Week 15: Another Month, Another Transfer - May 26, 2018

Elder Wright's new companion, Elder Hall is in the middle. The elder on the left is Elder Rast. He was released last week. His mother helped us with the information to apply to serve in this mission.

This is Elder Wright's email this week:

It's that time of week again! So, as you might expect from the title, I got transferred, but on the plus side, I didn't change zones. I'm still in DIP, but a new district has been made, because we got twelve new elders so they're making room for them. I also have a new companion/district leader, Elder W. Hall. I'm also in a four man apartment again, so that's pretty interesting. Other than that, not much is different. We are having a special event on Monday to celebrate Memorial Day, which will be fun. Well, that's all I have to say for now. Like I said last week, feel free to ask me questions about the mission. Remember that serving others can really make a difference in someone's life.

From,

Elder Wright

These are some pictures that Elder Rast's mother posted of last week on Release/Transfer Day

Week 14: Impending Transfers and The Weiner-Mobile - May 19, 2018

I got this surprise picture today from Elder Wright's companion's mom. Made my day!

And on to his latest email:

Hello, and welcome back to another edition of my mission. So, not much has changed since last week. We did get to do our family Skype messages because of Mother's Day, so that was really fun. We also got to do another service project yesterday, which involved cleaning up the yard of this one family. It was pretty tough, but also pretty fun. As you might have guessed from the title, we have transfers soon. Next Tuesday, in fact. My prediction is that I'll be staying in DIP, but my companion, who has been their for five transfers, is probably going to be sent elsewhere. In the end, though, it's all up to the Lord. We also saw the Oscar Meyer Wiener-Mobile today, which was kind of cool and kind of random. I have no clue why it's out here right now, but whatever. I didn't get any pictures of it because we were kind of in a hurry to do shopping, but it was cool none the less. I hope you guys have a good week, and feel free to ask me questions about the mission.

From,

Elder Wright

Week 13: New Night Schedule - May 12, 2018

Hey everyone! It's been another week, so it's time for another email from me. For starters, the schedule for us for night zone (Mon-Fri, 6-8:30 PM) has changed so that we get to do things like classes and service projects! It's really interesting and fun because we actually get to talk to our fellow Elders instead of doing computer work. The classes that we did on Wednesday were about the mission itself (mainly just a virtual tour of the mission) and an etiquette class for when you are eating somewhere. As for the service project we had on Friday, we cleaned up a stake building, so that was pretty fun. We got done pretty quick, so we had time to chat with our fellow elders, which I really enjoy. Mother's Day is tomorrow, so we will be doing calls! I can't wait to see my family, and they seem to be pretty eager as well. Other than those things, I don't really have much else to say. I hope you guys remember that we can always help others, even if it may seem like it might be a small favor, it can have lasting effects that can make people eternally grateful. Have a great week everyone!

Till then, 

Elder Wright

From Mom: I was excited to see this on my countdown app this week!

Week 12: Service Project - May 5, 2018

Hey guys! So I don't have to much time to chat since I still have plenty to do, but let me you about my week. In DIP, we apparently have been doing so well at our jobs that we started to run out of projects. Seriously, on Thursday we had barely anything to do, so we mainly sat around and read our scriptures. We did receive more work on Friday, but we got through that fairly quickly. Thankfully, we are suppose to be receiving a big project on Monday, which means we can actually work again! Also on Friday, some of us elders got to do a service project. We mainly pulled weeds and other kinds of yard work, but it was really fun and I'm glad I got to have the experience. I hope that we can remember that doing service can really be one of the best way to help others. Have a great week!

From,

Elder Wright

Note from Mom:I asked what images he scans for DIP and he said the images either have to do with the Family Search Wiki or the pictures of the films that they scanned the Granite Mountain vault. If you're not familiar with the Granite Mountain vault, it's a special storage facility that the church built into a mountain near SLC in 1965. It houses various old church records as well as genealogy records. you can read more about it here https://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/granite-mountain-records-vault

He also told me that the elders did yard work at an old house that has been turned into a Stake Center in SLC. I would love a picture of it if any of you know where it is, or can send a picture. 

Week 11: Oh My Gosh It's D. I. P.!

Elder Wright didn't send home any pictures this week, but another missionary mom from his mission posted these pictures that she took on Temple Square last week. So we aren't seeing him, but this is what he is seeing at least!

Hey everyone! Time for another Saturday P-Day! So, my new zone (yep, I got transferred again) is called D.I.P., which stands for Digital Imaging Processing. It is fairly similar to Special Projects, except we are in the JSMB (Joseph Smith Memorial Building) instead of the CHL (Church History Library). I'm enjoying it so far, so that's always good. My new companion is Elder Howes, and he's pretty interesting. He's a big fan of cars and his dad owns a successful business. I'm also in a two-man apartment again, but this time I'm on the basement floor, so it feels smaller because we don't have a balcony. Elder Howes, on the other hand, is really happy to have moved because he has never been in a two-man apartment and he needed room for all the food he has amassed. He really likes to cook, which explains the amount of food. Other than that, there isn't much else to talk about. I hope you guys have an amazing week and remember to help those in need.

Till then,

Elder Wright

Week 10: Calm Before The Transfers - April 20, 2018

Elder Wright sent these pictures again because we weren't able to open them last week. He said that these were taken at a dinner appointment with some senior missionaries.

From left to right: Elders Wright, Vandenhazel, Rich (my current district leader, he's pretty cool), and Eppich (my companion).

Welcome to the next installment of Elder Wright's Mission! So not much has really happened, or at least anything that warrants being the title of my email. We went to the Jordan River Temple open house last week, so that's pretty neat. Also, I've finally have been added to the Overland Trails Project, so that has been helping me get by during my day zone. In the project, we are basically going through all the women over 15's profiles and changing them so that they show both their maiden name and their married name. It's a lot more interesting than I make it sound. We also had an interesting encounter with a protester who was standing on a box and speaking through a cruddy microphone. My companion and I were with four other elders, so it didn't really get to us that much. In fact, we even thought it was pretty funny. Part of me wonders where Soapbox Sam went off to, but in the end I don't care enough to find out. The last noteworthy thing that I feel like mentioning is the conference we had a couple of days ago. It was mostly meant for the senior missionaries, but us young elders were invited. Most of it was a presentation by President Fenn (our mission president) about the last week of The Savior's life and all that happened. Then Sister Fenn gave a talk about when her father, who was a general authority, was dying and all that he accomplished during that time. It was really uplifting and really interesting to learn about. The way I felt afterwards can be describe as such: humbling, feeling small, but loved none the less. Honestly, it's a wonderful feeling to have and we should feel that more often. I just hope I can keep that feeling with me through the next week, since Tuesday will be transfers. Speaking of transfers, because of them I might end up with a different P-Day, so don't be surprised if I email a different day than usual. 

Till next week, 

Elder Wright

I'm not sure Elder Wright knows that Sister Fenn's father is Elder Bruce R. McConkie

The young Elders from Elder Wright's mission. This was taken with Elder Duncan of the Seventy a few weeks ago.

Week 9: Oaks and Illness - April 13, 2018

Elder Wright tried to email pictures home this week, but due to technical difficulties we were unable to open the attachments. So I thought we would have to wait until next week at least until we got pictures. But then we had a little miracle. A tender mercy from our Father in Heaven. A mom of another missionary in the Salt Lake City Headquarters Mission posted a few pictures on the mission facebook page. It made my mom heart so happy to see my son smiling and waving in the back of this group of awesome missionaries!

And he sent this wonderful email this week as well:

See, I told you I would be emailing on Friday this time. So it's been more than a week since you guys have heard from me, so that means I have more to tell you about. Well, for starters, last Friday we had a mission conference/testimony meeting/celebration of the first vision. It was really a fun and interesting experience, and the food there was really good. The next interesting news would be that we had a devotional on Monday. Now, we have one every Monday, but what made this one really cool was the fact that President Oaks was presiding! We even got to shake hands with him!! Honestly, though, I didn't feel much of an impact, but then again, as you might have guessed from the title of this email, I was sick at the time. I did make it to the devotional, and I did shake his hand, but I don't really remember much that was said because I felt like I was going to throw up the entire time. I'm glad that I went though and I wish I could have paid attention more. Anyway, I'm feeling better now and I am continuing to serve. I also saw the Indiana Jones Guy again, but this time his hat was hanging on his bike and he had bleach-blond hair. In all, it has been an interesting week and I hope we can continue to serve to the best of our abilities.

Till next week,

Elder Wright

PS: Yesterday was my 2 month mark for my mission here in Salt Lake City and in 2 days it will be my 6 month mark on my mission as a whole. Yay!

We were also able to get these pictures of the devotional with President Oaks from facebook too.