February 10, 2019

Does anyone read these?

hello po! kumusta po kayo! ang week ko sobrang maseya talaga! ang area ko mahirap minsan pero ok-lang. ang mga toa dito sa sinait sobrang tropa!  for anyone who knows tagalog im sorry about the spelling errors i fifn my best haha 

Well this week went by so very fast I can't believe it to be honest! the weeks seem to be going faster and faster its crazy but nice haha! 

So we got 2 more BGDs this week which is super awesome! the problem we are having with most our investigators is trying to get them to come to church especially because most of them live about 9 miles away from the church so its really head and the only have like one or 2 motorcycles but we are trying to get them to come out especially the younger ones! 

We might have a baptism this week which will be awesome! he is about 12 i think! 

Its really hot here during the day like 90 degrees and then at night its like 70 ish and its sooo cold! i freeze! but my companion always reassures me that summer here is killer hot so I'm not really looking forward to that haha

That's all I really got! if there's anything you want to know don't be afraid to email me I'd love to hear from you all! 

This week I finished the Book of Mormon and I just want to say that I know that the Book of Mormon is true and I want to challenge all of you to this year read the book of Mormon all the way through and to truly gain a testimony! its so amazing and it has blessed me out here in the Philippines and never failed to make me happy! love you all and hope you have an amazing week!

 these are my boys all but minus one!

February 3, 2019

Kain Kayo!

Hey everyone! Another week another baptismal date haha! or 5! well this week has been a really interesting week haha! 

On Tuesday we went to district council and met all of the new elders and it was nice to meet all of them! one is a poly from Herriman Utah ( where I live) but I don't know him haha he's pretty shy it seems but seems like he will be a good missionary! Then later in the day we went to Jordan and taught people there and we were at a members house and he decided that he wanted to make food for us so we waited there while he cooked playing with his son and then when we went to eat he sets this giant plate full of rice for everyone (naturally because rice is life) and as I'm scooping some on to my plate I see something moving in it and it's an ANT well I figure it's ok probably just that one right....right? nope.... There were ANTS ALL OVER!!! So I got a big scoop of meats and veggies and in my head I just said "sometimes in life you just have to eat the ants" so I ate that entire plate of ricey ants and then when I finished Tatay Ruben looks at me and say "Kain kayo! kain kayo" which means eat you eat you, so I got another big scoop of rice, yum, and then more meat and I just didn't look to closely at the food haha the good news is that ants don't taste like anything haha!

The next day I had exchanges with Elder Clarke and it was so much fun he is one of the other elders that lives in my apartment with me and me and him are tropas! so it was a good day and I always learn so much from him! I also realized that I can now teach lesson 1 in Tagalog so that had been really cool! haha its nice to be able to help my companion more now!

On Thursday we had interviews with president and his wife and I love them so much they remind me of my family! its amazing! and then because my companion is district leader we had an interview for a baptism and then after that we walked like 5 miles to get to a house and then to get home was like 2 miles so that was a fun day of walking haha

Then on Friday we went out to Santa Cruise and taught a family and group of friends who were already our investigator but they have so many kids and they are all girls and its so funny because one of the moms was like telling all her girls to come in and listen to our lesson because I was so handsome and then all the girls there and the older ladies we just telling me I'm so handsome which is pretty awkward because like what do you do haha i just sat there and said thank you and then a Tay came in and he even called me handsome and that was super funny haha we all laughed, its funny because they think I understand like nothing but I can understand a lot of what they say so its funny to hear them talk about me haha, 5 of them now have baptism dates and hopefully more this next week!!

The rest of the week was pretty basic but we did have a baptism on Saturday so that was fun! it wasn't in our area but it was still fun!! 

My spiritual thought this week goes back to the ants and that sometimes in life you just have to eat the ants and keep going forward because eventually one day there will be leachon and you will be happy so always remember to read the book of Mormon and pray always! love you all!! Hope you all have a great week! love you all! 

mahal kita!

Elder Wilson

January 21, 2019

The Best Weight Loss Program

Hey everyone! 

Well to be honest this week just flew by for me! 

So we have a lot of investigators. We have 12 and half of them have a baptism date! Hopefully by the end of this week they all will! it will be hard with like 2 of them because the father is Muslim and really hates us but that's ok we still teach when we can! It's super funny when we teach this group of 4 nais they all for like 1 hour were just telling me how handsome I was, so funny, like they were telling my hands were so beautiful and my hair and my eyes it was so funny and then one of them tried to hook me up with her daughter and was kinda mad when we sad we can't date on the mission haha but it was funny! We had a good lesson with them and were about to extend a BGD out to them but it wasn't a good time yet so we waited! 

So I bet you are wondering what I meant by the title of this email well when I got to my area I think I was about 270ish maybe more and now in 7 weeks I think am down to about 240 and still losing weight and summer is right a round the corner and my companion says you just sweat all day everyday so I will be loosing more it seems haha! Its been a blessing for sure though because I was sad I even put that weight on so Its a blessing to be loosing it again! 

We keep having small earthquakes so I'm just waiting so a big one haha but the ones we have now are really short and small so NOTHING to worry about (mom) 

We got a new trainee Elder in our place now and he is really cool! he is from LA (legaspi alibi) haha get pranked and he is so humble! when he got to the mtc he literally had nothing no money no shoes and no luggage but they got him stuff and his district gave him a suit case! that's one thing about here in the Philippines that people are willing to give if you are in need even if they themselves are struggling its truly amazing to see!

My spiritual thought for this week is that while yes obedience is so important always remember that its important to be striving to live all of the Christlike attributes and not just be hitting one key on the piano! play the melody!! well I love you all and hope you have a good week!

love ,

Elder Wilson!

lady in the front is who's house we are at and then some of the youth in our ward with us!

My first baptism! Tatay Julito!

bye bye magturtur

January 20, 2019

3 Months

Well to be honest it's crazy to think I've only been out 3 months it has felt like a lifetime but that's ok! I've just been learning so much! Time is going so fast now! 

Lets see so this week at the beginning wasn't really all that interesting just the usually go out and teach people and try to find, we did however go all the way out to a place called Santa Cruise, it's like a 3 mile walk and we tricycle out there but we had to walk back and it was great haha it was during the hottest part of the day too so that was good! 

Then on Friday we had to go o the church to fill up the baptism font and it only took us 5 hours to do that so that was great haha I think next time i'll just say lets do it in the ocean haha! the the next day I had my first baptism! his name is Tatay Julito! he is an old Filipino man and I was so happy to see him enter into the waters of baptism!

For my spiritual thought this week I just wanna say that the Lord answers prayers and he hears us! Sometimes it comes at the last second possible but he will always answer our prayers so always remember to pray to him at all times in the good and the bad! 

love you all and hope you have the best week ever! 

Love, 

Elder Wilson

no photos again my camera flash drive is having problems sorry!

January 6, 2019

Waterfalls In Paradise

HELLLLLLO there family and friends well I don't have a lot of time so i'll just say a few things! 

 So earlier this week we had the funeral for the lady that died and it was so sad, she served a mission and  all her daughters wants to serve but it was sad because one of the girls gave the history of her mom and at the end she cried and said "that she left a huge hole in her heart that no one can fill" and then she also said "I will never get to say I love you again in this life but I love you so much momma" So first off, super sad just because, but then I was so sad because she doesn't fully understand the plan of salvation, In my head I was Like dang I wish I could get up there and teach it to everyone here and then BOOM, up comes my boi gemvoi, he is a returned missionary too and he was her nephew and my man taught everyone in there about the plan of happiness! I was so happy to hear him speak about it! Later he told us he wasn't crying because she died I was crying because her family was so sad that she was gone and forgot about the plan that our Father in Heaven gave us! It was so strong to hear him speak! 

Then I'll just jump to today so we went hiking to a waterfall today and it was so awesome and so pretty when we got there! It's so beautiful here! But when we came back down we waited like 3 hours for a ride back so that sucks and is also why I'm writing so late haha! I also got sick this week and so that has been fun but I'm doing much better now haha! love you all and hope you are all doing good! 

Elder Wilson

Me and my companion

December 30, 2018

Happy New Year Po!

Well hello family and friends!

This week went by so fast to be honest! but it wasn't very eventful so this might be a short letter!

On p-day after we got back home one of the elders in my house went to the bathroom and was like hey everyone come here and in there was a massive spider I was super freaked out because that's where I shower and everything haha, then my companion handed me a bottle and was like spray him with this so I did and it like ran towards me and I was like freaking out and then it died it was funny and then Elder Clarke threw it away haha it was so creepy! Then on Christmas we didn't do much we had a dinner appointment and then we stayed there for a long time and then after we went and talked with a a family who's mom died that day so on Christmas! it was so sad, mostly because i helped giver her a blessing they day before she went to the hospital so that was hard for me! but I'm still doing ok haha! 

Then I got to talk with my family which was really good and I got to chat with my best friend Seth and it was so good to see him and hear from him! I'm really starting to love this area I'm in even though its super hard!

then the rest of the week was just meetings and proselyting so nothing to crazy!This week we have a baptism and his name is Tatay Julito and I'm super excited for him to be baptize! he is a really nice guy! 

then today we woke up super early to go hiking into a waterfall as a zone but the members who were gonna take s were like no we can't and don't want to so it was a waste of time and money but all well its a memory right haha! well that's really all I have! hope you all have an amazing week!

mahal kita 

Elder Wilson

The Spider

The Zone

December 23, 2018

Merry Pasko

Hello family and friends!

 Well this week was pretty good!! we had a really good time on P-day and went to a really cool street in Vigan! I'll send pics! Then we went over to a members house for dinner and we saw Miss Philippines win Miss Universe and we all went crazy haha it was funny! I'm starting to be able to understand more and more everyday so that's good! 

On Tuesday we had the ward Christmas party and they had lechon there which was soooooo good and if you don't know what that was you ll see in the pictures haha!! We played games and it was just so much fun! this week my trainer, Elder Pacapac was sick so we didn't get to working in the morning a lot because he wasn't feeling good but that's ok!! I got a lot of studying done! We just met with a lot of members these past week and it was good!

Other than that until Saturday nothing really happened but we had a baptism that day and it was so cool!! there wasn't really anyone there but it was good! then after that we went all the way out to their place which is like an hour walk and have family home evening with them and ate dinner and played games it was super fun! 

On Sunday I gave my talk in church and it went pretty good ! It was in English but it was good!! Then after church we were walking home and this dog runs across the street to bark at another dog then he tries to run back a cross and he got hit by a car and went flying across the rode.. it was pretty funny haha I laughed, it didn't die. then later that night will trying to find people we found a dog and it was like bouncing and so me and Elder Pacapac started to beat box and it looked like the dog was dancing it was so funny! Today we have our zone Christmas party so that's going to be fun!!

Hope you all have a MERRY CHRISTMAS LOVE YOU ALL!! 

Elder Wilson

Cool Street

Filipino Santa

Lechon!

December 16, 2018

Sinait

Hey everyone!! well this week has been super crazy!! My companions name is Elder Pacapac and he is so awesome! He is a really good teacher and helps me a lot with keeping my hopes up!! My area is so beautiful and right next to the ocean and its so pretty here!! The sunsets are unreal! 

My area is one of the hardest areas because there was a very bad missionary in the past and lets just say there are now 2 twin half poly half Filipino boys here now, so its so hard to get people to listen and so we usually spend our time working walking around or visiting members or less actives. The other day we walked 1 hour to a house taught a lesson... kind of and then turned back and walked the 1 hour trip again so that was fun. Apparently this is the losing weight mission and especially this area because there aren't a ton of lunch appointments or dinner but that's ok I got some weight to lose;)

The culture here is very different from America, like the other day we were talking with a member and his son walks up to this random dog and just punts it in the stomach, it surprised me so much haha I started to laugh and then I realized that's just how it is here. The people here all stare at me and so that's nothing new haha and they are really cool they love to decorate for Christmas and use all recycled stuff its amazing! 

The cold showers are really nice in the morning haha its not to hot here and I actually get cold at night! They have so many chickens here that I have to keep the fan on tho so I don't hear the chickens in the morning! 

Well,  that's really all I have! hope you all have a good week! 

Elder Wilson

December 7, 2018

How's Yesterday?

Naimbag nga bigat family and friends! That's Ilokano for good morning!  

Well what a crazy week it has been!! one thing I can say for sure though is I will not becoming home early because that plane ride was actually garbage and I don't think ever want to do it again so sorry mom I'm staying here! haha Which to be honest I won't hate because it is sooo awesome here! The Filipino people are amazing and they all love us, mainly because we are white and I'm super tall compared to all of them so they all love me haha. Its funny because you will be talking with them and then they will pull their phone out and just take a picture of you haha! after they do that I usually ask if they want a picture together and they get super excited haha! 

So I got a new companion but we already knew each other his name is Elder Brousseau . So speaking of me loving the people our first night here we got to go over to the temple (which is literally across the street like two steps) and its Christmas time here so they have lights everywhere its super awesome! and we were just chilling on the lawn talking and then these two little boys come and sit by me and are speaking super fast Tagalog, at least I think they were haha they might been saying nothing to be honest, but they were super cute and would run super fast and me and then tackle me while I was sitting down and then just beat me up it was great!! I managed to get a picture with one of them, I say that because we'd be posing for a Picture and then they would move and it'd be blurry so it was an adventure! 

All the Elders and sisters that Were here before us all love us so much and will always stop what they are doing to come say hi to us as we are walking outside its super funny! And all the older people we meet over at the temple always come up to us and ask where we are serving and just say they love us its amazing to be in a country where you just feel so loved all the time!! Yesterday we went over to the temple to just meet people and share something with them an though I really just failed cause its hard to start a conversation for me and it was SOOOO HOT like from 7-7 its just so hot outside its crazy and its like their "cool season" right now so Imma die in the hot season haha! The food here is sooo good compared to the food in Provo and its so nice to be eating something I like for a change haha! at lunch they like to let you chose what you want to eat and they have like 4 different choices and all the food names are in Tagalog so you have no idea what you are getting, well I got pig stomach and the sisters in my district got pig face haha it was all pretty good tho!😂 

Its crazy how much my language has gotten better by being here! I love it! I love the People and the Culture and I'm so happy to serve here for the next two years!! I love you all and hope you have an amazing week! can't wait to tell you more next week! 

Mahal kita!

For Quinn

Lighting the World in the Pines

Me and my boy!

These kids were taking pics of us from a distance so I asked if they wanted a Picture together and they all did!

McDonald's in the Pines

Temple Lights

November 23, 2018

Happy Thanksgiving

Kumusta family and friends!

Well you know what they say, another week, another dolla. Well this week has been really good!! I mean its more of the same stuff everyday, and to be honest I don't even remember what I did on Monday BUT, It was really good! haha. 

Ok, so like I said on Monday I can't remember anything I did so lets just not worry about it haha. Tuesday night was really cool though!! we go to hear from Elder Ringwood of the seventy and his wife... and guess who his wife is!! shes the Daughter of our prophet Russel M. Neilsen!! it was super crazy!! nothing will bring the spirit in to the room more than when she said " I know my Father loves you, I know the Prophet loves you, it was crazy awesome!! They both had really good talks and really was just a good night, the devotionals here in the MTC are always so nice! really break up the week!

ok, so I just remembered on Saturday morning my kasama woke up and had spots all over his face and so we had to go to the urgent care and he got a skin infection so we got to go to Smiths and let me tell ya that little bit of freedom was so nice😂 plus like everyone there just loves you  they were all just so nice and when we first waked in they were was this little girl and she saw us and said " look mommy its the elders!! hi elders!" it was sooo cute and made me so happy. 

On Wed we just had a normal day but we had a power outage and that was crazy. We had to have class in the dark which was hard cause well all kept falling asleep haha oops. it was a blessing tho cause we had to teach both our teachers that night but because the rooms we teach in don't have windows we had to cancel them so that was nice haha. 

And then for Thanksgiving which by the way Happy Thanksgiving to you all I hope you had an amazing day and looked back on how blessed you all are!! so for my thanksgiving it was AMAZING ok so lets just start from the beginning of the day!! so for the morning devotional we got to hear from Elder Uchtdorf!! it was soooo amazing! the second he walked in the room you could feel him there!! and he just had this glow to him! One thing that i really liked that he said was " Gratitude gives us wings to fly over our darkest days" I really love this because I can testify of it!! Growing up worrying about my dad dying of cancer was always scary but knowing of merciful my God is and seeing who much he blesses me really helped me to get over my darkest hours! After that we had service and that was really fun to make a ton of food for people who need it! after we did that we got to watch a movie which was the the other side of heaven and after seeing that i am soooo thankful for planes haha it took him 48 days to get to Tonga by boat and then another * days to get to his island that he served on for his whole mission! its such a grate movie and I HIGHLY recommend it! after that we had a performance devotional and it was super good and the guy singing taught some good lessons about missions!

Well that has really been my week!! I Love you all so much and am so grateful to have you all in my life!! Oh and I leave for the Philippines on Dec 3 so that's crazy!! I love you all so much! and I cant wait to serve the people there!

Mahal Kita,

Elder Wilson