Supa Powerful

Jebale ko Buzungu,

    Man, first week of the transfer and we are getting a lot done.  Elder de Lisle and I are together this transfer and we are taking on Kajjansi by storm.  We also added two more elders to the area because of how fruitful Kajjansi is becoming.  Elder Grilliot and Elder Mamani are splitting the area with us.  It's really nice to be able to focus more on a certain section of the area instead of the whole area.  And they are super ready to go to work.  

     Ever since I got here, the church has been constructing a new chapel for the Kajjansi Branch that sits right next to the main road.  It's already gotten a lot of hype.  Last week at sacrament meeting, it was announced that the branch would be moving there on October 5 but we received word that the furniture was shipped somewhere else accidentally, so we are going to have to wait which I am super bummed about because I might not be here when it opens.  But alas, it will be a super powerful tool for missionary work, especially when people can drive past it and just be smitten with its awesomeness.  

     We have had a large amount of baptisms last transfer and now we are looking for more people to teach.  We are super excited though because our teaching pool is already pretty big as it is.  But man, it is amazing to see the branch work incredibly hard to help us with referrals. 

      This week is a short one, so I just want to say that there is no greater work than this.  But I'm not just saying that because it's the Lord's work.  I'm saying that because the Lord's work that we do can change cities, countries, even entire continents.  And this work will never cease to progress because the message that we work to bring to people is more true than anything in this world.  I know that the Church of Jesus Christ has been restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith and with the gospel of Jesus Christ, we can change attitudes, hearts, and lives.  Heavenly Father loves us more than we have loved anything in our entire lives and many people don't understand that.  I testify that there is no greater truth than the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  I love you all and have a good week!!

Elder Wilson

Next transfer in Kajjansi - Week 15

Hello Everyone!

     My companion and I just finished a super powerful transfer.  And now, I am staying in Kajjansi for another 6 weeks and I'm still with my companion Elder de Lisle.  I'm very excited to stay in this area because it is an exciting time for missionary work here.  We have been seeing a lot of success and Kajjansi is flourishing so much.  For a while, there has been construction for a new chapel closer to the main Entebbe Road and on October 5th the Kajjansi Branch will shift to the new building.  We are very excited for this because it will spark interest to the people and we will be able to teach even more people.  So, you could say that I am very excited for this upcoming transfer.
  On Sunday, we had a 4 baptisms of a family.  And before that, the parents got hitched the Friday before at the stake center in Kololo.  That was an incredible experience to be apart of and I know that they will continue to strengthen their love for each other as they continue to live the gospel of Jesus Christ.  They live close to Lake Victoria so they're a ways away but they have the strongest desire to be baptized.  They don't even speak english, so we always bring a member who speaks Luganda to help us teach them.  My love for this family has grown tremendously over the amount of time of teaching them.  I truly see more joy and happiness within their family the more they know about the gospel.  

    So my companion and I switched living spaces with some sisters in the district and the house is HUGE.  and it turns out that they shifted us there because they are adding Elders, so we will all live there.  It's going to be mental!  

     Now that I've been in Uganda for a month and a half, I'm starting to get used to the culture here.  Now it's super weird to see a white person walking around.  It actually even makes me feel uncomfortable.  Being missionaries, we always have to hike around to move and there are a lot of hills in Kajjansi.  And it's blazing hot and humid.  But there is always someone who says "Elder Wilson, you are sweating."  Then I think, "no duh, this is Africa."  By the way, I'm getting super tan, and my tan lines are becoming more visible.  Man, being white in Africa can be hard sometimes.  

      I love this work and there is so much to be done.  My testimony of Jesus Christ continues to strengthen everyday and I find so much joy in sharing that testimony with others.  I'm super excited for this upcoming transfer and I can't wait to work my butt off.

God Speed,

Elder Wilson

So many blessings!

Hello all!

    So many blessings have been found in the work of the Lord.  Elder de Lisle and I have been working hard to bring souls unto Christ and we have been finding success.  Kajjansi is a very fruitful area and there are many people who are willing to hear our message.  

    This past weekend, we had a wonderful baptismal service of a family of 7!  Bosco, Moreen, Sight, Prossy, Sherine, Arnold and Rachel have been receiving the missionary lessons and were baptized on Sunday after church!  We are so grateful for this wonderful family that we were able to teach and bring into the gospel.  Arnold was baptized on Saturday because he was planning on leaving for boarding school so he couldn't be there the next Sunday to be confirmed.  It was a wonderful service and the spirit was so strong.  The branch is so strong in this missionary work and it is a blessing to help strengthen their area.  I'm very excited to continue to help them progress in the gospel.  

      This upcoming weekend, we are having a marriage ceremony in Kololo for Laurent and Narulega.  They don't speak any english so we have always had to bring a member to translate from Luganda.  This past week, we even came to their garden and helped them dig.  (My Dad should be super proud of me considering he was a farmer growing up).  They really want to be baptized so of course we are going to do strenuous work to show them that we really care about them.  Can't wait for them to get married on Friday and then baptized on Sunday!  Super exciting.

        We also have been meeting with a young Sudanese man named James Bol.  He's met with the missionaries before, but he had to move back to South Sudan and lost contact with him.  He really wants to be baptized and he is probably the most prepared guy ever.  We taught him the Word of Wisdom and told him that he couldn't take certain drinks and substances in order to be baptized.  He said he had a question and said "I have never taken any of these things and I never will.  All i take is water."  We said "That's not really a question,...... but the answer is yes."  Can't wait to see this guy progress towards baptism.  

      I'm loving this work and I love helping the Lord bring more of his sheep into the fold.  This is my last week of the transfer so I really hope that I stay in Kajjansi.  I know that there is no greater work than this on the Earth and I know that Christ lives.  Have a wonderful week everyone!  Bera Bulungi!

God Speed

Elder Wilson

Life in Kajjansi District - Week 13

Jebale ko,

    Super good week this week, a lot has been happening.  I'm starting to get the hang of how pasty I am.  And i'm truly grateful for the many wonderful experiences I am having.  

     First announcement:  Our good friend Raju James was baptized!  Super solid guy.  Our biggest concern with him was that he has been super busy working with the Census that is going on over here.  We had the baptismal service on Saturday night and he was a little late because of work.  But nonetheless, he made it!  It was a great baptism.  Turns out there wasn't anyone that was available to conduct the service, so I whipped out my conducting skills and put them to work (jk I'm horrible at conducting a meeting).  Anyway, he was confirmed on Sunday and the Branch welcomed him so well.  Everyone is super excited for him to be the new member.  

      Incredible stuff has been happening.  We have been teaching this fisherman Laurent that lives far away but he comes to church every sunday.  We have traveled to teach him and he really wants to get baptized.  The wife however did not want to be taught.  Over time, we have been visiting them and with the help of the branch mission leader, we were got her to have an interest!  And not only that, she came to church on Sunday!!  We were so happy to see her there.  The thing is though, they are not married, and that's hard if you want to be baptized.  So we set a date for them to get married next week by the church and they accepted!! So many miracles with them.  We strongly believe that she got interested because we offered to dig in her garden for her.  She just laughed and laughed.  Apparently, muzungus can't dig.  

     Another family we have been working with has strengthened their testimonies so much in the past week.  Peter and Lynette are super wanting to get baptized.  Lynette has been coming to church every single sunday.  Peter has been accepting of our teaching but we just need him to go to church.  And he did on Sunday!!  He absolutely loved it.  The thing is with Uganda is that marriage is expensive.  So people usually don't get married and they just live together.  So we extended an invitation for them to get married and they accepted!  They are getting married in October!! Super exciting.  

     Highlight of the week:  We went to teach Peter and Laurent and the whole village was throwing rocks at a tree.  Mugala, our Branch Mission Leader pointed out that there was a huge venomous snake in the tree.  The people just kept throwing rocks at it and even Mugala joined in, we just watched from the side because it looked like they knew what they were doing.  Then one guy, SUper interesting fellow, takes a stick and destroys it's head.  We asked him if he eats snakes and he looked at us disgusted like and he went on for 20 min about how we will die if the snake bites us and if we eat it.  He then offered to sell it to us for 5000 shillings.  I told him we only have 500 and he said Ahhh no snake for you.  We said ok and walked away and then he yelled "You have for free!"  Nutz.  

     Anyway,  People... have a good week.  Keep being awesome and know that Uganda is in good hands.... jk I still don't know what I'm doing.  But serving the Lord is what I love.

Bera Boolongi

Elder Wilson