Studying the Book of Mormon

It's crazy to think it's Thanksgiving this week.   hmmm sooo for my package, could you send me another usb drive, just like the same deal. cause.... someone stole mine. Could you send lots more conference music, and Mormon messages. It good to invite the missionaries over to eat, we don't even have a pension (person who makes meals) right now. but I only have to put up 2 more weeks. ahaha 

Wow Sawyer sounds so big right now I can't wait to see him next Christmas, and you guys!! Next week we are having a dinner with President Harbertson and I'm going to have 1 year in the mission.  I'm gonna burn a shirt Wednesday night. The work is going very good in Patibamba, We try to have a member or 2 with us everyday, when we visit people, and it is really working, my district is really working hard. We're focusing on finding people, and teaching them, like lots of people. In the first 3 weeks of this change we've taught 64 lessons to investigators. We taught the family of a convert Alvaro, he is getting ready to go on the a mission, so his family is more interested. We are going to talk with them during the week,  they're a very nice family.  

We also have another investigator Barclay with a baptismal date for December 26 , we found him, he prayed that day and felt he received an answer and said he would get baptized he believes in the Church. We are very excited for him and Jensen. They're probably going to get baptized after I leave, But I'll know I put in my part to help. 

Well I decided to discuss the Book of Mormon in District Meeting today.  All last week I  was studying and preparing. I've come to have a greater appreciation for the Book of Mormon, and I've read it  and studied it every day since December, and I know that it is true, and that was reinforced to me this week when I studied and testified to the people I taught.     

I'm doing good here in Patibamba. I am going to work till the end, of the change. I was reading the Liahona, and I read an article from a stateside missionary, who was in her sector for 4 months and really wanted a change and I laughed for a long time cause I'm in my 5th transfer (about 7 months), 4 months is nothing.  I'm kind of going crazy here though.  My companion says I talk in my sleep now, in English and Spanish, I was teaching someone the other night ahaha!!   I know my sector super good, like every little street that exists.  

Have a good Thanksgiving and send me pictures of all the food!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Love,

Elder Wilde

Parable of the Sower

Yes we have a baptism coming up  for December 5th for Jensen, he's very animated. He came to Church Sunday and he told everyone about his date, he was very happy at the church.  He is progressing very well.  

We had another part member family come to Church. They really liked my talk I gave about the Parable of the Sower, and I applied it to the Branch.  Everyone at Church is like " hey you've been here a while right" they joke saying I'm going to buy land and live here now!!! haha  The dad is not a member and his wife is less active but is  coming back .  We went and taught them after Church, we taught the restoration but emphasized apostasy so that he understood, the need for a restoration, it was very good. We read Moroni 10:4-5  he said he'll pray and that if he  feels an answer he will be baptized, a lot of progress, with him in weeks, they are not married so they'll have to do that also, but the wife will help alot with that.

Wow everything at home sounds pretty  fun.  We're having a Mission Night Saturday, I'll send pictures next week.

                                  It was raining in the valley next door so I took a cool picture

It's good to give service; we always look for chances to do that.  I gave a talk about the Sower in Matthew 13, it's one of my favorite parables, because Jesus explains it right after!!!!  He usually didn't do that, I spoke to the Branch, about the 4 types of seeds, and how we should be seed #4, that fell in good earth and gave fruit. It's very interesting.  I would recommend, and also the talk by Elder Oaks from April 2015.  It was a hit with the folks here. like 20 minutes almost. 

I was meeting with my converts and they told me about the (Paris) attack it sounded crazy, I hope they take appropriate actions to counteract  it in the future.  Very sad stuff

In the mission I've become an amateur electrician. haha,  For the electric showers, I'm going to install a new one in the room today I'll send a picture of the install, I use the wire splicing and other stuff I learned working at the Porters, and stuff  I've  picked here, like using lots of Teflon to replace broken seals!!!

I hope everything is fine, I'm good here even though last week I started to hit a wall in Patibamba (too much time) but I got over that. 

Love,


Elder Wilde

All good here in Patibamba

Here in Patibamba we don't have a pension (meals included with room) anymore soooo we eat in restaurants or have Top Ramen in the room now.... its kinda fun!!!   

My companion is a computer guy from Lima, he's a pretty funny guy. He made money for his mission by playing video games!!!He was also in my sector in Puerto Maldonado and baptized that family I found!!! It's been real nice to talk about all the people we know and how me and my mission dad made the foundation for some good branch growth.  When I left it had 80-90 attendance now it has 130!!!!!!!!  I'm excited for that, Puerto really wants to be a Stake soon.

This week we are gonna work hard on finding new investigators and President Harbertson told us the best way is through less actives. I'm going to apply that in my District meeting tonight and we are going to have crazy success here.  the whole mission is going through a cleaning process. They told us in the Zone meeting that if we want success we have to be clean first to have the Spirit then we will see miracles. I'm going to start a new self analysis and see where I can improve. they're really focusing on this. When Elder Uceda came he called the mission to repentance but I guess we still haven't learned...    I'm gonna do my part for the least.

I went to Cusco and I had a blast!!!!! I went with Elder Jensen, we went to the plaza and found the 12 angle stone!!!  Our trip was pretty much just taking bad selfies haha.  The training was good and I got back to Patibamba with Elder Enriquez Thursday afternoon.  My companion finishes his mission in may, but hopefully I'll be in Cusco by then!!!!

 We've got a good amount of investigators, but the problem is getting them to church, they never come, I call and go to their houses but manan kanchu suerte!!! These couple weeks, in my District I'm going to focus on asking references, contacts, and new investigators, so we can have more baptisms before the year ends!!!  We've got a steep mission goal but I know we can get it .

 For P-day we are going to this Mirador (vista point)  and It'll be my 6th time there, cause I've been here so long and everyone else is new to the Zone, but its fine 

All good here in Patibamba.

Love,

Elder Wilde

Dia de los Muertos

So I got my transfer, I'M STAYING IN PATIBAMBA FOR MY 5TH TRANSFER (another 6 weeks) !!!!!!!!! yeah,  but I'm going up as District Leader (leader of a small group of young missionaries) this change.  It's a new responsibility but i'll do my best to fulfill my new job.   I get to go to Cuzco for training, it's going to be a nice little vacation to Cusco-topia. and I have a cell phone now.

My companion Elder Largent left Saturday, and I've been in a trio with the Zone Leaders. It's pretty fun and they are both from Utah.  I went on divisions Tuesday and I got ice cream with Elder Jensen. 

It's very likely with the plans I have i'll have some success this change. I'm with the Zone Leaders in a trio and we had a Family Home Evening and we shared the video about the currant bush and Hugh B. Brown. I then shared dad's business story, about how he was growing so good then about 8 years ago God 'cut you down' (blessed dad with difficult and humbling situations and circumstances) so that he would be what he wants him to be.  The less active dad really liked it, and the rest of the people. (Note from Dad:  I am glad Michael has the wisdom and maturity to recognize the value of those circumstances and how things that seem bad at the time can actually be good.)

My new companion is Elder Enriquez. He is from Lima, I met him in Puerto Maldonado he was in La Joya on the other side of town, but after I left he got a transfer to my branch!!!! So it'll be good to hear from him about my old sector.

                                                       Elder Largent leaving for home

Halloween sounded fun, I was pretty surprised that they celebrate Halloween here. I got candy so I'm fine. haha.  Yes the children went trick or treating to the stores, in costumes, but Sunday November 1st is the Dia De Los Muertos (Day of the Dead), and all the branches had pretty low attendance because everyone went to the cemetery. We had 56 people Sunday in Patibamba.

The investigator we lost contact with was a guy named Barclay. We're gonna search out Ader this week though.  We have a new investigator that has a baptismal date set for November 28th. He's a very good guy and wants to learn more and have a better life. And were gonna help him do just that.   

We fasted 4 times. and now Patibamba is opening up a lot, with a new emphasis from the Mission about 6 week planning the work is going to progress a lot here.

Yesterday we went to a house, a person opened the door and I saw he was very hammered, and he then spoke in English and said ' Sorry, i"m soooo drunk' then shut the door. we laughed so hard about that.  I'll send some pictures from Cuzco next week.

                                                     That was our last dinner with mamicha

Love,

Elder Wilde

Multi Stake Conference

This Sunday was pretty interesting...   we had a Multi Stake Conference of Peru and Bolivia and nobody knew!!! We told as many as we could and Saturday night I went to the clerks office and printed signs to put on the gate, we waited for people in front of the church and told them to come back at 10:00 AM.  We opened it and i was getting worried about the transmission. The satellite system was not receiving signal, I was counselling with the leaders and they said we can go to the other chapel.  I said we would never fit 4 branches there.  So to quote Grampy 'I came in and took it all over' I left and went to the clerks office, I unplugged the computer from the monitor and went to hook it up to the projector. and I started to tell the people what to do and they listened!!!!!! it was so funny, we ran a cat 5 cable out of the clerks office window and I had some one get sound cable and around the chapel to get internet to the computer with the projector.  Then we got the conference from an internet stream, and just in time,   It was good Elder Andersen spoke and Elder Nash. My mission leader Elder Silverio was sitting by me and he told me in the conference, 'usted le gana en castellano' (a real compliment) it was a classic line from my 71 year old mission leader.

The other week we also had a mission wide fast to help us out, it was very good and we had a personal fast this week, When I fast this Sunday i will have fasted 4 times this month!! gosh , its like nothing now to fast.  

 During the week one of our best investigators moved to Lima to study.....  I'm gonna leave a big note in the area book for the elders to look for him in a year though!!!     We talked with Cesar yesterday and he is still doing very well. We went over the Plan of Salvation with them, and he was very interested in how to follow Jesus here in the earth.  I talked about being baptized and authority and I feel like he is understanding more.   He had a question about original sin, and I was pretty direct stating our belief that babies are born clean, not dirty from sin. It was a very good lesson, he had some questions and we are going to try to get him a baptismal date next time we go over. 

another good thing that happened, so in that picture you could see my desk this week, for my studies I was just looking at maps and the area books and the directory to try to triangulate old investigators and less active members. We're having success finding them. And we were looking for a member named Lady, I went to a tienda (shop) to ask if she lived there, and they said she did and we started talking and I asked her if she was a member and she isn't!!! I was super confused for a second. It turns out she was investigating the church 4 years ago but didn't get baptized because she was a minor, and she is a completely different lady that I was looking for and we're teaching her now, I think if i stay another transfer i'll probably baptize her.   Good stuffs happening in Patibamba, the less actives we teach tell me there are way more people than before in the branch. I may get a transfer next week, i'll be sad to leave, but i know i've left the branch better than i got it in may.  I've seen miracles here, and also many sad occurrences, Patibamba has helped me be a better missionary and person, it's been a small refiners fire. I feel ready for whatever sector the Lord sends me to next.

so last p-day we went to Ampay again ..... super fun hike.....  those are some homes we found in the mountains where people live, it was crazy to see those living conditions, its like they're in Incan times still.

Love,

Elder Wilde

District Conference

We are working hard here in Patibamba, and I'm sure this time is gonna go by super fast 2 weeks.My companion is just in shock that his mission is ending, and I'm just going to help him as much as I can.

The city is fine now, they came to a conclusion with the protesters.  In the Zone Conference this week we saw pictures from President Harbertson's mission and from when he went back 40 years later and found all his converts.  It made me feel happy for all the seeds I'm spreading here in Peru that will grow with time for me to see their fruits in some years.

This Sunday we had a District Conference, and last Sunday the Branch President said it started at 10 but it actually started at 9!!! Many people showed up late, and I'm sure some did at 8.  We watched it on a screen from the other chapel in Abancay.  Our investigator did not come, he said he got dragged into some last minute project and couldn't come, we hope to get him, and his friend whom we started teaching this week to church. We had a real good talk with his friend and he really liked the Restoration, and had read a little bit of the Book of Mormon, that his friend lent him.   we also went to some other investigators this week that we hadn't visited for a while, when i asked the dad if he had read the Book of Mormon, he said he was finishing up 1st Nephi!!!!  It was very good, we are going to keep working with this family, The dad is very open to hear us, he had some questions and we started explaining the Plan of Salvation a little, and he said he wants to know more about that the next time that we come.!!!

Today we went to Ampay again and I don't know why. it was the same lack and a hard hike. That is why I'm writing later than normal. I'm trying to send pictures but this computer won't accept my camera. I'll keep trying.

I'll keep killin it here.

love,

Elder Wilde

In church we had 79!!!! and hopefully it keeps going up. I'm trying to get the branch to make home teachers, cause that's how you get sustainable growth, and stakes not districts.  We beat another branch for the first time in attendance yesterday, We are working with a  less active convert that the sister missionaries baptized her right before they got pulled out. We are also working to advance a member to the Melchizedek Priesthood. he should make a good contribution to the branch, and we're trying to get the guys out on missions. 

So we found a family of investigators and we aare teaching them, the parents are married and are open to learning more .  The dad's mom and siblings are members so he has already had exposure to the Church.  We're gonna talk again Wednesday.  Our other investigator Ader has a baptismal date for November, and he is reading the Book of Mormon. he's really cool!!! He went to Cusco this week so he couldn't come to Church, so we gave him a tour of the chapel and he said he's for sure coming next week, and we are gonna start teaching some friends of his too.  In rescues we are working with a less active brother that's coming back and hes going to get the priesthood and a calling in a bit, and we start teaching one of his less active daughters and her non member husband. (they came to Church yesterday).  We had a good week and this one will probably be good also.

(For his next box from home) some stuff  I've thought of is rice krispie treats, candy canes, extra black shoe laces. and like small plastic foto album things of the family. oh and 5 gum!! I'll write if I think of more.

For your companion question Elder Largent is my 4th companion in the mission field, and I will receive my 5th companion in the first week of November.

So about this riot they were planning it pretty much fizzled because of heavy police reaction. We walked through the plaza one day and it was just full of hundred odd riot police with guns and shields. it was so quiet you could of heard a pin drop there!!!!!  the next day we had to get to the other chapel, but there were no buses or taxis or people in the streets, so we went on foot, it was eerie, While walking a person yelled 'mira gringos¡ in a mad voice, I turned around fast and saw it was a member from another branch jokin' around with us!!! My heart skipped a beat. 

hasta la proxima semana.

Elder Wilde