, he's not interested in taking lessons, or learning about the church.  In the mission fields, these are called, "Eternals."  People who always come to English practice and game nights, but never want to learn.  Before I am transferred from this area, my goal is to break through to Nikita.  He's amazing.  I felt connected to him from the moment I met him, and I know he is ready for this gospel.

This week we had a couple dinner appointments, which are always fun.  One of the nights we went over and ate at the Ghorsky's--the cutest, elderly couple. They gave us a HUGE plate of potatoes with roast beef on top, then a HUGE bowl of borscht, and surprised us all with a HUGE piece of cake each at the end.  It's the weirdest thing, too.  Some families don't eat with you.  They sat in the other room until we had finished eating.  Anyways, so the other three Elders I served with ate super fast, whereas I eat super slow.  I was trying to pound, but there was no way it was all going down.  AND THEN AS A JOKE, ALL THREE OTHER ELDERS POURED MORE BORSCHT INTO MY BOWL.  I was dying lol.  So there was a point where I just started absolutely shoving food into my mouth faster than I ever have before lol.  It was a battle.  It's a cultural thing, too, to finish everything they serve you lol.  As I was shoving food down, my companions starting overloading me with more 😂.  It was all pretty funny. 

 Then we ate at this couple's son's house the next day (they sat down with us to eat).  We brought their family some sugar cookies, and they literally smothered them in sour cream and engulfed them. Me and Elder Molnar's eyes were literally opened as wide as they could go and we were punching each either in shock like, "DUDE DUDE LOOK!  IS THIS ACTUALLY HAPPENING?!  WHAT IS GOING ON, WHERE AM I?"  (in our heads of course lol, at least my thought process).  I kid you not, like an inch thick of sour cream on each cookie, like legit frosting. 

Sometimes the kids would even lick it all off before eating it.  I was in shock lol.  I love dinner appointments lol.  The people here are so humble but still offer you so much.  After eating with both the families, I had the opportunity to share a spiritual thought about charity, which went super well.

It's getting cold here, the wind is piercing!  It's crazy haha.  Elder Williams and I think one of our toes are gonna get frostbite and fall off like the guys does in Pirates of the Carribean!!  You know the scene where it's so cold he cracks it off?  Yeah, that's us when we wake up😂 .  It's hilarious lol.  The worst is when the hot water isn't working and we have to take cold showers.  And our heater doesn't work half the time, but when it does we usually dry our clothes with it 😂  It's honestly the best cuz my companion will always laugh about things like that lol.  Except cold showers are not the best in the moment.  Honestly, cold showers may be harder than the language 😂😂 Luckily we usually have hot water, just on certain occasions it stops working lol. 

My companion and I also found Christmas lights in storage, so we taped them to our ceiling!!  Very fun stuff haha.  ALSO, I don't remember if I put this in last week's email, but as we were contacting, this grandpa pulled as an aside, and started talking. The whole conversation was literally him talking and saying... "You're my friends... No I don't like you... I'm your grandpa I love you!... I don't want to ever see you again... I love you guys so much!!"  We wanted to leave on a good note so I thought,  "I love you," would be a good time to leave. 😂  He was definitely a little different, but I loved every second of it haha. He said all of it from English, to Ukanian, to Russian, all in a cycle 😂 

Sorry to be behind on pictures, I have tons from the last three weeks though, so feast on em!!  Love y'all so much!!  Thank you for the support.  Elder Wilde

Pics of the Week

  "That food thingy was so gross, but I tried it lol." 

 This is the coolest Russian card game ever.  I finally beat my companion in it and was freaking out!!    

 McDonalds in Ukraine!