To Bolivia & Beyond! : EARN YOUR PILLOW

June 24, 2015

to explain the subject line.. an elder in my district, E. Hildebrandt, told our district that quote and i just seriously love it. basically, you need to work hard each day all day so that when the day is over and you get to your bed you know you earned that pillow. theres nothing that feels better than knowing you put in a solid day of work.

not-so importants:

..merry 1/2 christmas eve! june 24, halfway to christmas!!!

..whoever told me to be prepared for lots of soup where i have no idea whats in it was right. but hey most of them are really good! haha
..

BENDICIONES (blessings) :
..spirit was so strong with my investigator Jose. He is usually a really tough investigator. hell fall asleep or be distracted by a million things. once i learn the WOW vocab ill teach him that lesson. but this night, 6/17, he was going through a particularly hard trial and our lesson brought tears down his face and the love of God for him was SO STRONG even a blind person could see it. my heart was brunging! it really helped me bc I was able to gain a stronger love for him and you arent truly effective in lessons until you love your investigators.
..later that night (7 days ago) we prayed for Elder Openshaw. PRAY FOR HIM. when he checked his email he saw that his entire family (parents and siblings) died in an airplane crash. hes staying on his mission. and man oh man, when we prayed for him... that was the miracle of my week. i KNEW God was watching over Him (hes in Micronesia, shoutout to David T.) and was hearing our prayers. it was one of the most incredible prayers ive been a part of. the veil was so thin and my testimony was definitely strengthened. dont doubt for a second God is unaware of you.
..Ether 12:27. being shown my weakenesses so i can improve. it gives me something to work on. i have so many but im grateful for them bc life is about improving yourself and trying to become better. the trick is to have faith that the Lord can actually help you become better. and He definitely can.
..taught my first 45 minute lesson in spanish! and even cooler, the investigator was speaking PORTUGESE!! the gift of tongues is real everyone.
..friday was a really hard day for me. i was about to have anger tears, i was just so stressed. it was a miracle in itself that we didnt get the feedback we were supposed to bc we had half an hour of down time. H. Miles played the piano and I sat with her and sang along (in espanol of course) and i think thats truly the only thing that could have calmed my heart in that moment. i think ive talked about music in every letter so far but ill say it again, the spirit can definitely be felt through music. "the angels SANG......." (not saying i sounded like an angel, dont worry. far from it probably;)
..the cocineras (cooks) love us SO MUCH! even if its just a cookie they always decorate the little dessert plates. theyre so cute! and theyre always so happy! they work so hard! bless their hearts!
..being able to have a good sit down chat w my companera. we were both able to get things off my chest. its not a strength of mine to talk about my problems but after shoving them under the rug for too long, its needed. and it was. i love my companion. shes the best. it was definitely by inspiration we got assigned to each other.
..surprise oreos on our desks! with an i love you note attached and scripture. D&C 24:8, its great, go read it!
.. Hermano Cesar (maestro) played us music one night while we studied. he even played my request, "i will not be still" (the one cookie sang at my 1st ward farewell). a tiny twinge of homesickness at first, i wanted a concert from the one and only lillian, but it only lasted a second. i love that song and i love music and i love how it can bring the spirit & inspire & uplift! i miss it!
..presidente gonzaleS MIXED the latinos and the whites in futbol. (our schedlues changed, were with some of them now). end segregation!!! its my goal to have a latino pass me the ball bc he wants to, and not bc the president of the CCM has to pull him aside and tell him to. :p oh well! motivation, right_ :)
..h burnham agreed to workout with me! totally unexpected. shes the equivalent of.... a mix between anna sawyer and.. valerie wadman? man i miss working out. none of the hmas here want to. but i finally got to do a little and it felt great! cameron, yes, i brought my gorilla strong t shirt & ill have lots of recruits for you in 18 months! haha.
..i saw the two PRETTIEST bird this week. they were seriously bright yellow. i love peru. its so pretty here! i love whenever i get the chance to go outside. it helsp!

highlights:
..the elders in our district gave us each a vile of consecrated oil. for if we ever need a blessing and they dont have any, we can have some. it meant the world to me. so thoughtful of them. thank you elder cleverly! (new district leader, hoorahhh)

WE GOT TO WATCH THE TRUJILLO PERU TEMPLE DEDICATION. !!!!
i was praying so so so hard that President Uchtdorf would come to the CCM. so hard!!! for a week! i forgot to have you all pray for him last week but its ok bc my prayers were strong enough. he didnt end up coming but i know my prayers were heard and i know ill shake his hand someday!

anyways.
SUCH AN AWESOME EXPERIENCE BEING A PART OF IT. my favorite parts were first, watching uchtdorf outside sealing the cornerstone. he was so happy!!! he was smiling and laughing. yes hes an apostle of god but hes also a real man! with the love of christ in his soul! watching him with the children reminded me of the savior. he was so loving and playful and it was just so completely tender to watch!! second best part was singing the spirit of god at the end. it was SO POWERFUL. the spirit bore a solid burning witness to my heart that everything i had seen and participated in was true. that the trujillo temple IS the house of the lord and that souls both living and not will be blessed! ive been blessed just being a part of it! our voices rang out and im positive angels sang with us.

funny moments:
.."you know youre a good companion when you risk your life over a suitcase" H Burnham
.."here. touch me. AHA. you cant." E Hildebrandt
.."anyone know what a centurion is?" "isnt that a 1/2 man 1/2 horse?"
.."youre not very tall Elder, are you?"
..Brian the Blind Woman. "pan...? :) ...PECADO" E Hildebrandt
.."tengo fe" H Wilson
.."my heart was just pounding so fast... PECADOPECCADOPECADO"
.."Lost in Lima"

i love you all!! i miss you but know youre in my prayers, by name!

quick thoughts..
can someone please send me emails for riley affonso, austin james, kristy emrich? &then all the missionaries serving rn? i have no addresses!

TODAY IS MY HALFWAY MARK! ive learned so much and i cant wait to learn more! its been so humbling but so incredible! i love this work! i know im exactly where i need to be and i know i have support in my role as His representative! the church is true!

alma 2:30
d&c 45:62
alma 36:18-21
moroni 7:47

Hermana Wilson