Saying Goodbye to President Harbertson

I'm happy to read the letter.    About Father's Day I hope it was really good.  Sunday we had Family Home Evening and I shared a message about Fathers the 2000 Stripling Warriors dad's,  because their Mothers always taught them, because their Dads had died instead of breaking their covenant with god, leaving the perfect example of obedience and exactness for their children.

Wow that sounds like a real fun trip, sorry for writing late.  This week was really good.  We had a new investigator Ayben.   He's progressing really well and wants to be baptized and we will facilitate that!!!!!!!!!!   Sunday 2 kids came that are investigators they also want to be baptized its a weird situation normally we can't baptize kids younger than 14 if they don't have an active responsible adult in their house.  Their dad's are less active, but the bishop is their uncle we're gonna get permission from Cuzco to baptize them.  Tomorrow I have my last interview with President Harbertson,

Yeah so today we went to the 2nd tallest mountain in Peru  it's outside of a Pueblo Pitumarca. It was crazy!!!!!!! WE were so high up there I had a hard time breathing when we got to the snow, and  my head was throbbing, but it was so coooool,  best pday every,   we got up to the beginning of the glacier it was so high!!!!   it took a while to get down hahaha  but we all made it!!!!!!!!!   

I climbed a giant hill today I'm tired; it's late; I love you, I have to go.  I'm so tired and sun burned.  

love,

Elder Wilde

Hello,

wait Royce is home!!!!!   wow the time goes by fast. I hope you give the talk in a couple weeks,  I hope they plan my talk good so I don't get 5 minutes at the end.

That vacation sounds fun, everyone always asks me where I'm from in California, they think I'm from Southern California and always go to the beach and I have to explain that Northern California exists and people live there!!!!  and its not all sunny beaches. haha

So the baptism went well, Jose was baptized by his best friend Washington (who was baptized one month before).  It was really nice, Washington was nervous but I practiced with them how to baptize, and he did it perfectly, in one try.  It was really nice,  my kids first baptism in the mission.   Also 3 people showed up Sunday they just walked in and wanted to learn more, we taught them they want to be baptized it was so cool!!!!!!!!!.   We are also focusing on visiting the members and meeting every single one, and getting them to trust the missionaries.

There's a lot of work to do,  and we're working really hard,  the church has a lot of potential here they just have to tap into it.

Love,

Elder Wilde

Training Elder Fincher

Yeah those baptisms were great !!!!!! finished strong in Puno.   So my ward is a lot smaller than my ward in Puno. I've pretty much gotten used to it I'm not lost like in Puerto. I'm getting to know the people, the area book is in good shape and it's helping a lot (the first time that's happened in my mission).  My kids name is Elder Fincher he's from the Orem, Utah. It's cool because he is super willing to be a good missionary.  I'm trying my best to teach him to be a good missionary, how to teach and most importantly speak Spanish hahaha.  I'm trying to only speak Spanish with him, only Spanish, we'll see how long I hold out.   We have an investigator that's going to be baptized this Saturday.  His name is Jose.  I'll send pictures of the baptism next week.  We're planning to climb a hill that's even farther away next pday so I'll see how we do with writing!!!!!!!!

I'm happy I'm doing exercises a lot, the Zone Leader we live with Elder Yorgeson is pretty cool and we always do weights in the morning and night.(we went running also!!!!!!!!)

I know this work and Church are true, I've seen it and felt it so many times in these months.  When I started out it wasn't that strong, but now it is strong and like Moroni said 'and I will not deny it' .  For me there have been so many moments when I was guided by the Spirit or when Grampy passed away and I was in my room crying with my trainer, and I was destroyed I had just talked to (the Mission) President and my trainer was trying to comfort me.  I think I said this part in the Skype call we had that day that I was so sad, and I said the words that I wouldn't see him again, and I realized that I would and he won't be sick and he'll be perfectly fine.  From that moment I just stopped crying, I got myself together and went to work,  walking around sweating I fortified that,  teaching the Plan of Salvation I felt I gave a really powerful testimony, I'm not a guy that cries but I cried in the lesson that day as I testified of the Resurrection and this perfect plan. I studied diligently prayed, and now I know without a doubt that the Book of Mormon is true and this is the true Church it wasn't easy but I'm so glad I know now.

So Sicuani's cool.  I'm in a ward but 70-80 people go every week.  We had a meeting with the Stake President and we're going to work on a plan to help the ward.   I met with the leaders and I'm trying to get a plan together , I bought a plan of the ward that's like a square yard, and I'm going to plot everything and organize everything.  I showed the mission leader what I'm thinking of doing, he got excited and he's going to help us implement it by July.  He told me that he thinks us two are meant to come right now and pretty much get the ward jump started.    

in the hill Sicuani is that blur far off

                                                        that's me in the plaza in Cuzco

Love,

Elder Wilde

Transferred to Sicuani

Sorry for writing late there were some mixups in the mission, there are some transport problems so we all had to travel Monday morning not Tuesday morning so I'm in pday right now!!!!   Sunday afternoon the Zone Leaders told me that I had a transfer from Puno to another town called Sicuani.  I'm going to open the sector training!!!!!!!  Im so excited. I'm in Cusco and I'm so happy. It's gonna be just like when I started my mission, opening a sector.    I'm sad to leave my sector in Puno.  I  almost didn't get to say goodbye to anyone just like in Puerto.  Last Saturday  was a very good day. Starting very early in the morning, at 7 AM when aldo's baptismal service started (before his classes at 8)   it was a really good service and it all went well.  After we all had some hot chocolate and bread, and he went to his classes happy.  Then we started getting ready in the afternoon for Jason's baptism. It didn't start on time because it was a joint service with other wards, but it was very good.   The Bishop baptized Jason. He was so happy!!!!!!!!!  and us too .  His mom came to the baptism.     Sunday morning we went with a member(who volunteered his taxi in ward council) to pick up Aldo, we got there and I confirmed him a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints.  It was  indescribable. It was the first time I confirmed someone.   The Bishop confirmed Jason, we participated in it.    After it was testimony meeting,  lots of good members, Jason bore his pure testimony  it was so powerful ....we found Jason this trasnfer and to see his progress from then to now is insane.  I also bore my testimony with the ward, that I loved them and all they do and that I love this work. I just feel a love for all the Puneños  and that city,  because everything was opposite from what I thought, the people always accepted us and were very nice.  I gained a better testimony in Puno. There I could keep improving and apply what I had learned for one year, and see all the fruits thanks to trust in god not man.  To do his will not mine, I know this is his church, I only hope to work real hard in Sicuani and find what he wants me to do there, and do it good haha.  I'll write who my kid is next week.

                                                                    Aldo getting baptized

Jason before his baptism

Love,

Elder Wilde

Having good people to teach, and some of them being baptized

Sorry I'm writing a little late we went to a big rock formation 1.5 hours out of Puno. It's called Arama Muru in the native language Aymara, La Puerta Del Diablo in Spanish, and the Devil's Door in English  It was super cool!!!!  Lots of cool looking rocks and supposedly a portal to another dimension.  But don't worry I didn't get teleported or nothing ahaha!!!!  We just got back and we had to wait on the highway for a bus to go by but eventually one picked us up.

So this week was pretty intense. Our investigator Jason that is going to get baptized may 28th. We invited him to come to a baptism the elders from my District had and he showed up with his friend Jimmy.   It was a really good baptismal service and after we had a lesson with them, It was really good, Jason testified that this was the only true church and it was a really powerful lesson.  I invited Jimmy to be baptized June 18th and he said he would he really liked the service and all. And Jason said he would bring him to church the next day and sure enough, the 2 came for 3 hours. We are so happy, We  are working with others.    

We went to a part member family Sunday afternoon, where the mom and youngest daughter have been investigating for years. The daughter has a baptismal date, for June 4th and after a powerful lesson and asking good (inspired) questions the mom accepted to be baptized on June 18th.!!!!  It was a happy day and we had another lesson with an investigator Aldo that said hes for sure getting baptized may 28th.   

We're working really hard and we have lots of heaven prepared people we are teaching. In these lessons I've felt the inspiration to use scriptures and words phrases that I didn't think of before, and to give a strong testimony as a servant of  Jesus Christ to every one that will here me. The member less active investigators or street contacts.   We're working to the best of our ability for the salvation of these people here in Puno.

 Love,

Elder Wilde

Happy Mother's Day!!!

Wow. that was my last call home. What I've seen it's good to invite people to activities and then the discussions. Here we just invite them to go swimming and we baptize them hahaha (thats from the old days).  Yes I did get the granola bars, and I did get the letters.  today in pday we played billiards it was fun I took 2nd in the District Tournament.  There's not too much to tell after talking yesterday but we had our soldier investigator come to Church yesterday he's super cool. We have an appointment today with him.   We are gonna keep working hard with all our investigators, and we found some more this week. It's getting colder though!!!!

Just keep up the work, and remember to complete a goal you have to set goals. Like I want to contact 20 people today. 10 before lunch and 10 after to get 120 by week. Split everything up.  We get along good here in the District and I interviewed a baptismal candidate yesterday and he was really prepared it makes me happy to help out. Next Saturday I have 3 more interviews. it should be a crazy day.  I'll write more next week. Today for pday were gonna eat food and chill in the room because we can't leave Puno for protests in the highways.

Love,

Elder Wilde

Baptisms, and More Baptisms

Hello Cameron Park,

Wow that all sounds fun going to the temple. When i tell people there's a temple 30 minutes away they freak the closest temple to Puno is in Cochabamba Bolivia.

Sounds good that you want to have that 21 day missionary challenge. Here's some advice from Puno, my Stake President has a phrase, vision - action = dissilusion. So you can all fast but if you guys don't help you'll just end disillusioned. Here in the Stake the last Sunday of every month  they have goal meetings. Every ward gives reports on the months baptisms rescues, converts in 24 months, converts that attend, people from unknown addresses found, and from those found people how many returned.  Every organization attends from each ward, the missionaries, they do roll call by ward, then the bishop says how many they had the month that's finishing and says the goals from the next month.  Every organization has a standard of excellence, of 1 baptism and rescue per month.  That's how the we keep the work progressing here in the stake.    Maybe you could apply that in our stake it would hasten the work of salvation.

In the District we're killing it were 4 elders and we have 14 people committed to being baptized, and there's more to come,   

Wow this is my last call home.

I can't believe that, so I'm gonna call from my pension, at about 5 my time or 2 yours. if a plan changes I'll  communicate through my Pensionista Shirley.

So this week was super good, we have a lot of new people to teach and 5 have baptismal dates, this week was insane in a real good way!!!!!!  We contacted a family, we had a small lesson, we shared part of the proclamation, and the wife said that they want to hear more and that' '' things happen for a reason''    we invited them to a FHE with our pension we had it last night, super good, they loved it and now they have some friends.  But even more surprising we were in (Gospel) Principles and she showed up with her three kids!!!!!!!!  She couldn't participate in classes because her 2 year old needed to be outside class, but she came. We're really excited to help this family out.  

Another new person is Jason, he's a soldier in the Peruvian army, super cool a reference from a member, his house is in our sector but is always on the local military base, but he gets out every once in a while and we teach him. He accepted a a baptismal date in the first visit for May 28th.   He's golden, he came to church for the 3 hours, and loved it. He's finishing up his 2 years of military service. He only got deployed once, and it was to Abancay when I was there and there were all those riots.  

So today I have 17 months in the mission and I'm still wearing the same shoes everyday they're kinda beat up now haha

 SEE YA SUNDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Love,

Elder Wilde