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)

Nuevos

So this week was the week of changes, and I have a new companion.

His name is Elder Henrie, and he is 6'6" and is from Idaho.

Elder Arrington was a great first companion and trainer and I was super lucky to have him as an example as a missionary. We had a lot of fun and success and I can't wait to see what the future holds for the rest of my mission. Elder Henrie seems to be along the same lines which is great, and so far we get along really well. I'm happy to have him here. 

I'm also still in Coronel Oviedo in our nasty house, which Elder Henrie (who goes home in 6 months) says is the worst he has ever seen as well. What luck. But really I think it is going to be a great change for the next 6 weeks. Our investigators are progressing pretty well, and two of them (one of which is of course is an 81 year old man, go figure) came to church yesterday, and can potentially get baptized this saturday. We'll see where that goes. 

We're still working with Pedro, who is still sick (he says its just a temporary thing, but he's 90 years old, so I'm not exactly sure how much longer it'll be until he passes on.) I'm sending a picture of his "house". Our other converts are remaining active which is super nice to see. It was kinda sad when Elder Arrington said goodbye to them because he said they were his favorite converts. Pedro was all sad like "will you come back to visit?" and he was like "no... I can't" it was pretty darn sad. 

I'm doing great though. I can't believe I'm at 4 months already, and I also can't belive that Rush only has 4 months left... Ridiculous. But I'm in it to win it, so I'm going to be working hard for the next 5/6 or so of my mission to send you guys the best darn emails this side of South America. I'll try. Not a promise though ;)

Love,

Elder Wilson

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes!

This week we have transfers (or as we say, "cambios" or "changes", if you wanted to know the significance of my David Bowie themed E-mail Subject).

 I don't know if I'll stay or go, but most likely I will be here and Elder Arrington will move to a different area. 

I'm also no longer a trainee! According to everyone else, today is my first day as a full-fledged missionary. I still feel like I'm in training, but what can I really do about that, right? My trainer says he still feels new, and he gets home this July.

My first two changes in Paraguay have been super fun and rewarding. It has been insane to see a new culture, meet new people, and to baptize people into the Church of Jesus Christ. I feel extremely blessed to have had that opportunity, and I sure as heck can't wait to do it more often. My area is huge and crazy and filled with all kinds of weirdness, but really that's exactly what I wanted out of my mission. Fun/Educational/Spiritual. I couldn't ask for anything more. 

For instance, this week, while on divisions with Elder Tripp (whose area is small and mosty city), it rained hard and flooded our entire area. I didn't get any pictures, because obviously I don't want to ruin my camera, which turned out to be a really great decision. Why? Because I stepped (fell) into what looked like a patch of shallow grass which turned out to be a 5 ft. deep canal. Everything got wet. The 10 peso tie I bought in Argentina is basically wrecked, but it was hideous and was the color of the chocolate river from the original Willy Wonka, so I'm not really super heartbroken. Next, I went on divisions with Elder Sanchez, who leaves his mission right after Christmas, and with Elder Carias, who leaves to go home in like 3 days. It's very strange to see so many missionaries leaving. I still have a while until then, so it helps to just focus on the work and how many hilarious stories I'm going to have when I get home.

If anyone reads my emails and thinks I'm discouraged, please imagine me as I actually am while I write. Smiling and laughing. Because honestly, I'm just trying to make these as entertaining and informative as possible. I love this place, but it isn't exactly Candyland. Some lady was open air breastfeeding on the stand in sacrament meeting. Don't see that everyday in the states, do you? It's a really funny and cool place, and you wouldn't believe how nice the people are.

As always, I'm having fun and spiritual experiences every single day, and I'm very excited to report back to everybody every week. Paraguay is super cool. Attatched is a random picture I took and a picture of Wilson, my convert's kitten. The second one is probably more for Maren than the rest of you, but enjoy it anyway!

Love,

Elder Wilson

The artist formerly known as Ziggy Stardust

It's like America (but south)‏

So not a ton happened this week as far as any real work updates go, and I was sick for a day, so I decided I was going to take some time to write a little bit about the things I see on a daily basis in Paraguay. I think I'll focus on just a few things.

After emailing last week I saw 6 people on 1 motorcycle, and one of them was breastfeeding what looked to be a toddler.

Now that's Paraguay.

So this country is a little bit of a train-wreck. Don't get me wrong. I love this place. The people are nice and willing to listen, the countryside is beautiful, and they sell Trix in it's original shapes. What more could I even ask for? But to be honest, Paraguay has a large list of seemingly unsolvable issues. This is not a complaint letter, but there really is a lot of stuff to laugh about and make fun of that makes each day a killer mission story in and of itself.

I guess I'll start with the smell.

There are 3 main smells of this country.

-Animal carcass

-Cow patty

-Burning plastic

Wait, 4 smells if you include:

-Alcohol on people's breath

So the beautiful countryside I described is marred sometimes by rotting animals, cow dung, and a ton of trash. Which is interesting.

Next is the food.

So this is something that will probably disappoint my Dad a bit. It sure disappointed me. Somebody (sure as heck not me) needs to tell the people of Paraguay that Mayonnaise is not a pasta sauce, and that vegetable oil is not a salad dressing. The food of Paraguay is, for the most part, really really... bland.

All of the food they eat is designed to make you full, and to be as lacking in spice or flavor of any kind. It's not so much that the food is gross as that the food is just sort of... boring, with the occasional creepy chicken testicle or goat's hoof or whatever.

Chipa- Bread shaped in a donut. Hard as a rock.

Sopa Paraguaya- Not a soup. A bitter, yellow, bread-like thing. Not terrible. 3/5

Empanadas- Come in different types, AWESOME. Best thing here except for...

Lomito Arabe- Like a burrito, or actually more like a wrap thing with meat, lettuce, and a white sauce (like a greek sauce of some kind, like on Gyros)

Mandioca- Like a terribly bland baked potato. You eat it with everything. Very filling.

Also you can buy Mexican style tortillas and jalapeños (expensive but worth it) at stores, which is nice. They come in that plastic zip bag like the generic kind in the US. My comp says he used to like spicy food but now he doesn't after not having it in a long time. This will not happen to Ol' Elder Wilson.

In other news, next week is changes. I'll get a new companion (most likely) next Wednesday. I probably won't know about it next Monday unless Elder Arrington goes to work in the office, which isn't likely either.

Well...

I'm having tons of fun and working really hard. We're doing pretty well and coooould have another baptism this week. The house is... well it's terrible and we didn't have power again but I think you guys get it at this point. It's bad.

Love,

Elder Wilson

Unnecessarily captions himself at the end of emails

Joe's Apartment

2 BAPTISMS

Carlos (17) and Veronica (12) 

I have two more converts! 

So the story with these two is pretty cool. Before I got here, Elder Arrington baptized a 15 year old kid named Oscar. He's super cool and goes out teaching with us all the time. I went over to their house the day I got to Paraguay. We have been working with his siblings for the entirety of that time, and  they finally got baptized. The best part is: Oscar and Carlos say they want to serve missions. HOW COOL WOULD THAT BE? Really cool.

They got baptized Saturday, and confirmed on Sunday. I baptized Carlos, and my comp baptized Veronica.  

They named their newborn kitten Wilson. 

It's such a blessing to see the gospel bless peoples lives like I'm seeing every day. I still get kicked back a little bit every time I think "wow, am I actually on my mission?" The white shirt and tie are there, the tag is there, but it's crazy to think that I've actually made it to this point. I mean, I am the most humble guy around, as I'm sure I let you all know... Just kidding, but really if anyone isn't planning to serve a mission, and can, they're most likely making a big mistake. Everyone here plans on going. All of the men, and all of the girls. They make some crazy sacrifices for it.

Anyway, the baptisms were really really cool.

Now I get to complain about my house.

That's right, boys and girls, we're still living in our Chateau of glory.

The super nice house we were going to move into got rented by someone else while the office workers were on their way to our house. Right after I told you guys we found a new one. What a disappointment. This week has brought a new "Men in Black" themed challenge to the house. Cockroaches. Many, many, many cockroaches. Attached is a photo of our dustpan at the beginning of the infestation. I didn't take any more because we just started sweeping them out of the house and killing them all and it was really gross. Obviously we're still praying to find a new crib.

This last week was really fun, and I can't wait to tell you guys what happens in this coming week!

Love,

Elder Wilson

Proud Owner of La Casa de las Cucarachas