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!!!!!!!

Pushing Along

Hey all!!!!

So things are goin well still being happy and pushing along. Not many people are really receptive at the moment but its all good its always darkest before the dawn. Just gotta keep pushing forward. I have been studying on personal time Preach My Gospel along with the New Testament. Can i just say that the life of Christ is sooooo awesome. Really he worked so many miracles. As i was studying PMG i forgot what was the topic but i looked up a scripture in Helaman 10:4-5. After reading it the thought popped into my head and i felt a deep desire to have those two scriptures be me at the end of my mission. to know what it says you gotta read it!!!!!!!!!

So while on the mission a thing that i have found to be a huge importance in the lives of people including my own is to commit ourselves to our decisions. It can be in school, work, life, or what ever little or big thing. We have been talking to Gustavo who has been visiting with the missionaries for a bit of time and we have been trying to put a fixed date for his baptism. Normally we with them put the goals or the date of the baptism but this time we said hey gustavo we know you want to be baptized but you have to choose a date. we all sat there in a bit of silence and he told us the 27th of this month. since this is his commitment i know that he will pull through.

The ward that im in is really awesome. The sad thing is that there are few priesthood leaders or priesthood. We have youth and a whole mix of stuff. Right now we are trying to help the ward come all together and build each other up. I am truly grateful for the two wards that i have been apart of Plymouth 1st/Med Lake and Naperville 1st.  The experiences that i have had in these wards are amazing.

So for the next zone conference that will be with an area president, president arnold he has asked us to learn more about the atonement. Man the atonement is so awesome i love it. Really Christ did so much for us. its incredible the pain and suffering he took. its hard just to imagine the love that he has for us its unmeasureable i cant believe it. i am so grateful for him and his sacrifice. without him we would be completely lost.

my best wishes and love go to you all

Elder Wilson

(i like the dear elder and cards because i can read them more often)

Another Short but Sweet

(sorry to be a day late in posting - internet down last night - tim)

Hey family all is going well here in beautiful paraguay. This last week we had the chance to find a new family who are awesome and progressing so much. it is the Ricardo fam. they are so awesome, humble, and open to hear the gospel. 


The temp has gone up again now when we go to bed its back around to the low 80s which isn't to bad. i dont know if i would rather be cold or hot in the morning but time will tell. 

so a fun one for this week is that we got a call from the office saying that we have a week to move. so we have been looking for a house like crazy the past week found a good handful but as of now not any are really up to what the office wants. its crazy how house hunting can help you find people to teach which is really awesome.

SHOUT OUT!!!

welcome to the world June Blair Wilson!!!!! she looks soo cute and amazing. Born on the 6th so close to the 1st but its all good. very proud to be an uncle of such a beautiful baby.

what i love about missionary work is that you learn to love the people and the area more and more. I LOVE PARAGUAY AND MISSION WORK!!!! yesterday the first part of the day was really rough. normally sundays are really hard for us, because many people have visitors or are drinking which doesn't really open up many doors. but what i have learned is how important it is to trust in God during the hard times. to stay positive have a good mood and push forward. by the end of the night we had a very productive and awesome day. full of great spiritual experiences and fun. God truly blesses us when we push through!!!

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

Elder P. Wilson

New Companion - Same Area

HEY FAM!!!!

Just as the title states I'm in the same area but with a new companion. His name is Elder Arriola from El Salvador. Its really crazy out of my 3 companions i have had two latinos and one latino american. doesnt happen very often but its a great blessing because it helps me better my spanish. a even funnier things is that my old companion Elder Fernelius is now in my old area San Isidro. so we kinda did a swap but not really. 

so this last week we found an awesome new family. its the Ricardo family. the first lesson was amazing. we did all of the restoration and it was so awesome i loved it. the spirit was there and when we explained the book of mormon and sadly only had one more with us to give to them they both went at it like the wilsons going for gorilla uno. (hahha good memories) we visit them again tonight and I'm so excited for it. we are gonna set a baptismal date for them and i pray and hope that the lords will is that they are baptized in the next few weeks.

its crazy. even though I'm still junior companion i had to be senior companion for the first few days. at first i was like wow this is a lot harder than it looks but then i just started to focus more and pray a little bit harder and try to follow the spirit to help me along the way and its helped me a whole lot. this last week we were up in the 90´s tuesday and now we are down in the 50s or 40s so its really cold down here. i also weighed myself  and guess what im gettin close to the beautiful 180s!!!!!!!!  do some more p90x hard core exercising when i get home and it will be awesome awwwww yaaaaaa!!!!!! if i can get all nice and skinny. its really funny here because everyone says oh is the short fat one or the tall skinny one. very open. and i am very proud to say that they are calling me skinny now instead of the fat kashiai american. (that was a word in guarani that is a compliment means nice and funny)

SHOUT OUT!!!!!!

so this weeks shout out to my amazing mother and awesome brother!!!! it is blair and moms birthday and they are both truly amazing.

mom is so awesome truly when we moved i made a new best friend with mom. she has taught me so much and yes mom another point to you because like you said when i was younger ¨you are gonna learn how much you appreciate your mother and father when you go on your mission¨. my goodness it is sooooo true!!!!!!!!! i love you so much mom and i am eternally grateful for you and that i can live with you and dad and all of our family together forever. thank you for your patience, love, testimony, courage, and willingness to serve all the time.

blair for all of my life i have looked up to your awesome example. now that you have your own family you are setting a perfect example for all of us for the types of families we should have. thank you for marrying julie who is one of the biggest blessings in my life. thank you also for your patience love great example, always wanting to have fun, and always being a strong spiritual role model. i am proud that i am your little twin. i am losing more hair everyday so we will be looking more and more alike. i love you so much and am also eternally grateful for you.

you are all in my prayers and my love goes out to all of you!!!! 

love,

Elder Parker Wilson

Green Bananas

Hey fam!!!!

So first of all i would just like to thank you all for your prayers. Like i mentioned before it has been a bit hard for us to get people to come to church. This last sunday we had 7!!!!!!!! It was awesome. Me and Elder Fernelius were all smiles for just the longest time, and best of all they all LOVED it and felt the spirit so strong!!!  The lords time is the best time.

SHOUT OUT!!!

There is a new Elder who has been called to serve the Lord and represent him. This new Elder is not only my best friend but who is also my brother. Talimetao (Tyler) Osa Peniata has received his call to the Pueblo Mexico Mission. Not only is he speaking the most beautiful language in the world but he is also going to one of my favorite countries. Elder Peniata will be amazing serving there. His love, compassion, friendliness, fun, devoted personality, and strong spirit and testimony will not only shape a wonderful missionary but also a even more wonderful man/brother/friend. May God bless you and lead you always T. You got the boys your fam and most importantly the Lord behind you always.

So this last week has been a fun one it got cold and rainy then humid and sunny so the normal for here. Im adapting more to the heat so that is nice. I´m starting to like more and more the tropic weather. weird huh? Copa America finished with Uruguay destroying Paraguay 3-0 sad but it was a much calmer night and we were able to work. During the game we ate our lunch because it is near impossible to work.

So ive been reading the last conference talks and two that i read this last week really came to my attention. One was by Elder Christopherson which is about how the Lord chastens us and cuts us down only to help us grow taller, and it had a great connection with the talk of C. Scott Grow (LOVE the name) about the atonement. For me really ive been able to see how both of these talks applied in my life. I become more and more grateful everyday that i moved to Chicago. Yes, im still MN by blood and soul and always will be, but for me that was the biggest moment when the Lord ¨cut¨ me down. During that time i was sad, grumpy, annoyed, frustrated, homesick, stubborn, and multiple other things. I was like that for a year. When i was at EFY before my senior year with all of the guys i remembered about who i really was personality wise and stuff and how heavenly father had a plan for me moving. There i decided to change. I got rid of those negative feelings and moved forward. I became a better person. I learned things about myself and what God has in plan for me from my experiences in Chicago. I connect so many situations here to things that occurred to me in Chicago. Its insane how much better God knows us than we do ourselves. What i love the most is how his son Jesus Christ invites us to be healed. To lay our negative and sad feelings on him to let him heal us. There is a scripture in 3 nefi i dont remember where that the Lord says ¨let me heal you¨. How many times do we take that invitation for granted? How many times do we look to ourselves for healing? Through Christ that weight is lifted from our shoulders. as they say in guarani Opa, done, finished. Does not exist. Through him all is possible and we can be clean.

My best wishes and Love go to you all

Elder Parker Wilson

P.S. Will give the details on the transfers next monday. .

Photos:
1. Have you ever eaten deep fried green bananas?
2. Tree of Life3. Cool sky/tree/pic
4. Common Chicken Coop
5. Just an awesome picture

It's Raining It's Pouring

Elder parker's letter cam on time I just got carried away in the hassles of the week and forgot to post. Regrets. Remember to write him


Hey everyone!!!!

So this sunday we were hoping to get all of our investigators to church so that we could have 4 baptisms this saturday but sadly due to the rain only one came. But still huge blessing and we are planning a baptism for this saturday for a grandaughter of members who is Monce. We just have to get the permission from her mom and its all good to go!!! Actually we already have her permission we just need her to sign the paper. 

So i dont know if last week i talked about Gustavo. Gustavo is a kid who dropped out of school and now just works like crazy. He lives with his uncle and aunt. His mom and brothers who are all members live in Argentina with whom he doesnt really talk to anymore. Anyway he is amazing gave up smoking and drinking. He had a baptismal date for sat but unfortunately he got pulled to work out in the campo for two weeks. We talked to him and were very direct and said ¨Gustavo, do you really want to be baptized?¨ His response was the best one i have ever heard. I dont only know that its the true church of god on the earth and what I'm supposed to do in my head, but i feel it deep in my heart that i have found the true gospel of Jesus Christ.¨ Yes!!!  how amazing. He is committed to be baptized in two weeks. 

So this is the last full week of this transfer. Ya WHAT??? I feel like ive just got here. But its ok time flies by. The area that we live in i have really come to love. The area is not as huge as my old one but the people are really nice. That is a common thing with all of the Paraguayan people. They are so friendly and awesome!!!! Yesterday Paraguay beat Brazil in the Copa America. So now they are in the semi´s a future note for any future missionaries in countries where soccer is a religion. During the soccer game go to investigators who dont have tvs and make official visits because literally the streets are dead. Its crazy as soon as the game is over the streets are full of people till the end of the night.

Well im sorry but this is gonna be another short and sweet. I can promise a long one with photos the next week. 

The church is so true. Ive been reading ¨Our Heritage¨ and its just helped me realize more and more how amazing this gospel is and how the restoration is one of the most amazing things to ever happen on this earth.

My love and prayers go to you all

Elder Wilson