FELIZ DIA DE LA INDEPENDENCIA!!!
Peru Independence Day 

2011

The people fly a flag that is just red and white.

The government flies the flag with the emblem in the center.

Hey everyone hows it going? 

Well not much happened this week. Just the same old routine. Except that I'm getting pretty good at soccer for a white guy that's never played before!!!! This week we were passing by a park and there was a group of young people playing soccer. It was early and there weren't many people out so we went up to them and asked them if we could play. At first they were blowing us off and were saying not now because we're playing, because they thought that we just wanted to teach them, but we told them that it was just to play. We played and I scored 3 goals!!! We left without asking for references but told them that we would play the next day and if we won they had to give us their directions and cell numbers. Well we won again and we kicked their trash. haha It's funny to say but I know the Lord helped us beat them to get the references because I scored some crazy goals that I never would have been able to do before like kicking it past three guys from the side line into the high corner of the goal or kicking the ball in between the legs of another player and then hitting it past the goalie. It was awesome!! Also, in this zone we play soccer as a stake every Monday morning from 6:00 to 7:30. haha I never thought that I would say it but I might like to play a little soccer when I get back from the mission. 

Well I also had one more cool experience. The family Asto, the one that I asked for you to pray for, well we found out that they are not married so we will have to plan a wedding for them, but they are progressing a lot and the mom that didn't really want to listen before is really interested now. It's a little bit because she had a dream. She said that she dreamed that there were two people dressed in white that came up to her and gave her a bunch of white papers. She said that in her dream that she was very happy and that she felt a lot better when they got there. Well we asked her if she thought it was us and she told us that she did and that after that dream she woke up her husband and told him that they needed to go to church and they did. That was probably the biggest of all the miracles that happened this week. 

Well I don't have much time but the companion is good. His name is Frederico mom and Grandma maybe you could send me recipes of foods for my pensionista, but that's better through email. 

Other than that I'm good. I also wanted to share a scripture, Alma 36: 17-20. When I read this it made me feel good because when we focus on the Savior and his sacrifice, especially in sacrament meeting, all the pains just float away. 

Anyways until next week...

 Elder Wilkinson.

Hey everyone how's it going?

 Well this week went by pretty good. Everything is going well with my new companion Elder Bulmini. He is from Uruguay. He is the first missionary from Uruguay to serve in the Trujillo, Peru Mission so that's pretty cool. He is also an english teacher so we can talk in english too. He is a really good missionary and already knows a lot about the mission work because he has been the ward mission leader before in his home ward. Anyways he likes playing soccer, if that's not already obvious since he is from South America, and he is very good at singing. 

Anyways mom the tie dye shirts that you saw Elder Shaw and I wearing were from a zone activity one p-day where we all bought white shirts, tape and spray paint and then we taped our shirts making different designs and then sprayed them different colors. It was pretty fun. All the other activities aren't crazy fun but I've enjoyed them. We usually play soccer, we watched the movie Rio, or maybe it's river in english I'm not sure, and once we went to a shopping mall place and I bought a sweet new backpack because the other 10 dollar Walmart backpack was on it's last run.

 I'm going this week to a shirt store so I'll try to buy all of the shirts everyone has asked for. Also, my suit is doing fine and my shoes too. Thanks for the socks and the new tie they are really sweet. 

I also got the package from Grandma from the Seattle trip. You are all lucky!!!! I also got really great letters from G and G Wilk. They seem to be doing very well.

 Anyways  Brother Artemio came to church this last Sunday. He is the one that is having a lot of health issues in his family. He thought before that you only received revelation from dreams, but now he knows and is praying hard for an answer so please pray for him and also a girl named Luisa. There are a lot of good people here and I know that they will progress.

 I love the Lord....I love you guys.... and I love the people of Peru!

 Until next week,

 your son Elder Wilkinson

Tyler's is training....

Elder Bulmini

Well I'm trying to send a few pics this week so I hope they turn out all right I can't see them on the computer so I just picked random ones. 

Well this week has gone by very fast. We found out the changes today and it looks like Elder Shaw is going to Huamachuco, which is a little town in the mountains. I don't know who my new companion is because I am going to be training and they haven't arrived here in Trujillo yet. I hope that I am ready to train someone haha I know that it's going to be a lot different and that I'm going to have to help with everything. I just wish I knew if it was a latino or an American. I kind of hope that it's a latino because I'm starting to lose a bit of spanish when I have American companions because we always talk in english with one another. 

Anyways this week went alright. It was sort of bad because we did not have a single person come to church this week which was pretty depressing. It is very hard when they all say that they want to go and tell you they will and then they just come up with an excuse when Sunday comes. It was very hard. However, we do have quite a few good investigators so they should be progressing this next week. 

Also we had our baptism for the girl named Belèn. She was very excited at her baptism and I was able to be the person to baptize her. Her parents aren't members but her extended family is and she has a very strong testimony even though she is only 11 years old. She attends a religious school that is always bashing on other religions and she told us that she received an answer to hers prayers and that she knows the church is true. 

Well sorry I don't have more time to talk but that's about what happened this week and I'll let you know what's happened this next week and who my companion is but until then stay happy and safe!!!!

Elder Wilkinson

There is a group called "Hope Alliance" that goes to Trujillo

every year in order to provide eye examinations, 

eye care and eye glasses.

There are Optometrists, Opthamologists, Business Students,

 Organization Coordinators, Volunteers,

and then the missionaries

 come to translate.

The missionaries do such a great job.

They help administer the eye exams

 and translate for the American team

of doctors and volunteers.

The man with his eyes closed below is Tim Barney.

He is the Organization Sponsor.

This group stays in town for about a week 

working around the clock.

The missionaries are rotated in every few hours.

They bring in thousands of eye glasses

 and each one is appreciated.

It is great for them to be involved in

 service and humanitarian aid.

Tyler is not in the pictures, 

but he did volunteer!

Tyler celebrated the 4th of July by going to a 

Horse Show...

East, Esperanza and Laureles Zones