Family and friends

Thanks for such a wonderful Christmas. I couldn't have asked for anything better. It was awesome to be able to focus on the Savior so much this year. I'm grateful for all of your support. You are all a wonderful blessing to me. It was so great to skype my family! I wrote in my journal and I read what I wrote back to myself, and I don;t think I have ever been so happy in my life. It was amazing! I love my family like nobodies business. And I really appreciate all that they do for me!

This week was super good for Elder MacDonald and I! We got two new investigators. And they are so great. Jose is a wonderful man. He doesn't speak too much English though so we struggle there. But He is a super good guy. So just for explanation,

Jose is living with a woman named Jessica and they just had a baby named Emmanuel two months ago. Jose and Jessica have been together for four years. They lived in Georgia for two of them, Oelwein IA for another two or so. And they moved to Manchester about 5 months ago. So there have been a lot changes in their life. Jessica has a 13 year old daughter named Destiny who invited to be baptized along with Jose. And Jessica was actually baptized in 2009 and is super excited about having the missionaries over again. From what I gathered, she has not been coming to church due to family relationships. When she joined the church in Georgia her mother actually kicked her out. And she was homeless. So she is afraid that coming back would mean that those relationships would be severed. Jessica and Jose have been looking for a church to go to but Jessica just can't feel the Spirit like she did when she was baptized. And she knows that she needs it. But she just feels a little guilty about breaking the law of chastity and these types of things. But the Spirit has been present when we have taught them. We taught them on Monday the 23rd. and then once again on Christmas. And the Spirit directed us so much. It was amazing. Jose mentioned to Jessica after we left that He felt something when we talked with them. hopefully the spirit will help him understand the points that we can't. I'm just so grateful for this family. They are so great. And we hope and pray that we can help them in coming closer to Jesus Christ. our message strengthens people. And our message lets them know that God truly loves them. It's been so amazing to see the progress that they are making. Please pray for them. They need all the help and support they can get. We have another lesson with them today and we plan on teaching them about the law of chastity, word of wisdom, and tithing. We are going to invite them to get married today and to be baptized on a specific date. So please pray that the lesson will go well. 

I love you all so much. Real quick, We got a text the other day that said we are super close to 550 and that a ton of miracles have happened in the mission the past couple of days! so please pray that they will continue to happen. We are so close. Please pray for us. I love you all so much. You are the best support I could ask for. Please continue to pray and follow the promptings you recieve. I love you all!

Elder Caleb James Wardle

Merry Christmas!!!

Wow! Christmas has come so fast! I'm so grateful for the opportunity that we have to celebrate the birth and life of our Savior Jesus Christ. Although Christmas can be a fun time of year as it should be, please remember the true meaning of things as we celebrate this wonderful season. And even though I am away from family this year I am excited to be able to spend the day serving Christ, which is the best way to remember the Christmas message. This week was slow. We had some long days of finding and we had a New Trainer's meeting on Thursday which was fun. We learned a little bit about the divine companionship between Joseph and Hyrum Smith. What a sweet companionship! In the talk we listened to it spoke of Hyrum giving his life for Hyrum, which then drew me to think about the Savior. And how he gave his life for us. I've been wondering how I can give my life for the Savior more fully. And also how I can give my life for Elder MacDonald. I invite you all to think about ways that you can improve and find greater happiness in serving others. 

We have a lesson today with a wonderful 30 year old woman named Ashley. And another with a man that Elder Wood and Elder Davis met by their house. (They live in our area which is awesome for us!). They are both going to be first lessons and we are really excited to get some new investigators today. Jose just moved to Manchester form Georgia and is looking for a church for he and his wife to go to. They also have a brand new baby so it's a perfect time to teach them about the plan of salvation as there are many changes being brought about in their life. We hope to invite him and his wife to baptism. Ashley is interested in hearing a message about Christmas which we have taken to mean the Restoration. Which is all centered on Christ and Heavenly Father and their love for us. So we hope to invite her to baptism as well. I love you all so much! Just an update we are at 484 baptisms as of today. And we have 45 super solid investigators set for the 28th. So please pray that the missionaries in this mission will be able to set more dates and that miracles will happen! We hope to give Christ the best Christmas present of all. More souls saved. I love you all so very much. Doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith. Merry Christmas!

Love, 

Elder Wardle