Some Random Pics from MTC

Cousin Iona Prichard and Elder Matua

Our nephew, Iona (pictured) ran into Elder Matua at the MTC. He served his mission in the Marshall Islands so he volunteers on Saturdays with the Marshalleese(?) program. Wilson was so excited to see him. And as you can tell there is no shortage of treats. We've sent him 2 care packages and of course Mom has to have sayings for each treat.

Care Package(s) full of junk...oh yeah!!!

Head Shot

I LOVE YOUS

MTC....Week Two

MTC 

Hello Family!
It's been two weeks!! Time flies around here at the MTC. I can't tell you how exciting it is to be apart of the 80,000 Missionaries! Missionary Life has been good, I've been sick with a cold for about a week but I'm getting over it. Tuesday of this week I was on the verge of throwing up. Feeling dizzy and having a sore throat and fearing that I could very well get my district sick. Me and one of my companions stayed in the room and rested, I took some medicine and was out til about 11:00 o' clock!! The most sleep I've gotten in a long time:) I felt refreshed and was ready to finish my day strong. Then a thought came into my mind, being sick made me think of home, being in my bed, having all the meds I needed. It was a struggle the first part of this week. I constantly asked Heavenly Father why I was sick and why it was me that had to get it first. It's amazing how long my prayers have gotten and the pouring out of my soul. My prayers are answered everyday.

Wednesday, a sister in my district was feeling the effects of a migraine during class. She left the class with her companions and not soon after she had left, they came back. Sis. Camilletti peeked her head into the doorway and asked " Elder Matua, Sis. Lasike needs blessing can you give her one?" Of course I said yes! My companion Elder Meridith anointed the oil and I gave the blessing. The spirit was so strong. The spirit flowed through my soul, I began saying things that I'd never said before but it all made sense. She immediately felt better. I was astonished! The Priesthood is so amazing and the blessings we receive are absolutely true and from our Heavenly Father!

I said my first prayer in SAMOAN!!!!!!!!! ahhhhh I can't believe I did it. It was hard but I learned it so fast. I guess memorizing is easy for me. It was Friday of last week I offered it in our companionship prayer right before I went to bed. It was bad but I did it I've never felt so accomplished in my life!
But everything else language wise has been tough the whole sentence structure stuff, I can get the form right. I think with time it'll come easier. The teachers had a one on one meeting with each member of our district asking what they could do better to help us learn the language. Hopefully they will strive to make it progressively easier for us to create, and express how we are feeling in Samoan. I'll get there and I know that I will. I have faith that Heavenly Father will help me through this. Like it said in my blessing that I would have the Gift of Tongues, I fully believe that I WILL SPEAK SAMOAN!!!

Stay true to this Gospel and never fall away. Pray everyday to help someone in need and the Lord will help 
you.

THINK OF OTHERS BEFORE YOURSELF. FORGET ABOUT YOURSELF!

     Love you all and hope to hear from you soon!

         Love,  Elder Wilson Spencer Matua

The latest from the first week in the MTC

There was some confusion about my actual P-Day, but it is on Thursdays while I'm at the MTC.  A lot has happened in this first week: We had a mission conference where the MTC Presidency spoke to us. They talked about our purpose and challenged us to pray and give an accounting of our day, and to ask the Lord what His will is for me to fulfill, by doing this we would be more in tune with the Spirit. I am having fun learning the language. We also had a devotional where Pres. and Sis. Daines (Provo Temple President) spoke about remembering the covenants we made in the temple and how that will help us to be better missionaries. I could really feel the Savior's love for ME.
The food is awesome, very tasty, in fact I've actually lost weight..4 pounds, ha!
Thanks so much for the letters, the words of support and encouragement help me to overcome some of my feelings of homesickness. Being here has made me realize that I need to be more responsible, especially making sure I clean up after myself. I was so sad to hear the news of AG's passing. I loved to talked to him every Sunday, he will be missed. My sincere condolences to the Raiford family.
And a quick happy birthday shout out to Jaycee!!!
I have met some of the missionaries I know from school and also Sis. Oler.
LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!

First MTC P-day and Email

Talofa Friends and Family,

Much anticipation has built up to this First P-day, I'll begin by saying that there's good and there's bad that happens here at the MTC. The Drop off was hard to deal with and As soon as I walked into my Classroom we were off to work.  Everything happened so fast and I was feeling so much confusion in my mind. I had the feeling of do I belong here?? I was very worried. But my Dear Companion Elder Rawle was there to give me boost,  he said, " It's normal to feel this way don't think about it and you will be okay." I took his advice to heart and I'm still here!! I've been gone a week and it has flown by. The time I have spent in the MTC has been spent well. Studying has been a big benefit to me being able to find things out for myself and really thinking how can I apply this to my Life.
My (old) Companion, it's sad to say that my companion has decided to not serve a Mission due to an illness. He left yesterday afternoon. I cried many tears.  I'd only known him for a week and I have never felt so much Love for a Companion before   He is a great kid and has a lot ahead of him! He gave me some ties, food that he received, money, and a New Zealand Greenstone necklace to remember him by. When he left I cried but I was prompted to forget about it and then a peaceful feeling came over me. A prayer was answered. Now that he has chosen his path I can now focus on Mine!
Blessings come in the strangest of way.

I am now in a Trio with Elder Pulido and Merideth. We are the Three Amigos!!! lol I love these two they are Some very Spiritual Elders! I can't wait to see what is in Store for us in NEW ZEALAND!!!! Five weeks away from Monday ahhhh! I can't tell you how excited I am to get out there!

I got a Slap in the face on Sunday watching a movie When Elder Bednar spoke on the Character of Christ. I fasted for strength and Wisdom. Sure enough I was told to Forget yourself and Get Lost in the Work. Just what I needed. Well it's not fun to get a slap to the face but it was nice to get some more knowledge on what my purpose is as a Missionary.

I love this Gospel and Love everything that it has done for me Alofas for the Emails from Jessica, Kassy, Bailee, Keith, and of Course Mom and Dad LOVE YOU ALL!!

Please Send me your Address so I can write you letters please!!:)

P.S. I forgot mention that I am a DISTRICT LEADER!!!!!!!

First Letter from Elder Matua

YES!!! We got our first letter from Elder Matua and I have to say I've never felt so HAPPY in my life. It was short but so worth the read. His P-days in the MTC are Thursday so we'll hopefully get an email this Thursday. His companion is Elder Rawle, and Wilson mentioned that he played football at Timpview HS in Provo. So curiosity got the best of me and I googled his last name and found out that his first name is Carson and spent the last year at Utah State, he is listed on the football roster as a defensive tackle. Wilson said he has been a great companion, helping him through a little homesickness. Hopefully he will give us a little more information. Special shout out to Aunt Lanea and family for your encouraging letters for Elder Matua. As soon as we get more news we'll post it.
Have a great day!!

Waiting to hear from Elder Matua

I'd have to say that the past couple of days have been hard because we haven't heard from Elder Matua. But we know that in time he'll have the opportunity to write, so we wait with great excitement and anticipation for his FIRST letter/email. I'm sure there are many of you missionary families that can relate to this post, and I can only imagine what you must have been feeling as well. So, as soon as he gets something to us we will share it with all of you. Thanks again for your continued love and support, it has meant everything to us!!! Alofa tele mo outou uma, much love to you all!!!
Have a great day, and an especially blessed weekend!

Off to the MTC, Goodbye Elder Matua

We had a great morning. Last minute packing, checked all the bags, then got ready and headed out to Provo. On our way we stopped and said gooodbye to Aunt Jen (Matua) in Lehi. She gave Wilson a notebook that Peace Corps volunteers use to familiarize themselves with the Samoan language...so cool!!! Then we drove to Red Robin in Provo for lunch and then up to the Provo temple to take some pictures. When we drove up to the MTC, we were directed to #22, got out, took some more pictures, said our final goodbyes and then Elder Matua grabbed his bags and followed his host to begin his 1st day in the MTC. He will be missed but we now turn him over to the Lord. God be with you 'til we meet again.

SEE YOU IN 2!!!!

An AMAZING night!!!!

The day started out with Tai and Garrett heading off to school. But only a couple of hours later they were both checked out and we spent our last full day together. After stops at the distribution center, the bank and Sam's Club, we came home and packed the remainder of Wilson's stuff into his already stuffed suitcases. I think we have everything but I guess we'll hear from him if he's missing something. Around 7pm we headed over to the Stake Center and Pres. McCleary set him apart as a full-time missionary. It was an amazing experience. He was blessed with so many things and I believe that he will be in the Lord's care for the next 2 years.

Dad and his boys

Family

Set apart and ready to go!!!

Testimonies were shared, tears were shed, words of encouragement were given. The spirit was so strong and a feeling of great joy was felt. The night was capped off by a beautiful medley of hymns on the violin played by Aunt Jen and Uncle Mike giving a solemn and heartfelt prayer. Afterwards, Bishop and his beautiful wife, Kim sang "God Be With You" and then we all joined in. I've never been more happy and I hope that Wilson will remember this night forever.

Final day before heading to the MTC

It's here, last full day before entering the MTC in Provo. Everyone is home and we're spending the day together. Emotions are ranging from excited, anxious, nervous, happy, sad, you name it I think someone in this household is feeling it. Tonight at 7pm we will head to the Stake Center where Wilson will be set apart by Pres. McCleary as a full-time missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. WOW!!! What an exciting time!!! So here is his address at the MTC:

NOV06 NZE-AUC
2007 N 900 E Unit#51
Provo UT 84602

And here is his email addres:
wilson.matua@myldsmail.net

He is scheduled to report to the MTC at 1:15pm. And will  be there for 6 short weeks. Hopefully, his visa will be ready to go, cause he wants to get to New Zealand and start working. So, as we count down the minutes, we look forward with great anticipation and a little sadness as we prepare to make the drive down to Provo to drop him off. Wish us the best and say a lot of prayers for us, we're going to need them, as we say good-bye to Elder Matua.

A week full of spiritual blessings

Well, A LOT has happened since I last posted on here. so here goes.
Wilson's last day of work was the 13th, so all this week we've had the opportunity to spend some quality time together. It's such an honor to go to the temple and just be there with your son.
We went camping with our dear friends the Evans' and Bartons over the weekend of the 15th. It was AWESOME!! The weather was cool and there was a little rain, but it was so worth it. We camped in the beautiful Uintah mountains up near a place called Duchesne tunnel. Absolutely perfect!
Sunday evening on the 15th we had Wilson's Eagle Court of Honor (finally! We're such slackers). Big shout out to the very talented Susie Miller and her amazing family. Everything was perfect. The ceremony was short (45 minutes) but sweet (how can you go wrong with ice cream sundaes?). It was a great night. Thank you to all who came, it meant a lot to us that you were there.

Saturday the 21st we had the special honor of being in the Jordan River Temple with several family members and friends as our sweet sister, Annette, went through for the first time. Can I just say, "GOD IS GOOD!" We definitely felt the presence of loved ones on the other side. The show of support for Annette was overwhelming. Thank you to all who were there to show your love and support. We as a family are fortunate to have your encouragement and strength.
Later that same day we traveled to the Bountiful Temple to witness the sealing of John and Annamarie Forbes. Have I mentioned that "GOD IS GOOD?" What a beautiful ceremony. Congratulations to John and Annamarie, who by the way taught Wilson in Sunday School. You will always be a part of the River 7th Ward family. Needless to say, it was an emotional yet very spiritual feast. Thank you to Annette and the Forbes for inviting us to have a seat at the table.All of this in the midst of the big rivalry game on Saturday. But while the Cougars and Utes were battling it out on the field, we were having our own battle with a tent in our backyard. In preparation for Sunday, we borrowed a tent from our cousin Marion and let's just say it was a real test of patience. After a spiritual high all day, the tent got the best of us. We spent to good part of two hours trying to get this tent together and we failed miserably. I felt so bad for our dear neighbor, Lavon, who came over to help. Anyway, in the end we decided to bag the tent and made frantic calls to friends to borrow EZ-ups. Once the dust settled we had chairs arranged and tables set up and headed to bed to get some much needed rest.

Then came Sunday.....the day started out looking like we would have rain and so yeah we were nervous. BUT, did I mention that "GOD IS GOOD?" (Can you see a theme here?) What an incredible day!!!! Family and friends showed up in NUMBERS. It was an awesome sight. Sacrament meeting was powerful-Tina Evans gave a phenomenal talk, Wilson bore a powerful testimony, our young men did an amazing job administering the sacrament. And afterward, we headed home and got to hang out with our FAMILY. Food, laughs, more food, more laughs...it was a day filled with love, words of encouragement, and again food and definitely plenty of laughs. Friends, relatives, neighbors....YOU are all a part of our huge extended family, our village. Each of you in your own way have contributed to raising Wilson. And for that we will be eternally grateful. Sunday is what this life is really all about, brothers and sisters coming together to celebrate one of their own. Wilson is truly YOURS as much as he is ours.

So, now we look forward to Tuesday night, when he will set apart, and then drop him off Wednesday. Updates to come.

ONLY 2 MORE WEEKS...FROM TODAY

Well, Wilson has only 2 more days of work and then he'll have 12 days to get everything together and then....off to the MTC it is. Where did the time go? It seems like we just opened his call yesterday. Well, Mum is a nervous wreck to say the least. It seems like there is still so much to do. Eagle Court of Honor on Sunday, camping (hopefully) for the last time before he leaves, invitations to send out, people to contact, last minute shopping for whatever, food to prepare, the yard to clean and prep, house to get in order... I can see why Mum's a nervous wreck. I'm just so grateful to all of our wonderful family and friends who have just stepped in to help however they can. Special shout out to Susie Miller for taking charge of the court of honor, what a godsend. Faafetai tele lava to all of you for everything you do. It really does take a village!!!! As the clock winds down, we are truly grateful for the Lord's hand in preparing this young man to fulfill his priesthood duty. We look forward to seeing you all on Sept. 22, as we bid farewell to Elder Matua. Stay safe and God Bless.