Hey everyone!!

Everything is going really well here in the Noria.  I'm still here with my hijo (son) Elder Bulmini, but I'm not really training him that much in this second change because he pretty much know everything now. Anyways, yes mom, we still have a lot of people at church.  Eleven went to church last week!!!!!! haha and this week we are going to have 2 or 3 more baptisms.  Their names are Cynthia, Melissa and Jorjo. Cynthia and Melissa are sisters and they are really great. They are progressing a lot and have testimonies of the gospel. Jorjo is progressing as well and we hope that he can be baptized as well but we will see. Anyways, so far everything is going normal as far as being a district leader, but this week President Turk or one of the assistants will be attending my district meeting so I'm going to have to have a pretty good one. I hope it turns out good so please pray for that!!!! haha

Anyways, we changed rooms last week and it was a pain to move but we now live on the second story of a house instead of a garage yayyyyy! The room is a little smaller but the bathroom is awesome.

Thanks mom for giving me that advice it will really help me. There is a part very similar to that in my patriarical blessing that you reminded me of, ha you know me better than anyone so I should listen to your advice.  

Well Grandma asked me if it is cold still, and no it's not too cold. Some nights we go proselyting with sweater vests on, but everyone here thinks that it is freezing so they are all pretty much like my mom. 

I hope all is going well in school and everyone is happy with their classes. 

I hope that everyone has good birthdays this week because there are a lot!!! Happy Birthday Grandma, Papa, Mom, Grandma Lecta and Tori Sorrentino. 

All is going well here. The church is growing. I know the church is true and contains the authority to administer to the children of God. I know that this is the only church that gives the gift of the Holy Ghost and that it contains the fullness of the gospel. I know that God lives and that he speaks to us. I know that families can be happy and live forever through the mercy and atonement of Christ and I hope you all know that.

Until next week,

Elder Wilkinson

Well I'm convinced this week that my mission president has gone crazy. haha I just found out last night that I'm going to be the new district leader in La Noria.!!!! There will be 6 missionaries in my district because they are changing the boundaries of all the missionaries and all the districts. Anyways there are 4 elders and 2 sisters in my district and one of the sisters is brand new to the mission. haha Please pray for a miracle so that I can be at least a little good at my responsibility. I don't know if you know mom, but I'm sure you will ask this so I'll just tell you now. The district leader has to teach all of the district meetings every Tuesday to his district for an hour and a half about the things that go on in the mission and about Preach My Gospel.  They also are in charge of the health of the missionaries and making sure they get the help they need.  They also resolve problems that happen in their areas and have to approve the rooms that the missionaries live in. Also they do work visits with the other missionaries to help them in their areas. They do all the baptismal interviews for their district and they are in charge of the activities that the district does as well as turning in all the numbers for the week into the zone leaders. haha Pretty much they are in charge of 

HAVING STRESS!!!!!!!! haha  

Something really great that happened this week was that Hermana Santos was baptized on Saturday and confirmed on Sunday!!!! She is so happy and I know that she will be a great member here. We have a lot of people that are close to baptism and I know that we are going to have a lot of success here this next change.

Anyways, I wanted to share a scripture with you today in Romans chapter 8:24-28. It talks a lot about hope.  A lot of times in the mission we lose our hope. We don't think the people will progress or that they will do something or that we won't be able to explain something, but here it says that hope is something that we don't see but we wait with patience for it.  Really I know that hope is important because we can know that the Savior will always help us and everything that happens is for our good.

Until next week,

E. Wilkinson

Hey everyone!! Thanks for your emails. I got one from mom, grandma and Nick!!!!!yayyyyyy!  Well everything went very well this week. We had 14 investigators in church on Sunday!!! The Lord is really blessing us now in our area. Anyways, one of our investigators is going to be interviewed this week and maybe be baptized this Saturday.  Her name is Santos and she is a very good lady.  She is from the mountains so she doesn't have very much education, but she can read so that is good. She really had a strong desire to be baptized and to dedicate herself to the Lord as she always tells me.  She is a really special lady to have so many children alone and still be willing to dedicate time to come to church.  She practically comes alone too which is amazing . Anyways there are 5 more people that have accepted to be baptized so now we're just waiting for all of them to be married!!!! The family Asto is doing really well and they all read the Book of Mormon and we have Family Home Evening with them every Tuesday night. It is great! They are already worried and keep saying they are going to miss me when I go to a different area. 

Well this week we had a meeting for all of the missionaries that are training and all of their new companions.  It was very special and President Turk always makes us feel like we are able to do anything we want to and that we are in the best mission in the entire world and that everyone wants to be baptized here. I sure hope that someday I can become like him because he is a very special person.

Anyways, I have decided to make a decision about something. I don't need any more packages until Christmas time. haha I'm getting way too many and I'm famous in the office for the most packages received from home I think. Thank you family for the love, but haha I want you to save your money. It hurts me more to see that you are spending 20 dollars for everyone and that you could be spending it on other things.  It would be great to just send me letters because I like that the most and also pictures.  If you want to send pictures you could do it through my email as well. Anyways, it's your decision. haha

I'm really interested to go back to our ward and see Bishop Smith and how hard he works because the bishopbric has been a lot different so far where I have served.  I'm glad for the bishop that we have back home and how willing he is to serve and sacrifice for the members. Tell bishop that I said hi and that I hope everything is going well.

Anyways, also this week we had interviews with President Turk and after we played all the crazy games that are on the blog.  I did get the cookie from my forehead to my mouth in about 20 seconds but the game where you pick up the beans with a straw was very hard. However, Hermana Turk gave us the weird nickname because we were the champions of foosball in our district. We both won a package of candy and we were both very happy.

Anyways, everything is going very well. However, when my district leader came out of his interview with President he told me that President Turk told him what was going to happen to me this next change so now I'm nervous about what is going to happen because I should have at least one more change with my companion.

Anyways, thanks and until next week

Multi-Zone Conference

August 18, 2011

Laureles Zone Conference

August 12, 2011

Trainer Conference

August 10th 

Hey everyone. 

Glad to hear that all is well and that Sadie got a
job!!!!! yaaaaaaaaaaa!!!

I hope everyone is healthy and that everyone is
ready to go back to school, except for dad and me. haha 

Well I also have some pretty good news. We have 4 baptismal dates now! There is

one young kid named Jorjo that has a baptismal date for the 27th of
August and also the family Asto has a baptismal date as well. They
have agreed to set up a matrimony for the 3rd of September and then be
baptized the 10th of September, all around the birthdays of you
guys!!!!! Anyways they are progressing a lot. Artemio and his daughter
both fasted with us yesterday and came to church, but the mom was a
little sick and had to stay home. 

Anyways all is good here and things
are looking up. Last Friday we had an activity that's called a Noche
Misional. It's like a missionary night when the investigators come and
also the members with their friends and we teach a small lesson and
then play fun games with the people. This week we had a relay race,
played musical chairs and had an egg throwing contest. I don't want to
brag but I won the relay race and the egg throwing contest!! haha In
the relay race we had to spin around 15 times to be dizzy, then run
through an obstacle course, then eat an entire banana, then put
on a tie and then blow up a balloon and pop it. haha Everyone else did
it in 57 seconds or more and I did it in 27 seconds.

 It was really fun. 

Also this week we were able to do 6 service projects. We helped
paint the house of Jorjo, we cleaned a park with the primary, we
taught english to a member, we cleaned the windows, mopped the floor
and washed the dishes in the house of the pensionista and we helped a
different lady cut out pictures for a display. 

They were all pretty fun activities.

 Anyways if you could please pray for a kid named Dante
that he can feel good enough and be healthy enough to go to church
this week and also the sister Santos that she can get ahold of her
husband so she can coordinate her matrimony. 

Well my camera does take AA batteries so thanks for sending them.

 I did get one package but I don't
know what it is yet until tomorrow. Also for Grandma Tuttle, yes
August is the coldest month here as well and they all think that it is
extremely cold but its like spring. I'm sure that Chile is a lot colder
though because it is a lot further south. 

Well I want to invite everyone to make sure and 

fast next month because it is really powerful.

 I've gained a testimony of fasting in the mission because I
have seen a lot of miracles from it. We are tempted a lot as
missionaries to break our fasts and we always have to remember that we
are fasting because people always try to give us food. I like the
scripture in Helaman that is in chapter three verse 35 I think that
talks about the importance and blessings of the fast. 

I hope you can all do it next month!!!!! 

Anyways still waiting on the answer of the
scripture I have on my mission plaque...............and also make sure
to ask my friends to email me because they can!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

But they have to send it through your email address is what our president has told us. 

Anyways pray for me and I'll pray for you.

 until next week,
Elder Wilkinson. 

 LOVE YOU GUYS!!!!!!!!!!!!

My Missionary Commission

I am called of God.
My authority is above that of

 kings of the earth.
By revelation I have been selected as a personal representative of the

 Lord Jesus Christ.
He is my master and He has chosen me to represent Him--to stand in His place, to say and do what He Himself would say and do if He personally were ministering to the very people to whom He has sent me.
My voice is His voice, and my acts are His acts; my doctrine is His doctrine.
My Commission is to do what He wants done; To say what He wants said; to be a living modern witness in word and in deed of the divinity of his great and marvelous Latter-day work.
How great is my calling!

Hey everyone!!!! 

Well all is well in La Noria and we are having a lot of success. I don't have much time to write, but this week we have seen a lot of miracles. The other week we found an investigator named Santos. She was walking down the street with her four children and she looked pretty stressed out, but we decided to talk to her. haha She didn't realize we were trying to talk to her until we were all right in the middle of the street that we were crossing. We started to contact her and she was very nice but all the cars started to honk at us and we had to move off of the road to finish contacting her. Anyways, turns out that she is a single mother of 6 children. She has a baby that is 1 year old, and the other almost 2, and one that is 3 years old as well. Talk about headaches. Well when she listened to us she went to church last week and this week she showed up early all by herself. We started teaching her the lessons and she started to cry and told us that she was glad to finally find the true church so she has plans to be baptized the 13th of August. We just need to double check and make sure that she won't move back in with her ex husband/boyfriend. Anyways, with this  lady we can really see how many things some people need in the world, physically, spiritually and emotionally. This sister needs all of it. but she is always very patient and a very good example.

It made me think of a scripture in Mosiah 18:8-10 in this scripture it says that when we are baptized we should be willing to mourn with those that mourn. It also says that we should carry the burdens of others. Not many members know or remember that we make a promise to God when we are baptized to lift the burdens of other people and help them in their lives. I was able to talk once about that in sacrament meeting and I felt it was very important that we should always remember that we have promised to do that and that if we're not helping we're not fulfilling our baptismal covenant. 

Anyway, everything else went really well this week. There were 8 people that came to church and we have  2 really awesome families that want to get married, which includes the family Asto. So please pray for Santos, and the family Asto, and the family Vega this week so they can receive as many blessings and help as possible. 

I sent a letter last week so I hope you get it. Also, I want to ask two important questions. Mom what is the scripture I put on my mission plaque, and also I want to know if you have saved the pictures I sent you somewhere, so I can delete them because my usb is full and I don't have room to save them to send you the camera chips? 

Please send recipes and if you would like and some sunflower seeds and Hot Tamales.

I love you all a ton and hope all is well... and that the new dog is behaving haha 

Until next week,

 Elder Wilkinson. 

The Laureles Zone did a service project where they picked up garbage from the new temple site...

When they were done they had tons of garbage, so they called the patriarch and he came with his taxi to take the garbage away....

The Laureles Zone!!