It's 2014

Howdy y'all,

How's everyone doing this fine week in the 2014??? Isn't that crazy? It's 2014!!! Wow... what a great time to be alive and to be serving the Lord. What are some of your New Years resolutions???

So I'm not exactly sure what to write about this week... this last week was nuts! Adjusting to the new area, companion getting violently ill... meetings that are 1 1/2 hour drive away... all sorts of crazy!!!! I'll say this much about my new area though... this ain't down town ATL anymore!!! Wow!! What a change... I'm still trying to get my bearings here... I feel so out of place haha. I feel like I started the mission all over again! Feels like I don't know anything anymore... but it's a good thing. A new start... new lessons to be learned... a chance to take a fresh view of myself... really, it's a chance to repent :)

Wow... as crazy as things have been though I've learned so much already... where to begin? I can't think of a specfic experience off the top of my head... so maybe I'll share some of what I leanred and share a miracle experience next week :)

Always be ready, worthy and willing to serve the Lord. We watched a movie for mission council this week... it's about the story of a man named Epharim Hanks... I can't remember the name of the movie but it's a companion film to 17 miracles... and wow, it's a GREAT one to watch. I'd invite each of you to check it out.... there's many great lessons to be learned from it and it certainly changed the way I see a lot of things in my life and in the lives of others. But anyways... one of th biggest things I pulled from that film is to always be ready for the Lord... and worthy! The Lord will open more doors to us the more prepared we are.... and how do we prepare oursevles? We have faith and we're obedient. Faith and obedience go hand in hand... you truly cannot have one without the other... they are synergestic and they are the two things that propel you through the gospel and the eternities as we progress to become more like our Heavenly Father. As we do those two things... we will be prepared by the Lord to do His work.. and He will use us as we remain worthy of His calling. Now, none of us are perfect... and many times we fail to prepare adequately to do His glorious work and to answer His call when we are called upon... but we must do our best to become clean and worthy by relying on the Atonement. We utilize and rely on the Atonement of Christ through repentence... by praying and asking God for forgiveness... and then we go out and we CHANGE to become better. We set goals and make plans to improve... each and every day of our lives so that we can continue on this journey and contiune to be an instrument in the Lords hands...

I've seen this time and time again throughout my mission... especially during my time in ATL. Now, I don't know how many of you know this, but during my time there I was struggling with some health problems... and I'll be the first to admit, that it was REALLY hard some days to stay strong and to keep doing what I've been called upon to do and to keep going out and working hard... but I did it. No matter how terrible I felt, I kept relying on those 2 things I spoke of... faith and obedience... and then when I did fall short (and all of us do... me especially) I repented and literallly relied on the Lord to get me through all things and to not only make up the difference, but to be the difference in what I was trying and hoping to accomplish each day... and what I found was that the Lord consistently trusted me with opportunities to serve Him... to be His hands... some small examples of this was often times on the days I felt the worst, the Lord would bless me with the chance to pronounce a priesthood blessing for someone. I didn't understand why at the time... but looking back now with the perspective I have, one thing that I've pulled from those experiences in that the Lord trusted me enough to perform such an act because I had remained faithful and obedient despite the opposistion I was facing... now, please don't misunderstand me here... by no means am I saying that I was perfect or that I'm someone to look to our admire as I certainly made many, many mistakes and failed to prepare myself in other ways for other opportunites,.... but as I did my best, the Lord blessed me with the opportunity to serve and witness miracles.... and I can now promise and testify to each and every one of you that the very same thing will happen to each of you as you contiune to remain faithful and obedient through ALL things... and I know that the Atonement is ALWAYS there for you to lean upon and rely upon to get you through all things... and the more you turn to the Savior and the Atonement for help... the greater heights you will reach in your personal life and the more often the Lord will turn to you to help aid Him in His work... which is to bring the gift of the Atonement into EVERYONES lives... and to help them return together a family and recieve the greatest gift of all which is eternal life. Each of you can remain not only worthy and prepared to be utilized by the Lord through faith, obedience and now I've added repentence..., but you will find more happiness and joy in your life than ever before. I promise :)

Again, I appologize if none of that made any sense.... as I seem to always go off on random tangents about things when I get going in my writing of these... but just know that I love each of you so much. I know that Christ lives and that through the Atonement that all things can be healed, forgiven, lifted and overcome... and that one day, we will all stand together and rejoice in ultimate glory and happiness as we return to be with our LOVING Heavenly Father and our LOVING elder brother, Jesus Christ. They love you. I love you. We always will. Seek them out and ye shall find... and as you rely on them, they shall rely on you to do the great work which we've ALL been called to do; the work of salvation. Remain clean and pure through faith and obedience and continue to serve and love all.

Have a blessed day!

-Elder Wahlen