Well as all of you know by now my visa has not arrived yet so I will be serving in the Saint George mission for some time and I have no idea how long, but for some reason Saint George needs me before I go to Mexico. These last few days have been pretty crazy because everyone in my district has been getting all their stuff together and packed up ready to go. It is pretty hard these last few days because At first I was leaving the same night as my companions Elder Smith and Elder Gwilliam, but after my flight plans changed they put me back 2 days which meant everyone in my room was leaving except for me. That was pretty hard for me because I became really good friends with Elder Smith and since he lives in England who know if I will get to see him again. They left Monday morning. Luckily though the Panama Elders in my district didn't leave until this morning so I spent all day with them yesterday and spent the night in there room both nights. I was blessed with another day to pack early so I wouldn't have to do it tonight. Anyways I woke up at 3:30 and helped them get everything cleaned up and carried some of their bags down from the top floor and walked with them to the travel office. This hurt my heart so much because over the last few weeks of being a district leader and zone leader my assignment was to watch over and take care of these Elders and they became like my little brothers. I said love you, goodbye, good luck and see you in two years. Now began my walk back to the residence alone with everyone in my district gone and I went into the room with no one in it. I got down on my knees and wept for five minutes. I loved every single one of them so much and now I was all alone....then I remembered I was never alone and that someone promised me that He would always be by my side to help me in times of need and I kind of got a little spect of how He felt when he lost connection with his Father in Heaven. This MTC experience has changed me so much and now it's time to go out in the field and teach my fellow brothers and sisters about our loving Heavenly Father and his son Jesus Christ our Savior. Wow do I love learning more about the gospel. Ok last week when I wrote I said that I had an experience that I couldn't talk about yet, well I think now is a good time to share. So there was an Elder in my district that suffers from depression and he has a really hard time keeping positive thoughts. Anyways every week he would see a counselor and take a little test to see where he was at and If he scored to high on this test there was a possibility of him being sent home unable to serve. Ok going back a bit this Elder and I became pretty good friends because during the end of the first week when I was brushing my teeth he started singing Seek and Destroy by Metallica and I started to sing along. He stopped and was like who sang that? It was me. From there we shared a lot of stories and tales about our lives and Gabe would love him because he is crazy too. This Elder skated through fire on his board and since gasoline is slippery when it's on fire he fell off his board right into the fire. He jumped out and ripped off his clothes it was insane. Ok this is were it gets personal. So his companion and another Elder came up to me and said we need to talk and this was right after I wanted to punch my companion in the face so I told them let me shower first so I can clear my mind. After some thinking in the shower I was able to calm down and clear my thoughts. Elder Cragun and Elder Nellis pulled me into the foyer to talk about the other Elder and his situation. Others from our district kept interrupting so I had no idea what they wanted to tell me. Some time went by and finally all the other Elders left except the one that we were going to talk to each other about. He then says to me, "If you don't already know I suffer from depression and this last week I scored pretty high on the test and I might be going home....I don't want to go home." This literally destroyed my heart because that is one thing I would never want for anyone to go through and I really loved this Elder and I could not bare to see him go home. He is a convert, his family are members, but he wasn't until he had a change of heart so here at the MTC he was one of my biggest examples because of the faith he had to come serve a mission. Back to the story. I sat there looking at him for a second and didn't know what to say, tears started to form in my eyes and roll down my face. When I started to speak I just poured my heart out and told him how much I love him and how much our Father in Heaven loves him. When I was finished I asked if he has had a blessing since he has been here and he said no. Then I asked if he would like one. We all sat there for awhile and he finally said yes, then I asked who would you like to do it and he said, " Elder Wolford would you do it?" We all went into his room and I started to bless him and I can't tell you how I felt the Spirit was so strong and I could feel how much the Lord loved him. I don't remember what I said all I remember is after I was done he got up and hugged me really tight and I just held him as he started to cry on my shoulder. I'm so blessed that I have the opportunity to help my fellow brethren like at that time and in that moment I realized it is exactly what the Savior does for us he helps us up when we fall, he is there to carry us when we can go no further, and he is is there when we need to cry on his shoulder. I know I was sent here for a reason and for a purpose and now Saint George needs me now for some reason and I can't wait to find out why. I know this church is the true church of God and that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God that translated the Book of Mormon for us today and through Jesus Christ we can do anything and everything. I love you all so much and want you to continue to read the scriptures because it will bring you closer to Jesus Christ and our Father in Heaven. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ our Savior and Redeemer, amen.
Mom I have no idea if it will be Spanish or English I will find out later. My Spanish is alright and it's enough to get me by, but I'm no where close to being great. Love you and call you later.
- Elder Wolford
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