Waiting for my new companion

The studio looks pretty nice.  These days I've been with Elder Paucari in my sector since Friday, and the page says my new companion is Matthew D. Largent, I assume he's a gringo!! my first!!  He's going to show up tomorrow around noon, and then we´ll get to work.  

 It was weird this week leading everything and being in charge. My companion is coming to be district leader, I don't know how much time he has but I think he has a little bit left.

It's always good to see a missionary come home and leave like Jonah and Grant.  My companion is going to see Grant in Lima when he gets off the plane!!!

We went to lunch this week with the family we baptized, it was very good, and the husband called from the mine in Chalhuahuacha to say goodbye.  This week I also gave a talk in church , they asked for 15 minutes, I gave them 20+ talking about Alma the younger and repenting.!!

Have not received any package or nothing for a while now, it's probably serpost (mail here).  My companion was in Cuzco and said I didn't have anything waiting.  I'll have more info next week about my companion.

So in good news my Spanish is pretty good now, I don't have communication problems and people compliment me on my Spanish.  A person asked me how old I was when a learned Spanish, I said 18, he was like how old are you now and I replied 19 he was like wow and where? Puerto Maldonado I said. Wow again.    I met my new companion in Cuzco once he seems like a cool guy, We are gonna go play pool today for Pday!!!

Love,

Elder Wilde

Zone Conference in the Incan Ruins

hey mom sorry I cant write too much today because I got your email right at the end of my time !!! sorry that sounds real fun in Cameron Park and tell Jonah hi from me.   I'm doing good here. Next Monday I'll tell you who my new companion is!!!

When I was in the ruins and in the Combi ride I realized holy crap I'm living in the freakin Andes!!!  It's so cool here and there's ruins everywhere and I'm learning more quechuan too. 

I go to the internet at 10 am my time and I'm there to 11 am, so it would be good to coordinate that.

My companion is Elder Valdivia from Mendoza Argentina and he finishes his mission next week!!!! super trunky

This week was interesting, Monday and Tuesday were Independence Day so nobody talked to us, and on Wednesday we went to Andahualyas for a multi zone conference with President Harbertson. We had the conference in the Incan ruins 'Sondor.'   We played capture the flag at the top of the big hill it was super fun, Hermana Harbertson almost pushed me off a terrace!!!  It was the first ruins I've been to in the mission, and won't be the last for sure. haha  

Yesterday my companion went to Cuzco to go to Macchu Pichu, with some other missionaries who are finishing their mission.  I'm in another sector Intimpas with a temporary companion also from Argentina Elder Paucari. Yesterday we had some good success teaching and the highlight was our last lesson. So my companion has 4 months in the mission so I'm the senior companion, and we went to the appointment and he said we were gonna teach Lesson 2 "Plan of Salvation". I didn't feel that is the situation and then the dad who is an admitted drunk invited his other drunk friend over cause he said he needed help in his life. We started talking and my companion said lesson 1 the "Restoration" but I felt "Word of Wisdom", I knew it would be difficult but I knew that's what they needed, For a moment I didn't know what to do but I was like I'm scared to teach this but it's what they need. It went very well and I challenged them to decide then to stop drinking. We have a follow up cita (appointment)  Wednesday. I'm gonna be in Intimpas until Thursday and then Elder Paucari is coming to Patibamba Sunday until our new companions come. It's gonna be an interesting week. 

Love

Elder Wilde

A Wedding and a Baptism

Wow you guys are back from camping already?! In like a week I'll have one year with my call!!!

It's good the blue sub(urban) is still living and now with air conditioning, that would have been cool when I drove it.  haha!

I haven't gotten anything yet (packages), but the zone leaders are coming back from Cuzco right now, so they might have stuff for me, I went to Cuzco Thursday but I couldn't get to the offices :(  

We had a conference with Elder Uceda in Cuzco. He had all these plans to do but he was like the spirit is telling me to change my message. He talked us for 4 hours about repentance. He did it without any notes, he was using greek and hebrew words to shows the history of repentance. and burned the Latinos for not learning English. he said its for fear and embarrasment. then he called us all to repentance, and just talked about that and obedience!! Inicuos habiamos sido (We had been wicked).   it was super cool in Cuzco.  

Elder Uceda told us his mission story and of the church in Peru. When he served in Peru there was one mission and there was about 6 Latinos serving in the whole country. There were two branches (small congregations) in Cuzco, one in Puno and one in Juliaca. He was called Branch President in Puno with the order to shut it down if it didn't improve. He got attendance from 6 to 120 and now there's two stakes there!!!!  all the missionaries were just shocked he's such a cool guy!!!  when he came to Abancay I talked to him in English and found out that two of his kids served in CA!!   

When  went to papa johns in Cuzco I ate pizza and got sick after because my stomach wasn't used to American food. first time since December.

 I went to a mall to eat with my friends from Puerto and when I walked into the mall I felt like I was in the states.   look it up its called Real Plaza!  

We went to the wedding almost all day Saturday, it was cool, and Sunday before Sacrament Meeting we baptized him, then he went and got confirmed normal. and his son Jamil received the Aaronic Priesthood!!!  

More good news, in Cuzco I heard from the Elders in my last sector (from Puerto)  that the family I started teaching there is getting baptized this week, shows how the work pays off in the long run, 

Now we got to get working because we don't have anyone else close, I'm doing good and my spanish is getting better too!!

 we had an light week lots of lost time in travel, and this week were going to Andahuaylas for a Multi Zone Conference, the ugliest bus trip in the mission. just look at the highway from Abancay to there.

 Love,

Elder Wilde

An Unusual "P Day", the Missionary's Day Off

okay quick recap.

I'm writing late because we just got down from a mountain we were up there all day.  We got lost for some hours, but we made it back to Abancay!!!   I'm fine just sunburned and very tired. We got up to 4000 Meters in the hike but we still didn't get to the objective .. search in google earth El Nevado De Ampay, Abancay, Apurimic, Peru.  that's where we were. 

                                                              That's a lake we got too.

Sorry I have no time it's late here. Everything is going good. the papers are all ready for the wedding and it's going to be really good. 

For my birthday I bought ice cream and ate it with my companion in the room.

Elder Wilde

Happy Birthday!!

So the big news is Elida and Javier are planning to get married the 24th of July!!!!!! with his baptism the 25th!!!!!!  We're all super happy here to complete this family. We found out that Elder Uceda (Member of the First Quorum of the Seventy) is coming to Cuzco the 24th of July to talk to all the missionaries. So we don't know if we'll have to reschedule or what. We just hope it'll work out good.  

Another thing we did was a service project, we went to the chacra (farm) of the 73 year old guy in the branch to help him out because its terrace farming!!! real steep and easy to fall as an 18 year old. I learned how to irrigate like an Incan!!! We dug drainage ditches in the hillside, it was crazy cool. Sorry no pictures I didn't bring my camera there :(  and at the end he said he had a reference for us. We went and contacted it with him yesterday, and it was great. The guy said he was busy cause he's cooking, the 73 year old brother said 'papy yo sé cocinar te ayudo papito' and he was trying so hard to get in the door it was so funny. He said us men are good for our word, and your a man and said we could pass by this time.  and in the end he  was like 'soy viejo y esta haciendo un calor terrible, y estoy sudando papito, podemos pasar un ratitio (something like "I'm old and it's hot and I am sweating")?  The guy was kind of a jerk and just kept saying no so we left. But this old guy was way more bold than us, we learned a little from him!!!

Oh and a missionary from the branch left for the mission and there was a farewell, they passed a microphone around to say stuff, there, and so me and my comp went up together said some cliche missionary jokes then said we had to go eat dinner now.

another thing we taught family history yesterday at church and Grampie doesn't show up related to me. Something got unconnected when he passed I think.

thanks for the birthday wishes, it's weird I'll be 19 in a couple days. I'm probably not gonna have a party because here they throw an egg on your head for every year you have... so translation I haven't told anyone. I´ll buy myself something good on Saturday!!¡¡

about shoes how is that progressing??.  don't send inserts unless you already bought them, I decided I don't really need new ones. but for my 2nd year I'll need new ones. 

This week we started teaching a guy alver the restoration, he accepted it all, but he went to work in Andahualyas for a week, so we're going to pick up when he gets back. He's pareja is less active along with her family. 

So this week we were looking for a reference from another branch Las Intimpas, and it wasn't going good because the address was 'the corner by the bus terminal' but we were walking and someone yelled 'Elders!!!' we turned around and this lady was running towards us she is a member from Piura in the north by Ecuador, and is living here in Abancay. Her boyfriend doesn't like the church and doesn't want her to go, but was out working in the mines this day, she told us she saw us from her apartment window walking and ran out to find us, she said she prayed that morning to find the missionaries. I think we talked to her about 45 minutes, about advice and counseling pretty much. She said she'd come to Church with him  and she did and they stayed the whole time!!!  He is pretty closed minded but we've got an appointment Tuesday with them.  And then after we talked in the street we gave up on searching for the reference, and we started to walk up a street then found the guy!! Were gonna start to teach him this week!!

 It's starting to go better in the sector now, my companion  has 4 more weeks left in the mission. so I'll be onto my 4th companion soonish.

Love

Elder Wilde

The Exodus...Moving Day

I  don't have much time but here I go,

This week we had the exodus we moved all our stuff from our old house to the new one.  We called the zone and they didn't approve a moving truck. We were walking and I saw a truck so I went up and made a contract of 15 soles  ($4.75 US) to move us!!!!!  It took 2 ish hours saving 6 with the truck!!! we called it the truck from Heaven!! haha

We moved apartments because President Harbertson came with the assistants to every apartment in the mission and in the end we were told to look for a new apartment. I was so happy,  where we live now is 1,000 times better.  That's a pic when we were getting ready to move, the floor was like a old sailing ship. I think the Balclutha's deck is more level. and it had lots of other interesting aspects to it also.

Last night we fixed our hot shower and I showered with hot water today!!!!!  we've been having bad luck 'fixed' it like 3 times, but just bound the contacts together in the end! its nice not to get a headache from showering now  

This week my companion went to Cuzco for a meeting of District Leaders and he got a cell phone!! That's progress for Cuzco, they say in a year or so all companionships might have one too. 

We are working hard with the new family that we are teaching. We taught the Plan of Salvation Sunday and it went real well. They are probably going to get married in 2 weeks when he comes back if all goes well.

The baptism on the 4th went very well. Jamil and his sister Amelid were baptized and Sunday confirmed. I performed the ordinance for Jamil it was perfect no mess ups!! the service was nice lots of support, we are working with the father It's just a question of his work schedule at this point basically.  With the baptism it was an awesome fourth of July.

In testimony meeting Sunday a bunch of people bore their testimonies in Quechua and it was coolish, but I understood nothing. I can only greet people and super basic stuff. They always try to mess with gringos by speaking Quechua in the streets and then I surprise them with ' allianchu wayki' (the best translation we could find online is "make your meadow better" so who knows what it means) then they laugh and talk in Spanish.

I'm writing later than normal because we went to lunch with the family that we are teaching at a park place. We played volleyball and soccer after a big lunch!!

  

I didn't end up traveling to Cuzco but I helped load up the truck to go to Cuzco, I was in the rain for the first time since I left Puerto this week, but I still haven't sweat since I got on the plane in Puerto. that's in all seriousness.

The belt is nice but not adjustable it has holes. look for missionary belts its some company in Utah that sells them , and send pictures to confirm selection   

I got to run to District Meeting now.

Love,

Elder Wilde

Adios to the Sandbergs

I'm doing well here. The teaching has gotten a little better but not too much. Wow that all sounds good about Jason and the water and stuff, and about the family history. We cant be saved without them and vice versa.  D & C 128.

 The older couple the Sandbergs finish their mission tomorrow and live in LA. I asked if it would be fine for you to go meet them and they said it would be great!! Before you go to LA next; shoot an email to them and say your Elder Wilde's dad.  They're the best!!  He said to tell you he worked to build the Arco Towers in LA. You probably get that.  Very interesting I was reading a Liahona from the 90s the other day and I read something from President Hinckley that said we (the Church) won't get involved in politics, unless there is something about our core moral beliefs, then we would. foreshadowing prop 8 and now.

We're sending all the Sandberg's stuff to Cuzco in a truck and they need 2 elders to go with it.  I may get a vacation soon!!!   A little bit ago the assistants came and inspected our apartment.  We were told to start looking for a new one!!!!!1 YES!!! we move Wednesday!!!!   President Uchtdorf's charla (fireside) was very cool he spoke a little less than an hour.

Peru plays in the semi finals of the Copa America today. So glad I'll be in a District Meeting; not getting rejected by everybody.

This week we had a baptism of Hermano César. He just moved to our branch so Elder Sandberg came and baptized him (he taught him).   It was a very good service. 

This week we also had some lessons with a familia and we went over the baptism interview, and Jamil wants me to baptize him Saturday!!!!!!!  The parent's are working on their marriage papers and when the dad comes back next week we hope they'll get married and the next day the other baptism. So since the Sandbergs were leaving there was a bunch of farewell parties for them this week, in one they sang a hymn in Quechua.

For the closing hymn of the President Uchtdorf fireside the hymn was sung in Quechua by the choir. we're so going to be in conference now!!!! 

He {President Uchtdorf) talked about the descent into Cuzco, and how beautiful and unique it is, That's a pic from one of my descents to Cuzco. it's just crazy landing in the clouds!!!!!

We went to a baptism of another branch to help out and after I was out on the court eating food, and I told this kid to stop messing around, and then he ran up and punched me in the private parts!!!!!! Honest reaction I kicked him over. He was with a group of street kids messing up the chapel. In the end he punched Hermana Sandberg and others, so we removed them from the premises. It reminded me of chasing the goats!!!

Other than that a good week!

Elder WIlde