March 7, 2016

Well, this week was a doozy. We did a lot of walking, trying to find things to do. We have hit some sort of barrier in our area. All the people that we have found in the past are finding more and more obstacles and excuses to not fulfill their commitments. It’s been rough dealing with that. We’re trying really hard to be exactly obedient, and to always be finding and concentrating on the work, but this week we definitely hit a small wall. After all the efforts that we had been putting into the work, including all that we’ve been doing here the last transfer, this Sunday had to be the make it or break it Sunday for lots of people. If they came to church, then we would continue to visit them. If they didn’t come, then we would drop them. It was one of the main topics of my prayers this week, and also of my fast. So, we got up early on Sunday to pick up a couple of people that we had planned, and a less active sister, Alma, came with her daughter, Olenka! When we got to the church with her, we stood by the door so hopeful. I was praying in my heart that we wouldn’t be disappointed with the results of the day. We were so blessed to see the miracle of Carolina Sandoval and her daughter Tiffany come (less active), Carmen Vera and her niece Mayumi (less active and investigator), and an investigator that is going to get baptized soon but that we hadn’t heard anything from all week, Jimmy. Jimmy came late to church, because his girlfriend (who had introduced him to the church in the jungle parts of Peru like 2 months ago, had just arrived from a 2 day travel from the jungle so that she could be with him this week and help him in his progress). She just got here in the early morning, so they got ready really quickly to make it to our 8am church. It was so amazing! I was just thinking about that answer to my prayers, and I felt the Spirit confirm to me very strongly that God is aware of my problems. He really cares! I know that this is His work, and that I am only here to carry it out, but He is at the head. I am so grateful for the hardships (maybe not while they are happening) but I’m grateful for the contrast that there is between the hardships and the miracles, the feeling that there is between those 2 things. Well, that was the miracle that I would like to share with you this week. It was awesome!

Something else that I forgot to mention from 2 weeks ago. When I first started my mission, we went to the temple in about October 2014 (a rough estimate). While there, a few of you might remember that a temple worker there pretty much "sold" to us the idea of doing sealings after just doing an endowment session as a zone. She told us "in 15 minutes you can be the means of saving 5 souls from spirit prison" or something like that. Well, with a line like that, it’s impossible to say ‘no’ even though all the zone was waiting for us to finish while the 3 of us went to help. So, we got in the sealing room in the temple, and the sealer wanted me to be the husband/father in the sealing. I remembered that we aren’t allowed to be the husband/father in sealings while on missions. The problem is that I didn’t know how to say that in Spanish at the time. The elders I was with didn’t say anything either. So, as I looked around the small room unsure of what to do, I saw that there was a guy that seemed to be an American. I looked at him and just hoped that he understood the situation. He then proceeded to explain to the sealer (in a level and speed of Spanish that I did not understand not even a tad) what the deal was. The problem was apparently resolved. We did sealings as children and the American was the father/husband. Well, the experience was very nice for me, and I obviously have never forgotten it. Now, what relevance does it have now you might ask? At a baptismal service that the elders had in our ward, we went to help with a video that I had. At the baptism we saw an American with his 3 children at the baptism. That’s not a normal thing. There are Americans here in Peru, but they’re normally here for business or vacation, or they’re "fakes" and really Europeans on backpacking trips and stuff. Well, before the baptism started we were talking with him. Turns out that he’s here for work. He works in the embassy for the USA here in Peru. His name is Matthew Meadows. I told him the temple story that I just told all of you. He wasn’t sure if he remembered the experience but he got here around the same time that I got here to Peru in 2014. He goes to the temple very frequently. Anyway, after thinking about it for some time, he said that he does vaguely remember the occasion. It may not seem very big, but to me it was. I wanted to thank that unknown American that day in the temple but I never got the chance. Well, at the baptismal service, I got the chance. It was awesome and I thank my Heavenly Father for the chance to be a part of this amazing saving work. The experiences that I have here are helping me and serving me. I love this gospel!

Hope you all have a great week and know that I love you and always pray for you!

Elder Wilson