week 45

This week was a miracle. Our president has always said, ¨One day, missionary work will come to the point where people come knock on our doors and ask us if they can be baptized.¨

This week as we walked to an appointment we had a little old lady stop us and ask us, Excuse me, Are you missinaries? 

Yes, we are, we share a special message about Jesus Christ.

Will you please come to my house and teach me?

..... Yes of course we will. 

Her house smelled of cigarrettes and coffee, not a good sign, but then again, she let us in. I couldnt complain. We explained our purpose, sang a hymn, and said a prayer and began talking with her. We let her know that her loved ones were resting in paradise if they had done well in this life to follow Jesus Christ, we explained how Jesus Christ was baptized. She said, Dont worry, I was baptized as a baby, along with all my children and grandchildren, but I have stopped going to the catholic chruch due to a lot of hipocritical leaders I have seen. 

We explained again what we meant by baptism, emphasizing the way Christ was baptized, by authority and immersion. She said, Do I need to be baptized again? If you tell me I need to, I will. I dont doubt anything you two tell me, i know you are sent from God. 

Leticia accepted the invitation to be baptized the 15th of august. It was a miracle. then on sunday, Leticia came to church with us, we explained that if she felt, she too could share her testimony and that today, was fast and testimony meeting. She gladly stood up, walked to the pulpit and shared with everyone how God answers prayers. It was absolutely Incredible. 

Also, Our family, 3 of the 4 have accepted a baptismal date for the 15th of august and the 14 year old is at FSY ( efy for mexico) right now for the whole week, the ward got him excited to go and he said, yeah why not, so he is currently being mormon brainwashed by a bunch of crazy efy conselors! haha but in a good spiritual brainwashing kind of way. We  are hoping he comes back excited for baptism. 

Our zone is doing awesome and we have 12 batpisms planned as a zone for the same night. Its going to be a noche blanca, a white night.  August 15, my companion and I are responsible for 6 of those. It should be a very special couple of weeks. A big problem right now for two of those investigators is quit smoking. Keep those fighting this terrible addiction in your prayers that they can have a testimony stronger than their addiction. 

I love you all, If you have any questions i will be here a tiny bit longer

Elder Jacob Wilson

pitajaya fruit. I dont know if it tastes good but I think this is what starbursts are made out of. 

my zone 

week 44

This week we had the incredible blessing of finding a family of 4 who are ready and prepared for the gospel. We found the momma on Tuesday, she said she felt a tranquility and peace as she spoke with us, we taught the family on Saturday, they all accepted the baptismal invitation, and They all four came to church on Sunday. This has been a miraculous gift from the Lord. Also, this week we found an old man that has been to church many times, but never got baptized, and a young man (13) who prayed to know if he should be baptized and got the clear answer. yes. We are hoping to have 8 people ready to be baptized on the 15th of august. If not all 8 at least 7 of them appear to be really really well prepared. My companion and I are really excited for all the blessings we have been recieving and the opportunity to teach all of these wonderful people. As a zone we have planned to have about 14 people getting baptized on the 15th of august, its going to be a Noche blanca in Valsequillo. It should be a great experience. But we have a lot of work to do to make sure all these people are ready to make the covenent of baptism. 

News: Next month, August, is the same month in which I will be coming home. I saw that My generation is scheduled to go home around august 29th. THATS CRAZY! it seems like the time is going by very quickly. The weeks and days are long, but the months are going by fast. 

Other news: we had a great week, and I dont really have any other knews. 

Thanks everybody for your emails, and Grandma Carol, thank you for the money you sent me a while back, I am using it tonight to buy dominos pizza. 

Love you all 

Elder Jacob Wilson

ps I have pics but I left my camera at home... sorry. next week

Sorry

Sorry everyone I had a baby and got way behind. By the end of the week this blog will be updated.

Week 43

My assignment as zone leader is exhausting, but its fun being able to go anywhere in the zone. This week we had two great investigators, Oscar and MariCarmen. They are both really excited and progressing well. I still dont know if Jazmin ever got baptized. I am hoping she did. If not, she will very soon. This week we had Interviews with President Stellmon, He is the best. I love that man. He is so funny, and he is always joking, but then he gets really spiritual and serious when its appropriate. I hope you guys can all meet him one day. He was talking to me about my goals, we need to have goodgoals, otherwise life is just a big tv and xbox and chips and soda, A lot of fun, but you dont really get anywhere and you dont get anything done. My goals now are to get my whole zone to have high, make-you-stretch-until-it-hurts kind of baptismal goals. We are in Mexico after all. People here are prepared and religiously minded. I am in one of the zones that is very easily satisfied. One baptism and yeah coke and tacos for everybody. but we need to get everyone excited and working and putting high, faith testing goals. My companion and I are trying to put the example. Our goal for right now is 5. Find teach and Baptize five people that the Lord has prepared for us. Also next month is the Mexico city temple open house, I cant imagine a better place for an investigator to feel the spirit, and then get baptized, and then Participate in the rededication in september. That is my personal goal. I want to have a family of converts that can participate in the rededication of the very building where they can be sealed together for eternity. That would be epic. It sounds like Emily is getting really close to having her baby, Cant wait for another picture avalanche on my email 😂 Baby henry is looking good, he looks alot like his super handsome uncle. I am regretting that I cut my hair because it is cold here. I wore a sweater this week. In mexico. In July. Its not cool. It has been raining every afternoon for about a week. Not much else, everything is going good and tomorrow I have to give a zone training with my companion and the Hermana Trainers in our zone. Should be a good first try. I love you all and have a great week! Elder Jacob Wilson Throw back monday... sorry everybody, I didnt take any new pictures except the one of the picture on my door. 😁

Week 42

I got sent back to the city!! My new companion is Elder Peñaloza from Tijuana and we are the zone leaders of Zona Valsequillo, the wealthiest zone in the mission. It is a huge change, the weather is a lot nicer here in puebla and it actually gets a little chilly at night. My sweaters are getting lots of use again along with my long sleeve shirts. My new house is super fancy compared to my last one and I have an oven so I will probably make cookies real soon again. I havent heard if Jazmin got baptized in Atencingo but she should have been baptized on Saturday. I have been really humbled and am really grateful for my new opportunity to serve but I am not a fan of the new schedule. I dont get to sleep quite as much and the other day we had a meeting that started at 6 am. I had to wake up at 4 to get showered and leave by 5 to get there on time. That sucked. But my zone is really great, and the Elders and Sisters here are working really hard and are really great. Also we have real american restaurants in my new area, burger king, carls jr. krispy kreem doughnuts, dominos pizza. Its almost like I am back home haha. But I have to be careful not to waste all my money because It goes really fast in the city. Last week I got a haircut in atencingo because it is hot there but here in the city I wish my hair was long again because now I am getting cold. In july. In mexico. This is ridiculous, I am going to die when I go back to Utah. 

All my friends are doing great in their missions, and Elder Scott still writes me to tell me he stil isnt married and next month he will be living in provo so find him and take him out to dinner in august.

My suit is getting abused now because I have to wear it alot more as zone leader so I might need to get a new one soon but there is a really fancy italian clothing store here so I am not worried and I will look super cute in a european cut suit. 

This week we had an investigator in church named daniela casanova and she is doing great. She said she really liked sacrament meeting but had to leave after and couldnt stay for the other hours (like one of my brothers I know..) But everything is great and I am feeling really happy and healthy and ready to serve the people of puebla. pic of my haircut in carls jr eating real american fast food. haha I ate a breakfast burrito.... and the view from my window

Love you all 

Elder Jacob Wilson

Week 41

Dear Family,

I found out last night that tomorrow I will recieve a change of area and companion. I dont know where or with whom, but I will let you all know next monday! I am excited for a new assignment, Elder Case and his future companion will do great and will take good care of this area and have lots of success. The baptism we had scheduled was changed to next saturday, all is well, she just had a family issue and asked to move the baptismal service to next week. I learned a great lesson this week. 

I was calling a sister in the ward to see if she would be able to accompany us to a lesson with an investigator and her 5 children, I accidentally called another sister in the ward with the same number who happens to be less active right now. I panicked and just put an appointment with her not knowing what to say to this less active sister. I was kind of dreading the lesson due to the family drama she had brought up in the last lesson and her husbands completley apathetic attitude. Also, I didnt want to be in a members house on a Sunday afternoon with so many investigators we could be teaching. But I decided to try not to be too pessimistic. This specific sister had been praying that the Lord would help her, but nothing had come. Until I accidentally called her, she decided that was the Lords answer to her prayer. We started talking with her and she explained her frustrations with her husband and how he didnt want to go to church and he wanted to drink and he wanted to enjoy his youth. She is only 20 and her husband is 17. Both converts to the church. The sister told us how her greatest desire is to go to the temple, but she cant because her husband is not worthy. She explained how she saw her older sister leave the temple after being sealed and her face was different. She asked her sister what was in there, what is it like? Her sister told her she couldnt say because it wouldnt be right, she needed to experience it for herself, she need to see for her self the beautiful temple. This sister with tears in her eyes explained how the only thing she wants in the world is to go inside and see all the beautiful lights and crystals and to recieve the blessings of the temple and be sealed to her daughter and husband. I told this sister, the Lord would provide a way. I then asked her Hermana, have you done absolutely everything you can to get your husband worthy to go to the temple? Is there anything else you can try? She told me yes, I then promised her, Hermana, if you do those things, if you can check off the last plans and go to the Lord and tell him you have done ALL THAT YOU CAN! He will make miracles happen so you can go into the temple with or without your husband. We cannot make him be righteous, but we can do our part, we can do all we can, and then only then, only after doing all you can, we Can ask the Lord to help us. I promised her she would go to the temple one day if she continued to be worthy in spite of those around her. She told me she would drag her husband as far as he would let her. She promised to do all she can. I hope you can all see the wonderful blessings of the temple, and the importance they have in the lives of saints everywhere. I hope you remember this sister and her determination to go just one time to see the beautiful lights and crystals of the temple so she can know what lies behind those sacred walls. What really was significant to me was the fact this woman lived in a two room house with her mother, brother, daughter father and husband. They all slept in one and had the kitchen in the other. Her house was full with all their Liahona magazines, and the humble home was just cinderblock with a tin roof. I imagined how absolutely amazed this sister would be to walk into the celestial room and to see how beautiful, clean, and incredibly well made the temples of God really are. A temple, at least for her, would truly be a heavenly refuge that her own home will never be. I hope you all can feel the importance of temples and make goals to go and dwell and work in the house of the Lord. I know you all are doing great. Are you doing ALL THAT YOU CAN to get to the house of the Lord? so that the lord can make miracles happen?

I love you all 

Elder Jacob Wilson

Week 40

Hey family, baby salchicho is cute. But he needs to open his eyes more or they are going to stay like that and I am going to have to give him a new nickname like happoness or cheeno. But megan and tyler rice, bien hecho. Esta bien bonito su nuevecito bebe. I hope everyone has had an awesome week. This week was one of the slowest hardest weeks I have had in Atencingo but still a really good one. We found our family of 5 after having lost them for a week, turns out they went to a mormon fathers day activity in another city nearby while vistiting family. They loved it and now want to get baptized even more. We also still have planned to baptize Jazmin the 4th of July. America!! Elder Case and I have had lots of success, we have about 15 investigators that could potentially progress to baptism, they just are having a hard time progressing. But I know that the work here is moving along well and that this branch will one day be its own stake. I just hope I can help that move along. The members here are great and they have been taking really good care to watch over Arlette and Miguel since their baptisms. Miguel gave a talk on faith on sunday haha he didnt know how to end it so he just said thats my talk, and thats all thanks. haha it was good so I just yelled amen and then the Branch president explained to him how to end a talk on the stage in front of everyone haha. But he did a great job. I drank alot of pepsi this week, just thought I would let you all know. next time you drink pepsi, I probably will be too. So just think of Atencingo and Jakeypoo every time you see the pepsi logo this week. Also, we had a really great new investigator named Alejandro, he says he wants to turn his life over to God and came to church with us on sunday. He has a bad foot and cant walk so we had to get him a ride and then carry him up the stairs to the Sacrament Meeting on the second story but he said he loved it and I think we have found another Golden Investigator. Heres some really beutiful pics and a sneak peek into the Atencingo mansion of the missionaries. 

Love you all

Elder Wilson

Week 39

Hey everybody, this week we got Jazmin to accept a fourth of July Bapismal date so the only thing I will need is red and blue shoes and I can celebrate our countries independence with all of you from the Baptismal faunt! Other than Jazmin we have two almost atheist Investigators who are actually very open and willing to pray, unlike most catholics, quite an interesting paradox. Any suggestions on how to help a single mother and a young man feel the that God exists?

I was super excited to hear this week that by thursday we will have a new member of the family. Be sure to tell him all about his best friend in Mexico. I will be his favorite as soon as he sees me haha 

This week it has been hot and a little bit slow as far as the progress of our investigators. Jazmin is becoming a golden investigator, she really has caught the Spirit of service and gives us so much food. I at Popusas this week at her house, this really good food from El Salvador with Pineapple chile vinegar on it. It was surprisingly a good combination. Also, I cant eat food now if it isnt spicy, spicy is essential for any flavor, anthing else just tastes so bland. There goes my american taste buds. I am really loving this area, Atencingo is just a really great place to find investigators because all the other churches here are really crazy, they charge you to get in, they treat their members really poorly, or they are just super corrupt and have crazy false traditions. 

 All the preachers drive new cars except us. I think that is why people like us. 

The big challenge of this week was not getting sick from all the times people gave us food. I ate way too much this week.&Also today I wore jeans, It is so weird to wear jeans after so long in dress pants, I absolutely hated it. Why are jeans supposedly so comfortable? They are so tight, and itchy and hot, Dress pants are better. 

I may sneak on here sometime on thursday to see my new nephew so send me pics as soon as you guys have them, I will just ask some member to look at you guys on facebook on their phone or have them go onto my email for me or something, I cant live with that surprise for 4 days. 

I love you all, the best hymn in spanish is number 50 and I cant write you all individually because I was eating homemade donuts and so I dont have much time. 

Try not to completely forget about me when the new baby is born and if I dont have emails from you guys next monday because of the bebecito I will go on a 6month email fast to punish you  Have a great week and enjoy your summer because I cant really go swimming and stuff. 

Love Elder Jacob Wilson

Week 38

Hey everybody, I have great news. Our family of 6 that came to church has 4 people who are on track for baptism and we have 2 others who are very close. The work here is going great, and the converts Miguel and Arlette have been coming to church and participating actively in the Young men and Young womens activities. Everything is going great here and the only complaint I could have is that the cockroaches here are insane. We have so many in our house. We kill about 5 to 10 a day. We havent had anything too exciting happen this week. Just a lot of lessons. We taught the family of 6 all the little kids love us and they are reading in the book of mormon and saying family prayers. They are going to be baptized this month I think, except for the little ones because we dont beleive in infant baptism but if I was a catholic missionary it would 6 baptisms for sure. They are named mama mari, and kids, laura 12, christofer 10, luis 9, victoria 4 and nigelli 3. They are actually a lot like our family, Laura is exactly like emily, just younger and mexican. and then christoffer and luis would be like megan and lindsie and nigelli and victoria would be me and tyler. They all live in one big bedroom with a bunkbed and a bunch of other beds all in one room and the kitchen and laundry in the other room. It is so much fun to teach them and they all love us. here is my comp and a pic of the roaches we have killed this week. Elder Cases family lives in kansas so if anyone goes to kansas they can go give them a visit. Love Elder Jacob Wilson
 

Week 37

Hey family, not much time, But this week was great. A family of six surprised us by showing up to church on sunday with a lot of good signs that they want to get baptized, we found some interesting new investigators. I am still in Atencingo, I dont know why mom thought I was leaving, I am still here, it is still hot but getting a lot better. We got caught in a crazy rain storm this week and got soaked, My new companion is from colorado and we get along great. He is quiet but at the same time he talks a lot, it is a weird combination but we get a long great. His name is Elder Reilly Case. and he wrestled in high school and worked as a welder on an oil field all summer. We are doing great. Still no news on Dulces parents, but the family of six looks super promising. The Lord is preparing the hearts. Also, this week Elder Fernandez took off for the Dominican Republic may his missionary soul RIP. Right now elder case and I have the goal of 15 baptisms in six weeks. One week down and we have about 7 people that look very promising. I love you and I promise a better email next week. Sorry no pics, we have a new rule and can only carry our cameras on Pdays and I didnt have time to take any. Love you all Elder Jacob Wilson

Week 36

This weekend was awesome, two baptisms and almost a third one. A visit from two more general authorities who speak with the powers of heaven, and two confirmations on sunday. Friday we were in Puebla to hear from Elder Craig c. Christensen accompanied by Elder Piper of the area presidency. Two Spiritual giants, they shared so many cool experiences and stories. Then We stayed the night in puebla so elder Fernandez could take an english certification test. Then on saturday we baptized Arlette, and on Sunday morning we baptized Miguel and then on sunday we confirmed them both. We had a third baptism scheduled for sunday afternoon but it was cancelled due to a revoked permission from an unhappy catholic father and a very intimidated mother of our investigator. She is a member in every sense of the word, but for now we will have to wait on her actual baptismal ordinance. Pray for Dulce and her parents so they can recieve the gospel in their homes! Other than that this week was full of bus rides, lessons, and also Interviews with President Stellmon, that man is like an ucle or a godfather, i am pretty sure there is some kind of family connection there. He is the best and he is from Idaho, there has to be a connection if we go back far enough. The Church is growing here in atencingo, all is going well and we have more baptisms coming soon. The best things that happened this week was after their baptisms the branch here threw a party for the new converts, two parties, two baptisms, all the youth were there and the new converts felt the love. It was a fantastic week full of great experiences. Love Elder Jacob Wilson

Week 35

Apparently the email I sent last week never arrived. I sent it again today. I dont know why it never came, according to my email you all received it last monday at 6. So its not my fault, blame the weather or obama or google or something. This week we have been preparing arlette and miguel and dulce for baptism. The three of them are ready and Miguel and Arlette already have a date. This saturday and sunday the 23rd and 24th. Dulce is having a small problem with getting permission from her extremely unkind and unnecessarily bitter father who is ´catholic´ but stopped attending five years ago. The catholics can be some of the worst people to deal with. first nephi chapter 14. Truth. Other than that we havent done much else. They are taking up most of our time, and the three of them are progressing well. Elder Fernandez is enjoying his last week of his mission and we are going to finish it strong and with success. It hasnt been quite as hot at night here thanks to the rainstorms. I literally took a shower in the rain the other night is was coming down so hard. It has been hot during the days, but the nights are cool and the rain is refreshing. I have been healthy and happy and doing well. Everybody keep being cute and talk to you next week.

week 34

Dear Family, this week was crazy, I got called on wednesday letting me know that Elder Fernandez would be my new companion, my companion was moved to nearby Izucar and Thursday I drove 3 hours in bus to Puebla to pick up Elder Fern just to turn around and come back. The following day we had a great lesson with a new investigator who is a friend of our other investigator, who is a reference from our ONe investigator with a baptismal date.(Dulce is a friend of Miguel who is a reference from Arlett who is getting baptized on the 23rd) We are hoping to baptize and confirm all three before Elder Fernandez leaves and then finish with a small tour of his old areas for his last Pday. It could be the most epic two weeks of my entire short life. It was awesome talking to you yesterday, try not to count down the days till christmas Also when we had the emergency change I was made district leader over our district of us and one other companionship in Huehuetlan. The other two in my district are possibly the lowest numbers in the mission. So it should be fun getting them up to a higher gear and having more success. My new Companion is from the Dominican Republic and will be heading home in two weeks, so we are going to finish his mission really really strong so he can go home and RIP. He sings like an angel, and we get along great. My old companion is still in my zone and I actually played basketball with him today. Sorry for not having much time today, Love you all and be good and read the scriptures and share the gospel with everyone.

Week 33

Hey family. I just wanted to let you all know I love you and that this week has not been super exciting so this one will be a bit brief. My new companion and I are working but when I got here, there was literally nothing, no investigators, no work to do, and almost no references for future Investigators. This has been alot like what happened when I started my mission. I am going to have to do a lot of set up work over the next little while. By that I mean we need some organization, some help from the branch and a whole lot of help from the Lord, and a large new pool of investigators. The good news this week is that the FreeMason who I was teaching with Elder Read is going to be baptized this Saturday and two more of the investigators I found with Elder Scott have a baptismal date for the 23rd. My son is reaping the fruits of our labors! The worst problem I have seen in this area is a lack of diligence on the part of the past missionaries. The area book ( all the records of who you have been teaching and their progress) have been absolutely forgotten for at least 6 months. It made me think, if I was the Lord, I wouldnt have given those missionaries any of my children to teach, if they arent going to take good care and take good records, I will wait for somebody else. I hope I can show the Lord He can trust us with all the best because if not, I dont think we are going to have much success here. I am feeling happy and healthy and also I feel optimistic for the future of this area, just not super happy about the present situation. Time for a good fix up. Love you all Elder WIlson

Week 32

This week has been a really good one. I have found so many members here that love missionaries. First off. Hermano ChaChaCha. He is a convert of about 15 years and has pictures with every missionary that has come to atencingo since his baptism. He is a great member missionary, always giving us new references to go visit and always says when people ask him Are you mormon? Me? No I am not Mormon, Mormon was a prophet hundreds of years ago, Im Eleazar, I am a member of the church of Jesus christ of Latter day saints. He has that kind of quick humor that always keeps you laughing. (the picture is Elder Juarez and I with him) I really love the members here, they all have such funny personalities. What I have seen here in Atencingo is there are two types of members, those that go to church, and those that used to go to church. It is about a 1 to 4 ratio of those who go verses those who dont. It is sad to see so many people stuggling to live the gospel after they have already promised to live it. A huge part of my success as a missionary I feel is going to be helping these people come back to the truth. In the book momma sent me, it talks alot about how when we tell people they need the church they dont want anything to do with you. But when we show them that the church needs them and also the Lord needs them to help build his kingdom. They feel a sense of responsablity, they come back and they do there part to build the kingdom of God on the earth. I hope to be able to find some success bringing back the rebellious lost sheep who decided they dont need the church. The thing is the branch here is small, they have a lot of callings that they just cant fill because they dont have active worthy members to fill them. So it is time to fill the empty seats, and bring em all back with a fiery testimony of the true church burning in them once again. I hope you all find time this week to visit some rebel from your ward, not to bring them to church necesarily, but to show that they are needed, loved, and most of all that they have a friend. The Church is true family. One more thing, Try and find at least 10 people that reject your offer to hear more about your church and have the missionaries visit them. If you complete your goal of finding 10 people who reject you, you are doing all the Lord asks of us. Which is to try, also somebody might surprise you with a yes and you wont be discouraged when you get the answer that you werent looking for. Reverse psychology. Love you all have a great week and the church is true. Elder Jacob Wilson
 

Week 31

Well, Alot has changed recently. They ripped me out of the paridise weather of Puebla and Sent me to the New Orleans of Mexico. Hot and Humid, with lots of cockroaches and bugs and various mexican spiders.  I heard mom is giving 25 dollars to whoever can guess, so congrats to whomever guessed close to Izucar. I am in a pueblito about 30 minutes outside of there named Atencingo. It is basically the equivolant of an Idaho farm town, but instead of sugar beats and potatoes it is all cane sugar and corn. By the way, cane sugar smells really weird so dont ever live next to a sugar factory or cane sugar farm.

 New game, my companion is from what state in mexico?

His name is Elder Juarez and he is 3 months away form finishing his mission. He is a great missionary who works hard as long as I give him a little push because after 21 months, apparently you start to have mental tiredness that is unmatched by any other experience in life. Elder Scott said the same thing.

We dont have a ton of investigators right now, but from what I have seen this week, we can really help this branch grow. The recent converts are golden (including the Branch President) and they all have a good missionary spirit. Our big problem here is there is a huge number of less active members almost 4 times as many less actives as active members. Mostly due to being offended, working on Sundays or just not having a testimony. We have a goal of finding and baptizing  at least four people and have a few prospectives. 

I really like my new area even though it is hot and huge and a ton of walking.

I havent heard about the people back in 16 de septiembre yet, I will let you know when I know. Hope everyone is doing good and have a great week.

Love

Elder Jacob Wilson

HE GOT BAPTIZED ON SATURDAY!

Elder Read with his new companion and the nice wonderful member who gave us the reference of Jose. His name is nisefero. Now, think of the nonmembers you know who could use a visit from the missionaries, then picture you and them in white on their baptism day, and send in the reference with a name and address to the church! Love you all, and remember that missionary work is a church wide effort, not just full time missionaries. 

Jacob helped teach this man and but was transferred to his 

new area Wednesday, the baptism was on Saturday. 

Fam Damily week 30

Dearest Family, 

This week.. wow. One of the best of my whole mission. We committed our investigator Jose to be baptized this saturday. I have changes and will be in a new area tomorrowwith a new companion but I am still so happy for Jose. I am hoping I can get permission to come back and watch the Baptism. Jose is about 50, looks kind of like a Mexican version of dad haha. He loves the gospel soo much and it has brought him so much peace and Joy. He is divorced and lives alone so he is hoping also to find a member he can marry. :)  He has not had a single problem or even a hiccup in living the gospel, the commandments, praying, reading, assisting church. He is one of the few people out here that we call golden investigator. He absolutely is the most prepared and ready investigator I have ever seen or heard of. 

Tomorrow I will be heading to the changes meeting, which means all the missionaries who have a change of assignment will go to a meeting and then we will be assigned our new area and new companion and then I am off to a new part of my service in Mexico. I am going to miss this ward, they are great, the members here love the gospel so much and do a lot to share it with everyone. Most of all I will miss visiting Jose and Alejandra. They are going to be in my heart and my prayers I think for the rest of my life. I can personally testify that sharing the gospel with somebody who accepts and lives it builds a relationship that is as special as any I have had. This gospel is real. 

Next week I will be writing from a new area, with a new companion and a new chapter in this story. 

Have a wonderful week all of you and remember that missionary work is the greatest of all the works ever. 

Found a cool Joseph smith quote today. 

When you feel pure intelligence flowing into you, it may give you sudden strokes of ideas.

The spirit is real, it inspires the hearts and minds of men to valiantly do the will of God. So go find a spritual corner this week and let the inspiration flow. 

Elder Jacob Wilson

Week 29

Hey family, Happy Easter, sorry its late. 

I hope you all had a wonderful week. I sure did. 

This last week we had 5 investigators that went to conference. 3 of which havent been to church since we first taught them in december. They loved it and loved the chapel and everything about the conference. We will be teaching them again tonight. They have been a huge test of my patience since we started teaching them but always progressed little by little and now They are finally taking steps towards baptism and conversion and I am so happy for them. 

The Man Leo, he always says, these two books they support each other, they ought to be the same book as he holds up his book of mormon and his santa biblia. He is getting a testimony of the book and the gospel and it is going to be so cool when he finally gets baptized. 

Another investigator Jose is absolutley in love witht he church. He is so happy to meet with us and to come to church and has a baptismal date for the 25th of april. He is going to be such a good convert. He said when we sat in the chapel, somebody put there hand on his back to just greet him and say HI. He told me when they tapped his shoulder he felt like it was family that was reaching out to him. He had never met the man in his life, but felt a very familiar family connection with him. 

The conference was great, we all watched it together in a little room with candy and soda and stuff and we watched it in english with all the norteamericanos in the zone. 

It was a good time. 

Not much else happened this week. The weather has been great: not to hot and sunny all day and nice and cool at night. 

The hardest strggle of the week is that my keyboard doesnt have a fnctioning U key. so that scks. but hey I cant complain too mch.

I love you all. happy easter

have a wonderful week. 

Love Elder Wilson

Week 28

This week was super boring. Sorry family. Just happens sometimes. We had some really good lessons with our new investigator Jose though. He is so ready for baptism and already accepted the invitation to be baptized and was such a sad lonely guy when we first found him. This week we asked him to pray for the strength to share the gospel with his kids and grand kids. He said he really wants to, but he doesnt think they would accept it. But either way he is reading the book of mormon and absolutely loves it. He was telling me about nephi and laman and lemuel and how Lamana and lemuel keep screwing up but nephi is just so good and strong all the time. He really was getting so much from that book. 

The book of mormon is such a powerful book. I can see the way it is changing Joses life every time we see him he is happier and smiling more. I know that book is from God. 

This week I wrote out a list of all the things I was working on. As a missionary you have investigators and a whole bunch of personal side projects. For example my list included the following- finish the book of mormon in spanish, also the new testament in spanish, try to write in my  journal every night without fail, try to study the atonement everyday, etc. Little goals and stuff to help me be a better missionary. I wrote all my little side projects down and the list was huge. I decided to label why I was doing all of them, for what purpose. Almost every single one was to have the spirit more, and teach more with Him. I have always thought that is something I sometimes lack in lessons. So... help little brother out. 

How can I have the spirit more in my lessons, and thus become a more pursuasive and more powerful teacher and missionary? 

I hope you all enjoy conference this weekend as much as I am going to. To celebrate this wonderful season of conference, I cut my hair, bought a whole lot of tacos, candy and soda and now I am writing the best family in the world. 

What are you guys´ plans for conference? 

Hope you all have a great week. 

Love Elder Jacob Wilson

Week 27

FAMILY!!!

this week has been a good one. We had an investigator in church ( the mason ) and he loved it. and is coming back next week. Also we found some great new investigators and made a lot of good progress with the ones we have. Elder Read and I are having a blast and everything in Puebla is fantastic. Today it was pretty hot, I am scared for the summer. It is going to be a looooong hot summer and I do not like being hot but I guess that is just going to be the way it is. Our apartment has 3 fans in it and one is usually on all night long. Also, today it felt really humid, also not something I am going to like. 

I have been reading lately in our heritage and about Joseph Smith. That man was somthing incredible. He really did give everything to the church, to the Lord and to building the Kingdom of God. I love reading about him. I am really excited for the upcoming conference. We are going all out, treats, food, soda, It is going to be a missionary christmas, and I cant wait to hear from the servants of the Lord. I hope you all remember that when we bring questions to conference, the lord brings answers. I tried that in the last conference, and it was answered by the second speaker. So bring questions and doubts and concerns and really have an open heart and listen. 

Right now our two favorite investigators are Alejandras mom, Raul the shoe salesman with nine fingers, and Jesus the Free mason. It is so much fun to see them progress and have experiences and to be actively taking a part in their path to salvation. I feel like these people are so close to the truth and I want so badly for them to just realize how important all this is. but the lord has taught me to be patient and I have seen how he slowly brings people to the gospel. In the war of souls, the Lord is definitely bringing people in, but he does it in a very personal way, one lost sheep at a time. I love that about the gospel, that we all come to the truth at our own time and at our own pace and it is a very personal journey. And he sends us missionaries to help speed things along. I have met people here that I have really connected with and will be a part of my life forever, and I am thankful to the Lord for giving me the opportunity. 

Best experience of the week, twice we had our investigators comment on how we bring this spirit and presence into their house. The spirit is what is converting these people. So I challenge you all to try to bring the spirit into the home of someone you know, or better, invite them into your own home so they can feel the spirit in yours. I know the spirit is real, he testifies of the truth and helps us all to understand. 

Have a wonderful week and show everyone how much you love them,

Elder Jacob Wilson

Week 26

Hey everybody. 

This week has been super long and not a ton of news. We have been struggling to find our investigators but we got to confirm Alejandra in church on sunday which was really cool. Mostly its my turn to ask questions. haha

What is going on back home lately? anything cool or new?

Why have I not heard much about the two new babies we are going to have in our family this summer?

Can someone please send me some more music, remember anything with motab or a hymn instrumental. I would greatly appreciate that. 

Today, I went and bought a Sams club membership, it only cost me about 100 pesos because I opened it with my companion. So now the options for food are endless. We bought a huge bag of pancakes, 12 big muffins, bread and nutella. It is going to be a good week. 

And also we went and ate carne asada with the bishopric for our pday. It has been a pretty awesome day. I hope you all liked the picture in the rain. The rain here is beautiful and I love when it rains at night. The house is so much cooler now because the its starting to heat up here in puebla. So the rainy days are a nice break from the sun.

My companion and I have been doing really good, no news on any investigators just yet, but everyone is progressing slowly to the waters of baptism. I hope you all can feel my love all the way from Puebla Mexico. Keep sharing the góspel.

My favorite thing I learned this week, is that I am not trying to convert myself into a missionary so I can serve for two years more and retire. There is a much higher calling than Elder, and that is something we can all attain. I am working towards becoming a disciple of Christ. A missionary is a short term  calling. But Disciple of Christ is for the eternities. Remember who you promised to represent when you were baptized. Mosiah 18 8-9

Witnesses at all times

in all things and in all places. That means always!!

Love you all, have a great week.

Elder Jacob Wilson

Week 25

We finally got our first Baptism! She is one of the most prepared investigators I have ever met. She was reading and praying before we even met her. Her father is a great example for her and teaches her well, he is less active and working on getting married so his wife can get baptized too. Then next year they hope to get sealed in the temple. So this is only one of the family and others should be getting baptized soon. 

This week went by really really fast. We had three days in a row where we taught Alejandra so she would be ready for her baptismal Interview. The interview was saturday and the baptism was on sunday. It was an awesome little service. 

I have been healthy happy and doing great. 

We bought a kilo of tacos al pastor a Puebla specialty to celebrate the baptism (we bought it on saturday) and I got a package this week too! I don't know which though, I haven't gone to pick it up from the zone leaders yet. 

We have been having a blast. This week has been the week of the masons. The free masons. If you dont know what that is, go watch national treasure.

We have two in our ward, one is the ward mission leader and the other is a good friend of ours. The ward mission leader here grew up in Texas and speaks english his name is sergio church. His dad was from Philadelphia and his mom is poblana. He is a mason and loves dropping secrets to us about masonry. The crazy thing is he was recently rebaptized after being away from the church for a long time. So he has never been inside an LDS temple (yet) but he always talks about all the symbols in masonry and they are so similar. He says the only difference between masons and mormons is the priesthood, which is why he is a member of the church. He understands the masons are lacking in that area. 

Also there is this former missionary named Zeus that is a mason. He took us to meet one of his friends who is now one of our investigators named Jesus and also a mason. There are a lot of masons here

The ward mission leader came with us to the lesson with Jesus and as you can imagine it was a match made in heaven (or inside a mason temple) they got along like best friends. 

He asked us to give him five days to read the book of mormon, pray about it and write down his questions. He said he reads fast and will have the whole book done by next monday. So I am Super Excited to go back and teach him again. He was such a sincere old man, just looking from some further knowledge to help him get closer to God. One thing that really caught his attention was that our church leaders are married. He doesn't like that the fact that catholic priests, the pope etc. all spend there lives alone. He thinks it would be much better to be married and they should be equals. He honestly is such a perfect fit for the church. I cant wait to teach him again. 

Week 24

Well, we had an incredible baptismal service this week. It was 12 people commiting to follow christ and be clean from the sins of the world all in one night. The Sister missionaries in our ward are absolutely killing it right now. they had a family of six all baptized and confirmed the following sunday (yesterday) I was terrified to do the confirmation in church, but my companion did one too, and his spanish is way worse than mine so that helped me calm down. But the best experience was this old man we baptized from another ward, deaf, hobbles around with a cane and could not by any means get baptized the normal way. soo we got creative. 

we walked him into the font with his cane and with a chair. He sat down in the chair for the prayer and then it was the fun part. He was so old he couldn't really do anything but sit there and hold his breath. We took the chair out from under him, dunked him, he threw his hand in the air... didn't count. Then we changed positions. We had four elders in the font with this old guy, I got leg duty, push his legs down under the water, easy enough. My companion was holding him under his shoulders and on his knee. Anyways the other three are holding him in their arms, hes just laying back like he is in a lazy boy recliner. Then they count down from 3, 2, 1, and I look in this old mans face and he was so peaceful I gave him a thumbs up and asked him, Everything Ok? he just smiled and laughed a little and closed his eyes. Soooo peaceful and calm. and the four of us all pushed him under the water at the same time and baptized him. The bishop gave us the thumbs up, BAPTIZED  as He came out of the water still peaceful and happy he thanked us all and we helped him to his feet and gave him his cane and he hobbled out of the baptismal font. It was the coolest baptism I have ever seen in my life. 

The rest of this week was pretty boring. We are worried about our investigator that is supposed to be baptized this saturday, her mom is still not married, so she probably wont get baptized with her. But her dad ( a member) still wants to baptize her, and she is ready. The only problem is that we don't know if mom is going to join her daughter in the font on saturday. 

I have been really doing awesome lately, my comp is my best friend, again, and the lord is blessing me a ton. 

I know this is the work of the Lord. It is so good to be here and just give Him all I got. I highly recommend it to anyone and everyone that wants to have an incredible spiritual experience and forget the world for a couple years. it is a blast. 

Week 23

Well everybody, I had a great week, and I got really sick yesterday, so it was good and bad. But mostly good.

The best part was a great lesson we had with our golden investigators family, and our new family of almost golden investigators. These two lessons we brought with us the angel Hermana Ernastina, she was so perfect for these families. She testified with so much power and showed so much love for these strangers who she had never met. She taught flawlessly, on a whim, just as an answer to a question of our investigator, she then proceeded to back up what she was saying scripturally, with her own testimony and with so much spiritual power. She has a daughter on the mission right now in honduras, and she was telling this investigator that she has never been happier, her daughter is serving the lord and she knows it is the truth, then she asked me for my family picture that I always have in my bible. She showed the picture of me and my family to this investigator and asked them. Do you think this young man could ever leave such a beautiful family for two years, not seeing them or calling them if he didnt know that this was the true church of Jesus Christ?

 It was so powerful and convincing. The truth is, I did leave a lot, you guys are incredible. The best family anyone could ask for Not to mention the comforts of home, my friends, music, movies and all the other things missoinaries give up., but that is the beauty of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  We never give up more than we recieve, so I knew if I left the best family in the world, somehow the Lord would match that blessing and give me more than I had before.

Also this week, it has started to get hot. I am sweating in this little internet cafe and I dont know how I will survive the summer. Nobody here has air conditioning. It is going to be rough.

Other good things from this week, I had interviews this week with President Stellmon and Sister Stellmon

I love president stellmon so much, he told me, well, you have had it good your whole life,

yes president thats right

so I want you to be like the rich man and go the savior and ask him, what do I still lack

and when he tells you give something up, it is going to be something hard, something you really love, something you would never think he would want you to give up, but if you do it, you will be a better person.

So heres to giving up what the lord asks you to and never looking back. Sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven everybody. 

I love you all

Until next week

Elder WIlson

 ( i think Matthew 19 is the story of the young rich man if not, go find it and read it)

pics

digging a giant hole for a member

and just for fun

sorry this computer sucks so the pics wont upload, just picture me in a giant hole I dug with my hands, and a bunch of rabbits. thats all until next week love you all

Fam Damily Week 22

Hey everybody, I got to baptize the Sister missionaries' Investigator this week, She is a basketball player six two, and she is the girlfriend of a member here who is a pro basketball player. But her name is Astrid Berenice Sanchez Curmina and she chose me to baptize her because one day we were at her boyfriends house eating and she said I had a noble spirit... so yeah. I'm noble. just thought you all should know haha  

Then this week we had an awesome lesson with our golden investigators Elizabeth and Alejandra, their Baptismal date was changed to the first week of march but they came to church and that was awesome. Also we have one investigator Leopoldo who is living the word of wisdom and trying to quit smoking and he is doing so good. already gone down from 11 smokes a day to 4 and by week 3 he told us he will quit completely. He is progressing really well and reading the book of mormon and told us he thinks Joseph Smith is a prophet of God so that is all good with me. This week my companion got to speak in church too so that was way cool, only 4 weeks and he is speaking in church, I really felt like a proud papa. He is the best and we are such good friends. 

Also the last 4 weeks we have been digging a hole for a member in the ward. Hermano gabriel. He loves missionaries because he says we are the only people who have always loved him and had patience with him. The hole when it is finished will be 1.5 meters wide, 4.5 meters long and 1.5 meters deep. If you don't know how much 1 meter is, about 3 feet. so yeah, it is a huge hole. I will send a pic when it is finished. But this week instead of digging it we moved his three cactus he had out of the way because that was where he wants the hole. We are only about one third of the way done after about 8 hours worth of digging. It's hard but pretty fun too. Like everything in the mission. Hard, but fun. 

I speak pretty decent spanish now, my goal is to be able to tell people I am argentine and have them beleive me. I think by the one year mark, I will speak well enough to do it. thats my goal at least. 

Not a whole lot of super exciting stuff this week, sorry, just not the most exciting week ever. 

Fam Damily weeeeeeeeek 21? I think?

So now that I have a big chunk of my mission behind me I feel pretty old wise and experienced. Haha just kidding I am still about the same.  But most importantly I am feeling like I got this, it is a good feeling, to know that you know what to do, and how to do it. I am not as tired when the alarm goes off at 630 in the morning, or at 4 in the afternoon after eating a big lunch. I am more focused and more in sync with the missionary schedule, rules, and work. I can feel myself becoming what the Lord wants me to be. It is a good feeling. I invite you all to try something me and my companion decided to try as a recommendation from some missionaries in our district. In the attitude of fasting and prayer, make a list of all the things you think the lord wants you to change, and really pray to know what his will is for you in your life. Write them all down somewhere where you will review it daily, morning and night. Then make a promise to the Lord that you will behind all the bad things and start doing all the good. Fast from those bad things for 40 days, and Don't let a single day go by without looking at your list and adding new revelations from the Lord and reviewing your progress. You will fail in some things, and will need to pray for strength every day but the lord will make up the difference if you do your best. You can be a more capable tool in his hands, you just need to show him you are willing to do his will, and he will use you to further His work. 

This week we had an awesome experience with our investigadora's husband Frank (not his real name). He has a good vision for his family, and that vision is a family dressed in white in the temple. It turns out he has had a really hard time with his wife lately, he was praying to know what to do. He was about to leave his wife and daughter for good when He saw us in the street one night while driving his taxi. He stopped and talked to us, asked us to teach his wife and daughter the gospel. Then he said that night he prayed to know if he should stay with her even though she had done some very offensive things and hurt him very deeply. The spirit told him, quedaste con su familia. ella no entiende mal y bien, y ella le necesita para entender el evangelio. si quedara, valdria la pena. le ama a ella, no salga

Stay with your wife and daughter, she doesn't understand good and evil, and she needs you to help her understand the gospel, and if you stay, it will all be worth it. You love her. don't leave. 

He took that as his answer and has worked so hard to help his family accept the gospel. and he is fighting the adversary every day for his eternal family. He understands perfectly that this is a war, a war with a great prize. Eternal families. The lesson I learned from Frank is this: 

FIGHT FOR YOUR ETERNAL FAMILY!

Also I want to tell you about Miguel Angel, he is a member that helps us a ton. He spends every night in his humble little home praying that his neighbors will accept the gospel, and accept the missionaries, he has literally shared it with everyone in his whole colonia, (neighborhood) including the local christian pastor who seems very interested in the church (and has about 70 in his congregation ) But the part about him I love the most is he showed me the little mat he has next to his bed where he neals to pray every night, he told me I don't know how many times I have sat hear pleading with the Lord to give me the opportunity to share the gospel with my neighbors and I don't know how many tears I have cried when they just won't accept it. But he keeps working, keeps sharing and keeps living the gospel. Every morning he works in the streets to smooth them out  (theyre dirt roads) in his Mormon service vest trying to talk with anyone who goes past. 

He is an example to me of the importance of Sharing the Gospel. It is everything. 

SHARE IT!!!

I love you all and miss you all.  

My companion and I are doing great, even though we are having a lot of trouble finding new investigators right now, but all is well and we are having a lot of fun

mucho amor

Elder Wilson

Week 20

Well the mission is only 102 weeks. I have just realized I am about one fifth of the way through. Wow. Two years is not a long time. 

Cool experience this week about eternal families. We have two investigators with baptismal date, our plan was to teach about the plan of salvation and then put the goal of: getting sealed as a family in the temple next year,  in the next visit. ( the hermano is a member, knows all about that stuff, his wife and daughter are investigadoras) anyways we taught the first half of the plan of salvation and the next appointment we were going to put that goal of getting sealed in the temple. and at the end of our lesson, the hermano was like. 

Guys I want to say something, I really want to take my family to the temple and get sealed, and I want you guys to help me, so don´t leave us, I know we have a long way to go, but I know my family belongs in the church. BOOM! SPIRITUAL EXPLOSION

It was so powerful, we put the goal right there, will you guys work towards being an eternal family and do all that it takes to reach that goal? They accepted

Other than that family, this week has been slow and not a lot of people have been home. But the golden family is still working towards their baptismal goal. So all is good. 

Overall, I feel this week that that the Lord is just pushing us to our very limits. He wants to know how much he can trust each one of us, and he will work with us according to our obedience and willingness to do what he asks. Make him proud and do your very best this week. 

Blessings are always greater than sacrifices. 

I hope you are all doing great, I miss you and I love you and I know that the Lord has a lot in store for us if we obey and do our best. 

Elder Wilson