Hola Familia!

Well, it seems like everything is going okay up there in Alabama. That's awesome that you guys were able to finish working on the house! The pictures look great on Dropbox! It's sad to hear that Samuel got poison ivy. Just be patient and don't touch it and it will go away. It's odd to hear about all the school stuff that's happening. I feel like school just ended for you guys!

Well this past week we had a baptism! Whoo!!! It was really awesome to see what probably is my last baptism here on the mission. It was really awesome and I really enjoyed the baptismal service. The bishop baptized our investigator and I had the chance to confirm him a member of the church and give the gift of the Holy Ghost. It was a very special confirmation for me. But yeah, it was really awesome! So now we're working with some people that went to church and were still looking for the birth certificate of our family that wants to get married and baptized. Other than that, the work is progressing and we're finding some great new people!

So the new mission president is going really great! I can definitely tell the difference between the two, but I know that both of them have been called of God to lead the mission here in the Peru Lima North mission! I'ts definitely different, but a good different!

This week is going to be a fun week for my companion and I. We're going to go to the center of Lima tomorrow and then we're going to go to the temple on Thursday. It should be an awesome spiritual week. So that's really about everything that's happening down here in Lima, Peru!

I'm not that nervous to drive again, but it might be a couple days until I get used to it again, but I'm excited to do it!

Love you guys a lot!
-Elder Wilson

7/11/2016

Hola Familia!

So it seems like you guys are having a great time up there in Alabama! High Adventure looked awesome! I definitely miss the high adventures that we did up in the Appalachian mountains. It was really sweet! Those pictures look super awesome! I haven't seen anything that green for 2 years and it definitely makes me want to head up to the mountains to see something like that again.

Well down here in Peru nothing has changed really, other than the fact that this week were going to have a baptism! Whoo! Our investigator Gabriel is going to get baptized this Saturday! He's really excited and wants Saturday to already get here! So we're really excited for the Saturday. Other than that we're stilling waiting on the birth certificates to get here, and the divorces take a really long time so its just a matter of being patient and everything will come out okay!

During the week we found some really awesome people to teach. this week were going to work really hard with them and help them make the decision to be baptized and accept the restored gospel of Jesus Christ in their lives. It's so amazing to see the blessings that come into the lives of people who accept the gospel of Jesus Christ. Just as much as it helps them, it helps me to know that what I'm doing is extremely important and it helps me to fortify and strengthen my own testimony. I know that only through the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ can we gain true happiness and peace in this life and achieve our full potential in the life it come. I know that Jesus Christ is the son of the Living God and that He lives.

Well other than that we're working hard and being obedient!

Love you guys a ton!
See ya soon!
-Elder Wilson

7/4/2016

Hola Familia!

Happy 4th of July!!!

Well it seems like you guys are having an awesome summer break up there in Alabama. Scout camp, high adventure and other awesome things! So obviously down here in Peru the people don't do anything for the 4th of July, but their Independence day is the 28 of July so I'll be here to see that again! It's really awesome!

So the work is really starting to progress! The family we're going to marry is really changing and starting to obey all of the commandments that the Lord has given us. For the first time in 3 months the husband when to church! It was amazing to see him in church! It was also fast and testimony meeting and was the last time I will bare my testimony in church here in Peru! It was sad, but it edified me, so I feel good about it!

Our baptism is going to be pushed back a week to the 16th now. He needs to go to church one more time so that he can get baptized. We also want to help him better understand the promises he's going to make with our Heavenly Father! So it will be for the 16th now! Whoo!

We got to meet the new Mission President! It was cool to see how a brand new mission president is compared to one that has 3 years of experience. It's definitely different, but I really enjoyed it! His name is President Godfrey and I know that he has been called of God to direct the work in this mission!

So other than that, everything is looking awesome! I still have 4 weeks to serve the Lord and I plan on doing it as hard as I can!

Love you guys a ton!
-Elder Wilson

6/27/2016

Hola Familia!

Well, it seems like there's a lot of changes going on in the ward. That's really awesome that Brother Tuck is now Bishop Tuck and that a bunch of other stuff is happening in the ward. I know that these people have been called of God to have these callings in his Kingdom! Listen to what the have to say and you will be blessed.

It's cool to hear that you guys are doing so much stuff up there in Alabama! Scout camp, high adventure and more! That's really awesome! I bet the house looks absolutely amazing because of all the projects that you guys have been doing!

So down here in Lima everything is going awesome! We have a baptism for the 9th of July! We found a really cool older man named Gabriel. He's really awesome and wants to get baptized! We are also teaching a few other people who have gone to church, but because of marriage, divorce, or parental permission they aren't ready to be baptized yet, but things are coming along. I think the marriages will be ready for July and they'll be able to get baptized as I end the mission.

Well other than that I'm okay, I'm not sick, and I'm really enjoying the mission!
Love you guys a ton!
-Elder Wilson

6/20/2016

Hola Familia!

Well it seems like you guys are having a great time up there in Alabama. Youth Conference, Scout Camp and a bunch of other fun exciting things! That's really awesome! Well I'm gonna keep this email short because I really don't have too much to say.

So today in the mission there are transfers, but my companion and I don't have transfers, so I'll be with Elder Huaman for my last transfer here on the mission. I really can not believe that my last transfer is here.... They go by so fast and I'm in my last one. Well just more motive to work as hard as I can and leave everything on the field.

Down here in Lima everything is going awesome! We had some new investigators go to church yesterday and they really liked it! This week our goal is to invite them to be baptized and accept a baptismal date. We're gonna do it! This Wednesday we're going to start the divorce process with that families that need it so they can get married to their new spouse. It takes about a month, so maybe they'll get baptized before I head out. Well other than that, everything is going super great!

Love you guys a lot!
-Elder Wilson

6/13/2016

Hola Familia,

Well it seems like you guys are quite busy up there in Alabama. It's sad to hear that the Jensens are moving. Well that's awesome that you were able to register me for classes! I would definitely like to take the CS-124. So that I can refresh and dominate those skills in C++. I took those classes almost 5 years ago. I would like to take them again. Also I would definitely love to minor in Spanish. If I only need 10 hours more it would be really easy. Well this week I don't have very much time to write but I'll try to at least to update you guys on what's happening down here in Peru.

This last week went really well. We had an amazing opportunity to listen to the words of an Apostle of Jesus Christ! It was really awesome! I learned a ton of new things and his talk helped fortify my testimony in the Lord Jesus Christ and what he wants us to do as missionaries. I know that Elder Rasband is a special witness of Jesus Christ, an Apostle of the Lord. He talked a ton about being an example and having Charity towards one another. It was amazing.

Well, we have a really cool teenage boy who is progressing and 3 other families that went to church this last Sunday. They need to get married so thats a looooooooooooong process, but were gonna do all that we can! It's moving along really well and I hope that we can get them married in July! It would be an amazing way to finish my mission. Also the teenage boy has a goal to get baptized on the 25th! Please pray for them!

Well, other than that, there's not much else to write about. My companion is doing really well in his Spanish, he speak almost normal now. I think in 6 weeks he'll be just fine.

Oh, i put 2 picture up on dropbox. This is a food called Tokush. It's called bad potato. Look it up on youtube. Im sure theres tons of videos. We had to eat it.

Love you guys!.
-Elder Wilson

6/6/2016

Hola Familia!

Well it seems like you guys are having a great Summer Break up there in Alabama! Don't waste a second of it!

This week has been a pretty good week down here in Lima Peru. Right now we're working with some really amazing families and people. A lot of the families that we're teaching need to get married and they're getting really excited to do it this month or next month! We also are teaching a few teenagers and young single adults the gospel and they're starting to progress. So please pray for them!

Well this week was a bit special because we didn't have Church this Sunday! This last week the country had the elections for President of Peru and they vote on Sunday. If they don't vote they get fined so church was canceled. We wanted our investigators to go to something related to church so on Saturday night we watched Meet the Mormons with the investigators. It was really awesome! I think it really helps investigators to see the mormon culture and the traditions that we have as members of the Church. I really liked it!

So this week is going to be really awesome! This Friday the new Apostle Elder Rasband is going to come and train us! It's going to be really awesome! I'm really looking forward to the chance to listen and hear the words of a special witness of Christ. I'm sure I'll have tons to tell you guys next week, but other than that, everything is going great. I'm healthy and really excited to work work work and work!!.

Love you guys!
-Elder Wilson

5/30/2016

Hola Familia!

Well it seems like you guys just finished an extremely busy week and are now resting at home! So I went on Dropbox and saw all the photos of the baptism and Graduation! Whoo way to go! I'm extremely proud of all my brothers and sisters for the hard work that they put into their studies. Now enjoy your summer!

So, this week has been really awesome! We had 3 baptisms and they all went really well! I have photos, but the computer I'm using doesn't have a way so I can plug my camera in and upload them soooo.... I think you're just gonna have to wait till next week! But, they were really awesome and the spirit was felt really strong.

So right now we're working on marrying 3 families for this month or next month! They're really awesome and they want to get married and baptized in the Church. The only problem is that they need to get divorced or their birth certificate is really far away....yeah... so we're working on it! But this week I've really been able to feel the spirit stronger than I have before. I'm really enjoying the work and results that were getting.

So this last Wednesday we did a giant service as a zone, It was super awesome! My companion and I were in charge of making the curb of the street out of concrete! Here on the mission I've learned how to do tons of things. I'm really grateful for that! I'm gonna send you guys a photo through this email of it.

But yeah, other than that we're working hard and enjoying the mission!

Love you guys a ton!

Elder Wilson

5/22/2016

Hola Familia!

Well it seems like things are starting to calm down up there in Alabama as your finishing school and starting summer break! I think it's crazy that you guys are already finishing school again and that Maddie is graduating tomorrow and Carter is going to be a Senior! That's super awesome and crazy!

So this week has been pretty crazy and awesome at the same time! I've put up some photos of what our area looks like and what we ate last P-Day. Right now we're teaching an awesome family of 5. The 3 children are going to get baptized this Saturday! We're extremely happy for their baptisms. It's going to be awesome! Please pray for this family and for the baptisms. Be looking forward to awesome photos of the baptism! The parents are working towards their baptism. They still need to do a few more things so that they can enter the waters of baptism. We're also teaching a lot of other people who are starting to progress! I hope we can guide them with help from the Spirit so that they can make good decisions and follow our Savior Jesus Christ.

This week should be really good! I got my package! It's super awesome! Thanks a ton! Whoo! I really like the ties. I've already gotten lots of compliments! Well that's really just about it! I'm enjoying the mission and I really love serving the Lord! Please pray for our investigators and less actives.

Love you guys!
-Elder Wilson

5/15/2016

Hola Familia!

Well, this week has been filled with tons of awesome, cool stuff! It seems like you guys are well and busy finishing up the school year in the states. Have fun entering summer break and remember to use your time wisely!!

So I'm in the biggest area in the mission! Its called Torre Blanca and its Super Awesome! It's a lot greener and there are lakes and rivers and farmland with cows and horses and really cool stuff! Get ready for photos because I'm gonna be taking a lot of them! My companion is Elder Huaman. He's from the Jungle and he's really short. Like the height of Lily, I think. He's 24 years old and he speaks a language that I don't understand. It's a language from his tribe called Shipibo. It sounds like a language from the jungle and it's super awesome! He speaks Spanish, but not too well, sooo....... I'm having to teach him a little bit of Spanish.

So we're working with a lot of awesome families that need to get married. We're going to have 3 baptisms on the 28th and 1 on the 10th of June. We're also finding lots of people to baptize recently. Soooo.... if everything goes well, we should have a lot of success this month and in June.

Well I'm excited and enjoying the mission a ton!
-Love you guys!
Whoo!! 21 years old!
-Elder Wilson

5/9/2016

Hola Familia!

Well it sure was great talking to you guys yesterday! So I'm just sending you this email to let you know that I'm getting transferred! I'm going to a zone called Santa Isabel. I'm going to be finishing the training of an Elder this change! Should be great! Other than that I don't have any other asignaciones, so it looks like I can give 100% to my area! Whoo! It should be awesome!

Love you guys!
-Elder Wilson

5/2/2016

Hola Familia!

Well, this week has really flown by! It seems like you guys have had a lot of fun up there in the States. Dollywood, historical sights and a bunch of other stuff. You guys have been really busy and that's okay, its a good thing to be busy. I think I've kinda gotten used to it here on the mission. All day I have too much stuff to do! haha!

Well down here in Lima things are starting to look a lot better. The month of April is a crazy month here in Peru. Now that were in May the only thing that's really going on are all the Cross Festivales. Its a Catholic Tradition here in Peru to make giant crosses and walk all around the city with musical bands and other stuff. It's really noisy. They only do it on Sunday though so its not too bad. Other than that, this last week has been great. We found a super awesome family to teach! There a family of 5 and they had already gone to church like 15 years ago, but for changes of missionaries they stopped going. Now they want to go to church again and be baptized! It's super awesome! We found them knocking doors, so I'm about 100% sure that it was a gift from God. I'm really grateful for that.

Well here in the Zone things are really looking great for May. We might be able to baptize up to 25 people! There are 5 Sundays this month so well see what we can do! I really hope everythings goes the Lord's way.

Other than that, I'm fine, excited to see you guys this coming Sunday on skype. I'll call you guys the night before to set up the appointment. I can't believe its the last video call. I also can't believe that I only have 3 months left on the mission. Time really flies. So your friend Mrs. Jones, you just need her to get to Carlos Izaguirre and its the Mormon church that's on the right hand side of a giant Red Store called Hiraoka. She'll need to go to the door farthest to the right side of the fence and church. There's an intercom system. She'll need to push the intercom on the LEFT side of the door. That's about all I can explain.

Okay love you guys a lot!
-Elder Wilson

4/25/2016

Hola Familia,

Well it seems like you guys have had a great week up there in Alabama! Down here in Lima it has been pretty good! This last week we had lots of baptisms in our zone and it was awesome to see so many people make the decision to follow our Savior Jesus Christ. The changes that people make so their lives can be better is amazing! It really helps me to fortify my testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

So they announced the new temple! Its going to be in the north part of Lima in a district called Los Olivos. Los Olivos is NOT in the Peru Lima North mission. But its literally just on the other side of the mission boundaries, i can see all of los Olivos when i go up into the hills to proselyte. I imagine that when the temple gets built all the missionaries from Lima North will be able to go there like every week! Its really close! All the members of the church are extremely excited to get a temple here and are starting to set goals so that they can be worthy to attend it. It's really great what's happening here in the church.

So I don't know if I've mentioned this in an email before but I'm in a ward that's BRAND NEW, Like it got formed in January. When I got here! hahaha! We now have all the callings filled and are starting to work with these new leaders. We're having to explain and train a lot about their responsibilities and how we're supposed to do Ward Council and all that stuff. It's cool to see how they're progressing. In this new ward they are Us, the Zone Leaders and the Assistants to the President and a few other office members that attend. We're trying out best to help them be efficient and successful leaders. Its really cool.

Well other than that, I'm doing just fine! April is just about done and were heading into May! Wow, Im going to turn 21! That's crazy!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CLARA! Wow! I cant believe that shes already turning 8! Thats awesome! Way to go Clara!

Love you guys a ton!

-Elder Wilson

4/18/2016

Hola Familia!

Well, it seems like you guys have had a great week up there in Alabama. I think it's crazy that they're still debating about building a new high school or not. They just need to be direct, make a decision and stand firm about it. Sometimes it's just a lot better that way. It's something I've learned during my time of being a leader here on the mission. It's always great to hear the opinions of the people. It helps you to see what they think, but sometimes as a leader you just have to make a decision and go with it and make it awesome so that it benefits the majority of people. I hope that they will be able to make a decision soon about this.

I saw the picture of Samuel on Dropbox! Whoo! Those medals look fancy, and that Hair- Samuel has long hair now! Thats awesome! I think he needs to watch out for the ladies though... But seriously, its super awesome that Samuel is doing so great with the trumpet, keep it up dude!

Well down here in Lima Peru, were doing just fine!

We just went through a giant wave of politics. Right now there are elections for president and they just had a round of voting but nobody won. There are only 2 candidates for President, PPK and Keiko. The Peruvian people really get fired up and excited about this kind of stuff. They're going to vote again in June. It's the last round so we will see what happens. Other than that everything's normal. We're having a hard time finding people that progress. We can find new people, but they don't keep their commitments to read and pray. We have a few people that are really starting to progress though. One is the wife of a recent convert and the other is an 18 year old guy that we found. This guy has been shot and stabbed and wants to change his life. He reads and listens to us almost everyday. I think he's awesome and if he goes to church this week everything goes well then he can get baptized this May! Other than that we're teaching a bunch of less actives and were trying to get to know the members better so that we can be Complete Missionaries, or in other words, missionaries that baptize, rescue, and retain converts at the same time! Whoo!

Near where my companion lives there was an extremely strong Earthquake, his family is okay, but his country is in bad shape. If you guys could pray for that- it would be super awesome! Thanks!

I'm not sick, my companion and I get along just fine, and we're working hard here in Lima!
Love you guys a ton!

-Elder Wilson

4/11/2016

Hola Familia!

Well its seems like you guys have had an awesome time up there in Alabama and you're really busy as well, it's a good thing to be busy, the Lord doesn't like it when we're lazy or when we do things our way too much! I think that it's fantastic that Samuel is going to All-State band! Go Samuel! Whoo Whoo!
In the photo that you saw, we had a flour war! It was super awesome! We went to the market and bought 25kilos of flour for about 20 soles or right around 7 dollars and we threw it at each other. It was super awesome! So that's why.

I really don't have much to talk about this week, so I'll give you guys the jist of things so that you know what's going on. Right now we're teaching a few people that are progressing, One is the wife of a recent convert! She's really great. They are trying to make their marriage work. They've been having problems for about 2 years and it was all about PRIDE. The husband said that it was 100% her fault, and she said that it was 100% his fault. This is called ORGULLO or PRIDE. Pride destoys!, If you've read the Book of Mormon, you understand why. If pride can destroy an entire nation, then it can definitely desrtoy a marriage.
We went to visit them, sat down and called them unto repentance! We explained to them that it is NEVER 100% the other person's fault. We always can be better and do things better. It was an awesome lesson and they went to church together. I really hope this family progresses. Though the atonement of Jesus Christ it is 100% possible. IF they make the decision to follow Christ, repent of their sins, and make covenants to try be like him, they can succeed. Whoo! The Gospel is perfect and amazing!

We are also teaching an 18 year old young adult! This guy is really awesome! He's definitely going through some problems in his life, but he has the desire to change everything and be a better person! This guy reminds me a lot of my hispanic friends in High School. He is super awesome but reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeealy needs to repent. Like bad!! So we're going to help him with that.

Yesterday I read some super awesome chapters in the Book of mormon! Mosiah 14-15! Those chapters are amazing! They testify of the mission and life of Christ! You guys should study them WELL!!

Well other than that,- I'm fine, not sick, and super happy.
Love you guys a lot!
-Elder Wilson!

4/4/2016

It seems like you guys have just had an awesome conference weekend up there in Alabama! Running, Ice cream, and cinnamon rolls! That's super awesome! Well down here in Lima, I as well, have had a great conference weekend!

You guys should of heard the amount of cheers and cries people made when they announced the 2nd temple in Lima! They almost went crazy! The peruvian people are extremely excited and grateful for the chance to have a second temple here in the city of Lima! Where they're going to put it- that's the question that everyone wants answered. Lima is huge, so they could put it anywhere. I think they'll put it in Surco, or in Los Olivos. Dunno, we'll find out soon! Now I'll have to come back to Lima to see the dedication of the new temple! It'll be super awesome!

I really enjoyed all the talks that were given. So this was my last conference on my mission, realizing that I only have 4 months left, I became a little bit trunky for 2 days and went with one question to conference, "How can I keep the same level of spirit that I feel now on my mission when I get back home?" I received a ton of answers. I learned that by faith and repentance, with diligence in all things, with daily study of the scriptures, by being humble and doing the will of our Heavenly Father, by having charity towards all, through dedicated and diligent prayer and fast, by going and rescuing those that are lost, and through many other things, one can feel exactly how he or she felt on their mission. So I'm going to do it.

So going away from the trunky part of this email..... We were able to bring 2 people to general conference! They really enjoyed it! We have an appointment with them on Wednesday. We're going to invite them to be baptized on the 23rd of this month! It will be super awesome! So you guys should pray for them a ton!

Well other than that I'm happy, my companion and I get a long great and I'm really enjoying the mission!
Love you guys a ton!

-Elder Wilson


Polyester, Long Sleeve shirts. Also 2 toothbrushes would be awesome! Lots of Reese's ! Don't be scared to just pack it full of Reese's. Just do it! I don't need a cake mix box with candles and other things- just Reese's. I don't need balloons and other stuff like that. Just Reese's. Ooooo something that just came to mind! Those ghirardelli squares of chocolate, but filled with Peanut Butter.... and another one filled with Caramel. I think they come in Little Bags.

3/28/2016

Hola Familia,

You guys have had quite a great, busy Easter week last week! I think it's awesome that you guys were able to do that cool Easter stuff! Here in Peru there are chocolate eggs and the Easter bunny, but the majority of people don't do that. Rather the people dance around crosses and get drunk. It's really different, but hey it's their culture, and in my opinion, some cultures are false traditions of their father and need to be stopped! Why? Because you can't go into the Kingdom of God drinking a Buena Chela. (Slang for Beer) Cry all you want, you just can't! God doesn't allow it. If our will is not in line with the will of the Lord, we need to be humble and change so that its in agreement with that of the Lord's. That's why some traditions need to be stopped or changed.

It's sad to hear about what happened to Brother Dearden. I'm glad to hear that he was able to get to the hospital in time to have the doctor treat him. He will be in my prayers. I hope the his home teachers go and visit him, if they haven't already.

I don't have changes! Looks like I'll be staying here in Independencia for another change! However my companion is leaving and I''m getting a new companion! It's an elder named Elder Lopez. He's from Guayaquil, Ecuador. He's got only a month and a half less than me so it should be super awesome!

Everything is going good! We found a whole bunch of new people to teach and I'm really excited for this week! We found a few more families and I hope everything goes super well.

I'm not sick and I'm happy! I only have 3 changes left in the mission, or 18 weeks. Time really flies- like what the heck!!! I feel like I just started yesterday. I'm just gonna work super hard anyway!

Love you guys a ton!
-Elder Wilson

3/21/2016

Hola Familia,
You guys are having a pretty good time up there in Alabama! That's awesome that the weather is great up there. Down here it's still pretty hot, but i think it's starting to cool down a little bit... we'll see. That's awesome that you guys went up and saw Broadway! I think the only broadway show that I've ever seen was with you guys. We saw Wicked with the Brown family.

It's really true, most of the Prophets and Apostles that have been called, have been called for their obedience to the Lord through times of difficulty and affliction. Th Prophet Job, and Joseph Smith are excellent examples of how the Lord calls and blesses people by obedience to the gospel in afflictions and tests. That's how we progress and that's how we keep going forward. I have seen the churches new Easter video, it's really good, I really enjoyed it a lot.

This past week was pretty good. My companion and I went to the temple! It was really awesome! I saw the the only new video that I hadn't seen before! I learned a lot and felt and heard the Lord through his Holy Spirit. It was an amazing visit. The temple is an amazing place. After the mission, I'm going to go to the temple every week. It's gonna be super awesome! I put pictures on Dropbox.

So everything's going well down here in Lima. There aren't changes this week because this change is the special 7 week change, so next week I might leave or stay. We'll see what the Lord has in store for me! So right now it's the "Semana Santa" or Holy Week. The majority of people get drunk and dance around a cross. Sometimes I really don't understand Peru. We, as the "gringachos" and "mormones" have to put up with them calling us over and talking to us, saying VERY inappropriate things. They say that they're sorry for drinking, and then we call them unto repentance, tell them we're going to come visit them, and leave. Its funny.... well kind of.

Well I'm not sick and I'm really happy!!
Love you guys a lot!

-Elder Wilson

3/14/2016

Hola Familia,

Well it seems like you guys have had a great week up there in Alabama. I saw the 2 videos of the band concert! The music sounded super great! It seems like you guys are all nice and busy up there.

I don't have very much time to write you guys, but I'll give you guys a brief description of what's going on. Last Monday we went to the only amusement park in our mission! It was really awesome! There was a little zoo there and a bunch of cool rides. It was really fun and really helped unify the zone! It was sweet! I put lots of photos of cool flowers that exist in the jungle here in Peru and a bunch of animals. There are pictures of llamas and monkeys and lots of really awesome looking parrots. You should check it out! 

During the week we worked like normal, and finally we were able to help the man we're teaching accept a date for baptism for the 26th of this month. We're gonna work hard with him so that he keeps progressing. He's just about stopped drinking alcohol. He says that sometimes on Sunday he drinks, but he's not getting drunk, so that's the good thing. He used to get drunk 4 to 5 times a week. Now he only drinks on Sunday and doesn't get drunk! That is some huge progress. All of this progress is made possible through and ONLY through the atonement of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Without him, we can't even get better, at anything. Thank you so much for your prayers, now pray harder, because Satan is going to attack extremely hard. Satan doesn't like when people start to follow Jesus Christ.

 During my study this week I read chapter 28 of 2 Nephi. It made me really think of the verses that are found in Moses were it talks about how Lucifer wanted to destroy the agency of man. When you read in chapter 28, you find out how he was going to destroy it. He wasn't going to FORCE us to obey, nor were we going to be robots programmed to follow the commandments, What Satan really was going to do is take away the consequences for sinning. Or in other words, you can sin and live a horrible life, and think you will be saved anyway. Look at the scripture mastery that's in that chapter.( It's at the bottom, I highlighted the parts where it talks about lucifer's plan to destroy the agency of man).

Well I'm out of time!

Love you guys a lot!

-Elder Wilson 

7 Yea, and there shall be many which shall say: Eat, drink,and be merry, for tomorrow we die; and it shall be well with us.

 8 And there shall also be many which shall say: Eat, drink,and be merry; nevertheless, fear God—he will justify in committing a little sin; yea, lie a little, take the advantage of one because of his words, dig a pit for thy neighbor; there is no harm in this; and do all these things, for tomorrow we die; and if it so be that we are guilty, God will beat us with a few stripes, and at last we shall be saved in the kingdom of God.

3/7/2016

Hola Familia,

Well it seems like you guys have had quite a great week up there in Alabama. I think it's great that you guys are finally recovering from all the colds you've been having!

Down here in Lima Peru the work is progressing and things are looking good. This week was full of teaching, contacting and getting to know the investigators that the other members of the zone are teaching. It's really cool to be able to teach all the people here in the zone and get to know them and see how they progress and stuff. You do have to sacrifice a lot of your own personal time in your own area, but you get to see the work progress in all the others. It's amazing.

So, I have some amazing news! 1 year and 2 months ago, Elder Pastenes and I baptized an 19 year old girl named Ruby. This last Sunday I went back to my first ward to do some interviews with investigators that the elders have up there and I saw her and asked her how she is doing. She tells me, "Well, this Tuesday I'm leaving to go on my mission to Arequipa, Peru!" I was just overcome with joy and happiness to see one of my converts progress and then go on a mission! She received her call about 2 months ago, and she's leaving tomorrow. I think that's so awesome. I think experiences like these help me to understand how our Heavenly Father feels when we progress and achieve important things in our lives- like baptism, the mission, temple, and temple marriage. It just makes you feel happy, and it doesn't go away! That was definitely the highlight of my week!

Well we're still working with our investigator. He's progressing, but still needs a lot of help. Losing an addiction can be tough, but it's definitely worth it. So keep praying and I know he'll get baptized this month.

Love you guys a lot!
-Elder Wilson

2/29/2016

Hola Familia,

Happy Leap day! It seems like you guys have had quite a great week. I saw the pictures that you guys put up on dropbox. It seems like Lily and Clara had quite a fun time at the winter festival. Here in Peru it's summer and it's really hot and humid outside. That's so awesome that Maddie is gonna come out with me to BYU-I! It's gonna be super awesome! Meeting new people and making new friends is a great experience as well, helps you grow a lot as a person. It's awesome!! Mom Please don't put me for early morning classes. If they could start at 9 in the morning that would be wonderful. I've already tried doing it before, and well it didn't work to well. So.... I already know what's going to happen if I do it again! hahahaha!

Down here in Lima Peru, the work of the Lord is progressing. This past week we had 3 baptisms in the zone. So we're going to end this month with 16 baptisms! We're extremely grateful for what the Lord has helped us to achieve and were extremely excited to work even harder to baptize even more people in March. In March we already have 4 people that are going to get baptized, and we have a lot of potential for this coming month. Elder Brown and I are going to work extremely hard to set a good goal and achieve it. It's going to be super cool. Being a Zone leader is a ton of work! We never have nothing to do, EVER. If there's nothing going on in our area, there's always something to do in another area. It's really cool because you get to meet all the people that the other missionaries are teaching. I've met lots of cool people and interviewed lots of cool people. I'm really enjoying it.

In our area we're still teaching the older man and his son. It's going well. He has a small problem with drinking and were trying to help him fully repent of that sin. He has really stopped drinking a lot. Basically he's gone from being a drunk in the street everyday to a guy who drinks just a bottle on Sunday... I know Sunday. In Peru Sunday is basically the day where EVERYONE gets drunk. We're really starting to see the Lord work within him. Please pray for him! He's getting close to being baptized. He just needs to stop drinking so much and he'll be good to go!

I love you guys!
-Elder Wilson

2/22/2016

Hola Familia!

Well it seems like you guys have had a pretty normal week up there in the United States! It's about the same down here in Peru. Nothing different really has changed. Just the normal mission stuff is happening- lots of teaching, contacting, baptizing, and reactivation down here in Lima.

I will say this, it's extremely hot outside! There's a tradition that during the month of February everyone plays with water, and of course, gets drunk while doing it. I don't really know if I've ever been able to explain the amount of drinking there is on Sunday! Just about EVERYONE is in the street drinking on Sunday- every single week during the year. It's really sad, but anyway, what's so special about february is that they play with water.

They fill up water balloons, buckets, pools, and water guns- full of water. Then what do they do? Every single person they see, they try to get them soaking wet. Especially the ¨Gringashos and Mormones¨!!! So yesterday I had a few water balloons thrown at me and water thrown at me from a bunch of drunk people. It was really funny and refreshing because it's really hot!! But at the same time you get wet in nice clothes, so it's kind of one of those win-lose situations.

Well the work is going really well in the zone of Independencia! This last weekend we had 8 baptismes in the zone! So as of now we have 13 baptisms! Thats already 1 more than we had last month and we still have baptisms for this week! So were going to work super hard so that we can get even more than 13! But yeah the mission is really awesome.

Right now we're teaching a really cool guy and his son. The guy was a drunk that contacted us on the street and the next day we went to his house. He's really cool. He has stopped drinking and has gone to church twice. We're really working with him to help him strengthen his faith in Christ and repent of ALL of his sins. He's basically confessed everything he had done in his life to us and with that information were really able to help him set goals and understand the blessings and consequences of keeping or disobeying the commandments. He should get baptized next month. Please pray for him, he really needs help.

ALWAYS remember that there ARE consequences for committing sins! You can't trick, escape, or run away from them! Have Faith, Repent of your sins, Keep your covenants. If you do it, you will have joy! It's a promise.

Well I love you guys a lot!
-Elder Wilson

2/15/2016

Hola Familia,

Well it seems like you guys have had quite a busy and great week up there in Alabama! That's awesome that you guys were able to see the pictures that I put up! I put up even more this week and they're actually pretty cool pictures! You guys should go look at them, I think you'll like them a lot. (There's a cool sneak peek of where we live and what we eat and drink for breakfast and dinner everyday down here in Lima Peru and a cool Star Wars exhibit here in a very popular mall called Plaza Norte) I will say, this new camera has actually sparked a small interest in taking more pictures. But if I'm going to take more pictures, I'm also hoping to see more pictures from you guys as well.

That is so awesome that Clara is going to be getting baptized here pretty soon. Time really flies by quickly... That's sp nice that Mama Lynne is going to make her a dress for her baptism. It should be really special and I'm sure it'll make her super happy.

So down here in Lima Peru, the work of the lord is progressing greatly! As of right now we have 5 baptisms in the Zona. We have 12 more people to be baptized and a few more people to help get ready to get baptized this month. We're gonna work really hard to help these people to understand the importance of the Savior in their lives so that they will make the decision to follow him and try there best to be more like him everyday. I really like being a Zone leader(even though you don't sleep at all for example, last night I went to bed at 12:30 after getting everyone's numbers and I still have to wake up at 6:30). You get to go around your zone and meet the people that your missionaries are teaching. It's really great! You see how they progressing and the changes that they make to put their lives in line with our Heavenly Father. Its SUPER awesome!

Well that's about it. I'm not sick and I'm doing just fine!
I love you guys a lot!
-Elder Wilson

2/8/2016

Hola Familia!

It seems like you guys have had a great week! I am really happy to hear that Dad's surgery went well and that he is alright! Yup! Hermana Dearden should be getting around 18 months now! I get it this week! It's crazy, right! I've been on my mission for a year and a half... Time really flies... Its crazzzzzzy! I can still remember the Mexico MTC like if it were yesterday. Oh well, I'm all pumped up to give it my all these last 6 months!

Down here in Lima, Peru everything is going good! Today is transfers and I don't have one! I have 4 transfers left on the mission. I'll probably stay here as a Zone Leader for about 2 or 3 transfers and then I'll get another change! Whoo! Time really flies! This last week was a pretty busy one! We had a goal meeting as a zone to set our new goal for the month of February! We set a goal of 22 baptisms! My companion and I want to really help the zone to pick its self up and start baptizing like it used to. When we got here the zone only baptized 5 people. Normally it baptizes like 15-20 people. When we got here we worked with what we had and got that number up to 12. Now with the 32 people that have gone to church we want to get that number up to 22! Were planning on working extremely hard with the Zone so that we can Surpass our goal! Its gonna be super awesome! I'm not that tired anymore actually. I think my body is really getting used to it now. Thats a big relief!

My companion and I are working with a lot of families and a few other older men that we found these last 2 weeks! We're having trouble getting them to come down to church right now. We've set goals and changed a few things so that we can get them to go to church this coming Sunday! I pray that everything will go the way the Lord wants it to!

So I've learned quite a lot during this last transfer! The thing that I keep going back to is to build a stronger testimony we have to do the will of our Heavenly Father. This will help us to be happy. I really love the mission and honestly I don't want it to end!

Love you guys a lot!
-Elder Wilson

2/1/2016

Hola Familia,

Well it seems like you guys have been having a really great time up there in Gringoland! That's super awesome what Samuel was able to achieve in band! It sounds like he's really good at playing the trumpet! Way better than me! Maybe he can keep going and get into a professional orchestra! That would be super awesome! Keep it up Samuel!

So down here in Chololandia everything's going good. Yesterday I think just about everyone was under the influence of alcohol and having fun taking naps in the middle of the street and on the sidewalk. It was pretty bad yesterday. I've been here for 18 months now and I don't think I have ever seen it THIS bad. I think it is because it's SO hot right now. It was really sad to see everyone like that, but at the same time we had some realllllly funny experiences with all the drunk peruanos. I love them! hahaha!

This last week has been quite a busy and awesome week. The work is really progressing down here in Lima, Peru. I don't feel as tired as I felt before. I think I'm getting used to it! I like that. As a zone were going to finish this month with 12 baptisms! I'm really grateful for the hard work that has been done and for the blessing that our Heavenly Father has given us. However, we had a goal of 13 baptisms, so were sad that we didn't meet the goal, but happy that we were able to help EVERY companionship baptize this month in our zone! It was super great!

This month were going to go into it working super hard! We have 5 people that have accepted to be baptize and we have tons of potentials so we might be able to get around 15 to 20 baptisms if everything goes well!

I'm having lots fun and I'm learning quite a lot as a zone leader! I can really feel the Lord in my life and how he can really strengthen us as we are obedient to his commandments!

Love you guys a lot!
-Elder Wilson

1/25/2016

Hola Familia,

I don't have very much time to write because of all the papers we have to do on the internet, but I'll try to squeeze in all the good stuff that happened last week!

As a zone leader we don't sleep very much! I can definitely say that I feel more tired than at any other time on my mission. It's really good, I enjoy it, but 6:30 comes really early and i always wake up tired, I'll get used to it someday, so I'm not too worried. So the work of the Lord is progressing here in Lima, Peru! Last week as a zone we had 5 baptisms! As a companionship my companion and ! had 1! It was an awesome baptism! It was one of those converts who is "Converted" to the gospel. He reads his scriptures everyday and wants to go on a mission! This week as a zone we have the potential to baptize 6 more people! We're going to work really hard to baptize these people and work super hard for February!

In other new- my camera broke, so I probably need to buy a new one so I can take photos.... I'm going to go look at cameras today and let you know how much they are here. Other than that, I'm not sick and I'm happy and learning a ton about leadership and what being tired really means! It's great!

Love you guys a lot!
-Elder Wilson

1/18/2016

Hola Familia!

It seems like you guys have had a busy week and are going to have quite a busy week! That's so awesome that Clara is going to get baptized soon! She'll be the last one of the family that needs to be baptized. It will definitely be one of those really happy and sad days at the same time. It should be awesome!
I'm sure that dad will get through this surgery fine. The Lord will help and bless him, as long as he does his part, the Lord will do his part. I'm pretty sure dad will do his part! haha!

So this week has definitely been one of the best, most tired weeks of my mission! Being a Zone Leader is definitely tiring! We don't get to bed till about 11:30 every night and we still have to wake up at 6:30 every morning. We have to make sure everyone is doing what they're suppose to be doing and go with them to do work visits in their area. So it's lots of going around the area making sure they're working hard and helping their investigators to be baptized. We're in more contact with the assistants and President Erickson. So its a lot of being busy all day, all the time! The great thing is I get to know a lot of people and help them find solutions to their problems. It requires being organized and doing what you're suppose to. Yeah! I'm getting used to being tired!

As a zone we have 3 baptisms this month and we're going to have 4 more this week and about 8 on the 30th. As a zone we're seeing a lot of progress it's really cool! This week my companion and I are going to have a baptism! It's a 17 year old guy who´s really cool and really wants to get baptized! His parents might get baptized on the 6th of February, but they need to go to church more! We're going to try our best to work with them! So my area is a giant hill! I think I'm going to grow some pretty big leg muscles here from climbing like 2000 stairs a day!

I love you guys!
-Elder Wilson

1/11/2016

Hola Familia,

 It seems like you guys have had a great week up there in Alabama! That's awesome all the stuff that's happened over the last week! Wow! I can't believe that Cody and Kourtney have returned from their mission! I can kinda remember when they left... kind of! hahaha!  It seems like you guys are nice and busy. That's a good thing!

 Down here in Lima, Peru something really crazy happened!!  It was Saturday morning, we had just finished our companionship study and we were about to leave the house when we received a call from the Zone Leaders. I answered and said hello and they told me something I was not expecting! "Well Elder Wilson, we just got off the phone with the assistants, you need to get your stuff ready, you have an emergency transfer!" I was like what??!?!?!?!?! So I said okay, got my stuff together and when to the offices. We got there and President Erickson was there waiting for us. He came up to me, shook my hand and said, "Thanks for coming Elder Wilson, you're gonna head out with Elder Brown to Independencia, (Where I started the mission) to be a zone leader with him.

 I think I'm going to learn a lot these next couple of transfers. I'ts gonna be super awesome and hard! I've gotten to the point in my mission where I'm just willing to do the Lord's will before my own. If you think about it, the only way to return to the presence of God is by doing his will and not ours. So if the Lord asks me to do something I do it, without questioning.  That's why 116 pages of the Book of Mormon got lost! I know that if we trust in the Lord and humble ourselves, and if we do the will of the Lord first, we will be happy in this life.

So, I have another new companion. His name is Elder Brown. He's from Blackfoot, Idaho. He's from my group of missionaries, so we both have 17 months in the mission! Its super awesome!

Love you guys a ton!

-Elder Wilson

1/4/2016

Hola Familia! Feliz Año Nuevo!

 It seems like you guys have had an interesting and busy week! I saw the pictures on dropbox! Thats awesome that Grandma Lester bought a new Flat Screen TV and that house is giant! Here all the house are made out of bricks and concrete. They don't use wood at all. They make their houses go up not out. For example the houses here are 5 or 6 floors high. We live in an apartment on the 5th floor of a building. At night it's really cool. You can see all the lights of the city!

 This week has been an especially busy and interesting week down here in Lima, Peru!  I have left my old area and am now in a new area! So I thought my old area was a little bit richer, well I was really wrong! I've been transfered to a new ward called Santa Luisa in the Carabayllo Stake. It's a lot greener here and there's not a lot of poop and trash all over the ground! I'm really enjoying it! hahaha! However, the people here are a lot more prideful and will not listen to our message. Some people will still listen, but they're reallllllllllllllllllllllllllly Catholic!  I'm definitely going to learn a lot here! It's gonna be super awesome! 

Right now its summer time and it's really hot here in Lima. It never rains so I doubt it will cool down.... oh well!!  

 Here in the area we're looking for new people to teach. Last week we found 7 new people to teach! 4 of them are a new family that we found! It's a single mom with her kids! They're super cool! Were going to work with them a lot this week! It's gonna be awesome! We also found a few other people to teach! I hope everything goes well! 

 I'm not sick and I'm healthy, so please don't worry about me! 

I love you guys a lot! 

Oh, I have a new companion! His name is Elder Mamani and he's from Bolivia.

-Elder Wilson

12/28/2015

Hola Familia!


It sure was great to talk to you guys on Christmas day! It seems like you guys have had a great Christmas and that everything seems to be going okay up there in Alabama! I'm not going to write too much because not to many interesting things happened since Friday.


Today is transfers and I don't know if I will have one yet or not. I'll let you guys know next week! I think I'll have one. I've been here for almost half a year now so its time. I can definitely say that here in the Magnolias Zone I've been able to learn quite a lot about my Savior Jesus Christ, and I've really been able to understand the importance of him in my life and in lives of others! I've learned to have a lot more patience and to trust even more in the Lord. The mission is great! If I go, I can definitely say that this area really helped me to grow as a son of God.


Well this week is going to be full of fun and exciting experiences and I'll definitely have more to say next week!


I put pictures up on the Dropbox there in the sub folder.


Love you guys!
-Elder Wilson