December 26, 2012

Hola Everyone,

This week has meant the completion of my third week here in the MTC. I am learning to love it more and more everyday. Let's see, what can I tell you?...On Christmas Eve we got to watch "A Christmas Carol" which was kinda cool I guess. And on Christmas morning we got to listen to Elder Russell M. Nelson and his wife speak to us. It was awesome! He talked a lot about missionary work and Christ. He told us that we are the link to eternal life for those we teach. I had never thought about it like that but it is so true! He also said some other interesting stuff. I'll just put them in quotes since I don't have much time to explain them. "As imperfect as we are, God's Plan/Work is perfect so don't stress about it", "Be bold and declare the Word of God", and my personal favorite thing he said during his talk was this. "His victory over death, is THE GREATEST gift we can ever receive at Christmas time" I know this to be very true. All the gifts and gadgets that we receive on Christmas are nice, but we should never forget the true meaning of Christmas, which is our Savior and Redeemer Jesus Christ. And we should never forget his eternal, atoning sacrifice for each and every one of us. And last night we got to watch "It's a Wonderful Life". Earlier this week I had the opportunity to finish reading the Book of Mormon for the first time since being here in the MTC. After I finished reading it, I knelt down to pray for a confirmation of it's truthfulness and before I had even finished asking the specific question, an overwhelming feeling of love and peace came over me to reassure me that it is true. For those of you who are reading this don't know the feeling that I am talking about I would ask you to read from the BOM and follow the word's of Moroni (Moroni 10:3-5 in the BOM) and pray to know if the Book of Mormon is true. I promise that you will receive an answer to your prayers. Another little side note, for those who would like to write me, my address is on my FB being run by my brother. Or you can write me on DearElder.com. I would love to hear from all of you. It feels good to receive mail from those who love you. I love all of you and wish you the best during this, the greatest of holiday seasons and wish you a Happy New Year.

With love,

Elder Jayson Welker

Remember who you are and the family name you bear

Return with Honor

Remember who you are and who you represent

December 19, 2012

Hola Everyone!

Well it has officially been 2 weeks in the MTC and I'm loving it so far. The language is coming along slowly but surely and I'm going to keep working hard at it. It has snowed here the last 3 or 4 days, not much but enough to make me love it. We get a bunch of new Elders today because the oldest district left this week. Our zone leaders were awesome and I'm going to miss them a ton because they were super helpful. So we have gym for an hour everyday and my companion and I just play basketball all the time. We play with a kid that is super legit. He was a high jumper at BYU before he came out here. Apparently his PR was like 7'1". Super crazy. But he isn't even the best bball player here. A kid named Steelman White was here like a few weeks ago and left either this week or last. I never saw him but he was the starting PG at North Carolina last year! I wish I could have seen him play. I've learned so much about the gospel in the 2 weeks that I've been here. I'm so thankful for all that it has done in my life and for the opportunity and decision I made to serve a mission for the Lord. All of the people who come in and talk to us always talk about missionary work. But they all say something that others haven't said. Yesterday we had Elder C. Scott Grow of the seventy speak to us and it was awesome! The thing that stuck out to me was sacrifice. Because all of us out here are sacrificing 2 years of our lives to be here. But in the grand scheme of things it isn't much of a sacrifice. The Savior died for all us and there is no way we will ever be able to repay him but serving a mission is a small step in doing so. I know that this is the work of God. I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the true church on the earth. And that it is led by a prophet of God, Thomas S. Monson. I won't be able to wish you all a Merry Christmas before Tuesday so I'll do it now. I hope that all of you who are reading this have a wonderful Christmas holiday and that you remember the reason for our celebration. Please keep Christ at the center of your celebration. I love and miss you all. I hope you all have a fantastic week.

With love,

Elder Jayson Welker

Remember who you are and the family name you bear
Return with Honor
Remember who you are and who you represent

December 12, 2012

Hola everyone!

This past week has been super crazy! We immediately jumped in to Spanish. For the first 3 days our teacher only spoke Spanish to us which was frustrating but also very helpful because it forces you to learn quickly. The language barrier is still very apparent but I'll just working hard at it. The first 4 or 5 days drag on for a very long time. They say that if you make it past Sunday you will be fine, which I did! So here's to hoping! haha. I have learned so much here in the short amount of time that I have been here. My companions are great! All of us in our room are going to Rancagua Chile which is pretty cool and exciting! It's super weird for me because I'm older than most Elders in our zone but I'm constantly asking for their help and guidance. Last night we had a devotional from Elder Hollstrom from the Presidency of the 1st quorum of the 70. It was super good! He talked a lot about missionary work and the thing that stuck out to the most to me was when he said "That if you don't feel secure or confident yourself, become so! It is up to you to make the change and turn to the Lord." It really hit home to me because I've been really frustrated with the language and it taught me that I need to humble myself and turn to the Lord for help. Because with the Lord we can do all things if we have faith in him. Well that is all the time I have for this week. P-Days aren't so full of free time like I thought. I hope everyone has a good week and remember to trust in the Lord.

With love,

Elder Jayson Welker

Remember who you are and the family name you bear.
Return with Honor
Remember who you are and who you represent

p.s. for anyone who wants to write "www.dearelder.com" is a great way to get in touch with me. I receive a copy of what you write the day after but I don't get to write back until Wednesdays. Hope to hear from all of you soon.