Week of Growth

HEY FAMILY!!!

hey guess what im 21! wooo hoooo!!!! fun stuff! (its his birthday today)

this week i was able to receive three different presents from 3 different people for the last three days. 

Saturday.
we woke up at 4am to get to the stake center to get in line to listen to an apostle of the Lord. Elder David A. Bednar came to visit us and to give us council. The biggest thing that he taught us was that he didn't teach us anything. He always said "el Espíritu Santo es el maestro" the Holy Ghost is the teacher. by getting there super early because it was to begin at 830 and we got there at 530 we were able to get the best seats. the second row right in front. now i can say that he doesn't look as young as he used to but he still has it. both missions were there together. about 400 at one time. i was also able to see my last three companions there which was really fun. first we listened to sister bednar. she talked about us being the good boys and girls and being the great missionaries that our mothers say we are. she also said a wonderful quote on how to live our lives for the gospel. being 100% consecrated to the work and to following the Lord. just a great short talk.

we then listened to Elder Bednar. he didn't have any notes. just his scriptures and told us how that day we were not to write anything down we were to write down the impressions of the spirit. it was a question and answer. for the first part he asked questions and we answered then we asked questions and he answered.

The Holy Ghost is the teacher:
               - we need to be obedient to be worthy to have the spirit
               - Listen. Observe. Discern. Act
               - If you feel the spirit then you are worthy of it
               - If you feel impressed to do something just do it. don t worry if its the spirit or not. some times you will have no idea for a long time maybe even years just do it anyways
               - Being consecrated is the way of being a worthy conduit (spell check i have no idea)

How to Teach
               - Don't play guess whats in my head, ask them a question to let the spirit work with them
               - DONT TREAT PEOPLE AS OBJECTS YOU MUST TREAT THEM AS AGENTS OR THEY WONT BUILD THERE OWN TESTIMONY
               - we need to have eyes to see and ears to hear

Faith
               - how through teaching the right way we are able to help other people grow in there faith
               - by helping them exercise their faith by looking for their own answers they can obtain there own testimonies

i had the opportunity to answer a question on what i learned from the talk. honestly i dont remember much of what was said what i do recall though was the feeling that i had. i had been looking for a strong feeling a big impression to have a stronger testimony and as I answered my question and later on listened to Pres. Arnold of the 70 i realize what my testimony is like. I have rarely had a huge spiritual experience. I honestly cannot tell you an experience where i had a huge fiery burn in my heart that the Book of Mormon is true. if i did i would be lying. I know it is true because through time i have obtain tiny pieces of the puzzle. line upon line and precept upon precept. that is my testimony. it has taken 21 years but i got it 100% down now. what a blessing it is.

How elder bednar just talked was amazing. you saw the spirit within him and you felt it. he is converted and i want to be as converted as he is. one of my favorite quotes was "do you guys think that someone would join the church because of what a 19 year old kids say to them? you have got to be kidding me! there is no way! are you kidding me! people are only converted because of the spirit"

Sunday 

we were able to listen to Elder Arnold and i just want to take what he has taught me and build upon it. i am changing my life and am starting a new one. great talk!!!!

Monday

gifts from other elders and one from pres. agazzani. I'm going to Coronel Oviedo! leaving asuncion!!!! sad but true. going to the boonies yaaaaaaaa!!!!!


love you all and thanks for all that you do!!!!


elder wilson

Much Thought

Hey family!!!!


elder pastul says hi. he's great. i love the guy, very funny and a hard working elder. has a fun laugh and is teaching me a lot. very much the same person which is good because it helps me grow personally. well there is a nice little snippet of elder pastul. sorry that my details aren't so amazing. 

well this last week has been a busy week full of divisions, evaluations, decision making, and think; think; thinkin. had the opportunity to host two different missionaries in our area this week. Elder Holgate (in training) and Elder Dominguez (got here with me). two different days both filled with miracles and wonderful things. its very interesting the range of missionaries on the mission. both of these elders are incredible, but both as everyone of us have, had the things that they are personally working on. one thing that i realized is how huge of a blessing it was to be at RSI (robbinsdale spanish immersion). i have never gone through the complete uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh "i have no idea what this person is saying" phase. i am very grateful for that because it helped me focus on working myself out in my personal conversion, and helping people come to know Christ's gospel. its super fun too because with the time that most of the missionaries that i am with have, we can talk about many experiences that we have had on the mission. its so crazy and so interesting how the outside world kind of just washes away. not saying that i have forgotten you guys no no no, but more of like what my life is now. its different. i have different priorities, different goals, and i am just different. much of that comes through having much thought. example is working with all different types of people. 

right now we are teaching a man who has a really big problem with alcohol and drugs. we need to apply all that we are teaching to HIS need and to help him with HIS problems. taking what we know and letting the spirit guide us so that we can help him see the love that our Father in Heaven and Jesus Christ have for him and how they are both calling for him to repent and be baptized to change his life around. then we go to the miracle woman from last week who just felt a pull to go to church. she comes from a church that i don't know if it exists in the states its called pentecostal. (they have strong faith in Christ and know the bible, dress very conservative, have a way of taking, and all wonderful people). we have to follow the spirit to shape how we teach her. we meet with her in the church and have at least one member with us because we cannot be alone with her. the last lesson we had a very spiritual experience and we both felt that she is prepared enough to be baptized on saturday. she said yes. it was so amazing how it all was just shaping. me and my companion worked in union and by following the spirit and him being the teacher the sister has gained a strong testimony of Joseph Smith being a prophet of God, the Book of Mormon and that this is Christ true and living church on the earth today.

also with the separate responsibilities that we have we work with other missionaries. some are having troubles in their companionship which leads us to much prayer, conversation, and thought. we receive the revelation to help them and then we talk to their DL get it all set up and let the spirit work.

all in all everything takes much thought ,much thought, much thought. controlling ones mind is key and that is something that has taken over a year to do and am still working on but God has helped me so much and by praying constantly, and especially reading the scriptures i can control my mind and leave them open for much though much though good and uplifting thought. which is a huge blessing that is helping me see how God is shaping me for the things that are happening right now and for the things of my future.

the church is true. God calls living prophets and apostles today. i love you all and pray for you dearly have a most wonderful week an jajotopata (guarani for see you soon but in this case it will be talk to ya soon)

love

elder wilson

Another week of miracles

Hey guys!!!!

how are you all doing?!?!?!?! my wish is that all is going amazingly! things are going great out here we had a bunch of miracles this last weekend. in the zone there were 5 baptisms and 6 confirmations!!!! it was amazing!!! everybody is getting the spirit of baptism. not only the missionaries but we are starting to see it in the wards aswell. we are all sharing the importance of sharing the gospel with everyone.

we had a bunch of things go on this last week. well due to time and my capacity to move my fingers rapidly im going to tell a few. weds we had the opportunity to have interview with pres. agazzani. i love interviews! get to have one on one time with pres. and talk about the zone and how things are going in my life. that morning we got a call from elder schone telling us that there is going to be a white wash in our zone (two missionaries in and two missionaries out). this was going to be the second one in this transfer. zone 5 is getting all shifted around. we now have the great opportunity and blessing to have two sisters now in the zone working in the area of monte lindo. both great and hard working sisters. one hna hubbard is from the states i dont know where and the other hna rojas is from paraguay. so when we got to the office for interview we got to go on field trip to bring them to there new pension. elder schone drove us and we got a little bit lost so it took a bit of time. we then got back to the office and had interview. me and pres. mainly talked about the zone and what is going on in the zone and how we can all work together to see more progress in the stake. it was a great interview.

we also had a great miracle on sunday. we got to church around 8:40 after going to find an investigator who didnt answer the door and we left our stuff and went searching for other investigators. we went with members to some and just us to most. we ended up searching for people until the starting of sacrament meeting around 10:20. we got there and kept on looking to the door to see a miracle. we looked far and wide. talked with all that we could to invite them to church with us and nothing happened. then after fast and testimony meeting while we were writing down a reference from a sister, elder stewart came up to me and said "elder! you have an investigator outside who wants a Book of Mormon!" we were shocked and went to go talk to her. her name is norma and she came to church by herself at 830 and stayed for everything and loved it. at the end she went up to elder stewart and said "can i have you book?" he thought that she was a member from our side and i thought she was a member from their side so as soon as she said that to him he realized that she wasnt a member. we now have a visit set up for tuesday at the chapel with a friend of hers who has talked to her about the church before. i know that that miracle was a gift from God, and i know that since we showed our faith in inviting everyone and running all over the place to find people we were able to have a miracle.

during fast and testimony meeting i had the opportunity to bear my testimony. i was sitting there and i wanted to say something and i had no idea what to say then while meditating on it the words of one of my favorite efy songs came into my head "i am just one voice, just one voice can change the world. i have made my choice and sealed my witness with my word" i then felt the spirit and high tailed on up there. i testified about the power of one voice. how we are all saved through one voice, the Lords voice, and how His one voice changed the world. i then talked about how we can all use our voices to testify and to invite people to come unto Him and come to know His true gospel. think about it if every family brought just ONE PERSON to church the ward wherever we find ourselves will grow. so my question to all who read this today is; who are you going to bring to church on sunday? for those who are not members; come on over! it will be an amazing experience  that you will never forget and that will change your life as it has changed mine.

i testify that this is Gods true church on earth that holds His priesthood power. the Book of Mormon is true all you gotta do to know is to read and then ask God. simple. one small step of faith can change the world. Joseph Smith saw God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ. 

I love you all and pray for you daily!!!

best wishes

Elder Wilson

General Conference

Hey fam I'd like to start off with a question:

Who am I?

Personally i would like to quote a talk by Ann Dibb which i very much loved. I am Elder Parker Maurice Wilson. I am a Mormon. I know it. I live it. I love it! I am also a representative of Jesus Christ. I have been called by Him to serve my wonderful brothers and sisters down to the south of Paraguay. I am from a wonderful family. Full of love laughter and joy. Now I have a sister who will also be able to serve the Lord at age 19 which has been revelation received from the most high from a living Prophet of God. I am a man who believes and knows that the true Church of Jesus Christ has been restored to the earth once more. I am a representative of that true church which holds the holy priesthood. This priesthood power that i am blessed to hold has more power than any king, president or ruler because it is the power of God that He has entrusted to man once more. 

I am a man who loves to learn and to grow. I am someone who before this last weekend had multiple questions. Through listening to the living prophets and apostles of God i have received multiple answers. I am a man of faith. A faith that before i came on the mission was borrowed. before i came on the mission i was bright because i borrowed pieces of lights around me. Now i can rise and shine forth. I am a representative of Jesus Christ. I am a member of the Fellowship of the Unashamed. My calling is as it is stated in the scriptures to declare repentance and baptism to all so that they may find the real joy, the only eternal joy that can be found through the true gospel of Jesus Christ.

I am someone full of defects and errors. I work everyday to polish them off. I am someone who can testify to all as a representative of Jesus Christ testified to the King of Tonga to follow Christ because only through Him i have been able to fix my defects. I am a man who has fallen, but more importantly i am a man who has lifted himself up again. I am a man grateful for all of those who have lifted me up. From the guys (TP, Al, Matt, and J), to ward leaders from deacons quorum advisor Ethan Klimes of Minnesota through till Bishop Quinn, and Pres. Peterson of Naperville. I have been blessed with wonderful influences and friends. from the cold lakes of MN and bustling city of Chicago, to the strong pillar of support at BYU and the builders of my faith in the heat of Paraguay. Most of all i am a man who recognizes the start of it all. It all started with the Tim and LaRinda Wilson family. from 3 older brothers to show me how and to throw me around, to a little sister to push me farther up and to show me whats up. To wonderful grandparents who were my taxi (gpa wilson) and the only person who can beat me in quiddler without seeing completely her cards (gma wilson) to the best basketball analyst in the world (gma bond) to the calm and quiet example of how to raise a family (gpa bond). I am of a large extended family from the Wilson brigade to the Christensen towers, and to the wonderful warm Bonds who always have a home for me. 

Basically as you can see all of who I am has come from mainly four people or groups, my Father in Heaven, Jesus Christ, You All and a little bit of me. 

Again i ask Who am I? The best answer is, I am a son of the living God.

General conference was wonderful. My favorite talks were The first by Elder Cook, Sister Dibb, D. Todd Christofferson, Elder Holland, and all of the first presidency. This was honestly the best one that i have been apart of. i honestly would love to sit and chat with you all about all that i learned from conference and what i have learned on my mission but my fingers don't type fast enough and it will take days. 

one thing is sure though. as the Prophet said. We gotta see people for who they can be. basically we gotta see them all in white as the Lord sees them. This is the true church of God I KNOW IT: The Book of Mormon is the word of God and it is the only perfect book on the face of the earth. let us all listen to the prophets and be strictly obedient to the word. that is the only true happiness.

ELDER BEDNAR IS COMING HERE FOR MY BIRTHDAY!!!!! well 2 days earlier but igual no mas!!!!

I love you all and I'm so grateful for all that you do.

love

Elder Wilson

Families Can Be Together Forever

Hey fam!!!

WOW! i don't even know where to start. this last week we had the greatest blessing in the world. we were able to witness not just one but two weddings and two baptisms it was incredible! Blanca and Arnaldo got married and she was baptized. we found them on a contact and found that they are a part-member family. We started teaching them and felt the Spirit so strongly, many times and were able to teach them at the chapel many times. (they live right in front of it, which was the best part) they are so happy and have the goal of going to the temple one year from now.

i don't have much time but here i go on this one.

Thursday we went to talk to another part-family where the dad was the only one who was not a member. the family as a whole have been talking to the missionaries for about 3 years. we go there on Saturday teach a powerful lesson about the atonement of Jesus Christ and at the end invite them to come to the wedding. they say "ya we would love to come and while we are there we will be able to talk to the judge" we say "talk to the judge? do you still want to get married?"  they say "ya, our plans were to get married....... this Saturday right?" we respond "true would you like to get married this Saturday?" they SAID YES!!!!! so we got things all ready for two weddings. let me tell you there is a lot to do:food, decorations, judge, money, people, baptismal stuff. we were all over the place. then the next day Friday we invite the dad Emilio to be baptized. he gets kind of shocked because it would be the next day. we ask him if anything would impede him. he said 'no' and so we invited him again and he said 'yes'! a good thing we were on divisions with the district leader and he interviewed him right there.

this last week i had some attacks on my testimony on eternal families. we testified and testified and its sad how some people don't believe that we can be together forever. the best moment and testimony builder was on Sunday for me. All in one glance i saw: Nestor and Mirna, Roberto and Mirta, Blanca and Arnaldo, and Emilio and Petrona. 4 families with the goal and on the path to become together forever, sealed in the temple for all time and all eternity. the spirit just hit me; and there is not a lick of a doubt in my being that a family can be together forever. through being sealed in the temple of God by one holding His authority it is possible. of this i testify with all of my heart. i am going to have my eternal family because that is where i will find so much happiness and that is what God wants for me.

i love you all and am so grateful for you and i pray for you daily!
love

Elder Wilson

Big Shift

Hey family!!!!

hope all is going well with you guys. changes were this last week as i said in my last letter. we had no transfer so I'm going to be having 4 changes here in ka´aguy rory and we are going to keep on baptizing and helping the Lord's work move forward!  there were a bunch of changes in our zone and mission. not just changes in companionships but also in districts and adding more missionaries to certain areas. in our zone there have been mainly just a few companionships or areas that have been baptizing. (in ka´aguy rory the ward has baptized more than 50 people in the last year) so the mission moved them around. now our district is with the office. the APs no longer live with us they got swapped with another area and now we have a brand new missionary Elder Holgate (draper, UT) and Elder Stewart (rigby, ID) who are with us here. its a bit different, but its nice we got to move our study stuff into the room that has AC so that was nice. there are also two new APs one being Elder Schone my old companion. he is amazing and is going to be a lot of help to the mission.

This last week we saw many miracles. we were able to find a bunch of new people who we are helping prepare for baptism and we are going to be apart of the wedding of Arnaldo and Blanca; and Blanca is going to be baptized afterward !!!!! you gotta love eternal families. our friend Jorge who was getting ready to be baptized last week got back from the hospital after getting part of his finger cut off. he is super happy though and is getting ready to be baptized as soon as he physically can! in the zone we are also seeing a whole bunch of miracles. there are more areas that are starting to baptize that didn't baptize  much before and are getting animated and excited and having that be all that they want to do is baptize baptize baptize. 

we also had a different and fun thing that we did this last week. we went to serve! all of the missionaries have been in coordination with the group Project Smile that goes around the world and helps people who are born with cleft palate (i think that's what its called). we took a bus in normal clothes, which was really weird, at 6 in the morning to get there by 7. we  mostly helped with filing, moving boxes, packing things up, and taking out garbage. it was their last day so we were helping them out with that. most of the people there spoke english so it was interesting, felt kind of weird, but it was a great day of service got to head on out around 1 or so. a fun thing is that we were there with the north mission and i met chase quinn's cousin who is serving there. i saw the name tag elder quinn and asked him if he was related to a chase quinn and he said yes. so its great how you can make fun connections everywhere. 

its interesting with the experience that i have had on the mission i find myself just saying to people. "hey, God loves you and wants you to be baptized in His restored church can we come by and teach you how you can prepare yourself to do so?" i read a quote from a talk by Elder Adrian Ochoa and he said "utilize the priesthood power to invite other to repent and be baptized. you have been given the mandate and power to do so from our Heavenly Father." its really interesting how that is our calling to do just that and i am so grateful for it and the opportunity that i have to share it and to grow.

i love you all and am so grateful for all that you do keep on doing those little things to endure!!!

love

elder wilson

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