To Bolivia & Beyond! : Sick puppies

howdy yàll.
(i wonder how people would respond if i said that here..)

shoutout to my ADORABLE family of syd, david, &kira.. your pictures kill me. :)

randoms..
not all of the sewers here are covered. well be walking and all of a sudden, my nose is filled with a ..different smell.
vinto is known for having LOTS of water (i guess our shower is the exception:p) & LOTS of apples. happiness!
i found a pack of peanut M&Ms, apparently theyre celebrating 75 years. im currently eating them and they are DELICIOUS.
theres a lot of people who abandon their parents when their parents get old. they carry them to the hospital and leave them there. super crazy.

other random.. hna custode got the chicken pox, and so weve been home almost all week. tuesday we went to the district/zone meeting, then lunch, then called hna hansen and she told us to go to the clinic.. well, she had it, and itll be interesting to see who in the zone she contaminated haha. yesterday was the first day we were able to both leave the house.

HERMANA CUSTODE!!
is a sweetheart. shes from chimborazo riobamba ecuador. shes my "prima" in the mission (hna cruz trained her). she completed 9 months in the mission this week. she loves music. she doesnt like romance but she likes writing romance novels. shes a mix between my two friends back home, justina gray & ethan gates (shoutouts to you both, hope youre doing well!). shes a sweetheart, and a blessing. :)

funny moments
"were going to travel in the hermano- perdón! were going to travel in the brother´s car.." hna neiza
i think every zone in CBBA knows hna custode has been sick with the chicken pox.. oh grillos..
"sometimes i hide myself" hna custode (we were walking, and i looked around me, and couldnt find her, and then she appeared in front of me).

blessings
i found my bank cards! wahoo!
i heard from lots of people how well my dad did in his talk on sunday, and that i was mentioned. if you see my dad.. tell him how great of a man he is. <3
elder wilstead is in my zone! hes grown a lot in the mission and hes a great guy. he and i are the only ones left from our group now. perserveramos!
e cortez, our district leader, is awesome. i have a ton of respect for him. he teaches very well. he also went out of his way to talk to hna custode and help her feel comfortable.
wednesday, the capacitadoras (hna casique and hna fuenzalida) came and i was able to leave the house for a couple of hours. hna funezlida was in vinto about a year ago, so she showed me some of the people we can visit. super big blessing.
i cleaned the house! its a nice stress reliever and i feel good.
hna beltran called me because she "felt like i was sad". whether or not thats true i dont know, but she told me that her hijita gives hugs like me- "you can tell when she hugs you that she loves you." i didnt know my hugs were like that but it was sweet of her to say that and shes an awesome missionary.
i have a CD of music and with this DVD player, the DVD machine automatically opens the folders of music and the music never stops.. literally. we put it in after studies and it played all the way until it was time for bed. i love music!! (no syd, i still havent gotten your package haha)
hna custode talks to me, almost nonstop. with others shes super shy but she completely trusts and loves me and thats a huge blessing.
she also is willing to accept corrections to her english. shes super humble about it and has the goal again to learn english. :) she pronounces the words SUPER well, almost without an accent. shes awesome.
children.. they love me. i dont know why but i can be in the same room with children and the look and see me and literally come running to me. they hug me, they smile, and it feels like they know me. its always something super precious to me. children are angels on earth, just without the wings. :o
hno cristian, our líder misional, asked me for suggestions in how we can improve the obra misiona & the class of principios del evangelio. it was nice to feel respected, and we put a few goals.
hna marcelo is a temple worker and member of barrio colcapirhua/jardin. ive never been in the same ward as him but ive seen him around a couple of times for being in the temple and because he was in the ward of hna silvano/hna cruz. apparently, he told my bishop here in Vinto that i am an EXCELLENT misssionary, and hes super lucky to have me in his ward. its an awesome feeling that the members are talking highly of me, because theres a ton of gossip here in CBBA but the members can see that im pure in my wishes to work. :)

MIRACLES...
baby miracle.. the very first day with hna custode, and i know (at least part of) the reason im her companion and what i need to help her with. i KNOW that companionships are inspired and that the Lord´s hand is always involved.

yesterday i asked the bishop for a blessing. ive asked every bishop for a blessing oncei get to a new area, for guidance etc. this bishop hasnt exactly been supportive to the misioneras in the past. if you are familiar with PME, the story in "working with members" is almost EXACTLY like the situation here- just add a few macanas, and you have it all. this area is a little herida. in the past missionaries were only sent here to "die" (when they were finishing the mission). theres lots of work to do! :) BUT... back to the miracle..yesterday, the bishop thanked me. he told me that he has NEVER had a missionary come and ask him for a blessing. he told me he felt respected as my leader, and that he admires my desires to work hard and have the Lords support while doing it. he asked ME if there was anything HE could to do help.. he also offered to go on visits with us as long as we plan in advance.. it was awesome. it caught me by surprise completely, but im super grateful. i know that earning the bishops trust is key and that from there well be able to have success. :)

miracle number two... not to go into details, but one of my companions is now home, safe & in the arms of her loving family. i am SO proud of this companion. she has grown into such an incredible and strong person, a woman, and im honored to have the example of her in my life. <3 i know without a DOUBT that Heavenly Father loves His sister missionaries and is always with them. (DYC 84:88). <3

2 nefi 3:24
alma 40:11-12

were going to the temple thursday!! :) time to be spiritually re-filled & fed for the next three months! :)

may God be with you all and you all feel His infinite love...

--
Hermana Wilson