Crazy Storms

Hola todos!!! How´s it going?

This week was pretty great!

We started out the week pretty stressed out. My companion is trying to get used to the new area (which is huge) and the new responsibilities of being a Sister Training Leader. I was stressed about having to be in charge of everything. We were a nice old pair of stress.

But, we figured things out and now we're doing well. :)

Bueno, Antonella. She's not doing so well. Sadly. She broke up with her boyfriend and now she is smoking, drinking and more. It's pretty sad. We don't know how to help her. We have the ward helping too, so I hope things get better.

After visiting Antonella, we had the feeling to visit Macarena. It was good that we did. She told us that she broke up with her boyfriend (YES!) because he did drugs and she didn't want that for her daughter. She said that she was only going to help women get to know the Gospel from now on. She's funny. She told us that she is still smoking, but is really trying to quit. It was good we went. I could tell afterwards that she was just needing a visit.

On Friday we went to Yesica and Lautaro. We had a really good lesson. We talked about how much God loves us. They said that they had both read in the Book of Mormon and that they liked it. Then we talked about the Restoration. Yesica said that she had always wondered why there were so many churches if there is only one God. They were both really attentive and they really liked what they heard. We then invited them to church and they both said that they would like to go. They didn't end up getting there, but we're gonna keep trying.

On Saturday, we were running around with our heads cut off trying to get a million things done. That's when Rosane (a memember) called and told us that it was her son's birthday that day and that Elena (an old investigator) would be there. We got there and were able to talk with her again. She's not doing so well. We're going to see if maybe she's ready to be baptized. She knows everything. Has a testimony of everything. She knows what she needs to do. She just needs to act.

While we were running around crazy, we contacted a man. We were looking for his ex-wife, but she wasn't there. We started talking and he told us that he wasn't doing well. We testified that Christ can help him with anything and that we'd love to pass by and help. He got emotional and said he would love it. It was a beautiful experience!

We started another mission choir!!!!!! It's for Easter! It's going to be really fun. I just love choirs! Anyway, I'm rather excited.

Anyway, I love you all a ton!!! Have a great week!!!!!

Love from,

Hermana Micaela Wilson

Crazy storms in Carlos Paz

Full of Miracles

Hola mis seres queridos! Cómo andan?

This was a really good week! Amazing and difficult at the same time. 

Bueno, we saw a lot of miracles this week. It was amazing! 

So, we saw Maxi and before he told us that he wanted to be baptized. He still wants to be baptized, but he wants his dad to do it in Utah (because that's where his dad got baptized and his dad is convinced that the church is much better in Utah. He doesn't like the church here, but it's because

he hasn't really tried. I've lived in Utah my whole life and I can tell you that the church is the same. It's just that there are so many members over there that it seems different). Up in your neck of the woods. But, we tried to explain that his dad could do it here and that it'd be good that his friends and family could be there. We're still waiting for his decision.

Damian and Eliana are doing well. Still progressing and planning their wedding. On Saturday Damian finally prayed with us!!!! Finally!!!!!

Bueno, the miracles!

On Tuesday, we went to find an investigator that the minis had been teaching. We got there and she let us in and gave us juice. Her name is Yesica (Jessica). We got talking and she started telling us everything about her life. Her struggles, her hopes. It was amazing! We gave her a Book of Mormon and we told her that Christ is the only one that understands her and that could make everything better. We invited her to be baptized and she accepted!!!!! She's great!

As we were leaving, we met her nephew, Lautaro. We went on Thursday to visit Yesica, but she wasn't there. So we visited Lautaro. He's 15 and is bullied in school. He's a sweet kid. We also invited him to be baptized and he accepted!!!

On Friday, we were going to an appointment that we had, but they weren't there. So, we decided to visit a recent convert that lives nearby. Her name is Rosa. We went and talked a bit about genealogy and I could tell she wasn't doing to well. I asked her how she was and she started crying. She said that she really missed her son, who is on a mission, and that things weren't all good with her husband. Being a recent convert, it's hard to understand everything. It's hard for anyone to have a child in the mission. We listened and assured her that she is not alone. We weren't planning on going, but we felt that we needed to. That wasn't us. That was God. We saw her on Sunday and she said that she was feeling a lot better and that she appreciated our visit. :)

On Thursday, we went to visit a less active girl named Marisol (18 years old). We got there and she wasn't very warm. She was very stony faced and inexpressive. She didn't want to hear anything about the church. We somehow changed the topic and she completely changed. We gained her confidence somehow. By the end she was laughing and making jokes with us. She wants me to teach her English, so we're going to start helping her with that.

On Saturday night, we took a member with us, Angel, and went contacting in an area that he knows well. It was amazing! He told us which house to contact and in every one of those houses, they listened to us. The last house we contacted lived a woman whose daughter had listened to the missionaries and had passed away soon thereafter. The woman is still quite distraught and it is very difficult for her. The spirit was so strong. We testified of the Plan of Salvation and by the end, we were all in tears. It was amazing! 

This week I felt so led by the Spirit! It's amazing to see how it guides us. I know that if we ask, the Lord will bless us. If we knock, it shall be opened unto us. 

I hope that you all have a great week this week! I love you all so much!!!!

Love from,

Hermana Micaela Wilson

-

Lots of Goodbyes

Hola todos! Cómo andan? Espero que estén bien!!!!!

This week was kind of crazy. The last week of Hermana Dennis and the minis. It was quite sad, actually. I´m going to miss them...

On Monday we had to work because on Tuesday we had Consejo de Líderes. On Monday, I stayed with Hermana Dennis and I helped her with her last letter to Presidente. 

Tuesday we had Consejo. I love Consejo so much!!! It´s so much fun!!! Hermana Dennis had to say goodbye to the missionaries. Lots of goodbyes this week.

Wednesday we went to the temple! I love the temple. What a blessing it is to have a temple here in Córdoba! Then Hermana Dennis had her last interview with Presidente.

Thursday we had zone meeting in Córdoba. Again, more goodbyes.

We went to see lots of members this week so that the other three could say goodbye. Macarena is doing a lot better, although she is still with this kid. She has a lot of hope that he´ll get baptized and stay firm. We´re worried though because it didn´t work out too well last time...

Antonella is back to her old self. Thank goodness!!! We were realived to see that. We were really worried about her. Damian was sad though. We weren´t able to visit them very much this week and he was slightly offended. He didn´t go to church yesterday. Antonella did. She even went in a skirt, even though she hates skirts. :)

We are also teaching a little boy named Maxi. He is the half brother of a recent convert. He has lots of family that are members, he´s just never wanted to get baptized. We had a lesson with him on Thursday. We were talking about baptism, why we get baptized and everything and we asked him if he had prayed about whether or not he should be baptized. He said he had. Here is how the conversation went:

"Did you pray about getting baptized?"

"Yes"

"And how did you feel?"

"Weird"

"What kind of weird? Can you explain it?"

"It's like a pressure in my chest."

"A good pressure or a bad one?"

"Good."

"Do you feel it when you go to church?"

"Yes."

"And do you like going to church?"

"Yes."

"Why do you like going to church?"

"Because when I started going, I felt good and like I should keep going."

"So what do you think God is trying to tell you when you get that feeling after praying?"

"That I should get baptized."

We were so excited!!! He's listened to a lot of missionaries but he never wanted to get baptized. Our goal is that he gets baptized this weekend. He said that he probably would. He just wanted to talk to some people first. He is such a good kid! Really sweet and very well behaved! We are so excited for him! But in that lesson, I just felt so led by the Spirit. There was one moment where I was going to ask one question and I changed in the middle and asked a completely different question. After asking the question I thought where did that come from? That wasn't me. :) We are really excited!

Yesterday, Hermana Dennis' parents came to pick her up from her mission. It was hard to see her parents. They all started crying. It was beautiful to see their reaction. After a year and a half, reunited again. They stayed with us all day and there was a party for her in the afternoon. It was really amazing. Really sad to have to say goodbye. I was really sad to see her go. She was a good friend. 

Today we went to the terminal and the minis left and so did Hermana Dennis. I got my new companion. Her name is Hermana Medina and she is from Colombia. She is 20 years old and has 10 months in the mission. She is a sweetheart. I'm excited for this new adventure! It's gonna be great!

Anyway, I hope you all have a great week!!!! I love you all so much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Love from,

Hermana Micaela Wilson

last exchange in Merlo

exchange in Merlo

Hola todos! Espero que hayan tenido una buena semana!
[Hello everybody! I hope you had a good week!]

This week was good. A little crazy, but good. Monday night, we got all ready to travel to Merlo to do our last exchange, but the bus was full. So we had to change everything and go on Tuesday night. All day Tuesday, we were writing reports on the hermanas and how they are doing. It takes quite a while. So we left on Tuesday night and got to Merlo the next morning. We had our last exchange of the transfer. It was really good. I like being a Sister Training Leader and being able to help the sisters out.

Thursday was pretty amazing. Okay, at first it was a bit crazy. Our bus to Carlos Paz was supposed to leave at 2 in the morning. But when we got to the terminal, they told us that the bus broke down and that we were going to have another one at 6:30. So, we got there at 6:40 freaking out thinking that we had missed it. But thank goodness it was late. We got back to Carlos Paz at 11 a.m. finally. We finished our reports on the hermanas (that we have to send to Presidente) when we got back.

At the Bishop's house

At night, we got a text from the elders telling us that Macarena (a recent convert we hadn't seen for a few weeks) was not doing so hot. We went immediately and found her at her house. She let us in and started to cry. She told us that she was smoking again. We got talking and she told us about her new boyfriend. She'd told me about him before telling me that she wanted to share the Gospel with him. She told us that now they were together and she was smoking and doing other things that she knew she shouldn't be doing. She also told us that he had looked up stuff about Joseph Smith on the Internet and that now she had doubts about the Gospel. We asked her if she was praying and reading the Book of Mormon and she said no. We talked a lot and finally she decided to start praying and reading again. It was amazing. We acted on that message and if we had gone one day later, it might have been too late. It was amazing. In the lesson, we all were crying. There came a point where I literally felt that what I was saying to Macarena weren't my words, but God's. I couldn't even tell you what I said. I do remember at one point begging her to stop doing the things that she knew she didn't have to do and to start reading and praying again. The Spirit was so strong. It reminded me of a talk by Brad Wilcox called His Grace is Sufficient. If you haven't read it, do it. Anyway, it was a beautiful experience. On Sunday she went to church and said that she was doing a lot better. :)

Pellegri Family

Tomi

Okay. So this part was hard. Antonella, Damian y Eliana. We went to go visit them and they weren't doing too great. We started talking to Antonella and she didn't want anything to do with us. She didn't even want to look us in the eyes. She told us that she didn't want to go to church ever again and that she was going to give us back her Book of Mormon. We talked to her for a while and she just didn't want it. We were talking with Damián and he also said he never wanted to go back. We asked him why and he told us that he didn't like that we were pressuring him so much to get married and baptized. He said that he was trying to do it, he just couldn't make ends meet fast enough. We felt horrible. He didn't want to because of us. Because we pushed him too far. We talked for a while and he said that it's not that he doesn't want to see us again, it's just that he wanted us to back off a bit. I understand. I wouldn't have liked that either. Eliana was just dandy. While all this was going down Antonella wrote a note to Hermana Obregón saying that she wanted to talk to her. They went off to the side to talk. After they talked, Antonella was doing better. She just has some problems that we'll just have to work through. It was kind of an emotional wreck, though.

Macarena's dad's baptism

So yeah. Also, this is Hermana Dennis' last week in the mission and the minis are leaving too. So basically I'm left alone with a new companion to try and figure life out again. I'm kind of stressed.

Anyway, I hope you all have a great week! Make every day count! I love you all!!!

Love from,

Hermana Micaela Wilson