Merry Christmas 2015

Christmas time, and what a blessing to spend it in warm humid weather.  This week we have been seeing a lot of blessings.  Life is same old same old over here and the work is getting better and better. 
      This next Sunday, Isabelle and Mignonne are planning on being baptized!! super excited for them, they have such a strong testimony and they are ready to make these covenants with their Heavenly Father.  Plus another bonus is that they have made a lot of friends at church.  So it should be a super great Sunday coming up. 
    Also, we have found a super great guy who is really interested in the church.  His name is Arsene and he has a baptism date for the 27th.  We are super excited for him because he's such a powerful investigator.  He loves the church and he told us that at church, he feels the most love.  He continues to read the Book of Mormon, and he even reminds us of his baptism day.  Many more people we are working with and helping to enter the waters of baptism. 
      Even this last week I went on exchanges with the other elders in one of the other branches.  Something that really caught my attention was that we focused on teaching people why we as missionaries do anything.  Why we teach, why we follow the Savior, why read the Book of Mormon.  It really made a difference in the Spirit during our lessons and we definitely enjoyed working in the Lord's Vineyard. 
     Nothing much else to report.  I just truly love the Savior.  My relationship with Him has grown tremendously.  There are many instances and times where I make mistakes that pull me away from Him, but the scriptures teach us, that the arm of the Lord is always extended towards us.  Through His suffering, we can find peace, and with His stripes, we are healed.  The church is true, Joseph Smith was and is a true prophet, and the Book of Mormon is the word of God.   Merry Christmas everyone, and Remember Him. 

Elder Wilson

Jimmy got his call to Johannesburg South Africa Mission
Pedal boda selfie

Choose to be happy

What a blessed time to be in Rwanda for the work of the Lord.  We've been seeing a lot of success and our numbers have been going up.  The branch is super excited to get involved in helping the Kigali 2 branch to grow.  And being a missionary here is great, but lately, I've caught a nasty cold, which has been quite the stumbling block for me, but the work moves on.  The church is very new so a lot of people get interested.  There's a lot to be done here in Rwanda and I'm prepared to do whatever the Lord would have me do. 
      On Sunday, we had a baptism for Miracle, and it was just super great.  She was supposed to be baptized last Sunday with her other two siblings, but she had a school conference she had to go to.  Everyone was very supportive and we just love seeing how this branch is growing.  The goal for this recent convert family is to get them in the temple sealed next year.  Their faith is so strong and it's families like theirs that helps the church to be strong in this part of the world. 
     On another note, we got a referral from one of the members of a woman who really wants to get baptized and she loves the church so much.  We met with her to schedule out her baptism and she talked about how she was getting a lot of negative responses from her family and work mates.  With tears in her eyes, she would tell us how she would stand up for her faith.  She told us that she knew that the church was true and it's testimonies like these that open my eyes to the bigger picture, of how real the gospel is, and how there will always have to be persecution because it is true.  The Book of Mormon talks about how there is opposition in all things.  If everyone flocked to the truth and there was no opposition to the truth, there would be no point in this probationary state that we are in.  There has to be opposition, with out it, we can't be like our Heavenly Father. 
     Something that I've been trying to do more of on mission and in life is to just be happy, to enjoy life, and just to be more positive in every single thing.  Probably my favorite scripture in the Book of Mormon reads in 2 Nephi 5:27 "And it came to pass that we lived after the manner of happiness."  Such a small scripture but it has so much depth and meaning behind it.  Happiness is a choice.  And when we live after that manner, good happens in all aspects.  No one said that life would be easy, but when we choose to be happy, we live after the manner of godliness.  I love the scriptures and I love the true gospel of Jesus Christ.  It's not only change the lives of others but it has changed my life exceedingly.  I know who I am, and I know my eternal goals.  And when we focus our whole lives in achieving these eternal goals, that's when we can easily live after the manner of happiness.  I love you all, the church is true, and remember who you are and what you stand for.

Love,
Elder Wilson

Miracle's Baptism
Chef Boyardee up in here
New friend Carlos

Second Home

What a great week!  A lot of things happened that is making the work go smoother.  We've had some improvements in our teaching pool and overall we are just enjoying the work and the rain.  I'm starting to get more and more adjusted to the culture every day, and I'm developing this great love for the people.  The branch that I'm in is super great.  They are excited about missionary work and they all love the gospel so much.  Elder Beck and I are working hard to help the branch to grow and have a firm foundation to build on. 
      There's this one family that we are working on right now.  We've been teaching Isabelle who has been taught by us for some time. She's ready for baptism and her daughter, Mignonne, is home from school and she even wants to be taught as well.  It's actually a great story.  When Mignonne was younger, she wanted to be baptized in one of the churches close by, but Isabelle said she felt prompted that she should make Mignonne wait until she was 18 to be baptized into a proper church.  So just before she turned 18 and came back from school, Isabelle ran into us, we taught her, and she feels like this is the church she's been looking for her and for her daughter.  Super powerful stuff.
    This past week, the mission flew me in to Uganda for a mission leaders council.  It was really great to see my friends back in Uganda and to just be in the country that I'm used to.  We had a powerful meeting that really helped all of us to work diligently to hit our goals for the rest of the year.  We talked a lot about how we can help the families that we are teaching to come to church and what we can do to strengthen the branches where we are serving.  Great meeting, a lot of the spirit, and new goals that we are setting. 
     This past Sunday, Peace and Heritier were baptized!!  Super great stuff.  It was a powerful baptism service.  The one that was supposed to baptize them apparently wasn't prepared to do it, so I had to step and and do it myself.  It's like I say, if you want something done, you gotta do it yourself sometimes.  Just joking, but it was super great.  The family was super happy, but one of the siblings, Miracle, was also supposed to be baptized but she had a special conference so she's getting baptized this Sunday.  Super exciting.  I love this work, because it changes peoples lives, it brings them closer to God, and it makes the world a better place.  There's nothing I'd rather be doing than this, and I thank my Heavenly Father for sending me here, where I have found my second home.  I love you all and don't wait to make a change in your life that will bring you happiness.

Elder Wilson


Ye Elders
My apartment
Baptism!

Thanksgiving Week

Another week has gone by and we are looking into Thanksgiving this Thursday!  Think about the things that you are grateful for in your life.  As for me, I'm grateful for the work of the Lord, I'm grateful for the time that I have to serve the people of East Africa, and I'm grateful for the Atonement of Christ to help me reach where I am in my life. 
    This week has been kind of a strange one.  For one thing,.... I may or may not have sprained my ankle last Pday.  It was pretty difficult to walk on so the medical advisors told me to rest it for two days.  And one thing I can testify of is that not working is THE WORST.  I hope I never have to go through that again.  Right now it's still a little tender, but I'm out and about inviting people to come unto Christ.  We've been seeing a lot of great things happen this week.  Many fruits have come out of our labors.  Usually throughout the week, we will go contacting in the city of Kigali and most of the time we run into people who only know French or Kinyarwanda.  We always try to invite them to come to church the best way that we can.  And on Sunday, a couple of people came that we contacted!  Super great stuff.  This next Sunday we have three baptisms for Peace, Miracle, and Heritier.  Siblings who love the Lord and want to make covenants with him.  Should be good.  This past Sunday, I was asked to give a talk on missionary work for the branch.  In Rwanda, they always have someone translating throughout the meeting. So it was a first for me, but I could tell that they have received some motivation and inspiration to work harder in their missionary duties.  I'm really loving the branch, and I've been able to get along with them super quickly.  I'm just enjoying my time helping this small branch to grow. 
    Today, the missionaries in Rwanda went to the Kigali Genocide Memorial.  It is a burial place and memorial exhibition for those who have lost their lives in the genocide.  It was quite eye opening to see the pain, sorrow, and trauma that the Rwandese suffered through.  Before, I knew about the genocide from a movie I watched in one of my history classes in high school called Hotel Rwanda.  It took place in the middle of the genocide and it was about a courageous man who was apart of the dominant ethnicity of Rwanda who protected and hid many of the oppressed ethnicity, including his own wife and kids.  Being able to see and understand what really went on opened my thoughts on the people here of the dark past they have been through.  I continually think of the Book of Mormon where it reads that God lets the righteous to be destroyed by the wicked so the faithful can rest with the Lord and the wicked will be judged for such abominations at the last day.  I love the gospel more than anything because it helps us to have that eternal perspective of God's plans and works.  Everyone has challenges in their family and in their lives at some point, but through the gospel, the atonement carries us to a more glorious plane of thought.  I'm grateful for the Savior and the sacrifice he made, to take upon himself the pain, sorrow, and horror that all of His children have gone through.  And I'm grateful for the opportunity I have to be an effective servant and messenger of the healing power of the atonement.  Remember the blessings you have.  Be disciplined, work hard, and show gratitude to God for the blessings He has given you.  Count your many blessings.

Elder Wilson

1st week in Rwanda

Hey internet it super slow in this cafe, but I've been about a week in
Rwanda and it's super great.  There was a culture shock that I went
through because here, there are paved roads, it's super clean, people
drive on the right side of the road (which is really weird for me),
and everyone either speaks french, Swahili or Kinyarwanda.  But I love
it, we had a baptism for a man named Alphonse and it was super
powerful because his family, who has been pretty reluctant with us,
came and saw the baptism.  Super excited for this transfer and looking
forward to helping the Kigali 2 branch grow.

Elder Wilson


The view of the rolling hills.
Alphonse got baptized.
Got an ingrown toenail so I got it worked on.

Transfer to Rwanda

Well, the next transfer is here.  I'll be leaving Mukono and I'm actually heading out of the country to serve in Rwanda.  I'll be the only Zone Leader over there, and I'm finishing Elder Beck's training.  So, you can say that I'm pretty stoked, but I'm pretty bummed out that I'm leaving Mukono.  When you stay in an area for long enough, you develop a strong relationship with them that is just so binding.  I'm really excited for this new challenge, and I know that this is the time for me to really help the missionaries in Rwanda achieve the best.  Just a short letter because I don't have too much time.  I love you all, the Redeemer lives.

Elder Wilson

Christlike Attributes

Not to much to bring up, except we just had a super busy week full of rain.  On Wednesday, we had a mission leaders council at the mission home.  A lot of great and inspiring counsel was given to us to prepare us to achieve our mission goal for the year.  The spirit was super strong and it was definitely a testimony builder.  Then on Friday, we had interviews with our mission president, and the whole focus was on Christlike Attributes on how we can develop them and improve in each attribute that Christ has.  I'm super thankful for the attributes that I'm developing right now and the ones that I need improvement on.  Next week is transfers and there's going to be a lot of changes, next week I will let ya'll know where I'm headin.  Thanks for reading.  Sorry this week it's short but I have pictures so it's ok I hope.
Love,
Elder Wilson