I´m so Happy and I love Conference!!!

Wow this week has been so amazing!!! Just flat out loved it!

The week was full of what my dear friend from the Fiddle on the Roof would say ¨Wonder of wonder, miracle of miracles¨ 

God truly places so many wonders and miracles in our lives.

In our area we have found a bunch of nice miracles. People being home, people who before wouldn’t even want to talk, letting us sit down and share with them. People preparing themselves for baptism, all just awesome! One great miracle was with our friend Anibal Pera who is 22 and amazing. He is working as a meat boy at one of the supermarkets and is studying during the other time. He has a baptismal date for the 22nd. We invited him to come to conference to listen to modern day prophets. Due to some things that we had to attend to at the stake center between sessions we were not able to go and find him to bring him to conference. (We sang a special hymn for a baptism and had to help out). We gave him a call and he said ya I’ll be there in 20 min. Not only did he take the bus to get to the stake center but HE CAME ALL BY HIMSELF!!!!!! Wow what an amazing wonder and miracle. God truly helps us so much when we put in our part.

Since I’ve already gone onto a conference topic can I just say........ WOW!!!! These were the fastest but most amazing two days of my mission. To sit and listen to the prophets and apostles of the Lord talk to us today. A big thing that we as the missionary core here in Ñemby (our zone), Paraguay and myself have a huge emphasis on is The Book of Mormon, Youth, and morality. As Pres. Monson said in his two talks the world before used to be right beside the church when it came to moral standards, and now they are way far to the side. The best talk I heard for the youth was Elder Packer and one of the most powerful speakers I have ever heard in my life was Elder Holland. All of Elder Holland’s talk was just like WOW what an amazing man and spirit about him. He makes you want to act and work. Packer’s poem about the old crow and young crow was very legit, I enjoyed it very much. Elder Callister from the 70 on his talk with the Book of Mormon was just inspiring and was a perfect guide for us missionaries. Sister Barbra Thomson, I loved her talk, most likely one of my favorites. She was, I think 3rd in the first session and it was all about personal revelation. Just amazing that all of the people who spoke are called of God, I know this with out a doubt!

The thing that I love from conference is that it makes you want to improve. I liked the analogy of the counselor of the Sunday School presidency. When they were climbing up the mountain before they looked up to see how much more they had left to go; they looked behind them and saw how far they have come. That can be applied to life, a school assignment, and personally for me, my mission. I have come SO far. I do have a bunch to go but I know that I’m progressing and with the words of the prophets that we were all able to hear this last weekend, how can we not move on and improve. A statement made by the area authority for our mission said this about a zone conference, ¨What is the point of coming to zone conference if we don’t make the change after?¨ This can be easily applied to conference. What is the point of going to conference if we don’t apply it all and make the change after?

I am so grateful for conference and for the great love my Heavenly Father has for me. I am on my mission for a reason, I am in Paraguay for a reason, I am in San Antonio 1.2 for a reason, and I am with Elder Arriola for a reason. As soon as we discover the reasons that we are in a situation, that is when the Lord will guide us and shape us into what he wants us to become.

I am so grateful for you all and all that you do.

My love and prayers go out to you!

Love

Elder Wilson

Best Sunday Ever

Hey all!!!!

So as you can see by the title of this email this last Sunday was the best Sunday ever. here is the story.

woke up got ready for church - had a baptism of Gustavo the day before and getting ready for the confirmation (paperwork and stuff). get to church only to realize that the bishop is not able to come that day (last minute thing) and that someone attacked  the house of Gustavo so he was at the police station all day and wasn't able to come to church. Yep, i know not really sounding like the best Sunday ever but the ending is when it all comes in.



 due to the people who were assigned talks being sick i was asked to give a talk. while sitting there i just felt like finding something happy and positive to talk about. so i chose to talk about talents. after talking about talents reading the scriptures in Matthew about it and sharing how i have lost my skill of playing piano (yes mom you were right i do regret it) i decided to give my testimony about our savior and redeemer Jesus Christ. wow, i have never cried so much in a talk. the spirit just hit me like wham. these last 3 months have been tough. not a ton of success, me trying to be 100% obedient and my companion getting angry at me for doing so, all in all just hard. you know life. I've prayed these last 3 months more,  and harder than ever before. I've asked for help, for strength, to know that i was honoring God's name. during that testimony it just hit me. that Christ and my Heavenly Father KNOW what is going on, that they are there beside me, that i am doing what I'm supposed to do and that i should be happy with my work and to keep on pushing forward and getting better. honestly i am so happy. with all of the things going wrong I'm happy. i have a quote on the wall in front of my desk that dad sent me that says ¨circumstances don't determine a happiness¨. SO TRUE. I am coming to know myself and more importantly my Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ more than ever. i can't even explain how much i have learned,  how much i have grown. 

another part that made this a great Sunday was that we had the opportunity to give multiple blessings at church. i had the great opportunity to participate in every one. (giving the blessing or anointing) the spirit just....... wow i cant explain it, honestly. the son of a sister in our ward is dying of brain cancer and she asked me to give her a blessing of consuelo (forgot the word in english sorry) oh comfort :) and the words that i said were not my words. i remember one or two things that i said. i wasn't talking, it was the spirit. that feeling i will never forget. i had also the blessing to do the anointing for her son. we asked him who he would like to give him the anointing, and out of the 5 he said ¨Elder Wilson¨ this brother lives in the other area, i've seen him 5 times at church, conversed with him twice. i was honestly surprised. i was like me? why me? you know my name? (i was behind him so he couldn't read my tag) it just shows how important it is to be worthy and ready. i am so grateful that i was worthy and through the help of other i was 100% ready.

these last 3 months i have learned to depend on God and not in myself. to look for his guidance and help. to seek him out in all type of situations and follow the guidance that he has. Jesus Christ IS my Lord, Savior, Redeemer, and best friend. through Him and only Him i can return to live with my Heavenly Father again. through Him i can be whole. through Him i can face any challenge and overcome it. 





(no new pictures so I thought I'd throw in a Parker classic)

Life is full of progress

Hey everyone!!!!

so things are going great here in San Antonio 1.2. Guess what? we have a wedding and baptism this saturday!!! It is Gustavo and Raquel. Raquel has been a member for the last 8 years but was inactive for a time. They are so amazing. The Lord has truly blessed us and more and more people are progressing to enter the waters of baptism. Plus its gonna be a double baptism because the missionaries in San Antonio 1.1 have a baptism as well!!!

This last week, better said for my entire mission, I've been following dads advice to be more and more like mom. A great cook, trying. Great gardener, service opportunities show that i need to better that up a bit, but the big one is becoming a ponderer. I find myself just sitting and pondering a lot more. For a long time i have been a thinking person. Coming home from soccer or basketball mom or dad would always ask ¨so what cha thinkin about?¨ my normal response sadly was nothing but i normally was thinking about something. But pondering is so much bigger than just letting your mind flow. You sit and ponder on a question or situation, and then you control it and progress with your thoughts to find a solution or discover a new thing. This last Sunday I gave a talk in church about how the Lord Chastens us. (thank you Brother Bott for helping me learn how to give a 20 min talk with 2 min of prep) I find that i have improved myself in many many areas but still i have alot more to do. Trying to be more Christlike in the details is one of the big ones. My favorite chapter of PMG is Chapter 6 that talks of Christlike attributes. I find myself pondering on the small things that i need to improve. The extra step. I feel that i have written emails very similar to this before but its a life long process and it cant be prepared in a short amount of time.

To be honest this last week i was a bit down on myself. Just trying to find ways to be more focused to be more intune with the spirit. That is something that i have bettered alot, but have alot more bettering to do in listening and following the spirit. Last night we were talking to one of our investigators and i had the feeling and the thought popped into my mind of ¨go to familia Britez they are home¨. so as soon as we were done there that's what we did and they were home!!!!! The spirit really is amazing and how God communicates with us. Why do missions have to be so short? You learn, grow, and come to know so much on the mission. Its so amazing! I love it!!!! Ya there are the tough times that is part of it all. From the hard experiences we learn, and from the good we build ourselves.

So grateful for you all and all that you do

love you all dearly and you are always in my prayers

love

Elder Wilson

Same Place New Path

Hey fam!!!!

Still here in beautiful San Antonio with Elder Arriola. This is gonna be a great transfer we have a bunch of people ready to be baptized and if its the Lords will its gonna happen. Recently i have been reading in Luke and today i was reading  what the Lord expects from us during this life. Yes, he does expect our service. Though he expects us to serve him, we are the deciders of how much we are going to. To see if we are gonna go the extra mile, put in the extra effort, talk to another person, instead of grabbing a quick snack because you're hungry;  clap one more house. I think that has been one big  learning so far -  is to prioritize. To think of Good, Better, and Best. Before if it was ok, a lot of the time i would accept it. I took that attitude when it came to grades in school. If i got what i needed i would accept it instead of giving my all. That is something that is so important while being in the service of the Lord. To give our all to do all that is possible to serve him. Put in the extra mile and take that extra step.

Another big thing that i have learned has been the importance of patience. WOW is patience so important. Being in the Now generation i find that patience is not as common as it should be. I find myself being  more patient than i used to be. There are times that we literally have no success. People don't want to listen;  or the only people who talk to us are  drunks yelling at us on the streets, and i think to myself; ¨why? why am i walking around in the sun talking to people who don't want to listen?¨ i then start to think about it and i remember advice that Lindsey gave me before my mission. she talked about how one day, that was a normal day, nothing exciting it was hot and they did a lot of walking. when it came to the end of the day though she had a smile on her face and she was happy. she wondered why am i so happy? then the thought came to her it was because she was giving her all in the most important work here on the earth and God was happy with her. I have come to feel that God is happy with me and my work when i give my all, but my focus this last week and for the next 18 months is to give my all, all the time of every second of everyday. to put my physical needs aside and do what God wants me to do.

Wow the mission is amazing. I truly love it so much. When you talk to people about the gospel time literally flies. I KNOW with all of my heart, soul, and being that this is Gods work. That i am on his mission and that over my heart I'm not only representing my family and the elder wilsons who have served before me but most importantly i'm representing Christ name, i'm representing his church and his work. We are all representatives of Christ. We don't need the name tag to do missionary work. Take all advantages to share the gospel. I had the chance to share the gospel this week with someone and because of my fear i didn't and due to circumstances i can't try at it again. This gospel is SO important and the words of Elder Holland are so true ¨[the world] needs what we have¨. It is our calling to share it.

I love you all and pray for you everyday. Pray for the people who hurt who need Christ in their lives and pray for us that we can find them. Pray for those who need the courage to follow the Lord's words and have the faith to do it. Pray for love. There is less love in the world today and the world needs it.

love you all,

Elder Parker Wilson

Pics:

1. My District right before the changes
                   Elder Mairena (Honduras) Elder Bullock (Utah) Elder Clement (Utah) Elder Rios (Argentina) Elder Dexter (Idaho)
                   Elder Clark (sad no relation to Matt Vegas) Me, Elder Arriola (El Salvador)
2. In the house of Abuela eating our last pizza together before Elder Mairena goes to centro

3. You can take the man away from his hats but you can never take the hats from the man

Labor Day

Hey Fam!!!

It honestly is so crazy how fast things are moving now. The work is progressing a tad slowly but surely. The Lord is on our side and this is truely his work. That i think is something that i have been coming to love more and more every day and coming to know as well. This IS the Lord's work. I love it. There are times that things are super hard. People yell at us, but at the end of the day i find myself sitting there and being happy. Yes, i am normally a very happy person but its a different happy. its a happy knowing that God is on my side. that i'm doing what he wants me to do. looking back i have noticed alot of changes that have occured in the last 6 months. ive honestly grown but its all because God has come first and i have more growing to do but if i keep on following the example of Jesus Christ i know that with his help i'll keep on getting better. 

This last week was a good week. Got out and taught a lot. Found a few new people ready to recieve the gospel and have people progressing. Sadly no one was at church sunday but that just means we gotta find out what we can do better and let the Lord do his work.
So transfers are in two days. Honestly i have no idea if i stay or if i go. I love my area. I love the people here. They are so humble and kind. Some are kinda hard at first but as soon as you bust that shell open ohhhhhhh chocolaty goodness. All that you have to do is show that you love them and they are open to you. 

I have been studying this last week in Preach My Gospel on attributes of Christ. Man, He is amazing. The patience, love, determination, obedience, everything that He has is so amazing and awesome. Reading in the New Testament just helps me be more and more grateful for him.

Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior. i KNOW this. Only through Him can we be whole again. I love Him so much and am eternally in His debt. The best that i can do is try to be more like Him everyday. To think what He would do and to try to better myself. Im so grateful to be on the mission and be where I am and who Im with because it has given me the opportunity to grow and be more Christ like.

I care for and love you all so very much and am so grateful for all that you do.

Love,

Elder Parker Wilson

P.S. photos next week promise.

6 months NOOOOOOOOOOOOO

so as the title of this email indicates in 4 days i will have 6 months on the mission. HOW?????? 
its crazy but literally time has flown by. its really sad. i honestly don't like it i wish i was just at 3 months or something like that. 

This last week we have gotten back into hot which has been kinda nice to be sweating again. i know, weird to say that but its true. the best thing of the week was our zone conference with Pres. Arnold. Man it was amazing the spirit was there the whole time and i learned so much. i got stuff i gotta work on but that is the purpose of life to learn and progress. his main focus was on planning well and not wasting time (yay mom I'm learning!!!!) and how to always have the spirit. the man truly is called of God.

so yesterday we found a diamond in the rough. his name is claudio. we have shared with him before, we were mainly teaching his friend gustavo. we have shared with basically everyone that is around him but  God with his perfect timing, had us pass by him til now. as of now he has a baptismal date for the 24th of sept and he said to us, I want to find the church i want to go to your church. it is so awesome.

Also Roberto came to church!!!!! YES!!!!! he loved it and the spirit was so strong. it was amazing. we have a teaching appointment tonight with him and he has a baptismal date for the 17th. 

SHOUT OUT!!!!

HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO BRIGGY!!!!!!! brig has his birthday this last sunday. he is truly a great role model and i look up to him so much. i hope this last sunday was a rockin awesome sunday.

so this work is so true. i love doing it. honestly if i was doing anything else it would stink because the blessings and the feelings with sharing the gospel are like nothing else i have ever experienced. everyday my testimony grows and its amazing how the Lord uses small and simple things to help us. A lady named Marta who is the boss of the fishery down by the river has been sharing with us the last two weeks. we invited her to be baptized and she accepted. the best thing though is that even though she cant read she had her husband read the restoration to her and she said that she knew it was true just by praying. HOW AWESOME!!!!

my love, best wishes and prayers go to you all,

Elder Parker Wilson

1. Just an awesome pic
2. Asado (steak) with Abuela
3. Paraguayans love BEEF. Almost every meal has beef or chicken. i am becoming more chicken now
4. Wait who drew that? Oh ya Elder Wilson is learning how to draw. Ben 10 is super popular here

Move, Cold, New, and Old

Hello fam!!!!!!

So this week has been a tough but good week. The weather has been minnesota-i with 90s monday till weds and now we are in the 50´s and at night in the 40´s. It is crazy. But as the title does indicate we MOVED!!!! there is a new rule that says that one companionship to one pension. so we found a new house which is two small rooms and a bathroom. we can only use one room now because the other is still occupied but its ok. kinda bunched up but home is where the heart is all we always say. 

We have been struggling with finding new people to teach and people who want to progress but with working hard and much prayer our prayers have been answered!! Yesterday we found some awesome new people to teach and most of them was because a member came up to us and said ¨i want to go visit my brother with you guys can you come find me at 2 by gical¨ YESSSSSSS!!!!!! really without members missionary work is much harder with them its 100% better amazing!!!! 

so we have been preparing as a mission for the visit of Pres. Arnold of the 70. we have a conference with him tomorrow and its gonna be amazing!!! i cant wait. The last week i have been really trying to focus on the savior. (pres arnold asked us to study the atonement) and i wanted to do it for myself. i also have started reading the new testament to finish all of the standard works . Really the life of the savior is full of service. he serves all of those around him its amazing. we took some of that into an example this last week. we were walking down a street where we are mostly met with negative words and rejections and we saw a grandma and her daughter cleaning up after a funeral service. we decided to help them out a bit and clean up with them. it only took 20min but we were able to find from them new people to talk to, and people in that area have become more receptive to us.

not only service is important but also patience and determination. without those two things missionary work is really hard. there are always a couple negative things here and there. but if there are 19 rejections it doesnt matter because we found 1 person who is prepared to receive the gospel of Jesus Christ

i love this gospel with all of my heart. i cant wait to start reading Jesus the Chris, by Talmedge, im trying to find one in english but from what ive read in spanish it is amazing. i love this gospel so much it has helped me grow tremendously.

love you all and pray for you
best wishes

Elder Wilson

Pictures:

1. Me and Elder Rios rockin some rubix! 1min 40sec my best time. not amazing but i can at least do it now.
2. My Companion!!!! Elder Arriola from El Salvador. He is from the mission where Elder Jordan Brown will be serving
3.The river these are commom boats for where people go fishing.
4. Noche de Hogar FHE with fam Arana TACOS!!!!!!!