Gracias a Que Él Vive

Hola todos! Espero que hayan tenido una buena semana y que se encuentren bien. :)

This week was really good! I feel like it flew by. 

Ok, where to begin? :)

Bueno, Alberto. We visited him on Monday and had a Family Home Evening with him and his family. We watched the video from Easter from last year, Gracias a Que Él Vive. It was really good! He liked it a lot. We couldn't go back though during the week. (The week was kind of crazy.) He also didn't go to church on Sunday because his wife was sick and he had to take care of her. But, he wanted to go. He's still progressing nicely. We just have to talk about marriage so that they can hurry up and do that. :)

We also visited a family that was a referral from one of the converts of Hermana Medina in her old area. We went and got to know them. They are going through a particularly hard time and we got there in the perfect moment. They have heard the missionaries before, so they know a bit about us already. It was a really sweet visit. Actually we have an appointment with them today! :)

We went to the temple last Tuesday. When we left early in the morning, it was freezing! But the temple was beautiful! I love going to the temple! What a beautiful spirit that dwells there! 

Also, on Thursday we went to Santa Rosa for an exchange. It was really good! When we were about to head to the terminal to take the bus, (we were with a member, recent convert actually) and he would not let us go home on the bus. He said it was too late to travel like that so he took us in his car. That is not cheap. It is not close. And he would not let us pay him. It was amazing! What an amazing man!

Also, the Cabello family (recent converts) went to the temple on Thursday! It was so sweet! They loved it!

On Friday, there was a stake activity and they had asked our ward to share a talent. The ward didn't have time to prepare something, so they asked us to dance. Again. So, we had to go to Córdoba to do our dance. In front of the stake. Yeah, it was a bit uncomfortable. But, it ended up good! 

Yesterday we had Concilio de Lideres which is always really really fun! This time, the hermanas, after the meeting, went to a mall where there are games, and we played in the arcade. It was really fun! They also had bumper cars!

Anyway, it's been a crazy week and this is most likely my last week in Carlos Paz. I already have 6 months here... so yeah. It's sad. But, I hope you all have a fantastic week! And enjoy Mother's Day this Sunday!!!! I love you all!!!!

Love from,

Hermana Micaela Wilson

Salsa! Olé!

Leadership Photo (from Facebook)

Hola todos!!!!

This week was good. :)

Ok, people. Jennifer. We didn´t go this week. We decided to let her have a week off. Let it settle in that we´re not always going to go.

We´re going to visit her this week and let her go. That´s going to be hard.

Valentina. We couldn´t visit her very much. She says that she wants to change, but she hasn´t read or prayed yet. But, she´s young. She´s only 16 years old. We are hoping that she does something. Because if she doesn´t, we can´t do anything more than invite.

Alberto. We started teaching a man named Alberto. He is the husband of a less active member. They went to General Conference and we met him there. He is very curious and is willing to act! HE WENT TO CHURCH ON SUNDAY!!!!! Por fin tuvimos alguien en la capilla!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[We finally have someone in the chapel!]

Also, this week, we had a Talent Show put on by the Obra Misional. It ended up well. We didn´t have a ton of time to plan, but it was good.

Hermana Medina and I did a dance with Claudia Cabello (recent convert) and Bianca Carvalho (young woman). We danced salsa. Can you believe it? I danced salsa. It was really fun! I love salsa!!! We danced to the song Quimbara Kimbara by Celia Cruz. It was fun!! Alberto also went to the Talent Show!

So yeah. We had a pretty good week. It´s getting cold now, but we bundle up good. :) Enjoy the sun! Have a fantastic week!!!I l love you!!!!!!!!!!!!

Love from,

Hermana Micaela Wilson

Interviews with Presidente

This week was good. :)

On Tuesday we had interviews with Presidente Alliaud. He is an amazing man! I absolutely love him! I´m gonna be really sad when he leaves. He really helped me to feel like what we are doing is okay. He helped me to realize (again) what success is. And it helped a lot.

Jennifer. We met with her on Tuesday and were really frank with her. We told her that if she wasn´t interested, we wouldn´t be able to continue. She told us that she really wanted to go to church and be baptized. So, we made plans so that she could go to church on Sunday. Everything was ready. We were going to visit her on Saturday so that she would be all ready, but she canceled on us. But she said she´d still go on Sunday. We went to go get her on Sunday, and she didn´t come out. We were there for half an hour knocking. This may be her last week. It´s so hard because we both feel that she really does want to keep going. That she´s not just pulling our leg. But, we´ll see.

We went to go visit a less active member and her family. Her husband (they´re not married) isn´t a member and he wants to quit smoking. They went to General Conference. When we went, there was another less active and their friend. We had a really sweet lesson with them. The friend had had a miscarriage and testified of the fact the she knows that there is another life after this one. It was really sweet. We´re going to start teaching her. :) Her name is Lorena.

Valentina. We visited her and she hadn´t read. But, she is really curious. She is completely different from the Valentina we met the first day. It was really amazing! She also accepted a baptismal date!!!! The problem is that she has insomnia and it´s extremely hard for her to wake up. She didn´t go to church yesterday either. Even though she wanted to. She was really excited. 

We visited Bell Ville this week! We switched Merlo for Bell Ville with the other Sister Training Leaders (one of them started the mission in Merlo and she ends this transfer, so she wanted to say goodbye). It was really good to go back! I was able to see Guadalupe! She was baptized the 27 of December and she is so different! It was a great day!!!

It was a really good week in spite of the fact that we didn´t have anyone in church. Sorry I don´t have more time to write. I have to go. :)

I hope you have a great week!!! I love you so much!!!!

Families Are Forever

 Hola familia y amigos!!! Espero que estén muy bien!!!

Bueno, first off. Last week I meant to send the scripture 2 Nephi 2:15 not 1 Nephi 2:15. (how embarassing...yet rather funny) ;)

Okay, this week was good. Rather hard, but good. 

Jennifer and Milagros. We weren´t able to talk seriously with them. They were always just leaving or had something. Saturday was Jennifer´s birthday so we went to say hi and celebrate a little. But we couldn´t stay long. Also, Milagros just got a job at a hotel and she works Sundays. They didn´t go to church. As usual.

Diego and William. We haven´t been able to see them. When we call, they´re very short and it feels like they don´t want to meet with us again. But, we´re going to go one more time and see. 

On Wednesday, Hermana Medina sent a text to Valentina in the morning saying that we love her and encouraging her to do her prayer. That night, she sent a text from someone else´s phone telling us that she really needed that text that day. We went on Friday to visit her and she said that she had been really sad about her grandma who had passed away three months ago. We testified that we can have eternal families and we gave her a copy of the Book of Mormon. She really likes to read so we´re hoping that she does it. We had marked some of the questions that she had asked us and she was really excited. It was a really sweet lesson. Very tender. She also said the prayer at the end! Remember that she had said that she was atheist. She also said that next week, she´ll go to church with us! I sure hope so!!!!

Marcela, Eliana and Ariadna weren´t there, but we´re hoping to find them this week. 

We also went to La Falda to visit Hermana Ortiz and Hermana Meneses (Jaramillo, she changed her last name). It was a fun day! I went with Hermana Ortiz and it was great!

Overall, it was a hard week. I don´t know what we are doing wrong. We are trying to be 100% obedient. We´re not perfect, but we´re doing pretty good with that. We take members to the lessons, we leave commitments, we testify, we invite. But still, nothing. I know that this is God´s work, but if it´s God´s work, why isn´t it working right now? I know I just have to be patient and trust in the Lord. I know it´ll come. I don´t know when, but I know it´ll come.

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

Love from,

Hermana Micaela Wilson

I hope you enjoyed General Conference.

Hola todos! Espero que hayan disfrutado la Conferencia General. Fue increíble, no?

This week was pretty good. Kind of crazy though. There were a couple days where we didn´t do anything that we had planned. But, we could see the hand of the Lord in our work. It was really special.

Jennifer and Milagros. UGH. I don´t understand why they can´t go to church. It´s three blocks away!!!! On Saturday night, after conference, we had a really good lesson with them. We taught the Restoration. We took a member and she testified with a lot of power. The Spirit was strong. They understood and I know that they felt the Spirit. They committed to go to the Conference on Sunday. Since it was at 1 (the first session), they said it would be easier for them to go. We asked if they wanted us to go get them beforehand and they said no. So we waited. They didn´t go to the first session. Between sessions, we went to visit them. Milagros was out taking the empanadas around. We talked to Jennifer and she said that, for sure for sure, they were going to go the the 5 o´clock session. So we waited. And they didn´t show. It was really frustrating. A month or so of inviting and they never make it. We don´t know what else to do.

Diego and William. We couldn´t meet with them this week. A member had invited them over to a birthday party, and we went, but at the last second, they backed out. They also couldn´t go to Conference because of a different party. 

JUST GO TO CHURCH!!!!

It was really special though. We were doing contacting one day when we found a mother and her daughter and two friends. Their names are Marcela (the mother), Valentina (the daughter), Eliana (friend) and Ariadna (other friend). We were talking to them and they had lots of really good questions. We started teaching and testifying about the Plan of Salvation. Valentina doesn´t believe in God. She believes in reincarnation. I testified about when I, at her age, decided to know for myself. I saw the words enter into her heart. We have a lesson with them today. We had invited them to pray. I hope they did it. 

We also met with Helena again. (She´s an old investigator from my first transfer here.) We got a message from Rosane (a member) telling us that Helena was in her house and that we should go. So we went. We had a good talk with her. she isn´t living with her boyfriend anymore. She´s single. She knows everything about the church and has a testimony. Now, the only thing impeding her from being baptized is herself. When she wants to, she can do it. I hope she does it soon!

General Conference was really special. I always love being able to listen to our prophet and the Twelve. I especially loved Elder Uchtdorf´s talk and Elder Holland´s. As always. :) 

Also, I wanted to share a favorite scripture with you all. It´s in 1 Nephi 2:15. Look it up. It´s pretty good. :) Here´s a picture to go along with it.

I hope you all know how much I love you! I hope you all have a great week!!!!

Love from,

Hermana Micaela Wilson

P.S. Sorry I don´t have pictures this week! I promise to send some next week!!!

"I know that He lives and that He loves us!"

Hola hola hola!!!

How are you all doing? I hope you all had a great Easter!!!!

 

This week was good. :) 

Diego and William are coming along. We had a lesson with them and we took Angel (a member). Angel testifies really well and he related well with Diego and William. We watched the 20-minute version of the First Vision. They liked it. But they still don't want to accept a baptismal date. Diego feels like he has to change before he can be baptized. We tried to explain that it is baptism that starts the changing process. It's not the finishing touch. We'll get there. They didn't go to church on Sunday, but they did go to the choir concert! They took a member too! They said that they really liked it!!!

Jennifer and Milagros. It's been hard to find them lately. Finally we went one day without telling them and Jennifer was there alone. We talked about the importance of our visits and what is it that they really want. She said that they really want to be baptized and do everything right. They are really great people! I love them so much! But, they still didn't go to church on Sunday. We also organized everything so that they could see the choir and they didn't go to that either. Nothing. I hope it changes soon!

On Friday, we were able to go to the temple with Angie Vazquez from Jesús María. She was a mini missionary and her companion was Hermana Medina. I also knew her from my time in Jesús María. She is going on a mission to Manaus Brazil! It was really special to go and be with her in the temple!!!

The Easter choir concert was great! We were practicing really hard and we weren't sure how it was going to play out, but it ended up great! I messed up on my duet, but I don't think anyone noticed...I hope... ;) The Spirit was really strong and it was beautiful!

We had transfers on Monday. I'm staying in Carlos Paz with Hermana Medina!!!!! I'll have 6 months here by the end of this transfer. I am really happy! I love Carlos Paz and I love Hermana Medina!  It's gonna be great!!!!

Anyway, I hope you are all doing well and that you have a great week!!!! I hope you have been able to meditate in this Easter season and think a little bit about what our Savior has done for each of you personally. I am so grateful for my Savior and for His sacrifice! I know that He lives and that He loves us! Gracias a que Él vive, nosotros viviremos!!! I love this gospel and I am eternally grateful for the Atonement of Christ. What a gift it is to know of these truths and to be able to more fully understand and use the greatest gift of all. God's love. I love you all and I wish the best for you! Have a great week!!! 

Love from,

Hermana Micaela Wilson

"I love being a sister training leader!!!"

Hola hola hola! Qué tal todos?

This week was good. Long. Okay, it was hard.

Because of the zone conference last week, we had to postpone a trip and we traveled twice this week. On Tuesday we went to Merlo, San Luis (4 hours away) and to Saldán (2 hours away). Let´s just say that we were pretty tired afterwards.

On Tuesday in Merlo, we had a great exchange! I went with Hermana Duran (the only other Colombian in the mission besides my companion). We visited some Jehovah´s Witnesses. Literally, we had an appointment with them. It was amazing. We were able to have a cordial chat about beliefs. I learned a lot about what they believe and I hope that we were able to communicate our beliefs as well. It was amazing, though. At the end, we bore our testimonies. After bearing mine, I felt such a strong confirmation from the Spirit that it was true. We left there and gave each other a hug. I am so grateful for this church!

On Wednesday, we were beat. We got back at 6:30 a.m. and slept an hour. Then we were up and went to our district meeting. That evening, we had a lesson with Diego and William. It was really good!! We talked about the Restoration and they had lots of good questions. But, they accepted it!!!!

On Thursday we went to Saldán and helped the hermanas there. They´d had a hard week last week and we were able to help them. It was really good! It was also a great opportunity to help the hermanas themselves. They were kind of down. I love being a Sister Training Leader!!!

Friday we were looking for people all day. Nothing.

Saturday we did the same. No one wanted to listen. Finally we clapped in front of a house and we talked to a woman there. She was interested and we´ll be going back next week!!! Right when we were the most discouraged! It was a miracle!!! We visited Jennifer and Milagros that night too. But Jennifer wasn´t there. Milagros also told us that she had to go visit her sister in Jesús María (go figure) on Sunday before her sister went to Salta. So she wasn´t going to be able to go to church. But she said that Jennifer was still going to go.

Sunday, Jennifer and Milagros didn´t go. They won´t be able to be baptized on the 27th now. We were pretty heartbroken. But, Diego went!!!!! He said he liked it too!!! So, that was pretty great!!!!

Anyway, we´re doing okay. It´s just been a hard transfer. I feel like we´ve been working harder than ever, but we don´t see any success. But, we´ll keep on keepin’ on. You never know what´s around the corner.

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

Love from,

Hermana Micaela Wilson