The Heat is BACK

Hey fam!!!

as you can see by the title our beautiful Paraguayan heat has returned. today and yesterday we have been in the low 100s and its not death, its not horrible at all. you gotta be super grateful for AC though. 

this last week we had a bunch of great experiences. on Tuesday we were able to have a conference with all of our zone again. it was great, more interaction from the elders and we were able to find 71 people that can be baptized this month!!!! now we just gotta do our part. listen to the spirit ask inspired questions and teach the doctrine and invite them to be baptized and put a baptismal date with them. miracles are going to rain! its going to be amazing!!!

we also had a wonderful opportunity to be able to have a regional conference with SLC this last sunday. all of the stakes and districts in Paraguay and Uruguay listened to a conference where we heard Elder Walter F. Gonzalez of the 70, Sister Reeves of the Relief Society presidency, Elder Niel A. Andersen, and our beloved prophet Thomas S. Monson. it was so incredible how everything that they talk about was exactly what we need here in our beautiful paraguay - for the gospel and church to grow. the things that i got big out of it, that i want to apply is first: searching for the guidance of the Spirit to know what the people need at that place and time, connect with them. Elder Andersen talked about the biggest soccer rivalries in paraguay and uruguay it was pretty funny, also a wonderful quote that he said was "if we don't try it we won't do it. if we don't do it, then why are we here?" referring to going to church, home and visiting teaching, and other responsibilities. it was wonderful and just a huge blessing to be able to listen to the living prophet of God. he talked about going and saving lost souls and bringing them back to the fold. he mentioned two parts, one showing them their eternal potential and the other knowing that people can change. I'm a witness to that. how i have  changed, it is incredible. thinking about how i was, what i would do, say, and what were my priorities before having completely changed and it is a huge blessing that i have received from that change.

a nice little reminder that came to my mind during my studies in the last couple of days and teaching a man named Santiago who we are helping drop drinking, is the effect of small choices. either doing them or not doing them. both having a negative effect. he drank a little bit and burnt his food with hot oil. now though he is determined and is feeling the spirit so much, has a ton of ward support and is really changing. it is a testimony that man can change. thinking about it, it is how we must do those small things. are we all doing our daily scripture study personally and as a fam., are we praying together and individually, are we going to the temple as much as possible. those are the great questions.

well time is up on my computer love you all an

Zaballos

sorry to be late - had a problem posting

Hey family!!!!

i hope that all is going wonderful there in beautiful naperville/watertown/DC/ wherever you may find yourselves.

things are going great . we were able to have a great zone conference with 113 missionaries last weds. it was so incredible. we had the wonderful opportunity to be able to meet and listen to Elder Jorge F. Zaballos of the 70 and his wife. It was incredible! it was one of the most spiritual and uplifting zone conferences of my life. Elder Zaballos is the first counselor of the area Sur America Sur which now consist of Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Chile. The talks were incredible. The hna agazzani talked about real growth in the church through edifying the kingdom of God. Pres. Agazzani talked about using all members to find new investigators not just the active ones and how to use some new lists and tools that we have out here. there was then a great musical number put your shoulder to the wheel which brought a great spirit. then the Hna Zaballos spoke. she honestly reminded me of mom. she was so happy, loved talking about her children and the power of the gospel. she really gave us this big amazing pep talk. one thing that she said that stuck out a bunch which is something that i have always heard was, "remember who you are" then i added remember what you stand for. its funny in a great way how that thought always comes in my head. i always say it to the AP´s when they leave the house. we honestly always need to remember who we are. We are all sons and daughters of the true and living God. we are representatives of Him and His Son Jesus Christ and we must always act accordingly.

this week i don't believe that i have ever fasted and prayed as much. there were two people who needed a boost this last week. one was Aide from Libertad 1.2. we have never seen anyone more prepared than her. she has a rock testimony but due to her parents she couldn't get baptized this week but she will soon. another was don pico. a great man who recognized his answer from god that he needed to be baptized. due to opposition in the family he was not baptized either. it is a bit of a trial. you give all that you got and the final result didn't come through. you are still a successful missionary though. when you give it all you will be able to stand blameless before God in the last day. this week though we are going to work ever harder and smarter to help incorporate the members more and help build temple testimonies (testimonies that will carry people to the temple). it is such a blessing to be apart of this work.

another huge miracle is Humberto. he was going to get baptized last month but he didn't have a firm testimony of the restoration. now after much faith and prayer he does and he is going to be baptized this week. what a blessing from the Lord.

the mission is amazing. the best two years to become the man/woman that the Lord wants you to become. the key though is humbling yourself to let it happen. its happening to me. i have a new mentality for so many things. I'm more bold and confident. i can testify to people and call them to repentance and to be baptized unlike before. its not because i did something amazing. its because the spirit is guiding me and helping me.

the church is true and the prophets receive revelation.

i love you all so much and pray for you daily

elder wilson



Photos:
1. say hello to elder pastul! and richard
2. Roberto and Mirta during the wedding
3. Roberto and Mirta with all of there family that came
4. Roberto and Mirta right before the baptism
5. ya! we made mexican food!!!!! it twas good

Zone Conference

Hey fam!!!

This last week has been a wonderful week. Here in paraguay we celebrated day of the worker (may Day) on Tuesday which was fun. on the same day we had zone conference. it was a great one. got to see some faces that i haven't seen in a while which was really nice and meet some new ones. It is pres. and hna callans last zone conference until they finish their missions next month. it was a great zone conference you can always learn so much and the spirit is there. we had some wonderful practices which were able to help me and my companion a whole bunch. my personal favorite part of the meeting 2was the testimony meeting that we had at the end. we got to hear around 40 or so testimonies which was just amazing the spirit was powerful. Pres. callan asked us all to bear our testimonies and have them be short direct power testimonies. it was amazing as i was sitting there contemplating what i could say. i was in the middle of the group so i had a bit of time to think. all i felt inside of me was that i had to say what i know. as missionaries that is what we do every day all day long testify. we also have been focusing on getting a better relationship with the members. we are trying to work with them more and more to help bring the love of sharing the gospel to the entire ward.

this is the last week of the change which is so crazy. I've been thinking a lot about finishing and how we gotta finish strong me individually, our companionship, our district, our zone, our mission. always being a finisher which is just so important. I'm getting into the part of Jesus the Christ when He is about to be crucified. it is so interesting how He had the power to stop everything and He always had the option to just give up, but for His love for us and His Father He finished the most important work known. He made it possible so that we can repent and live with our Father in Heaven again. He overcame both spiritual and temporal death. He is our Lord, Savior, Redeemer, and Advocate to the Father. I love Him and am so grateful for His sacrifice.

sorry its short and sweet this week.

love you all, pray for you daily

Elder Wilson





Pictures:
1. After Divisions Elder Horton, Elder Sevy (Idaho), Me, and Elder Rios (Jujui, Argentina)
2. Can i hear gourmet cook? ya we know how.

The Peak of Summer

Hey everyone hows it goin?

things are going well here in beautiful paraguay. the weather is calming down a bit. here february is the hottest part of the year. it normally gets in-between 100 and 115 or 120 everyday which is nice and refreshing hahaha. its actually something that you do get a bit used to. a thing as missionaries that we learn during the summer is shade walking. what we do is we look ahead on the streets and find where there is the most shade because really the heat is just the sun. so you get under the shade and it cools down a lot. we walk throughout the day looking for the people to talk to and shade. its really nice when the sun goes down because it literally drops in temperature so much and its amazing. a very nice thing though is that even if people don t want to hear your message they are willing to give you something to drink. you could clap(that is what they do to knock on a door - they clap tw) a house and the guy comes out saying "no I'm ok come another day" you start testifying to him and its the same response, but then you say "ok, but do you have some cold water?" they always say yes. so that helps us out a little bit with chatting for a bit more. 

This week was awesome!!!! we had zone conference which was great. they take around 8 or so hours and its all just awesome. learned a whole bunch on how to become a better teacher. from the time of the lesson, body language, to how to better use the spirit -  all wonderful things that help a lot. got to see some of the elders from my old zone and saw an old companion which was nice. everything back in 3 bocas i hear is going well. the son is getting ready for the mission and the family is getting ready to be sealed in the temple as a family!!!!!!!!! YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAY!!!!!! Here we a bunch of miracles. 6 of our investigators came to church. 3 of them for the first time and it was awesome. they felt the spirit and loved church. 

this week also i was especially able to augment my testimony that our Father in Heaven truly does prepare his children to receive the gospel. while i was on divisions(their word for splits tw) with Elder Meadows (UT) we were looking for a reference and clapped an apt and a woman came out. we asked if this man lived there she said no and asked us who we are. we told her we were missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and we were called by a living prophet of God to bring this message to the people here in Paraguay. She then asked 3 questions: 1. What is the difference between your church and other churches? 2. While are so many churches who all say they are right? 3. How can I know which one is the true church? It was music to our ears!!!!! Sadly we couldn't pass because there was no man at home(propriety of numbers/ratio tw)  but we set a cita for sunday. We got there on sunday all hyped all ready to go, and her boyfriend didn't want us to pass and teach. We tried so hard to get in to teach them. You could see that she wanted us to come and teach. The boyfriend though didn't budge. It threw us off for a bit, but a thing that i have learned is that you cant let those moments get ya down. Now she knows where to find her answer. Her time will come. We are gonna keep on looking.

So dad asked me a day run down a day in our mission here. so here it goes. 630 till 8 prep exercise, eat, shower, and such. 8 till 1030 personal, comp, and lang study. 1030 till 12 go out and teach or find new people. in every area there are "morning people" who are always there in the mornings. then we come back and either eat at a members, grab something real quick or make some food. then from 1 till 9 we are talking to everyone that we can. we normally get in 4 to 7 lessons a day. try to find at least 2 or 3 new people to teach every day. then come back at night plan for a half hour. get ready for bed, write in my journal, call and talk to members of my district see how they are going, or work on the little study projects that i have. 1030 in our 17 Celsius room for sleep time.

how crazy it is that a year is just around the corner i still feel like its been 2 months. wow time flies. but i am so grateful to be where i am doing what i am doing becoming who i am becoming. the mission just makes you so much better i cant really explain it. its like the time me, mack, mom and dad went to pick up evan from his mission and mom said "he looks like a missionary" thats how i feel. i love this work with all of my heart. the book of mormon is true! through studying it we will receive personal revelation it was written for us and is the most correct book on the face of the earth. it is Another Testament of Jesus Christ. I love you all so much and am so grateful for all that you do.

love

Elder Wilson

do you love me more than these?

Hey everyone!!!!

so things are going pretty well in good ol paraguay. got a nice little heat wave and i actually enjoyed it. weird huh? a thing i was talking to my companion about he goes home in 3 more transfers which is flying for him and he doesnt like the idea of ending the mission. then he turned to me and said after the next transfer your gonna be close to the 6 month mark. i was like huh? no. but i realized that it is true. i then got really sad. i love the mission and i feel like ive just started but im getting close to being 1/4 of the way done. crazy and sad idea.

we had a zone conference (meeting with the president of the mission his assistants and 20 other missionaries) it was amazing and so awesome. it started at 8 and ended around 430 or so. honestly it felt like 2hrs and i could have stayed there and listened to it all day. i learned so much and how i can improve as a missionary. the best part was that we got to watch a talk that Elder Holland gave in the MTC. he is awesome and one of my favorite apostles to listen to. he speaks with such passion the spirit is like. boom goes the dynamite there. he focused on a question that the Lord asked Peter after he came back to find them fishing instead of teaching the people. he asked Peter "do you love me more than these" he had to ask Peter three time and Peter responded each time "Yes Lord". After the third time though the Lord said i dont know if it is exactly like this but he said "then feed my sheep". when president Holland said that i was like wow. the spirit was like a firework just going off like crazy. it was like the fourth of july celebration in plymouth during the grand finale. it made me be more determined to show the Lord that i love him more than anything in my life. that i am willing to put everything on the line for him. I have come to notice that when im giving it all im not hungry, im not tired, im not sad, im complete.

sorry this is not gonna be a huge email. but i just wanted to tell that experience and challenge you all to ask the same question to yourself that the lord asked to paul. "do you love me more than these?"

we do have two baptisms coming up this saturday. Emanuel  and Sofia  i cant wait im so happy for them you can just see their faith bursting out of them. i am so grateful for the people here in paraguay. it is amazing.

the church is true everything about it.
Christ is our lord and savior and we MUST go to him.
He is everything in my life and i love him and our heavenly father more than anything.

my best wishes and love,

Elder Wilson