Hello from the ATL land

Hey y'all,

I'll keep it short today cause I got pictures too and I only got 7 minutes left!!

Story: So Elder Macoubrie and I were driving down the road when all a sudden he says "I wish I could just see someone and know... just know that they're ready to be baptized... like that guy right there".... so we drive by this guy and I'm thinking about what he said... so I decide, hey why not go see? Lets act in faith. So we pull over and jump out of the car and start running after this guy... we turn down the street he went on and he's gone!!! So we decide, hey... everything happens for a reason. We stopped and prayed to God to show us who we needed to see... someone who would recognize us a representatives of Christ. As soon as we got done praying, we looked up and a man is walking down the street towards us. We go right to him and introduce ourselves as representatives of Christ, to which the man responds to by saying "I know. I looked down the street and saw you two standing here... angels without wings!" We ended up praying with him and talking to him about the gospel before he had to go because of a medical issue (diabetes). We then stopped and prayed again... to lead us to a family that was in need... cause we both felt like there was still a reason we were there. Long story short, we kept knocking and asking each person we talked to who they knew that could use some help... by the end, it was almost 9:00... and still nothing. We walked down the street back to our car to go home... but we knew there was someone there we needed to see. At the very end of the road, we both stopped and turned to see a house that we didn't notice before. Without saying anything, we both walked towards the house. We knocked... and love and behold, a family was there who had been taking discussions in Ind. before they moved away. They told us that they want to be baptized and keep taking the lessons before we had the chance to say anything. I promise you... that as we act in faith, the Lord will bless us with miracles. By being obedient, we're allowed to witness these miracles.

 Love you all!

hello from sunny and wet rainy land of Atlanta

Hey y'all,

Whew! What an amazing day! How are you amazing and wonderful children of God doing today???? Can I invite each of you to do something??? Just say to yourself... in your mind or outloud these words "I'm a child of God"... I love saying that to myself! Repeat that to yourself anytime you're feeling down, frustrated, stressed, etc... even if you think its cheezy and dumb! Cause no matter who you are, or what you do, or what you think about it... it will help you feel better. I promise :)

Alrighty... so what to talk about???? Transfers happened. Got a new companion named Elder Macoubrie... he was the District leader here in the Atlanta District... he's awesome!!! Love serving with him. He's pretty tall and from Colorado. Got all new District leaders in the Zone... one of them being Elder Harding from my MTC District... and its humbling to be able to serve alongside of such amazing and mighty missionaries and priesthood men. They're amazing and are doing great work.

When we help one another, we are doing the work of the Lord. Think of this... the two great commandments... do you know what they are? Love God and love everyone. Well, ok... that's not word for word but thats my personal summary of the two. You know whats so interesting about those 2 great commandments though? Well, there's a lot of interesting things about them... one being that ALL the other commandments tie back into them... but perhaps the most interesting thing about them is that they both tie back into ONE single, EXTREMELY important thing.... any guesses??? It's love. They both tie back into the single origin of all things... the single driving purpose of EVERYTHING that we know and have yet to come to know... its love. Love is the ultimate of ultimates... its not just something we have or feel... it's EVERYTHING. Think about it... why do we have the plan of salvation? What is our Heavenly Fathers purpose? What was His intent behind everything??? Why was the Savior sent here to atone for our sins?? Love. It's all about love..... I can testify to each and every one of you that love is everything... and that as we love others, we show our love to God. The 2 great commandments are one in the same. We love God by loving and serving others and we love others by loving God... I invite each of you to pray and look for opportunities to love others. Help each other out! We're all one big family... lets be one big family of love :)

I love you all so much. I gotta run cause time is out but I'll have some stories for you next week. Just don't forget to love!

-Elder Wahlen

Hello from the sunny and yet rainy land of downtown Atlanta!

Hey y'all,

Whew! What an amazing day! How are you amazing and wonderful children of God doing today???? Can I invite each of you to do something??? Just say to yourself... in your mind or outloud these words "I'm a child of God"... I love saying that to myself! Repeat that to yourself anytime you're feeling down, frustrated, stressed, etc... even if you think its cheezy and dumb! Cause no matter who you are, or what you do, or what you think about it... it will help you feel better. I promise :)

Alrighty... so what to talk about???? Transfers happened. Got a new companion named Elder Macoubrie... he was the District leader here in the Atlanta District... he's awesome!!! Love serving with him. He's pretty tall and from Colorado. Got all new District leaders in the Zone... one of them being Elder Harding from my MTC District... and its humbling to be able to serve alongside of such amazing and mighty missionaries and priesthood men. They're amazing and are doing great work.

When we help one another, we are doing the work of the Lord. Think of this... the two great commandments... do you know what they are? Love God and love everyone. Well, ok... that's not word for word but thats my personal summary of the two. You know whats so interesting about those 2 great commandments though? Well, there's a lot of interesting things about them... one being that ALL the other commandments tie back into them... but perhaps the most interesting thing about them is that they both tie back into ONE single, EXTREMELY important thing.... any guesses??? It's love. They both tie back into the single origin of all things... the single driving purpose of EVERYTHING that we know and have yet to come to know... its love. Love is the ultimate of ultimates... its not just something we have or feel... it's EVERYTHING. Think about it... why do we have the plan of salvation? What is our Heavenly Fathers purpose? What was His intent behind everything??? Why was the Savior sent here to atone for our sins?? Love. It's all about love..... I can testify to each and every one of you that love is everything... and that as we love others, we show our love to God. The 2 great commandments are one in the same. We love God by loving and serving others and we love others by loving God... I invite each of you to pray and look for opportunities to love others. Help each other out! We're all one big family... lets be one big family of love :)

I love you all so much. I gotta run cause time is out but I'll have some stories for you next week. Just don't forget to love!

-Elder Wahlen

Hello One & All From the ATL!!!

Hey y'all,

Y'all are amazing. I love each and every one of you. How are y'all doing this wonderful and amazing day?? Could y'all do something for me? Just take a moment and look outside... how beautiful and amazing is that? How incredible is this world around us? We're so blessed to be here!

Alright, so I have an experience to share from this morning... myself, my companion (Elder Vargas) and two other Elders took a field trip to a place called Stone Mountain this morning for a hike. It's not really a mountain... its more like one massive granite rock... but in a place where the land is flat and you can't see more than a few hundred yards away from you because of buildings or tree's... well, we'll let them call it a mountain... bless their hearts ;) But anyways.... we went and hiked this mountain this morning... and I feel like I learned a lot from that hourish long experience... but one thing I wanted to share is what I saw at the top of this mountain. When we reached the summit, there was hardly any trees or vegetation covering the top. Now, keep in mind.... this mountain literally is a giant mass of granite stone. There wasn't much that could grow on there down around the bottom to begin with.... there was however a few, gnarled and withered looking trees up at the top. I went over and examined these trees... and I couldn't help but notice just how old, worn out and beat they looked. To add to this visual, there was a strong wind blowing and a heavy fog this morning as we hiked and reached the top... it was no wonder that these tree's looked beaten and old... they're completely left out in the open to face the winds, wet and blasting sun.... but you know what? They were still there... old and worn they may have looked, but upon closer examination, I could see that they were incredibly strong trees... and not just the trunks, branches, etc... but the roots! The roots had burried themselves deep into the granite rock to hold these trees strong. Now... there are MANY parables/analogies/etc. that I came up with in my head for these trees... but the one I'll share is simple. We are the trees.... we go through many hard things in life... many storms, many rains, many winds, many hot days, etc... but as we keep ourselves deeply rooted in the rock of life... as we root ourselves to Jesus Christ and His gospel.... we will not only surive but we will be strengthened by all the trials we face... and we will be able to endure all things. I testify to you that Jesus Christ is our Savior. He is the way to eternal life and eternal happiness... He is the rock that we can... and must all stand upon and stay firmly rooted to. Always follow Him... always love Him... always love and serve others. I love each of you so much... you're all so amazing. Have a wonderful and blessed day! (I'll include pics next time... forgot my camera today.... sorry!)

-Elder Wahlen

Hello one and all from the hot and sticky ATL down-town!‏

Hey y'all,

How's everyone doing? Have a great 4th of July? I sure hope so!!! It was crazy down here... but crazy good!

So I don't have much time again today... and I'm sorry for that... but here are a couple things.

I've had the amazing opportunity to go through the Atlanta temple a few times in the past few weeks here... and in the Celestial room, there is a HUGE chandlier that is amazingly beautiful... it literally looks like one giant crystal. Its lit from the inside and as the light shines through all the interlocked and connected gems/crystals, the shine forth with every color imaginable. This chandelier is often the topic of conversation before and after the temple trips as many things can be learned from its beauty... so here are a few things I've learned from it. Just as the chandelier is made up of many different crystals, so too is the kingdom of God. Only His kingdom is created not with crystals, but with amazing people such as yourself. Each crystal in the chandelier represents us.... and as we let the light within each of us shine through (the light of Christ) we're able to see and realize all of our amazing unique talents and ablities that the Lord has blessed each of us with. This is where we can see all the different colors... we're all different and yet all equally beautiful as we allow for that light to shine from within us. So how do we let that light shine through us? Well, just as the crystals and clean and pure in order to allow the light to shine through, we too must keep ourselves clean and pure by being obedient. Be obedient to the commandments and ye shall remain clean and pure.... and that light will shine through you and help you to not only help others see and feel the love of Christ, but it will allow you to shine with all the "colors" or talents and abilities that you have. All of your gifts will be fully realized and utilized... especially as we use them to help others. Sorry if that made no sense, but thats the short version :)

Last thing I wanted to talk about.... we often think about how amazing it will feel to see our Heavenly Father.... and not just see Him, but to be embraced by Him. How amazing will that be? To be hugged by our Heavenly Father? Pretty amazing, huh? Now think of this... how happy will He be... how amazing will He feel when He finally gets to hug us? I testify to each of you that NO ONE wants to hug you more than our Heavenly Father does. He wants you to be happy.... He wants you to come back and to be with Him again as an eternal family... His love can't be comprehended... but I testify to you that its there. It's there for each and every one of you. Pray and ask for help if you're struggling... He will give you the strength you need to break those chains and free yourself from those things weighing you down and He will take them from you when you're strength runs out.

I love you. Y'all are amazing.

-Elder Wahlen

Hello from downtown!!!‏

Hello y'all,

I love you all so much. Y'all are amazing. Always remember that. How y'all doing????

So... what to talk about today... I've learned A LOT this week. Crazy story though... in the ATL Ward where I serve... I'm telling you, its the most unique ward on Earth. It one moment, the whole class was talking about how judgement will be a self-judgement... with nearly everyone singing and shouting out praises like "Amen sister!" "That's what I'm talking about! Ya! That's what I'm talking about!", etc. while someone was eating a breakfast wrap from McDonalds and a baby girl was playing with a pink colored tazer from her Moms purse (don't worry, she took it away after she noticed)... and this was a class being taught by a missionary. I dunno... that doesn't do the whole situation or experience justice... but wow... only in the wonderful and amazing Atlanta ward! I love it! Always a unique and crazy amazing experience each Sunday!

Just a few things... well, maybe only a couple cause I'm short on time... but I'll see how far I can go. Lose yourself in the love and service of others. Love heals all things. I testify to each and every one of you that y'all are loved so much... there is so much love for you in this world and on the other side. There is so many people pulling for you and cheering you on... please, never give up. Keep going. You always have help. You always have someone there to love you... and please, always love EVERYONE around you. There is so many people out there that just need to feel even just the smallest portion of love. I promise and testify to you as well that as you lose yourself in the service of others that you will find yourself... your true self. Pray to have charity towards all and then go out there and love everyone. You'll change the world around you... you'll change those around you.... and you'll change yourself.

One other thing really quick... be obedient so that the Holy Ghost can always be with you. Don't do it for yourself though... do it for the benefit of those around you. You each have amazing spiritual gifts that our Heavenly Father has given you... and as the Holy Ghost is with you... and works through you... you'll be able to maximize those gifts for the betterment of all those around you. Be obedient. Do the small and simple things.

Only 30 seconds left! I love you all. Sorry this was short and crazy!

-Elder Wahlen 

Hello from Ponce De Leon!‏

Hey y'all,

How y'all doing? I'll start by saying sorry... this is going to be short. This key-board is messed up so it takes me FOREVER to type anything up.

Did y'all get the chance to go and see the first Presidency broadcast this Sunday? I sure hope so!!! It was AMAZING!!! If you missed it... go find it! Watch it! Pray about the things they talked about and the things you learned.

There's so many things I want to talk about today... but since I'll only be able to talk about one today... and go with this:

FOLLOW PROMPTINGS FROM THE HOLY GHOST

Story to go along with this... (long story short)... the 2nd councilor here in the ward told us to go visit a lady he home teaches after church this last Sunday... said he felt like she needed a visit. We changed our plans and went... we get there and she asks for our help in cleaning out her freezer. We quickly agree thinking its just a few small things... NOPE! Turns out the freezer was packed with meat... and it had been spoiled completely over the course of at least a week... the place smelled so bad that after we opened the freezer to clean it out, you could smell the stink a good 20 yards outside the front door. Maggots, flies, all sorts of nasty stuff was in there... it made the place unlivable it smelled so bad. This lady has 3 young daughters too... so we dropped our plans and ended up cleaning the thing out for the next 3 hours... we got it done though!

Moral of the story... if the original prompting hadn't been followed, that lady and her 3 daughters would've been in that house with that terrible situation... but because he had the ability to not only hear the spirit/prompting but then had the courage to act upon it, the Lord was able to provide a way to help that family. Always follow promptings... it will bless the lives of others and your own. Don't be afraid to do so either! (Joshua 1:9).

One last note... pray often! Pray for specifics!!

I love you.... I love you all so much. Love everyone, love the Lord.

-Elder Wahlen