It's September...2014

It's September...2014... Does that seem extremely weird to anyone else??

You know your whole mission that the end will come someday, and you always hear everyone say how fast it comes... but I'm still completely blown away at how fast this has all gone by.

I can honestly say that the mission is the best thing I've ever done in my life. I love serving the Lord. I love being able to say that I'm one of his representatives. Nothing can replace His name upon your chest. You literally have the authority and power to walk into a persons house, and turn their life completely around for the better.

It's been so great. It's been so hard. It's been so rewarding.

We had 3 baptism on Saturday, and amazing family that we've been working with since the beginning of July. We actually joined our baptismal service with the sisters from another Ward, so 6 people were baptized in total. I baptized the father(Probably the last time I'll put on the White clothes!) and I confirmed him on Sunday. Both of those experiences and watching the family bear their testimonies to the Ward on Sunday, reminded me of why I'm here. "And thus they become new creatures" said Mosiah 27:26. The Gospel changes us. And the greatest part of all this isn't seeing a change in yourself (which of course happens), but its seeing the change in others that really brings happiness.

I'm excited guys:) 16 days right? ::)

I've been lacking on pictures lately, so I'm going to send a bunch today. Things that are included are the baptisms pf Mario, Guadalupe, and Christopher. And other baptisms of Josefa and Lupita. Also the wedding of Guadalupe and some other crazy stuff!

 

 

I love you guys!

Elder Wilson

 

 

 

Coming Home Soon!

Well, it has been a transfer full of miracles. It just came to end, but we are staying together!! So Elder Werber is going to be my last companion:) It's been absolutely wonderfeul the last 22-23 months, and the last month and a half looks like its going to be the best yet. I'm in an amazing place, with amazing people. And like I said, we're seeing miracles:)

I'd like to share with you all one of those miracles.

Everytime we leave the house, we kneel and pray. As we pray we ask for guidance and help in finding those whom the Lord is preparing. Well one day, about a month ago, Elder Werber and I did just that, and then we left to work. We went to search for referal we had from other missionaries, and well we got pretty lost.... The address took us to a part of our area that neither of us had ever visited before. We were literally in the middle of nowhere(If I can I will attatch a picture to show where we were at). Well we were walking, way far from our house, with paved streets long behind us, and we walked into a man! He told us that his name was alejandro, and that he was an inactive member of the Church. He hadn't gone in nearly 9 years to church, and said that no one knew where is ne house was. I'm here to testify guys, that nobody EVER would have found this guys house if we hadnt ran into him that day. It was so far away. Well anyways we found him in the best moment possible. He was going through a huge fight with his wife, and actually just a week after we found him, she left him. We were right with him the whole time, helping him cope and become a better man. He had a smoking problem, we gave him a blessing, and he has completely dropped smoking. He is such a great man. Just last week he baptized his son Pablo, and is now preparing himself to recieve the melchezidek priesthood. All this has happend in about months time. It's the very definition of a miracle. We acted in faith looking for that referral(which to this day we havent found) and the Lord led us right to that man, so that we could help him stabalize his life and come back to the Lord's Church. The Spirit guides the Lord's obedient diligent servants in all things.

I'd like to share with you a story I read this past week in the Liahona by Elder Zivic of the Seventy, showing how important it is to follow the Lords commandments, and not the worlds standards!:
"Several years ago I went to Arches National Park with my wife; our daughter, Evelin; and a family friend. One of the most famous arches there is called Delicate Arch. We decided to walk about 1.5 miles (2 km), climbing the mountain in order to reach the arch.
We started off on our pathway with great enthusiasm, but after walking a short stretch, the others needed to rest. Because of my desire to get there, I decided to continue on alone. Without paying attention to the path I ought to take, I followed a man in front of me who seemed to be moving forward with great surety. The pathway became more and more difficult, and I had to jump from one rock to another. Because of the difficulty, I was sure the women in my group would never make it. Suddenly I saw Delicate Arch, but to my great surprise, I saw that it was in an area inaccessible to me.
With great frustration, I decided to go back. I waited impatiently until we met up again. My immediate question was “Did you reach Delicate Arch?” They happily told me that they had. They explained that they had followed the signs showing the way, and with care and effort, they had reached their destination.
Unfortunately, I had taken the wrong way. What a great lesson I learned that day!
How often do we make a mistake about the right way, letting ourselves be led along by the trends of the world? We need to continually ask ourselves if we are being doers of the words of Jesus Christ."
The Lord has given us the guide to life through his holy prophets! Let us follow that guide, and arrive exactly where we want to and with the people we want.
I love you guys, 
See you soon;)
Elder Wilson

Fantastic Challenges!

Whats up guys!? What is the news at home?

I've been having some crazy stuff happen lately, and its a fantastic challenge I have laid ahead of me by the Lord.

I am working in literally the most productive ward I've ever worked in, with the most effective bishop ever. And it has brought around much fruit. Yesterday we had seven investigators come to Church, and all seven have agreed to be baptized, and accepted dates. Its great!

The only thing is, every single one has a huge trial they are having to overcome to make this decision. Examples:

Josefina and Ivan: Their husband and father passed away not to long ago. They have spent years going from Church to Church looking for the answer to their pain and doubts. Josefina feels like she's found it. Ivan, however, has trouble really trusting anyone. He tried to commit suicide about a year ago, and since has really been a lost kid. We have such a hard time connecting with him, and haven't had much success in getting him to open up. Just yesterday though, we got him to finally accept that we are just normal kids, or at least were at one point haha.

Another Example:

The Santana Family. The mom just left the family to go live with another woman who practices some type of witchcraft, but says that it is all in the name of God. The brother is an inactive member, and is very scared. We have explained to him, and he knows, that Satan has no power to hurt him unless he gives in to his temptations. It is strange every time we go in that house. He knows that the way to fix and find comfort in the problems he's facing is getting by active in the Gospel and getting his children baptized. The gospel of Jesus Christ can heal all.

Mario Maria and Christopher: These three are golden investigators, and they have been since we started. They have a date to get baptized on the 27th of this month. One thing with them is that they need to get married. (They have lived together for 20 years almost, they just haven't been married yet). But the Lord has asked us to obey the laws of the land, so to obey the law of chastity and get married to be baptized. Well anyways, the husband said yes to being married, but the wife has a been a bit iffy. The other day we found out why. The wife has a daughter from another man, and one day that daughter came to visit. Well the husband tried to well..., sexually assault her. The wife caught them and stopped it. That was years and years ago, but, with reason, she does not feel she can trust him. I think that two years ago, I would've hated this man and told the woman to leave him... But I know that Jesus Christ lives. I know that Jesus Christ already paid for this. Not only for the very grievous sin this man tried to commit, but also for the immense emotional damage that was done to that young woman and her mother. The Lord has put these people in our path for a reason.He wants them to change, he wants for them to be healed of these pains that have been in their hearts for so long. The Lord has the power to fix this family,and help them all reach Eternal Life together.

With all these families we have our work cut out for us. But I know that we are not alone. as we are obedient and seek the guidance of the Spirit, he will tell us exactly how we need to help these people overcome their past selves, and "become new creatures in Christ."

I couldn't think of a more wonderful way to finish my mission.

I love you all!

Elder Wilson

Feeling Sick 7/7/14

Well we had a great week! How about you guys?? How was your 4th of July? That didn't get celebrated here, shocker. Actually someone got mad at us when we told them it was independence day, because Arizona and Nevada used to be part of Mexico? haha.

It was great week though, full of humbling and uplifting experiences.

We have a great family of three that have agreed to get baptized on the 27th of July. Their names are Mario, Maria, and Christopher! They are amazing, they came to Church yesterday and they loved it!

 We also got to know really well the mother in law of the bishop. She is also awesome by the way, and is also going to get baptized the 27th:)

We also had a great experience with a man named Noah. His wife is a less active, but wants to come back, and he also wants to get baptized. Also for the 27th:)

And for this next story, I know all the women that are mothers will get upset with me, but it already happened, so what are ya gonna do??:)

I woke up Wednesday morning with a really sore throat and stuffy nose, but we had some really important lessons, so we went out anyways, and it starting pouring and it was freezing. And well I was walking around without a jacket, soaking wet... It just got worse. Well Thursday morning I woke up with a raging headache, but well, call it stupidity, pride, or just being awesome, we went out and worked all day... in the rain. By the end of the day I could barely hold my head up my head ache was so bad, and I literally felt like my head was cooking. The bishop, who was accompanying us, noticed my dire state of health, and took us back to his house. There, his wife, who wasn't very happy with me, took my temperature.. 102.7 F. I was basically walking around almost dead:) I had strep throat haha. Its all taken care of now though, Doctor, antibiotics, the whole shabang. It was great though, because my companion gave me a priesthood blessing that was probably the most inspired I've ever had. Even he was surprised by what he told me!

The church is true guys:) I wouldn't trade the mission for anything!

I love you!

Elder Wilson

Big Changes 6/30/14

So, it was quite a crazy change meeting. The craziest I've ever seen.

I don't remember if I told you guys or not, but President Reeves finished his mission and went home last week, so this was the last change meeting he ever did. 

I had told you guys that I was going to training a new missionary, but for whatever reason that didn't happen... So when I showed up to the meeting for new trainers, which was right before changes, President took me aside and  talked to me. Really I wasn't going to train a brand new missionary (only two elders arrived), I was going to finish the training of another elder whose training had apparently not gone that well, but president said that wasn't necessary anymore, idk why. He said he had a special new assignment for me. Well I was excited about that.

When we got to changes, the first thing President said was that he had felt the impression that there were many elders in the mission that needed leadership experience, but weren't getting it because there is so many elders and so many elders had been leaders for a long, and that many zone leaders were going to become just normal elders, some even junior companions. I think the whole room froze when he said that ha. And whelp, almost every single zone leader with more that a couple changes as zone leader, was made junior companion to finish there mission. I wasn't made junior companion, but i did just become a normal senior companion. For the first time in a year I don't have any leadership position. I'm just a normal missionary, in a great ward in Mayorazgo called San Ramon. (Its a new ward that was just split from the ward Castillotla), and ready to just work my butt off for the next 11 weeks. My companions name is elder Werber, he's from Las Vegas and hes been serving 7 months in the mission. Actually, I was his zone leader in Izucar, and I know he's a great elder. He speaks amazing Spanish for only 7 months, and hes a very hard worker and super obedient.

This is where I'll be finishing my mission, and I'm pumped for it!

The Church is true, and this is the greatest work in the world. I'll be making the most I can out of the 2.5 months I have left, and I'll see you guys on the other side:)

I love you all,

talk to you soon

Elder Wilson

Big News!!

Hello Everybody!

I have news! Well, not really because I haven't written barely at all these last few months. So I guess I should give some background.

Well since the beginning of April I have been back in the city of Tehuacan, my favorite place in all of Puebla! The last six weeks I have been with a great companion named Elder Womack. Elder Womack and I have been having a great time here as zone leaders, and the zone has had a lot of success these last few months, its just been a great time! I was fully expecting to finish my mission here but... I got the call last night that I have changes... Big bummer. So tomorrow I will be reassigned to a new area, and I will be finishing my mission there! I also got the call that I will be training a new missionary, so that means I won't be a zone leader anymore. But that's alright! That's how the church works, one day you can be a bishop, the next day a primary teacher! I'm excited. Very nervous, but excited-

 

Another interesting thing that happened this week was... The secretaries called me and told me they were arranging my flight plans. It's coming fast guys... September 17th I will be there.

I've absolutely loved the last 21 months that I've served, and I'm excited to go in and make these last three months the best of my mission:)

You guys all have a great week! I love you and have a great week!

P.s. Some pics!!

 

 

Elder Womack

Hey Everybody!!

How's everything going there back at home?

Sounds like everyone is getting ready for that san fran trip next week. That'll be great! Make sure to send pictures.

Well everyone, what are your summer plans? Any big trips or activities planned? Fill me in!

I am having a great time here in Tehuacan, and I have a new companion. His name is Elder Womack, from Caysville Utah. He's awesome, we're having so much fun and working hard. It's the best my mission has been in awhile. We already had one baptism together, and we have more each of the next 3 or 4 weeks:) The Lord has really blessed this whole zone lately.

2 sister missionaries, sister smith and sister Gomez had 3 baptisms on Saturday, which was an absolute miracle. We weren't expecting it at all, so to congratulate them we wrote a funny little rap in Spanish and rapped it to them Saturday night. We decided that we are going to do make a personalized every time someone baptizes in the zone.

It's definitely been strange lately, I hit 20 months since i started my mission today. I'm one of the oldies now haha. But its great!

I love you guys. Remember that, even when you feel alone and that no one understands, there's always someone there. All you gotta do is kneel down and offer a prayer.

I love you guys!

Elder Wilson