May 19

This week was pretty tricky because almost every day we had some last-minute errand to run for the zone and we weren't able to teach as much as I wanted. It's always a little frustrating when that happens but the good news is that the Lord doesn't really need us to do His work and we happened to have the best sacrament meeting attendance this week since I've been here. In fact, 2 non-members who we've never taught and live in our area just showed up this week because they felt like it, which was a powerful testimony of what it says in Moroni 7:29-32.

The area has really been worrying about improving ward councils here in the mission. This Sunday we went to an area broadcast about having more efficient ward councils, and I loved every word they said. They always just fucus on the basics, like what it says in the church handbook, but this time they really talked about how our motive to work must be a sincere love for the people. At least, that's what the Spirit taught me during the training.

I have really felt that this week when I haven't had time to visit people. I worry about them. It's cool to see how God has helped me develop chirity during the course of my mission, and I can't imagine how much he'll keep shaping me after the mission.

Well I love you all and hope you have a great week!

Elder Wilson

May 12

This week was incredible. Sorry that I wasn't able to write you all yesterday, I went to the beach and it was super awesome and I'll send a ton of pictures. But the best part was a couple of really spiritual experiences we had. One of them was terribly sad but really cool too. 

We are teaching a family in a really poor part of our area where there is a pair in free union and they have 5 kids. The father really doesn't spend any time at his house, he just goes to eat lunch and to sleep. We went on Saturday and it was one of the worst moments of our mission. First we arrived at some members house close by, and they told us that this family hadn't been able to pay rent and that very day they were going to kick them our of their house, and they had no place to go. We arrived at the house with those members, and when we walked in, we found her lying on her bed, groaning in pain because of some sickness in her stomach. She was groaning, sobbing, dry heaving, and everything, and as I watched her I knew that she wasn't crying from the pain but because her heart was broken because her kids weren't going to have anywhere to sleep. They called the dad but he wasn't about to show up there. So we were watching and up until this moment we hadn't said anything and she didn't know we were there. Then I said "Sister, we're here to help you. We are the missionaries" and in that very moment she stopped crying and sat up in her bed. We gave her a blessing and we promised her that she could be calm. Se calmed down quite a bit and then we had to go. I was sad because there really wasn't anything I could do, but I knew and she knew that God would provide. The day after we went to visit and we found her and her family living with those close-by members, even though it's a house with 2 rooms and there are like 12 people living there. I was so grateful for those selfless members and for God's cautious care of each of His children. I was really able to feel the authority that we have been given as missionaries when I promised her that even though I don't know how, I know that God will provide a way for her.

Other than that, I had a great time at parque Tayrona. We had to walk in really far to get to the beach we visited last, and it was super hot and sunny. That's why you can see in each picture that I'm super sweaty from the walk. But it was really pretty and I'd love to come back someday to actually jump into those clear blue caribbean waters. Well I love you all and I hope you have a great week.

Elder Wilson

April 27

This week has been really great, My new companion, Elder Selman, is awesome. He's from Tremonton, Utah, and has only been in the mission for about 8 months. But he has a ton of energy to work and loves to learn more about the zone and being a missionary, and I know he'll help me keep working hard until the end. The only bad part is that he likes to ask me questions about my home and my plans for after the mission and trunky stuff like that. But we already get along great. It's weird for any gringo to have another North American companion, but he's my 3rd.

This week was really spiritual. We were working in a remote area called Villa Sol, if you want to look it up it's carrera 3 with calle 6 in Soledad, more or less, but I doubt you'll find that address on a map. Anyways we were walking and we saw a family sitting outside their house and we stopped to talk to them. Turns out they're super interested in the message. I guess they have some problems in their house and they have a lot of faith that the message can help. So much faith that the mom walked all the way from her house to the church, which is ridiculously far away, carrying her baby the first sunday after we taught her. I really want to prepare a family to get baptized before I go and I really hope that this is the one. It's just so very hard to get the families here to progress but I know that God will help. Something I've seen here is that it's really common for the mom of a family to get baptized first, then her husband years later according to the Lord's time.

Another cool experience is with Beatriz and Raul. We decided to invite them to fast this week so that their papers could all be ready for them to get married. They did a fast for the first time ever and on Sunday Raul went to church even though he had work that day. They were calling him to go in but he just didn't go. The best blessing of fasting is the spiritual strength we aquire when we realize that our spirit is stronger than our flesh. We also fasted with Alex, a member who is becoming active again but they offered him a job in another town where the church hasn't quite got there yet and he has to work Sundays. It was really great.

Well love you all, have a great week!

Elder Wilson

April 20

Well transfers just got here and I guess that I'll be finishing my mission here in Soledad 2000, but with a new companion. I get to train a new zone leader again right before I go, which should help me stay strong until the end.

As far as my area goes, there's really not much to say. We've had a lot of success with less-active members, and a lot of them are attending church regularly now, even sometimes when we can't visit them.

We still don't have a ward mission leader, but the stake is really starting to get involved with this ward to help them get one, so that should really help them get a little more active in their work. 

We have a couple with plans to get married on May 15th, but here it is a nightmare to get people married. They need certain records that they can only get in the city where they were born, and both live far away from their birthplace. They each found some records that a family member sent them but I saw them and I realized that they were the wrong records, and they'll have to try to get them again. We really need your prayers so that they can get all their papers that they'll need.

Well I love you all and hope you have a great week!

Elder Wilson

April 13

A convert took a picture of us teaching him a lesson. Here it is.

 Last leadership council with the assistants and zone leaders of the mission

April 6

I absolutely loved general conference this week. I felt very strongly the Spirit and I confirmed my testimony that this church is true, that Thomas S Monson is a prophet, and that each of the 12 apostles has keys to receive revelation for the church.

We had a less active member assist the saturday morning session, where they talked a ton about marriage and family. He has been living with a woman for a long time and doesn't want to get married yet. We are sure that the Spirit of the session will have touched his heart.

There is also an investigator who has attended church for forever and has never wanted to get baptized. He listened to 2 sessions of conference and told us when we met with him after that he decided that now was the time for him to get baptized.

I had been praying and looking for the answer to know how to leave this area stronger than I foud it, because it has been really hard to get investigators to go to church. We have had a ton of progress with less actives since I got here, but few results with investigators. I felt an answer to my prayers as the apostles and seventy talked about the importance of family, the power of testimony, and the sweet music of the Spirit. I know that as I put their council in practice I'll be able to baptize in this ward before I have to head back.

I was able to watch all sessions of conference live in a small room in the stake center in English, in a small screen. Whenever they started to speak in Spanish, we'd run over to the chapel to see it in Spanish, and then we'd run back over to the English room to keep listening in English. I was sad to not be able to hear Elder Scott speak, do any of you know if he's sick or something?

Well I love you and hope you have a great week!

Elder Wilson

Mar 30

This week was pretty good because I was able to feel the guideance of the Spirit in many instances. In one lesson I remember that we invited someone to come to church with us but he told us that he goes to another church and wasn't going to be able to go with us. I told him to pray and ask God if he should go with us or not, and at the end of the lesson he knelt down and praed and asked. After the prayer we asked him what he felt and he said that he knew that he had to go to church with us. I was awesome to hear that.

Another day I was on exchanges with another elder and a recent convert started to say that she was doubting her testimony of the church because of some small doctrinal points that she didn't agree with. At first we started to talk about the doctine she mentioned, and then I realized that it wasn't right and that we had to talk about something else. I prayed to know what question to ask to find out what she really needed. I received an answer and asked her if she felt that God answers her prayers. She said no and started to cry, because for a long time she wanted to have a child but hadn't been able to have one. She felt that God didn't love her and that's why she hadn't wanted to talk to the missionaries for a while. We talked to her about God's love, and in her last prayer she expressed gratitude for all that she had and for our visit as well. It is an incredible feeling to be an instrument in the Lord's hands.

Well I love you all!

Elder Wilson