Paraguarì‏

I moved out!

I'm now in an area called Paraguarì 1.1, which is the favorite area of my trainer Elder Arrington, and many, many other Elders here in Paraguay. Elder Arrington basically never shut up about it. He was absolutely stoked when he found out I was going here. It is a large, jungly area that baptizes a lot. (We also have a nice house). My new companion is Elder McDermott from Utah and my district in the MTC! Another American. That's technically my 5th if you count the two in the MTC. We are the two oldest missionaries in our district. I guess President wanted new blood out here.

In about 20 days or so I hit 6 months of my mission. Time flies. Technically today I only have a year and a half left. It's crazy to think about, but I must say it's been great so far, and it can only get better in my eyes. Experience!

Saying goodbye to my converts was extremely hard. When I went to go see Pedro for the last time, he started to tear up, took my hand with both of his and said "siempre voy a recordarle" which means, "I'm always going to remember you". He and Elder Henrie asked me to say a prayer for him and I literally almost cried during the prayer. It was really hard, but I feel so blessed to be able to serve a people like the ones here in Paraguay. I love the people here. I really do. I know that through the good works of myself and the other missionaries that I can help bring people unto Christ, which is an experience I wouldn't trade for anything. 

It's been a crazy, hectic week, filled with traveling and other strangeness, but Paraguay continues to be fun. My "Goats in Trees 2015" calendar definitely helps.  It was fun talking to my family on Skype, and the love from all of the family on Christmas was definitely felt by me here in Paraguay! Thanks for everyone's love, help, and support.

Love,

Elder Wilson

Cribs

¡Por fin!

I no longer live in the dumpiest house in the mission! To be honest, our new house is actually really, really nice. It costs about double what the other one cost, but now we have AC, we don't have roaches or creepy neighbors, and it's extremely clean. Also the faucet has a filter on it as well, so you're welcome, Mom. You can stop worrying about all the tapeworms I probably have. I'll try to include some pictures of the house. It's really great and it makes me super happy. What a christmas gift. Feliz Navidad.

Other than that, we had an interesting week. We had a lesson with a drunk man that ended with him saying ¡SOY EL DIABLO! and hissing at us like a vampire. What an intelligent gentleman he was. We have also been focusing a lot with the "El es la Dádiva" (He is the Gift) campaign. I have seen a surprising amount of miracles come out of showing this video to families. Even though nobody knows the word Dádiva and we have to explain that it means regalo every time. Still, it's a great program that is really working out for us.

In other news, the greatest thing of all time is coming to pass in Paraguay for the next few months: MANGO SEASON

That's right, kids, every tree on every property is bursting with mangos. They are also incredibly delicious. Probably one of my favorite things about Paraguay so far. We just pick good ones off the trees, put them in a bag, take them home, wash them, and eat them. Elder Henrie doesn't like them though. Qué lastima. 

Also I'm going to send the money for my packages this week because Elder Tripp sent the forms early last time and I didn't get to send the money. I'll have them before christmas for sure!

Love,

Elder Wilson

 algunas fotos de nuestra casa nueva. Este casa es muy lindo (yo se que es muy amarillo) y es mas grande que la otra. Voy a vivir aquí hasta el fin de este cambio y probablemente me voy después eso.

(No Subject)

This week was really, really strange. There is a little bit of a sickness going around this place between the missionaries after a lot of rain and cold last week. I'm okay now, and doing super great, but I was sick for a bit and my comp got it too. Don't worry though because I'm still just having a good ol' time here! I did get to experience a Paraguayan doctor's office though, which was an interesting experience. I don't have high confidence in the medical expertise of the Paraguayans. Ibuprofen and lots of water is apparently the cure for everything.

We've also been focusing on finding a new house, because my new companion absolutely can't stand it. He can't sleep and it's just a bad situation. I'm definitely on the same page as him about the house (it really is super bad) but I don't really enjoy complaining too much. We get along super duper well, but he's had some super hard and sketchy areas, so I can see where he's coming from, even if I think attitude is a lil' bit more important. We found what could be our new house, but it is connected to a house of some  girls that are studying in college, so it'll most likely get rejected by President. I'll be honest though, that sounds a lot less creepy than living next to the "girl" we live next to now.

Next week I miiight not get to email. There's a chance that the people that own the cyber cafe we email at won't be here because they'll be participating in the March of Caaucupé. The 8th of December March of Caaucupé is a Paraguayan/Catholic cultural event in which everyone in the country marches to a place called Caaucupé to worship a giant statue of the Virgin Mary. Seems legit to me. Obviously some people here only skimmed the 10 commandments, becuase I thought there was something about idolatry in there. Could be wrong, though. So if you don't get an email next week, that's probably why. Or weather. That's sometimes a factor.

Well, like always, this week I'm doing great. I'm having tons of fun working with helping people as we move closer to Christmas. Super excited for that, by the way. I've got a package sitting in the house and an absurdlyheavy one in the mission home right now, so I'll probably be fighting the temptation to open those for a while. I'm super thankful for everything I've been given and my opportunity to have all the fun experiences I'm having. I love my mission!

Elder Wilson

Can't believe they spoiled another lightsaber reveal in a Star Wars trailer

(But isn't that mad because it's super cool)