What a week

Family and Friends,

Im so excited to hear that Camberley arrived safely and I got pictures in the mail on Friday which was sweet. Congratulations Charity and Anthony. Ive been reflecting on how grateful I am for each of you. You really do keep pushing me forward and it' the absolute best to be able to come home to a letter or to a picture of my family and friends. So thank you for that.

Well like I said, Anthony was pretty skeptical about being baptized. But we had a dinner and a lesson with him and Elder Berthold was able to take him to the side and talk to him about it. basically Anthony just didn't feel ready. His mom is inactive and basically just told him that he has to be perfect after he s baptized. Which isn't true at all. he is so ready. And a great example to me. how many 13 year olds do you know that can bring a 9 year old brother and a 7 year old sister to church on Sunday? That's amazing. Plus church is a place for imperfect people. That's why it's called a ward. Similar to a hospital ward where people need fixing. That's why they called Christ the great physician. He heals us spiritually. So it was great that we were able to figure that out with him. Laurie called us monday right after we emailed so I wasn't able to include that in last weeks. But we had fasted and prayed for a way to get in contact with her an we received revelation that we should write her a letter. So we did, and she received it and called us immediately and said she would be at church on Sunday and that she was just caught up with work and with a whole lot of stuff. Well yesterday was Fast Sunday once again and we prayed and prayed that she would be able to make it to church and the dinner that we had set up for her. We called her friday saturday and sunday and morning, left messages and she didn't show... so that was a bummer. We don;t know what to do. But there is a saying in the mission. PUSH then LEAD. Pray Until Something Happens then Love Enlightens And Directs. So we will continue to PUSH at this point. Preach My Gospel talks about being bold with people. So thats what I think needs to happen next. She is more ready than anyone I have ever seen. She wants it deep down she just can't see it yet. So we will try to help her with it. Well, we tried to have a lesson with Randina this week. And after how good our first lesson went we were pretty set on her having us back. But we called her and she said that she was comfortable with being a methodist and that's where she wanted to stay. So we just told her to continue to read and pray about the Book of Mormon. And either it's true and she changes her life forever, or she was uplifted by good scripture. Thats all we asked. And she said she would. So we will try and follow up with her and see what happens. I just want you all to know I love you. Your the best. And you really do make it easier out here. So thank you for that. I love this work. elder Berthold bore his last testimony as a missionary yesterday. He said that a mission, wether old or young is the best decision anyone could ever make. I personally plan on serving as many as I possibly can down the road. Everyone owes it to themselves, to God, but especially they owe it to their family. I have seen my family strengthened so much just in this past month. And if you are not capable of serving, I encourage you to just share. Invite people to non threatening activities like Ward bbq's or to basketball on thursday nights or to a halloween party. And then once you've planted that seed, ask them if they want to learn more. And if they don't that's completely fine. I love you all. your amazing. Keep up the good work. And I will see you soon.

Much love,

Elder Wardle

I'm an uncle! (I think)

Family and friends,

I should have a brand new baby niece which is absolutely amazing. I bet she is just as beautiful as her mother (charity say hi to miss Camberley for me!)

This week has been interesting. Tuesday we went over to the Fosters ( a less active part member family) and they are absolutely. Brother Foster is a member and he is massive. But really just the sweetest guy we are trying to reactivate him and then teach his wife. Directly afterwards we went to Randina's who is a member that we found spirit finding. i dont know if I mentioned it but we found her two weeks ago after a hard of people rejecting our message and she was the last house that we hit. So we were able to teach her the restoration and we we commited her to be baptized. We had to teach her outside though because her husband was in the basement working out. And it was absolutely freezing. So we were having a hard time feeling the spirit when we were just getting to know her, but the moment we starting teaching it was there right along side us and kept us warm. We all siad the same thing when we got in the car, I was so warm after the spirit got there. It was amazing. Wednesday we had a zone training meeting and it was fantastic. I learned so much. We learned how important the members are in missionary work. We learned that no mission can reach its full potential with out member help. our president did the numbers and found and found that with the members help we can baptize 3,600 souls in a year (our goal is 550) So really the missionaries shouldn't be finding anymore. Tracting is going out the window. Its almost useless. We are relying on the members to help us find, fellowship, and testify. The members are so important. The Des Moines has the highest retention rate (number of people who remain active after baptsim) in the country. 93%. Thats unheard of. That ward has 60 new converts who were baptized within this time last year. And that's because the members there are kicking butt. I can promise you that if you do member missionary work, you will be forgiven of your sins, your families will be strengthened, you will do better in school, in work, and all aspects of your life. Doctrine and Covenants promises us those things. But it also says that no one can receive salvation without sharing the gospel. You can't make it to heaven without opening your mouth and telling those you come in contact with about the work. We are guilty. So just get over your fears and do it. The Lord promises that wherever you go, he will be there also. You can't lose. Its impossible. people may say no, but then atleast at that point you know they weren't ready. You may have thought that before but now atleast you know. But how would you know for sure if you don't ask? Give someone a book of Mormon. It paves the way for Jesus Christ. Go out with the missionaries. Sit by an investigator at church. Testify of what you know to be true. I know that it will bring blessings. Ive seen it. My family has been blessed because Im out here. Its a promise. So try your hardest.

Thursday we went on exchanges with Elder Markstaller who is sick. We love him to death. His spanish sucks but that doens't matter. He will get the gift of tongues in no time. But we walked about ten miles (we were trying to save miles on our car) and delivered fliers to other churches about a project going on in the community to benefit children in zimbabwe. But anyways, we saw a storm coming so we hid in Taco Bell and the storm was the coolest thing Ive ever seen. It was amazing. A wall of rain just hit the building so hard and the thunder was absolutely ridiculous.

Yesterday we took Anthony to a baptism. The Spirit was so strong there. And he went home and an hour later we got a text that said he was second guessing his decision to be baptized. So we have been praying non stop. And will continse to do so until something happens. I love you all. Your the best. keep doing what your doing. And become member missionaries. Catch the Wave. It's here. And you don't want to miss it.

I love you all

Family and Friends,

This week has been one of the most Spiritual of my life. We were able to teach another great lesson to Anthony Tuesday night. His brother Cole is 9 and Isabelle is almost 8 so we are teaching them as well. We brought a less active member named Brother Ryan and he bore the sweetest testimony on his conversion story. We are trying to reactivate him as well. It seems time is flying by. Ive been out for a month now. Which is absolutely insane to me. Im 1/24th of the way done. I hope to make it the best it possibly can be. We have been having some trouble finding people to teach. But on Thursday Elder Gay of the quorom of the Seventy gave us some amazing council at our yearly mission tour on how we could use the members. And it will be great for the rest of my mission but for now it will be tough. We technically are only allowed to meet with the members of our area and we only have 5 families that are in ours. Since we have so many sets of missionaries in our ward it's hard for us because our area is so spread out and not many members live here. So we continue to tract and Spirit Find and have found some people who are interested but haven't seemed to teach anyone here quite yet. It's been tough to find people who are not just being nice but are sincerely interested. But we will continue to search and find the lord's elect. We have prayed as a companionship to know how we can further the work. And it's been rough but we know that through the Spirit and the promptings that come we will find our way. I love this work and everything about it.

Elder Gay bore beautiful testimony on our purpose as missionaries and how absolutely true the Gospel is. It's all true. It just simply is. And I can testify to that. Elder Gay was the Ghana mission president and a few of the stories which he shared I feel are to personal to be relayed to you. But just know that it was a beautiful experience for me and I wish everyone could have been there. I saw the Spirit being worked through a man of God. He was so intense and so sincere. I loved every word he had to say.
And I hope I can continue to fulfill my purpose.

Some time this week we were able to teach Sierra. A convert to the church and she's been a member for about 2 months. And she has a great testimony. but during the lesson a bee flew up my plant leg... and the spirit was so strong as we were teaching that I didn't want to make any interruptions. So I left it there... for 20 minutes... My faith has never been tested more. It came my turn to bare testimony and the Spirit kept telling me to say more. So I continued... and the bee would fly around and buzz some. And then stop. Eventually we prayed and got in the car and I immediately took my pants off and out flew a bee. Elder Berthold and Elder Tanner laughed so hard when I told them what happened. Sunday we had a chance to fast to know what we should do for Laurie. She is the investigator that we haven't seen since the first day I got here and committed her to baptism. So as I was writing in my journal last night I received revelation that we should send her a letter since we can't get in touch with her any other way. So that's what we did. We decided to write our testimonies and hope that she would feel the Spirit enough to meet with us again. But Ive learned to act on the promptings that come to me. So we will see how that goes. I do love this Gospel. It truly is amazing. A mission is a time where we prepare for the rest of our Eternal Lives. It's not a time we wander through. We have purpose. And we get exhausted. And we struggle. And we are blessed. And we come closer to God than in any other time in our lives. It all becomes real here. It all remains true. We prepare for Godhood and sacrifice the things of this world. I love you all and wish the best for you. I love the support and the love. Thanks for all you have done. the church is true.

Love, Elder Wardle

What a Week

Family and Friends,

This week has been super fun and interesting. So I guess I will start from Tuesday after we got done emailing. Pdays are Mondays here but it was Labor day so the library and some of our favorite places to shop were closed so we did some proselyting on Monday to make up for the time we would spend emailing and shopping on Tuesday. Anyways, The spanish missionaries moved out and didn't have a car so we took them to go shopping with us. There is a sweet place called Aldi's out here where the food is dirt cheap. A dozen eggs for 89 cents, milk for a buck 20, so we missionaries really like it. After our shopping we took the Spanish Elders back to their apartment and as we were leaving we noticed some groceries by the main entrance and a tv and a woman struggling with her baby in a carrier, so Elder Berthold held the door while I offered to help the lady. Then her husband sees us and says you better never come back here again. Interesting. We were all pretty confused so the Spanish Elders said oh Sir we live here. He didn't care. He said I don't care I don;t want to see you. I guess he might of thought we were knocking doors. Anyways, Elder Berthold left the door cause he heard the guy yelling and swearing at us and he passed him and said have a god day sir and the guy said get the heck outta here. So Elder Berthold just laughed cause it was an interesting situation and the Guy ran back and said you want to laugh kid? ill call the cops. Elder Berthold said why? And he said for being a punk (bad word) kid. Anyways, Elder Berthold dared him to call the cops and despite them being face to face in this heated argument no punches were thrown... it was so strange cause there were five of us Elders and one of him, and he was begging Elder Berthold to hit him. And it ended with us leaving and the guy cussing us out. The moral of the story is that Satan has people prepared to stop us just as much as God has people prepared for us to teach. So who knows whats going to happen and when. It was hard for us all to feel the Spirit for atleast an hour after that though. But it slowly come. Elder Berthold just isn't the kind of guy to be challenged and just let the guy swear at him and stuff. He never had intentions to fight with the guy he just wanted argue his case I guess. It could have been a lot worse but I was ready to jump in there and protect him if I needed too. Well, Cedar Rapids is absolutely beautiful. The more we drive the more I think Id be ok living here even if there are no mountains. We had a chance to teach Anthony this week. His mother is less active and he has two younger siblings. We taught him the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Which consists of faith, repentance, baptism, receiving the holy Ghost, and Enduring to the end. He's 13 and an absolutely fantastic kid. He loves us all to death too. His mom sits in on every lesson and I know that she feels the Spirit when we teach. Anthony has really progressed. He madeit to church on Sunday for the second week in a row so he is good to be baptized now. His date is October 12th, to see a baptism that quick on my mission would be amazing. he wasn't going to make it to church because he had to babysit while his mom worked, but we told him he could bring his brother and sister. So, we had a member pick them up and that is the most courageous thing Ive seen Anthony do. Not only did he come, but he brought his family. Which is remarkable for a 13 year old too. Isabelle his younger sister who is 7 absolutely loved church. She loves it! So I hope they can come again. We still haven't been able to meet with Laurie since we committed her to baptism though. But thats probably due to her health mainly. And her work. Because she got kidney Stones she had to work on the day we had scheduled to meet with here and then she went out of town. But she gets her schedule today and will let us know when we can meet. I really do love this gospel. It brings so much happiness and I can see that. I think the main thing Ive noticed is that without this knowledge life becomes so much harder. just with trials. As we have this perception of how they cause us to grow and where we are headed the things of this world don't matter anymore. I love the verse in Doctrine and Covenants that says, set aside the things of this world and seek for the things of a better. Im teaching people to do that. And that has brought me so much joy. Keep attending church. I promise you that as you do you will feel that joy that Im speaking of. You will see the blessings flow. And attend the temple. That is the closest place to heaven on this earth. Long to be there. And long to feel the spirit there. I love you all. And I love this work. Thanks for your prayers. and the love and support. You make me happy :) Keep going. And I will too!

Love,

Elder Wardle

Mission home address

The address for the mission home in Caleb's mission is
Elder Caleb Wardle
Iowa Des Moines Mission
8515 Douglas Ave. Ste. 19
Urbandale, IA 50322-2924

Feel free to send him letters to this address or the other one that was posted earlier today. This address will remain the same throughout his mission and the other one will change as he moves to different areas. It is recommended that you don't write him to his apartment address close to transfer days (every 6 weeks) as he may be going to a different area and won't be there to receive your mail. If it is near a transfer day we recommend that you send it to the mission home. I'm sure that he would love to hear from all of you!

This is awesome!

Family and Friends,

This week has been an amazing first week in the field. We woke up ridiculously early on Wednesday morning and 30 missionaries arrived in Des Moines at around 1:30. We got to meet President Jensen and his wife and the Assistants to the Presidents at the airport. I love Pres. Jensen and his wife so much. They are fantastic. We at some food and got some training on how the mission works and then got to bed at around 10:30. I stayed with the AP's since the mission home wasn't big enough to hold us all. The AP's place is sweet and I forgot my camera or Id send pictures. They have name tags of all the missionaries who have lived in that apartment before them which I got a picture of. Anyways, we woke up at 6 and then headed to Iowa City for our transfer meeting and to meet our trainers. It was good to hear from the mission presidency. They are a great group of men and I love them. So for the news everyone wants to hear.

My new companions are elder Berthold (my trainer) and Elder Tanner. And I love them to death. Im basically elder bertholds twin. He says that we are both hilarious, handsome, like the same music, are consistently border lining insanity, and love the Lord. He does say he is better looking though. And I would have to agree. He is a handsome man. Anyways, I love Elder Berthold. this is his last transfer before he heads home though. But its been great getting to know him. We have been sharing an apartment with The spanish missionaries who are hilarious as well but they moved to there new apartment this morning. Elder berthold and I have been able to go running everyone night from about 9:30 to 10:30 and it's been great to be able to talk with him about his mission and family and working out and all the fun stuff we did in Highschool. We will most likely be friends for the rest of our lives which Im looking forward too. Well, after meeting my companions we my junk in a members van and headed to Cedar Rapids. Cedar Rapids is gorgeous. We live in a little town called Hiawatha just outside Cedar Rapids though. Our area is huge and although we are in the Cedar Rapids 2nd ward we don't cover CR. We cover all the little towns outside of it. The Zone Leaders are in our ward and they cover most of Cedar Rapids. The Spanish missionaries do as well. So at church on Sunday there are 7 Elders which is ridiculous. Anyways, when we arrived in Cedar Rapids we headed straight to an appointment. I hadn't even seen the apartment yet. But we went to go see a referral named Luarie hansen. Luarie works for a companie named Fanzz which is a Mormon owned sports memorabilia store. And she siad that there are two types of people in the company. The mormons, and the people who drink. And she feels very comfortable with those who are LDS. So she wanted to know more about where we came from and what we believe. And we were able to teach her the Restoration and how we have the Restored Gospel. I was able to recite Joseph Smith's first vision and the spirit was amazingly strong. Anyways, things went flawlessly and she commited to be baptized on September 21st and commited to church on Sunday. She didn't make it because she was battling Kidney Stones. It's interesting how things like that would happen. But we did warn here that Satan would try to bring her down. Anyways, its amazing to see how Father has prepared people so well. She was so ready to hear our message it was unbelievable. Im so excited for what the Lord has in store for me and the people of Iowa. The area Im in is fairly new so we hope to really spread the word as much as possible here. We have some potential investigators that really could turn into something great. I look forward to teaching and to be able to share my testimony with others. This is something that has brought me such happiness and I want the whole world to know why I have literally never not been happy in my life. My course is set, the questions are answered, and I know my purpose. To make it back to Father and to bring as many people with me as I can. There is truth in this work. When we tract most people seem uninterested but encourage us because of what we are doing. They say, keep working hard, everyone needs Jesus. And that's what I love most about Iowa. I know everyone says that the mission they go to is the best, but mine truly is. And Ill tell you why. The Des Moines Iowa first ward leads the American continent in convert baptisms per year. Our mission set a goal of 400 baptisms in 2012 and they reached that goal on the very last day of the year. Our goal this year is 550 and we are at around 315 with plenty of time to continue. The goal reminds me of a scripture in Phillipians 4:13 I believe," I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." Its so simple yet so true. I truly can do this. And the mission can as well. Every morning at 9:50 we pray mission wide for help in accomplishing that goal. And I know with hard work we can achieve it. I love this work and miss you all. I hope the best for you. Your in my heart and in my prayers. Thanks for all you do. Im safe here. And thinking of home helps me remember my purpose. To bring souls unto Christ. I hope I can achieve all that the Lord wants for me. I hope through love and patience I can show these people the path. I love them all so much already.

Love,

Elder Wardle

P.S.

Send stuff here if you want to write me and get it here quick. But each transfer ill update my address so you know where to send stuff. October 12th is our next transfer date so don't send things after the 9th cause I may not get hem. Anyways, here it is:

125 E. Boyson rd. #602

Hiawatha IA 52233

My MTC experience comes to a close

Family and Friends,

Thanks for all your love and support. Its been great to hear from you.

Its been a really busy week. The days are long but the spirit strong. I leave in the morning for Des Moines. I have to be at the travel office at 3:30 am which means waking up at 2:30 am. SO that wont be fun. My flight leaves Salt Lake around seven and then we have a layover in Colorado and then off to Des Moines. Im stoked. Im so ready to serve the Lord. I thought was ready before I came but apparently I have a bunch to learn. Ive really been able to feel the love my Heavenly Father has for me. He truly does answer prayers. I got to go to the temple today. We did Endowments as a District and Elder Dumais and I did some Initatories as well. It was good to be reminded of the blessings. I love the temple. It truly is the house of the Lord.

We as a companionship had a fantastic teaching here. I learned how to ask inspired questions, follow the spirit, and ultimatley learn what my purpose is as a missionary. Im so greatful for the experiences we have had here. Its been a great learning experience. I wish every member, missionary or not, could spend a couple days here. The growth is immense and the blessings uncountable. Being District Leader here was challenging but rewarding. I loved being able to ask the Lord about the individuals in the District and how I could help them. Last night three of the sisters in our district left for Washington Everette where they are serving. It was hard to see them go. The Elders in the District with my Direction were able to give blessings of comfort to each of the sisters before they left. I was glad that we could do that for them. We had our last prayer as we knelt together which was tender but exciting since we would be leaving so soon. I love them all.

We sang hymns as well and I have plenty of pictures but dont have the capability of uploading them here at the MTC so you can expect those next week.

Im excited to meet President Jensen. He sent us an email which said that most of our trainers will have only been there for a transfer. So we aren't supposed to expect them to be perfect. Im just excited to serve. Its something Ive always wanted to and I know I will be blessed.

My laundry is just about done so I better go. I love you all. I pray for you and wish the best for you

love,

Elder Wardle