Men Are That They Might Have Joy

Hola A Todos!

I was kind of waiting to write this to see if I could let you know what was happening with transfers but we still do not know so we will just have to wait and be patient.. but the moment I know i  will let you guys know... transfers are being done a little diferently now and we are just waiting for President Carmack to tell us.

As for the week while we did not work that much because of my companions knee we did have a couple of miracles that I wanted to share with you.

first we recieved a phone call that a member had found a place for one of our investigators to live. She lives with her señor but she cant get baptized because he doesnt wnat to get married and all she wants to do is get baptized. So we recieved a call Tuesday nightr that if she wanted, someone had found a place fo rher to live. We are looking for an opporutnity to talk with our investigator about the possiblity o moving there. If she does she will be able to get baptized which is what she wants more than any thing.

One of our recent converets also introduced us to her friend Lea... who is defintely going to get baptized this coming transfers.. she just has to recognize that she wants to because she already knows that its all true.. and she needs to come to church... but I have high hopes for her. Please pray for her. She is reading the book of Mormon and every thing.. I trhink she is just afraid to take the step...

We had a huge family home evening... going away party for my companion on Friday with some less activesw... it was one of the biggest family home evenings I have had my whole mission and there were tons of non members.... we are hoping that a coule of new investigators wil come out of it but if nothing else we planted the seeds...

On Friday we went and visited an older lady that just got out of the hospital... while we were there she told us that she wanted to go lay down so we helped her to her room. It was sad because she is so old and frail and as we helped her she stopped and started crying saying she felt like she was going to fall. We tried our best to reassure her that she was not going to fal...that we had a firm hold on her an d that she jujst had to keep walking. We finally got her to bed and sang her hymn to help calm her down and she fell asleep while we sang. But as we left tha thouse it got me to thinking.. how often are we walking through life... and God is leading us and suddenly we let the fear over take us and we dont want to keep going because we are afraid we are going to fall. We need to remember to trust our Savior and Redeemer Jesus Christ... .because He will never let us fall...we  just have to trust and be believing....

I had a lot of time to study this week and I finished readint he Jesus The Christ and have gone back to my goal of finishing the Bible before I come.... we wil see how that goes...

Anyway, thats al I have for you guys today.... I love you all so much and will tlak to you next week...

Con Amor,

Hna. Wilson

I Believe In Miracles

Hola Todos!

This has been an interesting week because my companions knee has been worse... to the point that this week we are going to rest every other day and work in between.... so basically Tuesday Thursday and Saturday are going to be working day and WEdnesday Friday and Sunday are going to be resting days... we will see what happens... but I am already almost done with Jesus The Christ and plan to read the other books in the MIssion Library this week.... I plan to learn a lot. 

My poor companion has been really frustrated but its okay... we are still seeing tons of miracles. For example, on Tuesday a ten year old girl told the other missionaries in our branch that she wants to get baptized so we went and visited her and her family yesterday and and will talk with them tomorrow about what date would be better for her baptism.

We also talked with a twelve year old girl a week ago who told us that she wants to get baptized but has been really hard to find her at home. So we are hoping that one of these days this week will be able to find her.

Samuel has kind of gone off the radar... we have called him a lot but he always says that he is working and cannot meet with us so we wil see what happens with him this week.. prayers that we can meet with him... he has only needs one more lesson and the baptisimal interview so we will pray a lot and see what happens.

This was short agai.... sorry... you guys might be interested to know that I went to my first funeral this week. A less active sister died this week that my companion and I were visiting.. she had a condition in which her lungs were expanding and her heart was shrinking... I guess it was very painful and so I am sure it was a relief for her.... the service was beautiful.. the two leaders who spoke at the funeral both emphasized that death is not the end.. but the beginning of our progression... and we understand and find peace in the Plan that God has revealed to us.

Its moments like these in which I just love the Gospel so much. I know thats its true and I love being a missionary. Until next week!

Love, 

Hna. Wilson

Just A Big Miracle

Hola Todos!

So this email is going to be short! Sorry! It just that this week we really focused on teaching Jiame and getting him ready for his baptism so there was not much else that happened aprt from yesterday when we got caught in a torrential downpour and even with an umbrella we got soaked. I hope my new tennis shoes can hold out for the next five months. I think with prayers  they will be okay

I already sent the picture but this weekend was the baptism of Jiame. It was such a beautiful service. The president of the branch cried because it is one of his good friends and he never imagined that he would find his way into the church. Jiame always told us that the last thing he would be in his life was Mormon and it just makes everyone laugh. He is super excited to learn about the temple. The branch will be going in July and we are going to help him prepare to go with his family even though they cant do more then baptisms. 

As for Samuel. We could not get ahold of him this week for hi work and so we moved the date for his baptism to the 24th and will hopefully be able to get in touch with him this week. He only needs one more lesson and the baptisimal interview so we are fighting for those last two things with him.

That was pretty much our week. This week all over Central America is what you would call Family week... and every night we have to be in the hcurch because there are going to be activities for the family... and they are supposed to bring their non member friends... we are praying that it actually happens and we will be picking up a lot of new investigators this week. 

I love you all so mch and I know this is such a short email so I just wanted ot end it with my testimony that I love my Savior so much. He is my Best Friend and I know that He is always there for each and every one of us. If you for some reason have felt Him far away, look for the things you can do to feel Him near. Often times when we feel God is not there... its not because He-s left... its because we are not looking for Him. 

Anwyay, I know this church is true. I know that this is God works and I feel privilege to be an instrument in His hands as imperfect and faulted as I am. I love you all so much. Until next week. 

Hna. Wilson

Like Bread From Heaven

Hola Todos!

I dont know where everyone is this morning but thats okay... I hope this email finds you all well and happy. It had been an interesting week because yesterday were the elections here in Panama and so yesterday we had to be in the house at 2 which meant that we really didnt do any thing apart from do our weekly planning and made posters for the church where we can put pictures of the weekly English class and group night.

Apart from that this week was really weird.... not wierd but it rained every day and because it rained every day all of the members that were going to work with us suddenly couldnt and so our hopes of having a lot of lessons with members kind of went out the window pretty early on in the week.

Yet just as God sustained the children of Israel with mana from heaven in the moment that we needed it most God gave us a miracle that we had never imagined.

First came when Samuel... a guy who is good friends with a member and has been coming to church for two months now.... accepted to be baptized this Saturday. It was a big miracle because up to this point he had always put excuses as to why he could not get baptized or said that he wanted more time and when we talked to him on Tuesday he said that he wanted to be baptized.

The other miracle is some thing  that I think I will remember the rest of my life. On Sunday we had scheduled to do a family home evening the home an inactive member that wsa doing every thing she could to come back to church. Her husband, is not a member. On Wednesday night we recieved a phone call from our branch president saying that her husband and said that he wanted to be baptized. WE told him that we were planning to have a family hom eevening with them the following evening and our branch president said he would be there.

So on Thursday night we showed up and as we introduced ourselves Jiame (hi-me) told us that he was happy that he had made the choice to be baptized in the church. He said for a long time he had been looking for the truth in places that he was never going to find it. The family cried as they expressed their joy that Jiame was finally going to be baptized... after seven years of prayers and trials and efforts... Jiame was going to be united with his familiy.... 

The following day we met with Jiame and his wife one on one to teach him the Restoration because he has none of the lessons and he accepted to be baptized this Saturday so we are going to be teaching him like crazy this week so he can be ready... 

Anyway... it was one of the fastest lessons I have ever taught in my whole mission because he had read and basically explained to us what we needed to teach and so at the end of the lesson I asked him what had motivated him to decide to take this decision to be baptized... 

So he told us that for seven years he had been attending different churches... he fought with his family often about doctrine and things like that... almost crying he said he was the reason that his family did not go to the temple after a year of being baptized... he said that when he quit going to church he still fought against the Mormons as he put it. He thought up questions and looked for scriptures in the Bible to show that we were wrong. He said once he got in an open argument with one of the leaders of the church who had come to their home to do a family home evening with his wife and family. 

Then one day he decided to go to an institute class with his wife... as a gift for Valentines Day... he went and said he really felt nothing... and then he decided to go one Sunday to church with his wife... and he was was struck by the invitation to read the Book of Mormon... and all this time he said he was praying to know what to do... for some kind of direction in his life... a dreamm some thing that would help him to know what to do... 

Then he told us that almost two weeks ago he had a dream. He said in his dream he saw a couple walking through a small city.... and they were trying to get somewhere but he did not know where they were trying to get to.. The couple came up on a park and there stood an old lady. The man asked the old woman where they should go while the wife insisted that they should take a certain way that was narrower and looked more dangerous than all the other ways they could take. The husband compalined that they could take a bus another way... or a car another... but the wife insisted that they take this narrow way... 

So they did....

And they walked the way and there ferocious animals and obastacles the whole way,... and the whole way the husband complained... saying that she could not possibly know that this was the right way. Then they reached a hill.. where the path ended and the wife started to go up the hill.. saying she was sure that it was that way... and the husband complained.. saying that he was going to ask a man that was working at the bottom of the hill... and when the husband turned to ask  Jiame said he heard his own voice saying... Stop compalining... stop trying to keep your wife and taking the path... she knows the way... follow her.. your wife knows the way...

He said with that he woke up... and it struck him so hard that he got down on his knees and began to pray... and as he prayed her heard his own voice in his dream saying.... she knows the way... sheknows the way... and he knew... that his wife knew the way... that she had always known the way... 

He told us that he had always said he would never be Mormon because of doctrinal issues that he just could not accept.... but God had changed his heart... God had worked a mighty change in him. He said he knew that God needed him in His church and that he was ready to do whatever it took to be baptized and to help in the Lords kingdom...

So like mana from heaven Jiame and Samuel are going to get baptized this week. Pray for them please... that they can understand what we taeach and that we can find time to teach them so that they can take that step this weekend. 

I love this work so much. It is such a blessing to witness on a daily basis how God has the power to change hearts and lives. I love you all so very very much and I hope that you are well and happy. 

All My Love, 

Hna. Wilson