Day 57

alright familia,

Yo tengo muchos cosas este semana que paso.  Primero, les amo mucho! i am so excited to head out this next week! So for everyone that is getting the emails im guessing my mom has already told the whole world but if by chance she hasnt i would just like to start off by letting you know that i have recieved a temporary assignment while i am waiting for my visa.  i have been asked to serve in the......boise......idaho.......wait......thats not right....birmingham........alabama mission.....yep thats right im gonna be down south brothers and sisters and am just as excited to serve in alabama as i am to serve in peru! i had a very powerful experience yesterday day during in-field orrientation (which was amazing) yesterday with this.  during this meeting that was all day we went through a lot of slides shows and fill out notes in out booklets.  the idea behind in-field orrientation to make sure we learned what we were supposed to learn in the CCM.  but the fact is i think most of what we talked about was new to me and most of us missionaries.  anyways one of the slides had this phrase on it.  "the lord is already preparing specific people in every area you will serve" i think that after reading that there was only 3 words that stuck out to me ALREADY....SPECIFIC...EVERY....i am not gonna lie i was pumped when i found out i was going to alabama but after this i realized there is a reason why i am going to alabama.  there is somebody in alabama waiting for me.  i have never been to alabama in my life i know absolutely nothing about alabama except there is a city named birmingham.  but i know that i can find somebody that is waiting for me and i WILL find that person(s).  everytime i think about this i am reminded of the amazing story in dads mission about the man and his dream.  there is one other thing i feel i should share with you.  this past week devotional elder don r clarke spoke to us and had a wonderful message but there is one thing that really stuck out to me, he said "don't just go through the mission, let the mission go through you" i know how big a difference this can mean for a missionary but i also thought how much it can mean for you if you change two words "don't just go through life, let life go through you" i now we are here for a reason, and that reason is to become more like jesus christ everyday.  dont just have experiences and just move on, let those experiences change you. another thing that i liked that kind of has a similar look at this is what my branch bresident hansen said to me during our last visit.  i told him that i was a completely different person now, and if i went and talked to myself 3 months ago i wouldnt even know who i was.  and he told me this.  i know that your experience in the CCM will mean the world for your mission, but now the goal is to let your mission to mean the same for your life.  i cant wait to serve next week and i hope wed. morning i wake up and start sharing the gospel with everyone i see.

       Love,      
              Elder Wilkinson