Monday, May 30, 2011

Hey everyone how's it going? 
Wow I definitely won't have time to explain everything I want this week. Sadly, very sadly, I have changes this week. My new area is called La Noria. It is in the Zone Laureles. It's the biggest zone in the mission and it is also very close to President. I think the office is in this zone and everyone says that my area is pretty urbanized so not too many problems with hygeine ha ha. Well I'm very sad to leave because I had a lot of amazing experiences in this area. My converts are doing very well and I'm glad I was able to help them. The thing that makes me sad the most is that we have 2 investigators that are going to be baptized this Friday and Saturday. They are both people that I found and have taught for 1 change and a half. One is a 34 year old man named Jose. He was the guy that we helped get married and he also gave up drinking for 3 weeks now to be baptized. The other baptism is an 18 year old girl named Milagros. Nobody else in her family really wants to be baptized except for her. She has a lot of friends in the church so she should be fine after her baptism. They both wanted me to baptize them and I'm sure that they'll all be sad when I tell them that I can't. 
Well I'm going to this area and my new companion is named Elder Shaw. I think he is from California and has about 5 or 6 months in the mission. Well it should be interesting to be the senior companion of a North American. I guess we'll find out this change if I can really speak the spanish language haha. 
Well I was able to have a very spiritual experience this last week. The lady that we baptized two weeks ago has a lot of difficulties learning new things and she doesn't know how to read. When we taught her the gospel and how she could pray and receive an answer she would always tell us when we asked, "Well I prayed but I haven't got an answer yet."  We did everything we could to help her but she seemed to expect a miracle for her answer. She passed her interview and everything but was waiting for an answer. About 4 days after her baptism she told us that she had a very beautiful dream the night before her baptism. Almost all Peruvians think that their dreams are signs or answers and it has always seemed a bunch of crap or nonsense to me until this little lady received her answer. She told me that she saw a lot of shiny sparkling water and that she came up out of the water and she saw two men and one stretched our his hand and said, "Come here Sister Grima, this is the way." She also told me a part after about the phrase "this is the way" and it was very similar to the scripture in 2 Nephi that we have never shared with her and she can't read so I know that it was an answer from the Lord and that she had the faith to receive an answer in this way. The Lord new that she would need an answer in this way because she can't read or learn well or anything but she was able to receive this answer and be baptized. I know the Lord answers prayers in his own time and in his own ways and that all that is required of us is to have faith and be willing to accept the answers or guidance that we receive. 
Well until the next week, 
Elder Wilkinson.
 Happy Birthday to Gabe Petersen also!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Happy Memorial Day 
May 30, 2011

Monday, May 23, 2011

Hey everyone! How's it gone the past few days?
This week has been really good for us. We just got done playing soccer today and I've gotta say I'm getting a lot better than I was when I came here. haha I scored like 5 or 6 goals today!!!!!
Well the only bad news is that I should be playing soccer more often than I am because I need to lose weight. My total weight gain for the mission so far is 21 pounds. ugh...... Well it's gonna have to be a month of dieting for me this June. I think I'll cut the rice out of my diet first haha because it's TERRIBLE!!!!!! They eat more rice here than in China!! not even kidding.
Well something else awesome that happened this week was that our investigator got baptized Saturday and she asked me to baptize her! She is a 60 year old lady from the mountains and she doesn't know how to read. She learns about as fast as a 2nd grade student but she has a lot of faith and believes in the church and its priesthood authority. During the baptism it was really funny because I taught her how to be baptized for the second time right before we went into the water, but she didn't quite have it down.........ha ha I told her that if her feet came out of the water she would have to be baptized again so when I said the prayer and she went under the water everything went alright, but when she came out she didn't put her feet back down on the floor but was cuddled up almost in a ball and I had to hold her in the air for like 30 seconds before she decided to put her feet back down. haha It was really funny and my companion laughed for like 5 minutes straight because I almost fell over holding her in the air like 5 times.
We also had a Noche Misional this week when the missionaries have an activity where the investigators and the members all come to the chapel and we have a lesson and after we play games. Everybody loves playing the game that Elder Samayoa taught me that's called the Torta de Harina, the flour cake. Everybody that looses has to pick up a piece of chocolate that's sitting in a big pile of flour, but they have to do it without using their hands. If anybody has any ideas of what we can do for games during Family Home Evening it would be a big help because we have a lot of less activities in our ward.
Well I was really proud to hear that my sister had the courage to stand up for herself with her big jerk boss. I know my sister works really hard and is always focused when she is working for someone. I know how she feels because the same things happened to me when I was learning spanish. People always making fun of you, correcting you and it never seems like your improving but really you are. I remember one change in the mission where I hated contacting and I couldn't contact that well. I was always worried about how I could contact better and I tried everything I could but it just seemed to always be the same. But when the end of my change came and I received a new companion with less time than me I discovered that I didn't have as much fear of contacting and that I had improved a lot. 
I know that all the experiences that we have help us, the good and the bad. The only things we need to do are trust in the Lord and be obedient and we will be successful and receive the help we need.
Well next Monday I'll try and buy the team jerseys for everyone and save pictures. Does everyone just want jerseys that say Peru or do you guys want different ones.
Write me and tell me the answer ok.
 Love you guys.!!!!!!! 
Sister Turk says ...
those who quietly stay behind and do the clean up
 after the fun is over will surely have a place
 in the Celestial Kingdom...
THE BEST OF THE BEST!!
Multi-Zone Conference
May 18, 2011

Thursday, May 19, 2011



Havin' fun at...
THE BIG MULTI-ZONE OF TRUJILLO!!
May 18, 2011

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

PRIMAVERA ZONE
Zone interviews and trainings...
May 13, 2011
Elder Wilkinson and Elder Ramos
Hermanas Chipana and Laso are from Peru, and 
Hermana Bigler is from Utah
Elder De Leon from Guatemala and 
Elder Meza from California
Elder Castro from Lima
and Elder Merida from Guatemala
Hermana Herrera from Nicaragua
Hermanas Calle and Montes are from Peru
Elder Jones and Elder Andersen
Jones is the Zone Leader for this Zone
and Andersen is still the Personal Secretary to the President
Sweet Elder Morales is from the Jungle of Peru and 
is being trained by Elder Puente below
Elder Barinas from the office
Elder Pacchioni the other Zone Leader for this group
and Elder Puente is a Trainer.
Elder Whitehead from Utah
and Elder Pickett is one of our trainers and he is from Idaho
Elder Chacaltana the President's Assistant 
and Elder Sanchez is from Lima

Monday, May 16, 2011

Hey everyone!!! 
Well another awesome week went by in the Trujillo Peru Mission. We had interviews and.....I passed!!! haha No the interviews with President Turk are really great and we always leave our meetings with him really pumped up and ready to work as hard as we can. 
This week was really successful for us. We have one baptismal date for this Saturday. It is a 65 year old lady named Grimaldina Worst name I've heard so far in the mission, but she is a really nice lady. She is from the mountains and she doesn't know how to read and we have to teach with pictures and only one or two principles per lesson. Now I know how my mom must feel every day teaching little second grade kids that are just learning how to read. 
Well nothing else really crazy or interesting happened this week but we were able to teach a ton of people and I feel that we should have another baptism this week or the next as well. This area is really improving and the people are starting to gain a lot of confidence in us. 
The meeting that we had in the office went really well. Hermana Turk taught us a really cool lesson that helped to motivate us. She asked us how we would feel if someone would give us 1 million dollars to talk to everyone in the streets about the gospel. She said that we would be running around talking to everyone, but later told us that these people in Trujillo are each worth a lot more than money, that each one is a Child of God and that we will receive a lot more than a million dollars if we are able to help one of them learn about the gospel and change their lives.
 As a missionary in Peru we hear a lot about all the crazy doctrine because there a lot of churches here and the people are really gulable and believe whatever they hear if it's from a priest or pastor. We hear things all the time that God is only a spirit, that God, Christ and the Holy Ghost are one person. That Jehovah in the Bible is God, that only 144,000 are going to be saved in the kingdom of God, that Satan has power over God to control the Earth, that Adam and Eve ruined everything for us and a lot more beliefs that are even crazier.
 I'm very grateful to live in a place where there are a lot of members and where everybody has the ability to learn about the gospel or at least have an opportunity. As a missionary we don't always know the answers but after we pray and search for them we always find them and our church always has the right answer. I know that this church is true and has the most sound doctrine of any church because the leaders of this church have always been called of God and receive revelation. I know that the Book of Mormon, the Pearl of Great Price and the Doctrine and Covenants help us to know the answers to all the problems of the world. Well, the church is true and I gotta go teach that... so until next week, 
Elder Wilkinson
 ps... Mom I forgot what you want me to do so let me know in the next email...buy jerseys, send photos, and I forgot what else. haha 
see ya later!   

Monday, May 9, 2011

Hey everyone how's it going? 
I hope you had a great Mother's Day and everything went well. It was really nice to talk to my mom and the rest of my family yesterday, and it was a lot better this time when we used Skype. The only thing... the family that let me use their computer was screaming and yelling in the background the whole time. haha Next time it will be even better.
 The week before Mother's Day we visited a lot of people that were not very grateful for their mothers and didn't treat them very well. We were pretty mad when they did that because we couldn't be with our moms. In one family, we got after one kid and we taught him that he needs to respect his mom, so we hope that he changes. More than anything this week, my companion and I learned how much our mothers and families mean to us because we weren't at home with them.
 Well pretty much nothing really crazy happened this week. One really awesome thing that did happened this week was... we had Papa Johns Pizza on Tuesday and it was delicious!!!! Also our pensionista made us tacos on Sunday because my companion loves them. She told us that she's going to make us tacos every Sunday, and she is going to buy some macaroni and cheese this week or next. We pretty much have the best pensionista and are in the best place to find american and mexican food in the city.
 Well I don't know if my mom said anything to you guys but the counselors of the bishop yesterday announced in sacrament meeting that we had to give talks. We didn't even have 1 minute to prepare and we were sitting on the back row and had to walk all the way up to the pulpit with everyone staring at us. But, the talks went alright so we won't have to talk for about another month in sacrament meeting. There are about 130 to 200 members in church every week in my ward so it is pretty large. They're thinking about dividing it but they're not quite ready I think.
 The only other thing that happened this week is that we found a crazy inactive member that wanted to argue with me. He told me that he had a stronger testimony than me and that there was nothing we could do to help him improve or strengthen his because he had faith and his priesthood. haha He then told me he had a stronger testimony because somebody shot him 3 times and nobody has ever shot me. haha We think that one of the bullets must of been in his head because something was wrong with him. 
Well I hope all is well with you. I know without any doubt this church is true and that when we lose ourselves in the service of God and others is when we are happy.

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Mother's Day!!

We had the BEST phone call ever!!
SKYPE is amazing!!
Elder Wilkinson and Elder Ramos
 
Good Times were had by all!!
día de la madre feliz
waiting for a 2:00 call...
we're using SKYPE!!!!
(cross your fingers everything works!)

Monday, May 2, 2011

Yay!!! haha
I'm glad to hear that Osama Bin Laden is dead. Are they sure it's him or is it one of his 50 million fakes?
Well this week went by really well for us. We didn't have any baptisms but we have a lot of really good investigators. Not much has really happened this week but I'll try to do my best to tell you what happened.
 I should be calling you guys tomorrow to have the pre call and set up a time to call back on Mothers Day. If not tomorrow I'm not sure when. Also, I don't know when I'll be able to set up Skype but Pres. Turk said we could have time to do it.
Well what we did today for our zone activity was go to the mall!!!!! I ate a big burger from McDonalds and it was delicious!!!! haha I can't wait to go back. The mall here is pretty much like the mall in the states but not as many people maybe because we went in the morning.
Also, I was able to give like 5 blessings to the sick this week in spanish which was really cool. When we talk on the phone this time I should be able to tell you a bunch of things in spanish. You don't really notice how much you understand until you watch another person that doesn't know spanish be really confused about what somebody is saying.
Yesterday I read in the book, Our Heritage, that the pioneer saints arrived in the Utah Valley the 21st of July, the same day I left on my mission. A little time after Brigham Young said,  "This is the right place." I remember that when I left on my mission that day I was sad but when I got to the MTC I said, "Well I know I'm in the right place." 
I know that if we follow the Lord he will always put us in the right place.
Until next week.
 Ty