Korea Trip Approaching

Tell Grammy and Grampy happy birthday for me!  

This week flew by!  Wow I am already emailing again.  Thanks everyone for their letters!  I love reading them!  This week was great just as always!  But the next one should be even better because I get to go stay in the House of the Lord!

The Korea trip is fun for a lot of reasons.  We get to go and eat at McDonald's or another American place.  We get to see everyone we were in the MTC with.  But by far the best part of it is the temple.  The other things really don't even compare with the peace in that Holy house.  It almost seems that in 3 months we get worn down.  Luckily for this mission we get to go the temple every three months.  And it kind of lifts us back up and gets up ready to go for the next 3 months.  I remember the last time I was there.  I had the burden of having to train right after my training got finished.  I felt completely inadequate and very worried.  I remember feeling this all the way on the plane and then on the bus ride there.  But once we did a session in the temple.  I just felt peace.  Sublime peace and I knew everything would be ok.  And look it was.  The temple is a beautiful place.

Our hari kriushna investigator E gained a friend this week!  We went to the church to eat dinner and we saw that President Lapin was playing ping pong with one of his friends.  We knew E loves to play ping pong because he plays it with us often so we called him and he came and played with President Lapin and his friend. Well President Lapin's friend had to go not long after E arrived there and so it was just him and E playing while we were eating dinner.   When we walked in they were exchanging numbers and telling each other that when ever they have free time to call and play.  It is so great because now President Lapin can help us on lessons and it isn't just a random guy he doesn't know, but his friend.

I think I have talked about Y the other Elder's investigator who me and Elder Lyman found.  We had a lesson with him this week where we read 3 Nephi 11 and 12.  In the part in 12 where is say "say no more than yea yea or nay nay" I was a little worried that Y would be thrown off by that.  Because it is a little strange.  But after when we were talking about the chapter and what we read he choose that verse as one of the verses he really liked!  I learned a valuable lesson about the words of Christ.  They are powerful and I shouldn't worry about what it might be, the spirit will testify of those words even if I think it is strange.  The scriptures are such a blessing and I love the hour I get to read them everyday!

This week started off warmer but it snowed a little bit.  But Dad sent me some pictures of the snow in Brigham and I think that you have more than us.  I said it started off warm.  It got super cold again somewhere around -35.  But even that is a lot warmer compared to what it was a week or two ago.

Me and Elder De Sandre were contacting and he had a Book of Mormon firmly in his hands.  We stopped this man and asked him if he believed in God.  He looked at us then at our Book of Mormon and then grabbed it and took off.  We followed him for a little while and he never threw it away so I guess that means he is going to read it!     

I went tracting for the first time in my entire mission yesterday.  It was a good experience.  We have only done street contacting.  But Elder De Sandre thought we should try it out so we did.  We went to the domaphone and hoped for someone to let up his because it is locked until someone inside opens it or someone outside has a magnite key thing to open it.  We barely called the first phone when someone came out of the building and opened it for us.  We went to the top floor and worked our way down.  The first guy we talked to was so cool!  He was interested and said that maybe we could meet some other time.  The rest we didn't have much success but it was still really fun.  It is exciting to see who is on the other side of the door.

I hope everyone one has a great week back home and when I write next I should be in a different area. I also can't wait to hear the news of my Panthers first Superbowl victory!

Elder Wilding 

With Elder De Sandre

a

Dragon

Stray dogs

Wilderness

The things we find in the Siberian wilderness

Mom note:
We received this letter (and photos) from his Mission President and wife: 

  
Dear Brother and Sister Wilding 
Our wonderful West Zone Missionaries gathered together in the Irkutsk Branch Building for Zone Conference. We had 20 missionaries in attendance. These missionaries were so thoughtful to present to us 3 red roses, peanut brittle and notes of gratitude! It was so nice! 

In our companionship study, we discussed at length the topic of "Grace" and the Atonement of our Savior Jesus Christ and the need for each one of us to repent daily. We also discussed the need to teach repentance to everyone as we serve as disciples of Jesus Christ. We talked about every member being a missionary and the need for each of us to continue this pattern through out our lives.  

Of course, Sister Perkinson loves to take pictures of the missionaries during our lunch break because I know that I can get them to smile big for me! All missionaries know that food makes us happier! 

We were grateful to view the proceedings of the World wide Missionary Training from Salt Lake. We were able to discuss the messages given from Apostles of The Lord! We are to teach REPENTANCE and baptize CONVERTS! We are truly blessed to be here serving The Lord in this part of His vineyard! 

We are grateful for Elder Wilding in his service with the members of Angarsk. We are grateful for the many years of gospel training taught in your own home! Thank you for carrying on the work of the Lord there also as you share the Gospel among your family and friends! 

Sincerely, President and Sister Perkinson Vladivostok Russia Mission

It was -40 Fahrenheit this week. Wait, I mean -40 degrees Celsius. Wait, they are exactly the same temperature!!!

We finally made it!  This week we reached the magical number of -40 where the Fahrenheit (farengate in Russian) and Celsius meet.  To celebrate we boiled water and threw it out our window and unsuspecting victims.  I just joking, it actually evaporated right before our eyes and was mind boggling.  

My zipper on my boot broke this week. Good thing I am in Russia where they have pemonts (repairs) on every corner,  I just took my boot in and they fixed it for way cheap and finished it pretty fast.  The same thing happened with my bag except it was my strap that broke and I took it in and they fixed the broken side and re-enforced the other side without more charge.  I love this place!  

We visit the R family this week.  They have kind of a interesting story.  So Brother R is a Mexican and was born and raised there and Sister R is Russian and she was born and raised there.  They met online and she flew to Mexico and they got married there.  They lived there for a couple of years and then they decided to move back to the hometown of Sister R.  I bet that situation could only be said of this family in all of history.  Anyways they are so cool and were definitely sent back to Russia because God needed them here.  They both served missions and want to help us missionaries so bad!  They have so many good ideas and it is a miracle they are here.  We really need them!

Some of the Russian's here are too tough.  It was -30 the other day and we talked to this girl who was only in a super small coat, jeans and normal shoes.  No shopka, not even a beanie.  No gloves, no boots.  We asked her if she was cold and she said no.  It is definitely a different breed.  It is kinda funny.  A lot of Russian's will lie to us and tell us it isn't cold when it is in the high negatives.  But then when we want to talk to them on the street they will say it is much too cold to talk right now.  They're good people though.

The few days I was without my boots I was basically skiing everywhere.  One time I grabbed onto Elder Lyman's shoulders and he ran and I glided the whole time and drifted when he turned corners.

The others Elders are teaching a guy that me and Elder Lyman found when we were companions but then he just kind of dropped off.  I think I talked about a little bit last letter.  He has been meeting with them everyday now.  He has nothing but he clothes on his back.  He is so cool.  He said before he met the missionaries he was smoking 2 packs of cigarettes a day.  Then in one week he was down to 3 cigarettes a day.  Then yesterday he told us that he was thinking about it last night and he said he is done smoking completely.  It is amazing was Heavenly Father can do with someone when they are in the depths of humility with a willing heart.  It also strengthened my testimony of no effort wasted.  When me and Elder Lyman taught him, after the second lesson he stopped picking up his phone.  We could have considered that time wasted meeting with him.  But it wasn't.  He showed up at the church last Sunday because he felt something when he was with us.  And also because he had nowhere else to turn but we were able to see that even though it didn't pan out the way we wanted it to the first time we started meeting with him.  God has a perfect plan for everything and it just wasn't the right time for him.  We are praying that this time is.

It was a really good week and made even better by the fact that my Panthers are in the super bowl.  It is so amazing.  I can only imagine what it would be like if I was home.  But I have been thinking.  This time out here in this frozen land when I get to serve with these people is much more worth it than being home to watch my Panthers win their first super bowl.  I wouldn't change my decision to serve my mission or change my mission to another year or another time even if I could.    What is really important is made so much clearer to me out here.  There is not so much stuff to blur my vision.   I wouldn't go back and change it for anything.

That being said, I am still going watch all the game when I get home but that can wait.

I had a really good week.

I love and miss all of you

Elder Wilding

мне холодно

Frost

PROOF

 (If you look close enough you can see his eyelashes are frozen.)