Down and Out... For Now...

Hola Todos!

So no one is going to believe the week I have had. Its kind of a joke almost.... you know some thing that would come out of a move or some thing like that... the truth is... as a result of all the things that happened this week I am living with members in Chitre... my companion is in Santiago with a mini missionary... and I might need surgery in my ankle...

Before anyone freaks out I want you all to breath and just listen to what happend... si? Perfecto... vamos pues..

So we went in on Wednesday to get my cast taken off.. two doctors looked at the X Ray... confirmed that the ligaments were pulled and told me to rest for five days in bed before going out to work like normal again.. then they referred us to the orthapeda (I cannot remember how to say it in English... lo siento!). They took off the cast and all I could think was how embarresed I was about my leg... my first instinct was to step off the table and start walking.. it was really comical when the two doctors there and Hna Gaete (my companion for the day... she is from Costa Rica and speaks perfect English and perfect Spanish) all said... no!... at the same time. 

At that point the doctor decided to look at my X ray from three weeks ago... and told us that the bones in my ankle are completely separated... he sent us out of the room to consult with two other specialists and when he called us back in he explained  to us that he wanted to do surgery.. basicaly he wante dto go in an put in a pin that would unite the bones together the way they should be.. it would be like a fifteen minute surgery with a five week recovery minimum... so he told us to come back the next day to talk about specifics and we left calling everyone from the mission president to our Zone Leaders to expalin what was happening...

We went back the next morning and he told us he wanted to schedule the surgery fro the following day...¿que rapido verdad? so we said okay but that we needed to get the surgery approved with the doctor of the mission and my mission president... well at 8 o clock that night President Carmack called me and told me that he did not want me gonig through with the surgery... that next morning we went back to let the doctor know and we learned that there was some kind of protest and so we could not do it anyway.. God works in mysterious ways... 

So they decided to take another X Ray at which point they found that the bones were a little closer together... not the way they should be but a little bit so they gave me a brace... with orders to the not touch my foot to the ground and an appoitment for Thusday... 

So you guys are getting  really watered down version but basically my options at the moment are four weeks of intense physical therapy without surgery... or surgery with a minimum of a five week recovery... I am living with wonderful members and doing my best to stay focused on the things of the mission.. Hna. Chavez is helping a lot... she calls me a lot and tells me what happening in my last area to make me feel like in some way I am still apart of this work...

I know that God gives us trials for a reason... I know that there are things I have to learn about myself and even more things that I have to learn about Him through this experience... I hope that through this trial I can know my Savior better... that I can truly to understand the man aquinted with grief... I know that there is a light at the end of all of this... and I am doing my best to keep my focus on the Lord...

I love you all so much... I will let you know next week what is happening... likely I will be in Panama with a different family but only time will tell... the Church is true... God loves us and he sends us trials because He loves... always remember that... keep on keepin on... never forget who you are. 

Con Amor, 

Hna. Wilson

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Though Our Time I Through, I Leave My Heart With You

Hola Todos!

Okay so for those of you who do not know I was transfered to a new area with a new companion and God has taught me really quickly what my purpose here is. I was transfered to the province called Chitre, more specifically Santiago. It is a huge area... my companion told me that it is going to split with this next transfer... my companions name is Hna Cuyan... she is also from Guatemala and was a nurse before her mission so she is taking good care of me as far as my foot is concerned....

The title has to do with the fact that I miss Hna Chavez like crazy... its like I said goodbye to my family all over again and each time she calls me to let me know about the fruits she is know seeing from our work together I want nothing more then to be with her... I love her so much... it doesnt help that she put a bunch of little hearts with messages in a lot of my things and I keep finding them... I know that one day we will be together again and that right now we have a work to do for the Lord but that doesnt lessen the pain of missing her so much....

Anyway, as I said I am now in Santiago.... and God is doing a very good job and helping me find my purpose here. First I have to admit that everywhere we go I feel I been there before... especially yesterday when we went and had dinner with the Padilla Family.... its weird but I know that it is God telling me that there is where He needs me right now...

One of the other reasons that I am needed here is my companion... she had a really really hard transfer before I came... it is almost exactly what I experienced with my first companion and so I am basically doing what Hna Chavez had to do with me.. pick up the pieces and show her that she is a good missionary and help her understand that the mission really is the best 18 months of your life.... she told me a lot of things that I said to Hna Chavez our first few days together... I am just hoping that I can be every thing that she and the Lord need me to do be to finish her training and prepare to at some point train a new missionary...

My other purpose here is the new gringa that is being trained here in the area... Hna Hanson.. she lives just next store to us with her trainer... who does not speak any English and Hna. Hanson does not speak any Spanish... yesterday the poor girl was crying in the Gospel Principals class because she could not understand any thing so I called her over to sit with me and i did my best to translate for her.. which mentally killed after three meetings but it helped me know that I am where God needs me.

Okay so I am dying to share this spriritual experience that Hna Cuyan and I had this past Friday... It was with an investigator named Michael Delgado... he has been taking lessons from the missionaries for almost two years.... we taught him about the word of wisdom and he accepted it and talked about ways he could change his behavior to obey the commandment... we then started talking to him about his baptisimal date which was scheduled for this week... he told us that he did not know what baptism was so we read scriptures and talked about it as a covenant we make with God... he told us that he was a man of little faith and that he done so many things in his life for which he felt truly horrible... we talked to him about examples of faith in the scriptures and testified that he could leave that all behind him by preparing to be baptized and follow the example of jesus Christ... he said he would accept the 5th of October as his baptisimal date if he recieved an answer that the Church was true... so we started talking to him about coming to Church on Sunday.. he told us that he was worried to leave his family for three hours to come to church.. we testified that nothing would happen while he was at Church because God would watch over his home and his family... at this point both my companion and Michael were crying... I think the only reason I wasnt is because someone had to keep a level head in the lesson.. the Spirit was so strong though.... it has been a long time since I have felt the Spirit like that...

We decided to ask to have the closing prayer and we invited Michael to do it.. asking him to open his heart to God about the things we had talked about... we all got down on our knees and he started to pray... he said a beautiful prayer about God helping him to open his mind and his heart to the truth... he asked for God to give him some kind of sign that this was the path he should take and I was praying with all my heart that Heavenly Father would answer His prayer in that moment.... Michael ended the prayer and we all just knelt there and watched him start to cry alll over again...

We sat back down and asked him what he felt.... he told us he did not know... his grandma who is a member and was there with us asked him also and finally he told us that he did not feel bad. He said that he had never felt like that when he was praying before.. we asked him what exactly he was talking about.... he told us that as he was praying he felt a man next to him but when he opened his eyese there was no one there... we testified to him that was his answers and he nodded his head.. again we asked him if he would be baptized on October 5th and if he would come to Church that Sunday... he told us that he would... we had to leave because itw as almost 9:30 and the good news is that he did come to Church yesterday... the only investigator that came to Church yesterday.... the Spirit was so strong in Michaels house that we did not want to leave... I am very confident and have a lot of faith that we will see his baptism on the 5th of October...

Another thing to start thinking about is General Conference... its coming up on the 5th of October and I encourage all of you to start thinking about questions that you want God to answer... or that you would ask the Savior if you were talking with Him face to face.... I can testify from experience that those questions will be answered... I hope that wil help you get more out of General Conference...

I love you all so much... I know this church is true and that this is the work of the Lord... I know that God gives us trials because He loves us and he wants us to grow... never stop looking to Him... I wanted to share with you guys that last photo that Hna Chavez and I took together.. also the photo with our new companions... I love you all so much.. until next week. Siempre Fuertes!

All My Love, 

Hna. Wilson

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Too Good To Last Forever...

Hola Todos!

Okay so this week was definitely a trial of patience and faith... in total we had six lessons because all of our attempts to work with members pretty muc h failed. Hna. Chavez ended up going to work in another area and i went and stayed with some members which was weird because it felt more like being on vacation then being on a mission. One of the daughters had an air conditioned room and so that was heaven for a few hours... 

I took the opportunity to help one of the girls with her English homework and also shared some scriptures and a message with the whole family... my opportunties to teach are now fewa nd few between... I try to make the most of them when they come... 

That opportunity to teach that family was a small miracle for me... though I did not have a companion... which was realy weird... my favorirte thing to do is to teach families and everyone participated and was attentive... I am grateful to my Father in Heaven for the beautiful opportunity...

Another little miracle that we had was when we had to go out and buy dinner on Saturday night... when we got to the 99 every one and their brother was there... we saw like three members when we were just walking in... it turned out to be a blessing though because a member of our stake let us cut in front of him to buy our things and another member drove us home in their taxi for free... I feel like God is really looking out for us in a lot of ways... 

An update on my foot... well... it was doing great until we had to go to the city on Friday which is about two hours away... it entails a lot of walking and when we got home that night there was not a single taxi to take us where we needed to go so we ended up having to walk then also... about a fifteen minute walk over sidewalks that were not realy sidewalks.... so my foot was about double the normal size and hurt like crazy... really my only desire was to cut the cast off so my foot could swell to its heart content.... it has not been the same since... basically the thing is if I do not have it elevated for more than ten minutes it swells and become black and blue because the blood cant circulate passed my swollen ankle to my toes... some times i wonder if the cast if helping at all... 

To talk about some thing a little happier.... the multi zone conference that we had with elder Ochoa was beauitful... my favorite talk was by Hna Carmack, our mission presidents wife... she talked about the account of Peter walking on the water to Christ in Matthew 14.... she focused on the Saviors simple admonition to come... that when we recieved our mission calls the Savior said to us... Come to Panama... and just as Peter had the faith to leave the boat and walk to Christ we had the faith to leave every thing we knew and held dear to come to Panama.... I was thinking about this the other day as I struggled to sleep because of the pain in my foot... maybe right now I cannot even walk to my Savior literally speaking.... but my soul.... and my heart... hunger for the love the quiet assurance that in this moment of difficulty... in this trial... especially since I discovered that God needs me elsewhere with a new companion starting this Wednesday.... in the midst of all these trials I know that I can find peace in the one that is always calling me to come... 

So we have cambios... transfers... and it is hard for me I am seeking my Savior and trying to enjoy these last few days with Hna Chavez... I am so grateful for the time that I have had with her... it feels like I am saying goodbye to a family member but she will always hold a special place in my heart as my sister and my friend... I love her so much... but now it is some elses turn to have the privilege of loving and knowing her...

I know that some times change is hard... but I know that God knows what He is doing... there is some thing He needs me to do in some other area with so other companion... though I am sad to leave Hna Chavez I am not afraid for what is going to happen because I know my Savior is with me always... one of my favorite scriptures is Isaiah 41:10 which reads... fear thou not, for I am with thee, be not afraid for I am thy God... I will strengthen thee... yea I will help thee... yea I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.. 

I believe those words of the Lord with my whole heart... at the moment things are hard but they can only get better... of this I know... until next week... I love you all so much... thank you for al your prayers and your love...

All My Love, 

Hna Wilson

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Five Men, Two Baptisms, and a Cast

Hola Familia y Amigos!

Okay so I learned a word this week that I never thought I would have the necessity to learn in my mission.. that word is yeso... translation... cast. Don´t worry theres a story behind it...

So unknown until now to all of you is that as of Wednesday I have fallen and twisted my ankle five times since being in the mission... I promise I know how to walk... for some reason my ankles just are not very strong and the roads really are not roads in some parts of my area so the two together make for a disaster waiting to happen. Anyway... after I fell the third time I followed the orders from the nurse here in the mission to buy an ankle brace... well Tuesday I made the mistake of not using it... and I fell as we were hurrying to catch a bus to take us to the city and the temple. The next day my ankle was really bugging me but I put on the brace and we headed out to work... we were leaving the first appoitment of the day when without warning it just gave out and twisted... and I knew in that moment that some thing in my ankle was horribly wrong and that I would not be walking the rst of the day.

Some guy appeared out of now where and helped me hop over to a place I could sit down then called his two friends to take us back to our house in a taxi. When we got there we looked at my ankle... it was about three times the size it should be and fiarly black and blue. We called the nurse and she told me to go get an X ray. So off we went... unfortunatley we had to walk a good ten to fifteen minutes before we found a taxi. We met up with Hermana Zone leaders and as we were walking... well hopping is a better word... a guy appeared out of now where and asked if we were LDS.... since we all lhad our name tags it was a werid question but we said yes and he told us that he was too. Almost without asking he picked me up and carried... Hna Chavez almost died laughing and I was not sure what to think... lets just say it was some thing I never thought would happen in my mission...

So we got to the clinic and they took one lookat my ankle and sent me to the hospital in Colon... which is about an hour away... the stake presdient here was kind enough to drive us so that we did not have to take a taxi... there at the hospital they took an X ray and sent me back to the clinic where they looked at the X ray... told me that they thought I fractured some thing and ordered me to go to a foot specialist in the morning...

So Thursday morning super early our zone leaders... elders and hermanas... showed up the house to help... the elders gave me a blessing and then carried me out to a taxi... we waited at the doctors for two hours before we got in... there he told me that nothing was broken but that my ligaments were basically ruined at the moment... he ordered a cast for three weeks... telling me that I could not put any weight on it and sent me on my way. The lady that was doing the cast told us that the cast was extremely expensive.. we asked her how much and she told us $80... I did not have $80 to pay for it... the next thing she tells us is that she is not going to charge us.... she told us not to tell anyone and I am praying that God blesses her profusely for that. 

The Elders of Colon then showed up and went with us to buy crutches... both taking turns carrying me to and from taxis... when I got the crutches it was the moment when it really hit me that my mission experience was going to be rather different for the next three weeks... 

Honestly I am not going to lie and say that last few days have been easy because they have been any thing but that... I have been blessed with the burning desire to study my scriptures and so to some degree that is keeping me sane... God has blessed us though... 

For example, on Saturday I was going crazy.... we had the baptism of Marlee and Gabriella at 4:30 but at 3:00 it just felt like eons aways. I told Hna Chavez that I was dying for some juice and she told me that we could get some after the baptisimal service. Suddenly there was a knock at our door and there stood Hna. Ochoa, a member that had come to visit me. She sat and talked with us for a minute and suddenly she reaches into her purse and pulls out a bottle of juice... I wanted to cry.... it was so little but in that moment it was a such a big tender mercy for me.... we sang a hymn and shared a scripture with her and she told us that when she entered the house she could feel the Spirit reallyl strong and that she was grateful for the Spirit that we had when we taught her. God really is merdciful... I know that there is some thing I am supposed to learn from this small trial and while I am still trying to figure out exacty what that is I have an angel for a companion and tons of people around me that are supporting me and ready to help me with any thing that I need. 

The pictures attached are fromt eh baptism of Marlee and Gabriella.. it was so beautiful... they were so ready... we were just privileged enough to be the missionaries that had the privilege of being apart of this special moment... they were confirmed yesterday and I felt that joy that can only come from knowing that you were instrument in the hands of the Lord to bring a soul unto Him. 

This Sunday Valentine also came to Church.. he did not get baptized this past week because there were problems with his family... he was upset and di not want to get baptized when he felt like that... so we are hoping that we will have the privilege of seeing him baptized this week... I will keep you all posted on that...

Thats pretty much all I have to share with you guys right now... members here are going out of there way to help... one of the members brought lunch to church yesterday for us because its hard from Hna Chavez to go out and buy food for us because she cant leave me alone and she cant be alone. 

Regardless of all that is happening there is no one else I woudl rather experience this with then Hna Chavez. She truly is an angel and it helps me that I love her like my own sister and she feels the same for me.... its hard to watch her leave with other people to go work but I know that God has a purpose for every thing and all I can do is be patient and watch Him work... I love you all so much.... dont be worried about me.. the Creator of worlds has me securely in His loving hands. Until next week... we should know about cambios by then too... I will let you know... 

All My Love, 

Hna Wilson

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Salvation Depends on the Individual, Exaltation Depends on the Family

Buenas Tardes Todos!

Okay so I am writing late because today is a weird day... we are going to the temple tomorrow and so technically tomorrow is our PDay but we are writing our families today because... I really dont know why.. so I will sned this to you guys and then head to work... well first head to lunch and then to work... but you get the point.. I am excited for the chance to go to the temple... the sessions are in Spanish in case any of you were wondering... bueno... on to what happened this week.. 

It was a week of service projects really... our stake had a health and wellness fair so we spent a lot of time doing that... we also had an actividad de rescate... I have no idea how to say it in English but all the missionaries in the zone came to our area and we had lists of the less active memebers and we had members that went with the missionaries to find the people on the lists... Hna Chavez and I ended up having to split up because we had so many members and that made me a little said but we were able to find a lot of people and it was nice to work with the members so closely... 

Sunday was definitely our day of miracles.. we had an assistencia of 130 people in sacrament meeting with six investigators... Hna Chavez and I had to sit separately with different investigators.. five of the investigators have baptisimal dates.. three for this weekend and two for the 14th.. 

I have to tell you guys how two of the fechas for this weekend came about... their names are Marlen, who is 20 and Gabriella who is 8 almost 9... we were heading to try and contact Fransisco Dixon again when we sat a minute to think if that was what we really wanted to do... out of no where Hna Chavez pulls out the cell phone and calls someone.. by the name of Josephina and asks her if we can come visit her... she lives in the limit of our area.. almost in the area of the elders so it was a good twenty minutes from where we were but we headed out there.. Josephina is a member and her daughter and grandaughter are not... when we got there Marlen, the daughter, met us at the door and basically asked us when she could be baptized.. 

We sat down with them and learned that the other Hnas in our ward had visited them twice which baffled us a little bit but they told us they were frustrated because they had only come one week.. put a baptisimal date and never come back... so we talked to them about the 7th of September... they have already come to church four or five times and so all we have to do is teach them some things that the need to know before their baptism and they are good.. they have a testimony of the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith... I have never met people so prepared for the Gospel... Hemanita Gabriella loves to pray so much... our first lesson with them she offered the opening prayer and when we told her she could choose someone for the closing prayer she chose herself... I am so excited to see them enter the waters of baptisms and make covenants with the Lord... 

The Walter Family also came to Sacarmaent... after the Sacrament but it was the first time we have seen them in the first hour of church ever so it was a big step.. fifteen minutes earliar and they would have been there for the Sacrament.. there are some complications there though.. we are going to work with them a lot this week.. our goal for the baptisms of Alberto and Rafael is the 14th but its possible that Simon might need more time to get things worked out... we will see...

Valentine is doing well.. he came to church this week also but only stayed for the first meeting... Hna Chavez and I are praying a lot to know if he is really ready to be baptized this week or not.. we will visit him tomorrow to walk about the interview and I am sure we wil know then what to do with the help of the Spirit of course...

Another little miracle that we had was to see Hno Jesus at Church with a white shirt and tie... its just so amazing to see the changes he has made in his life.. we are still working with him and he is not quiet ready for the priesthood but we will continue to work with him and I am grateful that God led us to him....

Thats pretty much all for the week... the time is flying way to fast and there are just not enough hours in the day to do every thing that we need to do... cambios are 18 de Sept. and we are dreading it... but I am so grateful that God guided me to one of my eternal friends.. I love her so much and every day I love her more.. I just want to end with my testimony.. I know this work is true.. the title of the email is some thing that a sister said in sacrament meeting this week... there are things that we need to do to return to live with our Heavenly Father but He does not want us to come back alone... I am so grateful for the opportunidy God has given to come to share the Gospel with the people and especially the families here in Panama... there is nothing else I would rather be doing.. I have never felt so happy.. I know with all my heart that this is what God needs me to do right now... I love you all... so so much... I miss you... I pray that you can all see the hand of the Lord in your lives because He is there.. seek Him always.

All My Love, 

Hna Wilson

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