My Road To Conversion

Hey all

well just finished a little bit ago leadership council and my interview with Pres. Agazzani. I love that man so much. this last weekend we had a historic occurrence here in C. Oviedo and ca´aguazu. we are now one district!!!!!! the conference was incredible. we had about 500 people in attendance and we had 5 investigators come it was so amazing!!!! an area authority came (Elder DiGiovanni) he told us about all of the changes that the church is doing due to the rapid growth. they have now opened up 58 new missions and the missionary force will be around 100,000!!! with that growth they are making a new mission here. Argentina Posadas. it will take 3 main cities of our currant mission and then part of Argentina. about 67 or so of our missionaries will be going over there in July.

well. for my interview i was asked by president to turn in a spiritual experience. honestly for about 3 or 4 days i had absolutely no idea what i was going to say. i was thinking about a powerful impression of the spirit when i testified of the Book of Mormon confirming its truthfulness. I then thought about one of the feelings i got after a baptism back in ka´aguy rory. none of them seemed to fit. then i remembered the zone conference i had with Pres. Arnold. he is the old area president. i came to that conference knowing that i had to be obedient, diligent, studious, following the spirit always, planning, and many other things of a missionary. i knew it but really i didn't GET IT. i didn't know the WHY of it all. During that conference as Pres. Arnold talked of many of those things one thing really just hit me. OBEDIENCE. it was during that conference that i committed myself to work harder everyday to be a more strictly obedient missionary. we all wrote down this on our notebooks "i promise to not offend Christ ever again. I am not perfect, but i will work everyday to not offend Him." we then signed it. there i started to recognize the importance of obedience and not being selfish and doing things how i would like to do them but as God would. he then talked about a staircase that brought us to consecration (sc). it started with obedience and doing it with love. then it was sacrifice. then following was the atonement. i honestly worked for the next 4 or 5 months to be obedient to everything. i had some issues with companions but i grew. once i learned the importance of obedience i started learning about sacrifice in Sajonia and how i needed so sacrifice myself to the work. i worked for the next 6 months to sacrifice myself more to the work. then for the next 8 months i worked on applying the atonement in my life. not just repenting for my sins but truly understanding the doctrine of Christ. Faith, Repentance, Baptism, Receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost, and Enduring to the End. as i got the WHY of missionary work and my testimony and desire grew to share the gospel i worked harder and harder to invite people to come unto Christ by having faith in Him, repenting of their sins, and being baptized in His true Church by someone holding the priesthood authority. as i did that i felt my testimony grow. I'm now on the path of Consecration and conversion and I'm going to be on it for the rest of my life, because really conversion is a long road that is going to have its ups and downs. i honestly think i have had the most down moments of my life on my mission but i have also had the most incredible moments of my life on my mission and by both i have grown. honestly there is so much to talk about and i cannot put it all into one thingamajig. (that's a word i haven't used in the while).

well for my last email sent from here in Paraguay being a set apart representative of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ i want to leave you all with the knowledge of a few things. I know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is God's only true and living Church here on the earth. I know it because i have felt the Spirit burn in my heart and testify to me that it is true. when we go proselyting, i walk with a Book of Mormon at hand. Why? Because it is the evidence that God has restored His truth to the earth once more. I know that the Book of Mormon is true because i have felt it burn in my heart. I know that Joseph Smith is a Prophet of God and that God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ appeared to him and called him to be the prophet of the restoration and that those keys that were restored to the earth are here today and that Pres. Thomas S. Monson is Gods living prophet on the earth that holds all of those keys. I testify that through coming unto Christ by having faith in Him, repenting, and being baptized by someone holding His divine authority is the door which leads to the long, straight, and narrow path that leads to eternal life. families can be together forever. 

on my blog it says that this is "Parker's Paraguayan Adventure" i would like to change that title. Yes, it has been an adventure but it means way more to me than that and has been so much more. my mission has changed my life forever. It has truly been "My Road to Conversion".

Love you all and thank you for all that you have done for me

rohaihu

jajotopata (gotta guess what it means)

Elder Wilson

Elder Parker arrives home Thursday February 28th

A Great Week Ahead

HEY HEY HEY!!!!

ALEXIS AND GLORIA WERE BAPTIZED AND CONFIRMED THIS LAST WEEKEND!
i had the opportunity to do the interview for Gloria. she started sharing with the missionaries about 9 years ago. when it got to a point her mom cut her off and told her that she could never talk to the missionaries again. about a month ago she flagged down the missionaries and explained how she shared with the missionaries before and would like to share again. a big challenge for her has been social. her family is completely against her decision and she has a lot of opposition at home. i asked her how she knew Joseph Smith was called to be a prophet of God. She told me how she wanted to have a spiritual witness for a very long time, but she was never committed to being baptized due to the family situation. then came a moment when she knelt and prayed to ask God if Joseph Smith was a prophet and if The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is His true church on the earth, but she added on another part she said that she was willing to follow the answer and be baptized no matter what the situation. Well, she got the answer. Yes. She said to me "I knew that i had received an answer and i can never go back. God answered me and i know now." Its just like what it says in Moroni´s promise (Moroni 10:3-5), you need to ask with "real intent". What does that mean? It means that you are willing to follow the answer that you receive. We have an example that we share about going to someone to ask for work and they have a perfect job just for you and you say OK thanks for telling me but I'm not going to do it. If we are not willing to follow the council and answers that God gives us; why would He answer us? It is when we go in determined to follow Him, is when He gives us those powerful answers that we cannot deny. I love what it says in The Restoration movie. (I'm gonna translate it) Joseph Smith asks his mom how he can know which church is God true church and she say "We must receive from God answers that man cannot give, nor take away." IT IS SO TRUE!!!! When I testify to people how i know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saint is Gods only true and living church on earth, i don't tell them its because i was told that it was true or because i read it in a history book but because I HAVE RECEIVED AN ANSWER FROM GOD THAT IT IS: that is the only way that you can. the peace and joy that you feel is incredible. Because through the Holy Ghost one can come to know the truthfulness of all things.

Well this week we have some great things going on. Tuesday Zone Conference!!! Divisions with elder norton! The combining of Districts Ca´aguazu and Coronel Oviedo!!!!! then Leadership council next Monday!!!!!! its going to be a wonderful week the best part though is that we are helping Segio and Olga get married and be baptized on Saturday!!! they came to the baptism and felt the spirit testify to them.

I LOVE THE ATONEMENT!!!! Repenting is the best thing in the whole wide world. it just makes you feel all good and bubbly and happy and perky and every fun word you can think of.

Its my last full week as a representative of Jesus Christ here in Paraguay. 
Its going to be the best week ever. 
0 fear 100% love. 
Inviting all to come unto Him through repentance and baptism.

Love you all!!!

Elder Wilson

MILAGROS MILAGROS MIRACLES

(sorry to be late had a posting error)

Hey fam,

wowza did we have a great week.

 so first off Alexis. he is 16 and was basically in the worst situation ever. he was in drugs, smoking 2 packs a day, and getting drunk all of the time. we have taught him everyday this week and he is getting ready for his baptism on saturday. now he is working 2 jobs instead of rolling on the streets. HE WENT OUT AND BOUGHT HIS OWN CHURCH CLOTHES!!!!! he has not smoked for the last 5 days and is just flying. honestly you sit here and listen to him and you can see the change that is happening in his life. there is just a different happiness and a different brightness about him as he is applying the gospel of Jesus Christ in his life. on sunday he was there right at 8:30 tie and all, bore his testimony during sacrament meeting and started asking us for help to fill out his form for institute!!!! i love the kid so much. 

that is why us as missionaries work all day everyday sharing the gospel with everyone it is because the Lord knows who is ready to receive the message of how He has restored His true church on earth in these later days. its incredible because he lives in, the you could say,  most shady part of our area. he is a rock and everyone around him is telling him he can't do it. well i testify that they are wrong. if someone can't change or says that it is impossible to change that means that the atonement of Jesus Christ doesn't work and i KNOW that it does I've seen it in my life and I've seen it in his.

now Tomás. my companion felt that on our way to another cita we should go say hi to an old contact as we pass by this man who is with about 5 other people calls us over to share sadly at the moment we were really late so we set up another appointment. as we walked about 100 yards i felt that we needed to go back and he did too so we said a prayer to know if we should. the answer was YES! (little did we know that the man said to the others "if they are real representatives of God they will come back") how grateful i am for the Spirit because that was the only way that we went back. we then taught them a quick lesson on the restoration and they all accepted a baptismal date for the 2 of march and we gave out about 4 Books of Mormon and 5 the Restoration pamphlets. it was incredible. we set up a visit with one of the guys Tomás who was just feeling the spirit  and listening with everything of his soul. he told us that you go to the new soccer stadium and go on the dirt road about 500 meters and you will find a red house. so we started on down there. we ended up finding out that it was 3.5 kilometers away. about 1hr and 30min of walking. soooooooooo we put up the thumb and a nice truck hauling terere (google it) brought us there. we taught him and his entire family. he went to church on sunday even though he worked till 6 in the morning and he is just amazing. he is preparing to be baptized next week and his family the week after. the nice thing is to go back to our main part of the area we pay the day 10mil guaranies and he takes us its really nice.

now yanina. we were walking on the main road and felt hey lets go say hi to the less active brother jose who lives right over here. so we did. he has his own little spices packaging business (ill explain how it all works later). he is working with a girl named Yanina. she is 16 and is there 6 days a week from like 8 in the morning till 7 at night. so we teach them about the restoration. it was incredible how she just had a firm curiosity (SC) to learn more about the Book of Mormon and to ask God if this is His true Church on the earth that has His authority. we then stopped by two days later for our return appointment and it was amazing. she read. she prayed. she then told us that she asked for a sign but didn't really get anything that jumped out at her. we then talked about the Holy Ghost and how one will receive their answers through a still small voice. through reading the scriptures the Spirit was there. we then asked her how she felt during her prayer. she told us that after she prayed she felt this warm, tranquilo feeling in her heart. the spirit testified to me and elder Lamb that she had felt the spirit when she prayed. we then testified that to her and how that "still small voice" that just penetrates to your heart was God answering her prayer that the Book of Mormon is true and that The Church of Jesus Christ of Later-Day Saints is His only true and living church on earth today. you could see as we testified to her the spirit just fill her. it was in her eyes and in her countenance. it was amazing!!!! she connected with the Heavens and the Heavens connected back to her. she went to church loved it and is preparing to be baptized on the 2 of march!!!

there is no reason to be sad on the mission. there is always something incredible and something miraculous occurring. the work is the Lord's work and what a blessing and a joy that it is to share this fruit with others (1 Nephi 8). All of the people that i am hearing who are receiving calls to serve missions and who are waiting on them get ready for the best 2 year life changing experiences of your life!!!! i LOVE my mission and it means everything to me. we have our problems. we have some elders who don't want to baptize, sadly, but it doesn't change the message we bring and it doesn't change the calling that we have.

Jesus is the Christ and the Lamb of God. He is our advocate to the Father. only through Him and by Him can we return to live with our father again. i know the Book of Mormon is true. i have read it and i have asked my Father in Heaven if it was true and He responded and I KNOW and testify that it is true. Joseph Smith was a prophet of God and Pres. Monson is Gods living prophet today. I love Paraguay with all of my heart. che paraguayo vei mandioi (im more paraguayan then the mandioca or yuca in other countries) this is all knowledge that cannot be given from man neither can man take away. it can only be given from God which i know it has.

wow writing in your journal more makes your weekly letter better. plus its getting cold in the 70´s nice rain!!!

love

elder wilson

Pictures/Video

1. not the best quality but one of the reasons why i love paraguay

2. everyone is cleaning up to kill all of the mosquitos so what we did was dress up like traditional paraguayan field workers and went to work chopping away at weeds and tall grass and dead plants. it was awesome

3. we are 3.5 kilometer from the main part of our area. we get members to haul us out here or we do throw out "al pelo" (its guarani it doesnt mean to the hair) its far away but worth it Tomás is out here

Fear Departs When Faith Endures

HEY FAMILY!!!!

I love it how even though you have a lot of time on the mission, God still gives you the opportunities to grow. 

Fear is an interesting thing. To be honest i don't know the definition of fear so each of you can look it up in the dictionary if you would like to. Fear on,  in life, and on the mission can come in very different ways. sometimes one has fear to do what is right, to repent, to invite to repent, to speak out, to pray to find the truth from God, and many other things. What i have found in my studies has been that fear is the complete opposite of faith. For me before it was hard to say things as they are. It was hard for me to say "This is the only true and living church on the face of the earth. Jesus Christ presides it and has given the authority once more to living prophets so that we can follow Him by having faith, repenting, and being baptized by someone holding that same authority. If we are not baptized by someone who holds that authority given by the laying on of hands by one who already has it, it is not valid in the eyes of God." 

Now I'm working with a different fear. It is a fear that has a bit of pride with it. Following the Spirit every time i feel it and doing it right away. Not waiting for the next time around or just pushing it off. In life it is so interesting because having faith in God and that He will guide us is such a huge key. Like it says in the scriptures (i don't know exactly where at the moment) "Fear not and know that I am God". 

If we really trust in our Father in Heaven and are willing to do His will, He will trust us and guide us. If we trust in the atonement of Jesus Christ we can repent of our sins and follow Him more and more in our daily lives. If we have faith that the Father truly loves us and cares for us we can ask Him anything and know that He will answer. That is how I know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the Lord's true church that has his Divine authority.

that is what i learned this week

alexis came to church practiced getting baptized during priesthood because we were talking about ordinances and practicing them. then sent him with the jovenes. he could have gone with us but the youth class had about 10 girls and one guy so we sent him in there with all of them hahaha he loved it and is preparing for the 16th to be baptized.

love you all

elder wilson

House Hunting and Atonement

HEY- HEY- HEY- FAMILIA!

well I'm looking for the words because I'm honestly trying to figure out what i can write to you all. i'll do a fun thing of this week and then a spiritual. 

first fun thing. i was able to apply my house searching skills! the area president (Pres. Arnold) has his brother and sister in law coming in either this week or next week to help us organize a stake here in Coronel Oviedo and Ca´aguazu. so for the last little bit we were on a special assignment to find a house for them. Tuesday we got permission to borrow  bikes from members and roll around all of Coronel Oviedo looking for a house. It was a bit harder then it sounds. It was really fun to watch the people looking at us because they are used to us walking and then they saw us on the bikes and all that came to my head was that they were thinking "hey look the hermanos have bikes now. that's cheating they should walk" it was fun. 

transfers came and gone. nothing changed in our companionship. I'm here with Elder Lamb so we still got a lot of work to do and this transfer is going to be amazing!!!!! On Wednesday two of the missionaries from the office Elder Moffet and Elder Garcia came to do pension inspections and to look for a house with us. the entire zone was looking for a house and because i know the area best, me and elder moffet spent all of Friday rolling around looking for a house in all of oviedo and then took the 30 min drive to ca´aguazu to look for one there. they are both wonderful missionaries lots of fun. they have the vision and the discipline to become more and more molded in the Lords hands and just a great time to have them stay with us for 3 or 4 days. oh and last week a bird pooped on my head fun fun fun.

so while traveling home from ca´aguazu me and elder moffet were having a great chat. it all focused on the atonement and our purpose as missionaries. its so amazing that the atonement is the path and the way for us to live with our Father in heaven again. Christ through the atonement showed us the how to. the atonement is so much more profound then Christ suffering for our sins. that being the most important part because without a savior as the say in guarani "opa" done. The atonement is also having faith in Christ, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the holy ghost and enduring to the end. because of Christ eternal sacrifice we can have faith in him, through his suffering of our sins we can repent, baptism is that key to open up the door to receive the gift of the holy ghost and to open the long and narrow path to endure to the end. the atonement is something that we all must study and come to know. i had the opportunity to study the importance of baptism. i know and testify that all must be baptized in Christ's true church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. if not they cannot participate fully in the atoning sacrifice of the savior. 

For those who need to be baptized and don't know yet. Talk to the missionaries they can help you!! :) read the Book of Mormon and ask God with a sincere heart and real intent meaning that you are willing to follow the answer God gives you whatever the cost. the blessings of heaven and the mansions above are being prepared. The atonement is real. i know it is. I've experienced it and  i will give my all to fulfill my calling  so that all may have the opportunity to participate of the atoning sacrifice of the savior.  (mom, dad please do spell check)

thanks for all that you do LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!

Elder Wilson

Temp cooling Work not

HEY FAMILY

i hope all is going wonderful. things are cooling down here in paraguay its not as hot in the 90´s normally so when you get to the nightime it is really quite nice. this last week was a  great week. we are coming to find the small miracles, blessings, and answers to prayers that we are finding in our daily lives. i read the talk by Pres. Monson this morning that he gave during the morning session this last general conference which was fantastic! it talked about looking at all of the blessings large and small. taking that step back. or in the lesson given by dad the small point on the big piece of paper. we are so blessed to be members of the true church of Jesus Christ. what a joy it is to have that testimony burn within your soul and having the knowledge that it is our Father in Heaven who revealed the knowledge to us.

this last week i was doing an interesting activity in PMG. i was reading chapter 4 that talks about the Holy Ghost and His purpose, how we can come to be more worthy to receive and follow the impressions that He reveals to us. all of the great stuff. there is one part that talks about recognizing the impressions of the Holy Ghost and the fruits of it (Galatians 5:20-21) they have multiple scriptures from all of the standard works. as i read them i would look at the fruit of the spirit in that situation of the scriptures and then i would meditate and figure out where i have felt that same spirit in my own life. IT WAS AWESOME!!!! it really helped me come to find out how much the spirit has revealed to me and how much i have come to gain a testimony of through the spirit and how i can connect to individual moments in my life. I also asked to be receptive to the impressions of the spirit and we had a very interesting one. we asked for a reference from a women who directed us to a house. as we clapped it and they let us come it as we sat down and just did the little chat i felt this bad just kinda feeling sick feeling hit my stomach and i had the desire to fight. later on talking about it my companion had felt it too. we knew from the get go that the man we sat with only wanted to fight. we testified and then invited and then passed along. it was great how clear it was and it was super interesting to me how much of a difference there was in what i felt.

I am so glad to hear that so many people are going on missions. what a blessing it will be to have them out in the mission field sharing this everlasting gospel with everyone. it is the biggest and best thing that has happened to me in my life. i have become who God wants me to become and all because i chose to come and serve a mission. i now have a true testimony of the restoration of Christ true church on earth.i no longer depend on borrowed light. all those capable and that have the desire to serve, serve and the Lord will change your life.

thank you for all that you do

love you all

elder wilson

hey family!!!!

hope you all have just had an amazing week full of great things and miracles all about. we had a great week. work wise we were beat. we had to cover a lot of ground this last week which gave my companion some bad blisters but still he is a capo (champ) and worked it all through. we thought a lot about why we are here in Coronel Oviedo at this time. its a very crucial time here. next month two of the districts (c. oviedo and ca´aguazu) will be combined and 4 of the branches will then become two here in oviedo. 6 missionaries in every branch. so we are part of making it a smooth transition. we honestly really really want to baptize. have been working hard to help people take the steps so that they can be baptized into Christs true church. after working all week long we went out sunday still working. just another testimony about finishing. our last two lessons were great. one was with a guy and his girlfriend. he has gone to church 4 or 5 times and moved right before his baptism. we commited him and his future wife for the 26th. we are going to be working with them all week to help them prepare. one of the biggest miracles was our last visit sunday night. earlier on in the week we talked to some yard workers and one of them is a cuban who is married to a paraguayan and living here. we went over and had an incredible lesson with him. cubans are awesome!!!!! it was so incredible to watch the spirit work within him. we talked about baptism and one of his comments was incredible he said "so when we are born from our mothers we are born physically, and we are baptized that is when we can be cleaned and be born again spiritually." me and elder lamb just looked at one another and said "yep, thats pretty much it." in his prayer he asked God to help him prepare himself for his baptism on the 2 of feb. just a huge miracle and a tender mercy of the Lord.

i learned a ton this week about conversion and the need of not just reading the scriptures but actually studying the scriptures. the last two days i have focused on studying specific topics like faith and covenants and i have learned so much more about those two topics in the last couple of days than i have learned in the last couple of months. having faith in Christ is so incredible how it goes with action. if we truly have faith in Christ we will repent. it was really cool to see the connection of those two topics and also how when Christ came how the covenants were renewed and how we the new and higher law and covenant were established like how before the focus on the sabbath day was sanctifying that day and now it is more focused around the sacrament, and how before you would do sacrifices and how now you sacrifice your own will through repentance and giving yourself to him through repentance. all a new and higher law. soooooooo incredible but so little time to write.

i finished the Book of Mormon again this last week and i asked God if it was true. He DID answer me and i know and testify of its truthfulness. it was nothing wowzy or big just a still peaceful yet firm feeling. i know this is Christ true church and im so blessed to be apart of this work.

love you all and thank you for what you do.

Elder Wilson

Pictures:

1. Campo i´te!!! There was nothing

2. Me in the campo i´te

3. Elder Pastuls last consejo de lideres gona miss mi chiquitito a great missionary and a eternal friend

4. So guess what you may take the Wilson Lawn Care from the man, but you can NEVER take the man from Wilson Lawn Care

5. Big bug with Juan (recent convert) and Manuel

6. The family except Manu. Hector and Florentina. super active in the gospel just flying and waiting for their divorce in 5 months to be baptised

Some Work to be Done

Hey family hows it goin?

We had a great week this week. been receiving a lot of revelation and have been working a ton. We were able to go on multiple divisions this week which was great. we went on one with some wonderful missionaries Elder Gonzalez from Peru and Elder Rodeback from MN. We were all edified and learned what we need to work on. Elder Rodeback said something to us that really stuck well to me and my companion; "We are not here to give information, we are here to give salvation." It was a great comment on exactly what we need to work on to see more progress in our area. now when we talk to people it goes a bit like this: we say hello do the little small talk and then we say that "we are representatives from Christ´s only true church here on earth and we as His representatives have been called to help you come unto Him through repentance and baptism. would you like to follow Christ by repenting and being baptized in His only true Church." it is very interesting how it goes to be 100% honest we get rejected a good amount of times but then we find people who have been so prepared by our father in heaven to receive His gospel. we also started doing a 40 day fast to help us be more consecrated missionaries and completely separating ourselves from the world so that the spirit can be with us more powerfully, frequently, and that we may recognize it more. it is work but it is going great. I did it for the first time being really bold and i got a bit uncomfortable then i did it again and the spirit just filled me and i had a clean conscious it was incredible. oh the stories that can be told.

today we also had leadership council where we set the mission goals for this year and we talked about how we can obtain a better not only focus on the mission but a focus on helping our brothers and sisters come unto Christ through the waters of baptism. at the starting there was a part that was especially for me. We read in the book of Nehemiah  6 and how he built his wall to defend Jerusalem. in verse three he said that he couldn't attend to his enemies because he had a great and mighty work. i personally am apart of a great and mighty work right now. i only have 2 months left. i know that, but my calling is clear and my focus needs to be sure. i love you all, miss you all, and cant wait to see you in a couple of months but right now i have a great work that is being brought about. i need to be like the apostles of Christ in Mark 10 when He asked them to leave everything and that later on they would be rewarded 100 times more. if I'm to be ... i believe that God will prepare the way. He will take care of me those first few months. that is if i do what I'm supposed to do right now. may we all be focused in this great work and i know by you all helping me out i´ll be able to reach my up most potential and see so many miracles. I love my Father and His son and they have some work to be done and now is the time for the doing. This is my only chance so I'm gonna finish strong.

This is Christ true church on earth. The atonement is real. Missionary work is the true way to happiness. I have never been happier, healthier, or a better person as ever in my life before. I love you all. The Book of Mormon is true. Let us glorify and fulfill our part with God first and He will fulfill with us.

Love you all!

Elder Wilson

Holly Jolly Christmas and a Happy New Year

hey all!!!!

hope you guys had a wonderful Christmas full of amazing stuff!

we had a great Christmas here. got to go on divisions and work in our area where we saw so many miracles it was great. a wonderful christmas bringing everybody the best gift of all, the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. forgot to tell you guys a fun thing about two weeks ago. what happened was - we were on a bus going to switch back from divisions, it was about an 1hr bus ride and about 30 min in, all traffic stops. we end up sitting there for a while and then later on, go out of the bus to see whats up. what happened, was that all of the farmers got angry because the big companies were not buying their tomatoes but were buying the tomatoes from Brazila and Argentina. so in response they made a car and human blockade on the roadway for about 3 hours; stopping all thoroughfare traffic throughout the country. it was pretty interesting. we had the chance to talk to some people and decided to go study in the shade and sing christmas songs. later on the riot police came and pushed them out. we were about 1 mile away so we didn't see anything but it was very interesting.

this last week Juan was baptized!!!! he is the son of a family that we are teaching. you know that family that i was talking to you all about they were going to get married and baptized and they want to but she needs to get a divorce. thankfully for all of the different factors it will only take 6 months which is a miracle in itself. normally they take like 6-7 years and cost TONS of money. they will get it very cheaply and very quickly. it is so amazing the change that you see in the family. they are so much more united and happier. the brother (hector) told us that he wanted us to show him how to find book, chapter, and verse in the Book of Mormon so he can participate more in class. they are teaching the gospel to their kids. it is truly just incredible. the change that the gospel brings is amazing!

i'm doing really well. been focusing on my vision, goals, and plans for 2013. can't believe it is already here. wowza! really just wanting to be more christlike and applying the atonement more and more in my life. i also really want to KNOW my Father in Heaven and His Son Jesus Christ. so i've been studying a lot more about them lately. here in Paraguay everyone prays for good health and we have learned why. my companion has been a little bit sick ever since the divisions but he is a capo (beast) and keeps on pushing forward. i know that God put us together as a companionship for a reason. i'm learning so much and we are growing together.

thanks for all that you do and i love you all so much!!!!! glad that i was able to see you bright happy faces last week. keep em smiley and happy always!!!!!

the gospel is true. joseph smith was a prophet of God. Christ is the head of His church and works through His modern day prophet Thomas S. Monson. everyone needs to read the Book of Mormon because it is the only way one will know that this is the truth. they must pray and God being a God who is very personal and real will respond to us according to our desire and faith.

have a great week!!!!

love

elder wilson

Parlez Vous Français?!?!?!?!

HEHE HOHO Hey family!!!

you may all be wondering "why is elder wilson writing things in french and spelling them perfectly and then doing funny french sounds?" well Elder Lamb from Utah has come to town. Growing up his dad would always speak to them in french so he is fluent. i now know how to say the shower, he, she, i, and you all in french. some fun stuff. plus my guarani is getting a lot better. i love the campo. it was sad to see elder gleason go - a great missionary and a great friend, but i am also super excited to be working with Elder Lamb he is an incredible missionary who has gone through some tough times on his mission but is persevering like a champ. a very clean and orderly person, which reminds me of evan, so he is giving me good cleaning habits and also we do a lot more hard core exercises. for example a few days ago we ran. he dominated me and was about 30 yards ahead (i could see him always) but i got destroyed. one of the greatest things though is that i have received a testimony from the Holy Ghost that Elder Lamb is who i should be with at this part of my mission. im learning how to be more bold and direct which is good because i needed to learn a bit more of that. what a blessing and how true it is that God knows your mission and has it all planned perfectly for you.

MIRACLE WEEKEND!!! so we have two families getting ready to be baptized the next two weeks. sergio y olga this week and then hector and florentina and fam next week!!!! both are going to be weddings and are going to be incredible!!!!!! the Lord is blessing us so much and we are finding so many more miracles everyday. obedience to the gospel and doing what the Lord calls you to do will open up so many wonderful doors. the great thing is right now we have a wonderful pool of amazing investigators all progressing at their own time but you can see how the Lord has prepared so many of them. for me im a lot skinnier at the moment in a good way though its nice and now working out better so yay. oh and i sang a solo in church. it went well.

friday we had an incredible experience. we had a special christmas conference with Pres. and Hna Agazzani, their family, the AP´s, and the zone. we read the story of Christs birth and shared our testimonies about it. we then listened to wonderful talks by Pres. and Hna Agazzani. then we watched a movie which honestly has changed my life. the movie is called "17 Miracles". you haven't watch it buy it and watch it. if you´ve seen it and haven't bought it buy it. it is a movie that depicts the travel of the Willi hand cart company from western europe to zion. is is depicted by a man who went on a mission and left his only son who was motherless and then on the way back helped this group of saints travel to zion. they tell multiple stories within it from multiple people. within it are 17 incredible miracles that occurred and truly looking at it all it was a miracle. the spirit was so strong. you just felt it the entire time. their faith is what just got to me. the faith that those saints had and the humility many of the people had to follow their leaders. the gospel is so incredible and simple at the same time. following the leaders that God has appointed to guide us and lead us and putting our personal pride aside is such a blessing. through our obedience we will be richly blessed. in the movie you saw that the saints who crossed were full of the fire of faith. many of them died of hunger, cold, fatigue, and sickness. the most amazing thing though is that they never lost the faith and they new that if they did not make it that the blessings for them above were so much greater then the small sufferings here on earth. it is a movie that honestly made me so much more grateful for my pioneer ancestors and what they sacrificed. makes me so grateful for Julie, because she is a pioneer in our family. the things people sacrifice to be obedient to God go over any type of obedience that comes from fear or desiring a reward. it is truly an obedience for love. by being obedient because we love our Father in Heaven is the way we see those amazing changes in our lives. my life has changed. my priorities and goals are not small petty things that can only be reached on earth. my goals are now for the eternities. the gospel shows us how. all we must do is follow the example Christ left and LIVE IT. those saints did. they did so so that we may have it today.

i love being a missionary for Christ true church and i testify with all of my heart that it is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Jesus Christ is the head of this church and it is the only church that has His authority to baptize and that a family can be forever. I know because i have felt it. I know it and I know that God knows it and i cant even fathom denying it. Thank you all for encouraging me to come on my mission. It means everything to me. today in a meeting that we had with the DL i said something that my companion said to me last night and it was completely true. Parker Wilson is dead. right now Elder Wilson lives, and in time Parker Maurice Wilson we live again but as someone changed through the atonement of Jesus Christ. right now im Elder Wilson because i am Gods servant and disciple.

thank you for all that you do

love

elder wilson  

Miracles and Buses

Hey family!!!

this last week we had a lot of miracles and a lot of traveling as well. monday through friday we traveled. once to asuncion and 4 times to caaguazu which is about an hour away. tuesday we had a huge miracle though. i was with elder cleverly the DL in caaguazu and we went to visit a family who was prepared to be baptized but just needed an extra push. so we went there, taught them and they had an amazing change of heart. we didnt do anything God just changed them. we told them that the Lord was preparing a baptismal service the next week and they said how they are going to argentina to visit family. so we then told them that they could do it this saturday they said ya, had a couple concerns about money, but it all got resolved. now they are preparing to enter into the temple as a family in 1 year!!!!

an interesting thought that me and my companion have talked about. first about being happy. Why are people not happy? sad things happen all the time and disappointments occur from time to time. we just always have to have the hope and the faith that all will turn out well. my favorite quote is "circumstances dont determine a happiness" it is so very true. we just have to put on a smile. we read how alma and his people were being enslaved by the lamanites but the Lord helped them ease their burden and they were happy! plus its Christmas time in the city. doot doo doo doot doo doot ringaling hear them ring!!!! not sure if i got it a 100% right but i hope it was close. so if everyone can do me a favor today and SMILE!!!!
 BECAUSE YOUR SMILES ARE AMAZING

the other topic we talked about was how the world does seem to get more and more wicked but the saints are becoming more and more converted. if we are true to the commandments and do the small and simple things no matter where we are in the world we will be firm on the rock of christ (Helaman 5:12) we have to all be firm in our faith, firm in our covenants, and firm in our testimonies. i was reading a talk by Elder Oaks and it tells of how sharing the gospel is the best way to fortify our testimonies. also being true to our covenants. some of us have just done that first and super important covenant of baptism others have done more sacred covenants within the holy walls of the Lords temples. no matter what covenant we have made we must keep it and keep strictly to it.then strive to make more. in that way we will always progress and always come closer to our father in heaven.

the work here right now is on the verge of exploding. we have 9 people that we are planning to help them make that first and key covenant of baptism this month. some obstacles are in the way but as long as we fast and pray the Lord shall show the way.

I testify that Christ is the head of this church. He is the Master our Lord and Savior. He invites us all to come unto Him through doing sacred covenants with Him and the Father. may we all be true to our covenants in all times and all things and in all places. let us do the small and simple things. 

love you all so much

elder wilson

White Christmas Preparation

hey everyone!!!

so we are here on a normal summer day here in paraguay, its close to about 100 F outside and i am wearing a long sleeved shirt which is nice but i guess you get use to sweating all the time after a while. oh how the mission changes you.

we are all getting ready for a white christmas here in paraguay! sadly there is no snow and if there ever is some i think the entire country would got on a lock down; so its a blessing. we are getting ready to have an amazing month of december. we have been so blessed to have so many new investigators who are progressing and going to church. this last weekend we had 6 at church but sadly two had to leave for a thing that they had to do for their son, but it was still amazing. it is also really interesting where two of our investigators are located - from one of them to the other it will most likely take about 1hr or 1hr 15min to walk. they are worth it though. one is an amazing new family that are seaching for the truth and are reading the Book of Mormon a ton, and the other is a brother of a sisiter who is going to be sealed this saturday with her husband!!!!! i love eternal families.

the meeting we had today was incredible!  the theme was having a white christmas and baptizing more and more. the mission is really being so blessed and growing so much. a really sad but wonderful thing that happened also was we were able to hear the testimonies of three missionaries who are returning home with honor next week; elder ponce who i dont know very well but who is a wonderful missionary, elder clement who i have known since last june and been in the same area with for about 5 months and elder henriquez who i met my second day in paraguay. all wonderful finishers and incredibly focused and dedicated missionaries. oh and so you guys know right now i am looking at a guy who is wearing a brewers' hat and a brewers' shirt. fun stuff it is interesting the connections to the states. he's got a hunting bag he is a wisconsin man. (but back on topic). 

its so amazing how far i have come. today i was able to renew my temple recommend and it was incredible. it just helped me remember why i am here and what i am learning. i saved my other one. i think i will like to hold onto them all so i can show to my future generations how i always was worthy to have my temple recommend. pres at the end gave me a hug and said "elder wilson you got 2 transfers to work miracles out there." i told him that i will. it all comes down to our decision  what we choose to do will effect everything. it is sad to see how some missionaries die down towards the end but not this guy. we are going to be seeing white. this last week a miracle happened in the other area in our branch. a missionary in training had his first baptism. the guy had attendances before went and found the guy and two weeks later because of sincere pray he is a member of Gods true church.

have a happy and wonderful week. love you all dearly. go to the temple often it will always bring you peace. i testify that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. Joseph Smith was a Prophet called of God. This is Christs true church and He is at the head. The atonement is real. no matter what the challenge you can overcome.

love you all

elder wilson

Finding Joy Through Others

HEY!!!!

this last week we did a bit of traveling. our zone has a base of three cities and we went into the other two this last week for baptismal interviews and other meetings. makes ya a tad bit tired but thanks to all of the soccer traveling in the past im kinda used to it. traveling by bus is actually kinda nice and pretty cheap. 

this last week the main thing that i learned was finding the joy in watching others succeed. i have had it frequently in my life but this last week i fully felt it. one was during sacrament meeting. the other elders have this incredible guy who they are working with who is ready to be baptized. when i saw him all by himself walk into the chapel i got super excited for the kid and also for the other missionaries. also because the zone  at the start of the month wasn't  having a prosperous month by helping others enter into the waters of baptism; 14 people in our zone were baptized this month and the mission got over 100 which is incredible. we are going for 1000 total by the end of the year. i think that is something that is really good for me to acquire. finding joy in the success of others. me being a wilson and all of you know i am a somewhat competitive person. i find it really great that i am eliminating that type of pride within me and finding the joy in the progress and miracles in the lives of other missionaries and other people.

a fun little things we did this week was a bit of service. it feels good to serve have charity. we went on over to a recent converts house and built them a chicken coop. it was saaaaaweet! basically how they do it is getting whatever wood is around and nailing it all together. an amazing thing about the people here is that they are like mcgiver (i dont know how to spell his name) but when it comes to building things or fixing things or anything. they make anything out of everything. aaaaaaaahhhhh paraguay i love it. 

an interesting thing that i have come to realize during my mission is all of the different types of pride there are and how many different ways there are to be prideful. kinda scary but really interesting. example. if one is not willing to forgive themselves they are not letting the atonement come into their lives. in other words their pride is getting in the way of their own forgiveness. me and my companion talked about multiple small and different ways one can be prideful without even realizing it and then we worked on eliminating that. how you may ask? CHARITY CHARITY CHARITY OHHHH CHARITY. having a smile, being nice, turning the other cheek and doing all of those small things to be happy. i started a study today in the book of mormon on christ and the atonement. its so incredible how it works. anything you can change, anything you can get rid of, anything you can fix. the love of the Lord is so incredible and it just makes you want to do better and to be a better person. on my mission i have come to understand the atonement so much more and the importance of the atonement and of the savior. i have an christmas gift for all of the family. i would like to invite you all to take a Book of Mormon and mark and study everything that talks about Christ and the Atonement. i did it for half of one chapter and it was incredible it will bring so many blessings.

i know that this church is true. i know that christ lives and how joyful it is to be apart of this work.

love you all 

elder wilson


Pictures: 
1. This is the legendary golder alfajorpe. it is like the jackalope of the missionaries. you hear about it all the time, and every once in a while see a wrapper, but this last week we had the opportunity TO EAT ONE!!!! it was incredible!!! (Alfajores are the quintessential street food in South America. )2. Yaaaaaaaaaaa............. thats elder gleason. he got a hold of my camera
3. gotta love the campo bunch of great pictures

Its the most wonderful time!

first of all just got off the phone with Elder Schone who is coming here this week to do divisions in our zone and he sends his love to you all. a great missionary and a great friend.

SOOOOOO this  week on monday we had a wonderful experience. we found a golden family. they are Sergio and Olga; they have a little boy whose 5-years old and has epilepsy. a special kid but a wonderful experience to  share my testimony with them. we did a big service project with them. went with a member on over to their house to trim a tree. trimming here is cutting off most of the branches. it was about a 60 feet tall tree and we climbed up with a machete and chopped it on down. my companion went to the higher parts because we couldn't fit two so i got to chop on down below and he took down a big one that almost fell on him but he was saved and it is a great journal entry. the best part though happened at 8:20am on sunday...... they went to church all by themselves and absolutely loved it!   they felt the spirit so much and even though there are some communication boundaries at the moment because they speak more guarani than spanish they are progressing wonderfully! 

later on that night we had a very interesting thing happen, not to go into detail, but some guys started to chastise us, the church, and the Book of Mormon. the spirit was not there at all so respectfully we got out, the man did invite me to pray and ask God if what he said was true. with that invitation i invited him to read the Book of Mormon and to ask God if it was true. i accepted he declined. that night both me and my companion were on our knees for some time and i prayed for so long searching for an answer and i received one. a still small peace and love came to me when i asked God if the Book of Mormon is true and if this is Gods true church. doesn't matter how many times you ask God will always answer. 

throughout the week we saw many more things maybe not as large but things that were attacking our testimonies. it was very interesting that with every attack i have become more and more determined 

to strengthen my testimony and testify of the restoration of Gods true and living church on the earth 

today. I feel more and more inclined to talk to people about the restoration, to present and testify of the Book of Mormon to all. at the end of the race you gotta be strong ya. its like bending your knees and doing the full follow through when your shooting free throws and you got only one minute left. you gotta focus, and give it all. its so interesting because there are times that me and my companion feel physically beat, but we can keep on going. our bodies are feeling tired but our minds and souls are invigorated (super spell check) to keep on sharing the gospel. honestly it is so amazing to me how true the church is in its simpleness. God called prophets since the beginning of time (adam). man would always reject them. he continued calling prophets until He sent His only begotten Son to save us from sin. Jesus Christ established His church with apostles and His authority. again through the wickedness of man it was lost. in its simpleness. now God has restored His church through a modern day prophet joseph smith. I testify that the boy joseph saw God the Father and Jesus Christ. through him the keys to the salvation of man were restored. now the big question HOW CAN WE KNOW? well that is where the Book of Mormon comes to play. Moroni 10:3-5 read, ponder, pray, and you will know through the Holy Ghost. we just need to be humble and we can know. I LOVE the Book of Mormon. I testify that it is the word of God. the Lord has blessed me with these 2 years to testify of its truth and especially for me to come to know its truth. I love this church. more importantly i love my God and I love Him for sending His Only Begotten Son to save me from my faults.

i love you all and I'm so grateful for all that you do. the church is true and i will declare it to all that can hear. that the spirit may guide me during that time so that its now me who is speaking but it is Him. i am nothing. through God and the atonement of Christ i can be perfected.

love you!!!

Elder Wilson

Mmmmmmmba´etekopio

Hello dear family and friends!!! 
how art thou?! 
(gotta love the wilson vocabulary)

to start off - let you all know I got the package along with all of the dearelders and blair and Julie's letter. thank you all very much!!! the ties are saweet! the sox i am sporting a pair right now and my feet approve. the gum my companion approves very much. thank you thank you thank you!

so a fun thing that we are doing  now is a bunch of divisions which means that i am out of our area about 2 times a week or so. right now i have been to every branch here in our city, and this following week we get to take an hour bus ride and i get to go do divisions in Villa Rica which is about 1 hour south and the next week we are going out to ca´aguazu which is about 1 hour west. our zone takes up 3 cities which is pretty cool got to go out to the campo campo´ite!!! which was great! the fun thing is that this week i get to see 2 of my old companions (elder norton and elder horton!!!) they are both in my zone and actually there are 4 or 5 missionaries that were in my district when i was a DL in sajonia about a year ago which is really cool get to see them again and work with them again.

so this week we had a great thing . we had a great "endure to the end talk". we are seeing how some missionaries are slowing up and not working as hard and are getting trunky (wanting to go home and not working) well we are on the anti-trunky train and we are going full steam ahead. we felt a strong impression on how we end our missions will be a huge factor on our futures. are we going to be finishers or no? that is the question. for me it is a solid YES!!! right now we are having difficulties when it comes to some ward things and people coming to church on sunday. we have an amazing family, the familia gayoso, who are so ready and so amazing!!! they are going to be  baptized in the beginning of december, we also are working with this great kid named junior who is changing his life around. the branch is struggling a bit but you know what you gotta put on a smile and keep on working giving your all and just loving the people always and testifying of the truth. due to the pictures i don't have a ton to write but let us all endure to the end always (love the finishers wanted talk)

love you all and pray for you daily

elder wilson


Pictures
 So the computer isn't letting me look at the others so i think your just gonna have to guess for these ones. 

Bday feast (mexican food)

cool bday gift they god me

yes - living in the country

not quite sure

easing down the road ( notice pavement)

if only we had wheels

my companion elder gleason

Coronel Oviedo

so i have five minutes. ill tell ya why.

so we are out here in beautiful coronel oviedo me with elder gleason from utah. he is awesome!!! we got up at 3 this morning to catch a bus for asunción. its about a 3 hour ride for our ZL meeting. got there to find that all of the good buses had left and the seats on the ok ones were full. there was only standing room. well we took it!!! it was a once in a lifetime experience. a girl got sick on the bus and threw up, but its just another great journal write. fell asleep standing up which i've never done before. all in all it was awesome. all of the elders at the meeting asked me how my first trip was and they all loved the answer especially elder pastul. 

so out here there are 24 elders and they are in 3 cities all 1 hour apart. our area is much more humble but amazing. i love it! it is really different and we are making some changes in the zone but with the Book of Mormon, faith, and prayer. things are going to be changing and its going to be amazing!!!!

thank you for all that you do and love you all gotta head out!!!!

love

elder wilson