January 30, 2017 -Hadilly

MY FIRST BAPTISM!

I am so pleased to report that this week I had my first convert baptized! Her name is Liz and she is awesome! She owns a small womens clothing store outside of Walmart in our area. She is 21 and loves the Gospel! In just 4 weeks she accepted the Gospel, stopped smoking, and was baptized! She has such a great spirit around her and it is amazing to see the changes Jesus Christ has already made in her life. It was a very special experience to watch her be Baptized and Confirmed. It made these last 4 weeks of hard work worth it. 

We have another Señora with a baptismal date Delia! A few weeks ago we ran into her at a less actives house, and she said she wanted to draw nearer to God. And she has! She loves the Church and loves being able to feel the spirit in her life! She feels close to God and when we give her a commandment or a request, she always follows through. Due to her circumstances we cant baptize her till April, but she is awesome!

And we have Adrian and Kate! Adrian is the father of Kate, and his wife is less active, but lately she has been feeling the need to return to church. So for the past year, she has been teaching Kate and Adrian principles of the Gospel, waiting until she could find missionaries. And she found us in the street! They want to be baptized and we are working as hard as we can to resolve all the problems they have so we can get them the Gift of the Holy Ghost. 

It isnt 7 with baptismal dates, but its okay! We are enjoying the work and getting a lot done! 

This week I gave my first lesson, all by myself! My spanish is really coming along. My comp, E. Rosales didnt say a word and I taught the entire lesson to a mini gas station owner lady, nicknamed Hermana Dulce because she always gives us candy for visiting her. She is really cool and a great friend of mine! 

I also gave a talk in Sacrament meeting this week on Service, and people actually understood me! It is so awesome to finally have people understand what Im trying to say!

The title of this weeks email is Hadilly because I have a good friend in the Ward named Hadilly. She is 28, divorced, but is always really nice to me and she almost knows English so I can communicate with her completely. But Hadilly is English is HA-DIH-LEE right? In Spanish it is A-DEE-GEE. And for 3 and a half weeks I could not figure out her dang name. Finally I saw it written in my Comps agenda and laughed so so hard! I have no idea why they pronounce it like that, but they do. Now, whenever I sneeze, I say a DEE GEE! And its the best thing ever. I enjoy Spanish and the insanely wierd pronunciation they have here. 

I am really enjoying it right now, my only barrier is the language. I am starting to figure out how I want to work, what style and method and all. Now its just expressing myself. I can see our success because our investigators reach out to us now, whereas in the beginning we always had to reach out to them. 

My comp is great. Elder Rosales is my lifesaver. He takes charge of Planning, lessons, preparing, and basically everything. Without him I would die. and he is the District Leader. I owe most of the success we have to him. He is a really really good missionary who I am really grateful for. 

Remember the Cerra Estrella (star hill)? Well, on the side of the path to the top of the hill, there is a cave named, Cueva del Diablo (Cave of the devil), and I assumed it was just because it was a very dangerous cave to hike in. I took no thought of it and continued walking with my friend Elder Ogden. Eventually we fell behind the rest of the group but we didnt care because we thought we were safe. WRONG. Cueva del Diablo is the most dangerous spot to be at in the night time because it is the spot where weekly Devil Worshippers offer human sacrifices. Thats right. Human. Once a week, Police find a dead body mangled inside the cave as a result of the worship that happened the night before. My companion forgot to tell me about this when we made the trip there last week. I dont trust my companion with pday activities any more. 

Other fun things that happened this week:

1. I watched a man get hit by a VW bus, very hard. He was okay. 

2. The house of our neighboring district is supposedly Haunted. Its all in the Hermanas heads though. Weve been there 3 times and its fine. 

3. I made a friend! I dont know his name, but this dog is always trotting around in our district. I always say Buenas Tardes to him. he likes me. 

4. I hit my head several times on doorframes and things as such. 

5. I went on splits with an ex-missionary from Brazil this week.

6. There was a change in the missionary schedule this week, so now I plan for the day in the morning, giving us more free time after we return to our house at night. I just go to bed earlier is the only change for me. 

7. We visited a giant store with only candy. Its heaven on earth. and its cheap. 

8. We won a bet (missionaries dont bet) with the Hermanas from our district and they bought us tacos. Free tacos is always a good thing. 

9. Elder Rosales actually worked out with me one time this week! haha

My spiritual thought is about Service! Jesus Christ was perfect. and in Luke 22:27 it says that Jesus Christs only purpose was to serve us! if the only objective of our Redeemer and Savior was to serve, how much more important is it that we serve?! I testify service is absolutely necessary in our lives. I am so grateful for my mom and the example of service she has been to me. She has taught me so much about being a missionary and doesnt even know it! Shes the best. May we all serve each other with full hearts and the Charity of Christ! 

Elder Wilson

1-23-17

This week I worked so. dang. hard. We succesfully achieved 7 investigators with baptismal dates this week! The days are long and the work is hard, but Im having fun out here! 

We have spent a lot of time in the dentists office! My comp has a cavity and the dentist can never numb his mouth correctly, so I spend a lot of time studying haha. We also went to a surrounding area for some Hermanas, who claim their house is haunted! I dont think so, I think its all in their heads. But we have gone twice for blessings and to check stuff out. 

We have walked so much! My feet are aching as I write this email! We walk across our entire area only to find the investigator we set an appointment with, doesnt have time, or is sick or something. So we walk to the other side of the area for the same response. Its all good, people will listen or they wont, and we are going to try no matter what. However, my feet are practically numb. 

This week we had some interesting lessons! One was with Karlos, an investigator. We taught the 10 commandments. We taught about all the commandments, and he accepted all of them except 'Thou shalt not kill'. Different, right? He said that if someone killed his friends, or a member of his family, he would go kill them for revenge. So we have a little bit of work to do this week with him haha!

Another was with a less active Señora, whose husband has a severe sickness and is disabled for the rest of his life. They are super stinking rich, and everything they own is insane. Well, we set a date for Sunday, at 6. We arrived on Sunday, at 6, and she wouldnt let us enter her house because we didnt call half an hour before arriving. Eventually, through my companions smooth talk and my awkward smile, she let us in. She then scolded us for several minutes and also scolded us because we wouldnt leave our area to take a metro back to our apartment. Very different than how I envisioned the lesson would go. 

We had a lesson with the most drunken man I have ever seen. We taught about the plan of salvation, handed him a pamphlet and he staggered off. Lesson: taught. 

We ran out of Books of Mormon too! We have been handing out so many and the distribution office isnt sending us more so we are out! 

Other fun things this week: I got to ride in a micro bus! Its a bus, just... micro. Its absolutely hilarious. The drivers replace the lights with purple, green, or rainbow lights. There is always a huge spoiler on top of the bus. The bus has a crazy paint job, black rims, and is louder than 10 harley davidson choppers. Im too tall to stand and the seats arent big enough to sit, so its a good time. 

Speaking of height, literally every door, every car, bus, everything, i have to duck to fit in. I am getting a big cramp in my neck from always bending down to fit. 

Today I woke up at 3am to visit star hill, or Cerra Estrella, for a pday activity. it was super fun and the view is amazing. the city stretches in every direction as far as the eye can see. its amazing to see how many people live here!!! I got to speak English with Elder Ogden from South Jordan for the hike up, which was really nice. We returned, my comp, Rosales, and I, and ate hot dogs for breakfast (for some reason latinos think that americans eat hot dogs and hamburgers for breakfast, i cant figure it out?), and had a good time buying 48 packages of ramen. We are resting from the endless work and having a really good time together. 

My companion is really funny, he always tries to talk in English and is terrible! Im teaching him though, so hes getting a lot better. He is also fun because we pretend to fight whenever our Zone leaders are around, just for fun. We also stop by a local bakery every night because the donuts, croissants and other pastries there are only 6 pesos each! thats like 28 cents! so we eat a lot of dulce, or sweets, cause its cheap. We have a good time together, and Im glad he is my comp!

I have been hit on this week a few more times, and i wish I could say they were all girls. But the world we live in is a changing world and some times, men hit on men. We also had a lady who... does not do good things yell 'Enseñarme la palabra de Dios, muchachos!'. We left the street quickly. 

This week was a disappointment because 5 of our 7 investigators with baptismal dates fell. 2 need to get married to their gf or move out of their gfs house, and both say they want to get married at the end of this year, so unfortunately they wont be baptized for a while. Others fell from legal points, our investigator is married to another man and cant get divorced so her and her 'husband' (boyfriend) cant get baptized. The last one, just said he didnt want to be baptized. So we are a little saddened that all of our work has crumbled this week. However, LIZ, my amiga, is getting baptized THIS WEEK on Saturday and we are so so so excited for her! This will be my first baptism, so this week will be good for sure!

The one thing I love about my mission so much right now, is the juice. The juice in Mexico is different than in the USA and it is sooooooooooo sooooo good. They have so many fruits Ive never heard of, and all of them are in juice form. Its heaven. Also, people here hate normal water, so they always make water with lime, or lemon, or mango, guayana, oranges, and any fruit you can think of. it is so. dang. good. They know how to have drinks here!! 

But seriously I really love my mission, even though I miss my home. I hope everyone is having a good time! Remember, WE ARE HERE TO HAVE JOY. (2 nephi 2 25).  so enjoy yourself! Nothing brings more joy than the Family, so spend time with them! Have a good week!

1-16-17

*Tara here...it has surprised me how emotional I get every time I get an email! I'm so grateful that Kyle is out serving the Lord, but it doesn't change the fact that I miss him terribly! He's such a great son!!! :) In his personal email to me, he said he hasn't had a 'real' pday yet because his companion has been going to the dentist. I replied, and then I got this sweet email*:

I hope the time flies cause i miss you a ton. and the family too. yeah, i guess youre right. next pday i will appreciate more haha. i love you tons. remember that all the people i teach and impact is because you taught me the right things. youre the reason 5 people are getting baptized. love you

 Isn't he the sweetest? I sure love him! 💙

I was hit on by a Jehovas Witness
Please pardon my spelling, and grammar. The computers here are in an internet cafe and the keys are broken and I cant find out how to use most punctuation. But that is alright! I will do my best! As the subject line says, this week was very interesting. I have been hit on 4 or 5 times by ladies in the street. The most memorable was when my comp and I were walking down the sidewalk, and noticed a pair of JW sisters street contacting. One of them paused her sentence, looked me dead in the eyes and took off her scarf and swung it at me while winking. Great experience. The others have just proved that girls from Mexico City like white skinned people I guess. Or at least, that is what my comp says. I think its because they think i have money. Its a good time, we just smile and walk away quickly.

Along the lines of Americans, i get yelled at a lot cause of Trump. They all hate me because for some reason they think I was the deciding vote for President. And they also blame Trump for all of their problems. They also make fun of me because im tall. but seriously, it is difficult to walk here because nothing is tall enough for me to pass by safely. I have a constant kink in my neck from tilting my head to fit. But other than that, I have been widely accepted here. I just have to get used to being the super odd person. Maybe i can use it to my advantage.

 The work in Mexico is great! We have 5 people with a baptismal date (Karlos, Liz, Adrian, Kate, Delia) and expect to have 2 or 3 more by the end of this week! People are accepting the Gospel! It is awesome to see the change in their lives as they let the spirit in. You can see it in their countenance. We would have more with baptismal dates, but you have to be married to your spouse to be baptized and literally no one here is married. They call each other husband and wife but dont have a document to prove it so we cant invite them to be baptized.

I am having a good time with the investigators and members, but I cant really understand them. Our ward had 45 people this week, so we are going to find some less actives and see if we cant bump up church attendance. The members are very nice and feed us lunch every day. I have tried guajalotas, gorditas, quesadillas, tortas, pambazo, tacos of longaniza, suadadero, pastor, carnitas, plantano, fried plantano, pazole, atole, and much more. and I like it all! Mexico City knows how to cook! I dont really know how I am not sick, because i havent seen someone prepare food with gloves once. But its all good, its the culture and i just pray daily that i dont get a tapeworm.

 The city is unique because unlike the USA, if you want something, you can buy it from a vender on the sidewalk! food, clothes, toys, groceries, bread, sweets, jewelry, everything. And everything is under 200 pesos, or 10 bucks. I enjoy the atmosphere of mexico city, its unique and unlike the US. We take the metro every day, its a super ghetto subway but i love it. We cram in like sardines and you hold your bag with one hand for theft protection and the other is for a hand hold cause the metros are bumpy and they stop really fast. there are awesome VW busses that drive around all day for transportation and they are all decked out with lights, spoilers, rims, everything. the transportation here is unique and its super cheap, because there is a rule that you can only use your car on certain days of the week, and on the days you cant use your car, you take public transportation. its all awesome here, if youre okay with run down dirty taxis, vans and subway cars.

 My companion is awesome, he helps me every day and in the mornings and nights when i cant understand he tries to speak english for me. hes really patient and okay with taking the lead in every lesson. he is a really good trainer and i cant thank him enough for these past 2 weeks. and i have 10 more with him! He wants to attend byu when he returns from his mission so i am teaching him english also. We have a great time together and really get along. Im glad I have a good trainer.

 Well, in other news.... gasoline hasnt gone back down so more riots and more police, but it hasnt reached our area yet so we have been safe so far. I have been approached by several extremely drunk and drugged up people, I saw a truck full of porcelain dolls, i think it was like a moving store. super creepy. The dollar is at 22 pesos right now so that means i get a ton of stuff for one dollar haha. Seriously, everything on the street is dirt cheap. probably illegal, but still dirt cheap.

 Im safe, im happy, im good, im working really hard, i love my area, members, investigators and my comp, im always tired and i cant understand much. But its all good. This is pretty fun, when you look past the extreme poverty, hatred and the endless PDA i see on a regular basis. Im really glad im in mexico because the food is sublime.

I have to go, but i will email next week with a really good nice email. I forgot my camera and i have to run to an appointment so i cant show you guys pictures. but next week i will send lots!

Well, im here. in mexico city. its 3rd world. the streets are dirty, filthy, there are hundreds of people everywhere, vans, semis, prostitutes, latinos, stray dogs, and spanish. i wish i could accurately describe exactly what this place is like, but i cant. So, on my first day in the field igot up at.. 3 or 4 am and took a small van to my mission, where i met president mecham and his wife and got our msf cards and met our new companions. my companion is elder rosales, a latino from veracruz. hes short, funny, and i cant understand him. i get along with him really well but he doesnt speak english and idont speak spanish so its tough to communicate. my house is tiny, dirty, and i cant believe that its a decent home here. everything is filthy haha. i have no words. i got to know the bishop and other people in the area. i didnt understand any of them but its alright. im about a foot and a half taller than everyone else here, and literally everyone looks at me. and there is so so so many people here. imagine new york city. now imagine it with 3x the population. now imagine everyone around 5 feet tall. now imagine the bronx of new york with short latinos instead of americans. welcome to mexico city. unlike america, i havent seen a fast food besides a kfc for 7 weeks. people set up shop on the side of teh sidewalk and sell literally everything on earth for dirt cheap. flea markets are on every other corner. they dont have restaraunts, just a small shop with one person working with his bare dirty hands, contaminating just about everything with everything. im not sure how i havent gotten sick yet. really. i dont know. i have tried a bunch of food and i cringe when i see the workers take a piss and come back to their stand without washign their hands. this place is honestly crazy and they just... live in dirt and disease. i will never ever ever take the usa for granted again. im never leaving the us after this haha. the members here are super nice and feed us every day. they make some wickedly hot food. i thought jalapenos were hot. i was so wrong. habanero is their favorite dressing. i will get used to the heat, or my tongue will fall off. not sure which will happen first. we eat anything they put in front of us, so really, its a miracle that im not sick. ive tried a ton of really authentic mexican food, and none of it is like anything in the united states, thats all americanized a ton. my ward has 36 people in it! its tiny, and i miss having more than 3 people in a sunday school class already. the members here are super humble and love the gospel, but its hard to pay attention when theyre speaking a foreign language. my mission is pretty dangerous. on friday we had to buy food for a week as soon as we could, cause the gas price went up and there have been riots in our mission. so, its not the safest place. theres a lot of robbery and stuff but my comp says that he has never been robbed so they must just not rob servants of god. we have a rule to always be in the house by 9, no matter what, even in a lesson for security reasons. we have a very secure house and theres a lot we can do to be safe, and i do it all haha. i dont want to die here. its really been a culture shock, i can buy whatever i want for 10 us dollars. seriously. anything. i wish i could describe what it is like, but icant, so i will be taking a lot of pictures and send them next week. now, for my investigators! this is the reason why im actually still out here! we have 2 people with baptismal dates. liz, a sidewalk shop owner of some womens t shirts and candy. she is 22 and super happy and is getting baptized at the end of january. then we have carlos, a really cool guy who can speak english and i taught him and invited him to be baptized and he said yes! he is planning to become baptized on feb 11, one day before my birthday. now that is a birthday present. we have a lot more people we teach, a few investigators and we teach a ton of less actives in an effort to restrengthen the ward again. the only thing ireally truly like about mexico so far is the people, and the work we are doing. the ccm was hard because i didnt have a purpose. but here, i am bringing the world his truth and teaching as many people that will listen. my second through 7th days here have been long. my spanish is already a million times better and i can actually understand people. we have a lot of success and teach a lot of amazing people. the days are long, the weeks are long, and im dreading being here for 2 years, but the people make it all okay. the days have just been for adjusting to missionary work and attempting to adjust to mexican culture. in short, god threw me in with the dogs. literally. there are stray dogs everywhere. but its alright, he knew i could handle it, so im going to handle it. its a different place, but the work of the lord is here and im a part of it. i miss the life i used to have so much. i had a car, friends, family, a good ward, a great place to work and, now, well, i literally have nothing. but its okay, cause its for the lord. oh, and im super bummed cause i guess those huge sombreros with cool designs dont really exist. thank you guys for the prayers, emails and more. i hope i survive the next week and ill email better next week when i actually know what im doing! (And a more personal email ❤) hey mom. this week has been hard for me too. im in a good area, its tiny and packed with people but its safe. my comp is nice, i eat all the food i can get, even if its disgusting, and its really hard to adjust to the life and language but its okay. i miss the usa so much. and english. i never get to use english. i have a member feed me lunch every day, because themembers here are super humble and amazing people. i dont need anyting but for the tmie to pass quickly haha. this is crazy, thats all i can say. i will explain in my big email. i love you so much. and i pray for yoy so much. LILY IS A NARWHAL THAT IS SO COOL i am so so so sad that i missed her birthday party. i wish i could have been there. i am super grateful for you guys in every way. i miss all of you so much. im grateful i got along with every single one of you guys and that i actually have people motivating me and who like me back home hahaha. love you guys. His address: Cerro de Jesus #115 Campestre Churubusco 04200 Coyoacan, Distrito Federal Mexico i will be here for 11 more weeks Email address: wilson.kyle@myldsmail.net

January 2, 2017 Happy New Year

"Hola madre i am not dead, and i am currently at the stake center waiting to meet my first companion. its my first day in the field! p days will now be on monday, so i guess ill talk to you next monday to tell you about my first real week! love you lots" I sure appreciate him telling me that he is not dead! Silly boy haha 😁 This picture was posted by Sister Mecham (the mission presidents wife). She does a great job of posting pictures and videos when she is with the missionaries. She sends a warm and loving vibe too, which helps me feel better. :) The mission President is also from a small town near where I grew up (but I did'nt know them), but we have mutual friends and know familiar places, kinda cool! I miss Kyle (sometimes to the point of tears) but I wouldn't change a thing. I know he is where he should be. I know he is where the Lord would have him be. Im grateful that he chose to serve. I'm grateful for the amazing young man he continues to be. Im grateful for the great relationship I have with him (and his siblings have with him)...that we actually love being together and miss each other! 😊 I'm grateful for good people who help take care of my son while he's away. I'm grateful for the knowledge I have of a loving Heavenly Father who also watches over Kyle. So many prayers of gratitude, along with my prayers for my Elder Wilson. ❤ Love you Kyle!