California, California, here we come

July 18, 2011

So, this is it. Unless I get to send emails next Monday when I leave my area (and even if I can, I don't know if I will), this will be the last email I will send to you guys as a full-time missionary. I will see some of you and talk to the rest of you next week, when President Lindberg will take away my super powers and I'll turn into a normal person again.

Isn't that mind-blowing?

I figure I'll just give you guys a little update now.

I have my flight itinerary here with me this time, so I can tell you exactly how everything is going down: I leave São Paulo at 8:50 PM on Tuesday, July 26th and arrive in Atlanta at 5:55 AM on Wednesday, July 27th (10:05 flight duration). Then I take a plane at 8:15 AM from Atlanta to Salt Lake, where I will land at 10:22 AM (4:07 flight duration). Then I get a plane at 11:10 AM to Burbank, where I will land at 12:13 PM.

It's not included on the flight plan, but it's safe to assume that the next stop (somewhere around 12:18 PM) will be at In-N-Out, right?

So yeah, that's that.

This week was pretty good for us. We have been working with some good investigators and making things happen, but the baptisms just aren't happening. We haven't baptized at all this transfer, which is a real downer. A miracle could happen this week, though, so we'll see.

I had a really cool experience this week that I'd like to share with you. I was on a division in my area with an elder who is in his first transfer. We walked to a really distant part of town to go to an appointment that I had scheduled with a woman that we met on Sunday. We got to her house and she wasn't home. The next appointment that we had to attend to was in an equally distant neighborhood, but in the other direction. We didn't have to make that long walk for a little while, though.

So we decided to knock some doors. The other elder went on one side of the street and I stayed on the other. We tried a few houses with no success. It was hot and we were almost out of time, so I wondered if it was even worth continuing. But I wanted to teach someone, so we kept trying. I came to a house with a blue gate and knocked once. No one came. I waited a minute and knocked again. Nothing.

I bowed my head and offered a silent prayer, asking Heavenly Father to guide us to someone who was ready to receive us. I knocked a third time on the blue gate, waited, and nothing happened. A little disappointed, I moved on to the next house and rang the doorbell. After just a moment, though, someone came to the gate at the last house that I had knocked at. A guy in his twenties opened the gate, I called my comp over, and the guy invited us in before we could even really explain who we are. This guy's name is Marcos, and he has turned out to be a pretty amazing investigator. We taught him about the Restoration of the gospel, and he was really receptive. I went back there later with my normal companion, and we invited him to be baptized. He accepted. He has been reading the Book of Mormon and praying about it, and he received an answer! He even went to church yesterday!

It was a really cool experience for me. It's just a shame that he will be baptized after I leave. I don't even care if it was an answer to prayer or simply a coincidence, because Marcos is one of the most promising investigators we've taught for a while.

Anyway, that was this week. I want you guys to know how much I love you (it's a lot)! I'm excited to see all of you!

Now I'm going to bear my testimony. I know, by the power of the Holy Ghost, that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. I know that he is the Savior of the world, and that he atoned for our sins. I testify that God the Father and His Son appeared to the prophet Joseph Smith and restored the Savior's Church. I know that the gospel of Jesus Christ is the only path that leads us to enduring happiness and eternal life. I love being a missionary. I love this work. I know that these things are true.

I LOVE YOU! See you all next week!! A missão e o melhor lugar no mundo!! Amo vocês!

luv

elder wiggins