Wow! What a crazy two weeks it has been in the field. I've been serving in the Washford area. Our flat (apartment) is in Minehead, which is right on the bay. It is beautiful here! My companion's name is Elder Cribbs, and he is from Portland, Oregon. Elder Cribbs is one of the very best missionaries out there. I definitely lucked out having him as my trainer. 

The last two weeks my testimony has definitely been put to the test. I did say that missionary work isn't hard, it's just not easy. But this is definitely the hardest thing I've ever had to do spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and even physically. But when I'm having a bad day it's nice to know of all the support I have from people back home. I really appreciate all your emails. It truly is what has kept me going. I don't know if I could have made it this far without you all. 

Also when I think my life is really hard, I've noticed that I gain a lot of strength from my ancestors which is kind of interesting. I always think about my great grandpa Lambert. My Dad always talks about him. When he was my age, he was fighting for his life and others' lives in Germany during World War II. I always think that if he could do that then I can do this. 

Also whenever I have doubts about my own testimony I always think about the scripture Helaman, 5:12, which says that if your foundation is built on Christ then you won't fall. I love Jesus Christ, and I want to be more like him. I love you all!

Elder Wray

 

 

  

Hello everyone! I hope you all had a great week. This was my last week in the Missionary Training Centre here in Chorley. It's been great here. I've learned a lot and met a lot of great people. I'm going to miss my district and teachers. 

On Friday we toured church history sites in Preston. It was cool to see! As members of the church we should strive to read the Book of Mormon every day. It will help us avoid mistakes, and we'll gain so many great insights from it. I've learned the importance of reading it every single day since I've been here. The gospel of Jesus Christ can help anybody. It can give people a much happier and fulfilling life. We don't have to be set apart as full-time missionaries to share it with others. But we should always be respectful to other people's beliefs about God. Everyone has the right to worship God how they want or not at all if they choose. But I just hope I can help people accept this gospel and realize how much happiness it can bring into their lives and the blessings they can receive from it. 

Also it's very important to realize that being perfect doesn't mean being perfect. Being perfect means doing your very best and then Jesus Christ will make up the rest. He might have to make up a lot for us or not that much. But it doesn't matter as long as we are doing our best. Have a good week everyone!

Elder Wray

   

 

 

 

 

   

   

   

  

Hello family and friends! I hope you are all doing well. I would love to hear from you all. My experience in the missionary training center is going well. I've been here for two weeks now. Time is so weird. Sometimes it feels like I've been here for years, but then other times it feels like I've been here for a day. 

Most of this last week was just classes and role playing. Sunday was awesome once again. We had sacrament meeting and then watched some devotionals. They only show us the very best devotionals, so we learn a lot from them. That evening we sang hymns together on the temple grounds. That was pretty awesome. I've never really been a big singer, but I've started to really love singing hymns. I almost always have a hymn stuck in my head, because we sing so many of them. 

My testimony on prayer has grown this past week. I've seen so many answers to my prayers, and a lot of times it's through others that our prayers are answered. We all have things that we're going through. Just pray for guidance. I promise God will help you through anything. 

I've started to become pretty good friends with this Elder from São Paulo, Brazil. But this Elder is so funny. He had a bottle of Febreeze, and he was pretending to sneeze on some of the Elders while he sprayed the back of their necks with the Febreeze. He's so funny! 

Yesterday was quite a day to say the least... it was our first experience prosylting. We loaded a "coach" or a bus with about 65 missionaries and headed to Manchester. They just dropped us off in the middle of the city and basically said "Good luck! Be back in two hours." Almost everyone there seemed like they were in a big rush, so it was awkward and hard to talk to them. The homeless guys were just sitting, so my companion and I found it easier to talk to them. My companion gave one of them a hamburger which was really nice of him. But then right after that a guy yelled at the homeless guy "They're Jehovas Witness!" So that was kind of weird. My companion and I both gave our Books of Mormon to two other homeless guys. I saw a homeless guy reading a book, so I gave him a Book of Mormon and said he should read it after he finishes his other book. He accepted it and said thank you. So that felt good to give away my first Book of Mormon. Then my companion gave his to another homeless guy. The homeless guy said he couldn't read, but hopefully he can still get something out of it. We passed out a lot of pass a long cards too, so I was pretty happy about that. But I found it a lot harder than I thought it would be to have a conversation with people I've never met. 

My companion and I passed this big theater where "The Book of Mormon" play was showing. I knew that this play was just a play that mocks and makes fun of missionaries and the church. But my companion didn't know this so he pointed to all the signs that were hanging up and he was like "Hey! Look at that!" Anyways a little while later a couple passed by us, and I saw them smiling and pointing at us. So I turned around and smiled at them. And they knew that I knew they were looking at us. So they came over to us and they were like "Are you two the actors in "The Book of Mormon" play?" And I just started laughing. And then I told them that we were actual missionaries. We had a good conversation with them after that. They were really nice and genuine. They said that they were going to see the play later that night, so hopefully their conversation with us will give them a better impression of missionaries and the church than the play will. 

Last night I was thinking a lot about how missionaries and the church get mocked a lot by the world. But the bottom line is that Jesus Christ was mocked more than anyone. And if we take his name upon us, people will mock us. That's all there is to it. We have to care more about following Jesus Christ than what the world thinks of us if we want to remain faithful. Anyways, have a good week everyone! Love you all!

Elder Wray