This blog is kept by Elder Asher Wilson's family. It will include his general emails and various pictures. It will be updated each week after each new email is received. We hope you enjoy it!

Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Monday. September 29. 2014-Week 8 TWO MONTHS OUT!

Elder Wilson in Tumbes

Mi Familia!!!!!

Ok first about our investigators:

1. Maribel - Maribel is a single mom with 2 kids. She is seriously a tough woman haha. She is a recent convert with such a strong testimony. She is awesome!!

2. Jorge, Jadith, and Leidi Castillo - Jorge is a single dad with his 2 daughters. He is such a strong member and even goes on a lot of visits with us. His daughter Leidi is really struggling though. She is 18 so he can’t make her go to church and she is falling away. We have been teaching her a lot about the Plan of Happiness and obeying commandments. Please pray for her we could use your help!!

3. Anderson - Anderson is just a recent rescutado. Which means he was inactive but we just recently reactivated him. He is 13 and awesome. He also goes on a lot of visits with us and he just told us a few days ago that he wants to serve a mission when he’s 18!!

4. Ruth y Jhony - First off the problem here in Peru is there are lots of people who live together but aren’t married because they can’t afford it. That is a big problem with Ruth y Jhony. Ruth is a menos activo so we are working on reactivating her but Jhony is an investigator who this week we set a baptisimal date for!!!! 29 de Noviembre!! So he have some work to do with him and I hope he follows through but he has a freakin awesome testimony and is also really cool to me and helps me with Español so please more prayers for Jhony too!! Jhony is 21 and Ruth is 18!! 

Ok that’s all the people I’m going to write about this week but just know we have a butt load more, I’d say about 50 in all and we contact 3 nuevo familias en la street every day!! Lots and lots of work here in Zarumilla!!

Ok more about my companion. Elder Fabian Orellana of Santiago Chile. He is 21 years old and has served a little over a year here on his mission. He likes construction and I think that’s what he wants to do when he gets home. He has a brother that already has served a mission and a sister my age. His parents are on a mission right now!! He likes like techno crazy music and, in his own words, he has many lady friends back in Santiago hahaha. He likes to talk, like he never ever shuts his dang face!! I actually get really frustrated with him a lot because he has no patience. He thinks that I speak perfect Spanish already and will seriously get pissed when I can’t understand him. So we actually have had a lot of contentions here but I know that I am the one who can change it. So I pray for him daily and just beg for us to get along better because sometimes things are really tough. But it’s getting better and we are working things out and we are good friends.

I also got a little homesick this week. I mean it’s hard not too at some point. I miss home so much and would love to go on home now but I know I can’t. I read a story by President Hinckley about losing yourself in the work because this mission is not for me it’s for the Lord. So I said prolly the most sincere prayer of my entire life and just begged the Lord to let me lose myself in this work. This work is so important it’s unreal and I have a calling to serve the people of Peru for the next two years. No matter how hard it gets no matter how home sick I am no matter how hard it is to speak this freakin language I am going to work my butt off!! I will because I know with all of my heart and soul that this work is true I have seen it touch the lives of many already and I’ve only been here for 3 weeks!! So ya I’m a little homesick but I know for sure that the Lord will help me through all of my hard times and make me stronger because of my faith in Him!!

Ok now a few more things I need:

1. Q tips
2. For Christmas I want one of your cool calendars with pictures and all the important dates and all of the birthdays for our familia and my friends and all that good stuff.
3. Christmas lights!!
4. More pictures of church things and of family or friends because I put them on my planners
5. Eventually, not this time, more protein bars
6. Every home for missionaries has a dvd player so please send, it doesn’t have to be this time, church movies or Mormon messages on a dvd or flash drive.  And we can also play music through there so more of that like cds or flash drive would be awesome.
7. Info and pictures for the my family book!!

Ok so this week was a busy one. I’ll start with we had a conference for our zone with Presidente Rowley and Hermana Rowley. That went really good! I love them they are so awesome!! It was all about how to receive personal revelation and recognize the Holy Ghost and use it in lecciones. It was awesome! It is so important to have the Holy Ghost during lecciones!!

I had a cold pretty much this whole week to so that sorta sucked but its clearing up now. A freakin cold in this place haha hard to believe!!

We had a flood in our house this week!! Water came rushing out of the ceiling somehow and filled our entire floor with water hahaha it was freakin crazy!! We eventually cleaned it all up and the water stopped but we’re still not sure exactly what caused it haha. Also there are toooooooooooons of mosquitos here so we are always burning like these mosquito repellent things and we ran out this week. So without me knowing, Elder Orellana lit egg cartons on fire and next thing you know we have a raging bon fire in our house!! I had to go freakin full on fire fighter and put it out cause it was huge!!

Ok now I seriously love hearing about Tate kicking butt!! I knew he would I mean he’s my brother haha hes blessed with my athletic talents;) But ya keep up the good work Tater!! And you too Perry keep working hard and having fun out there on the field!! Also FFA? That’s freakin awesome!! Tate’s gonna be a dang farmer, I love it!! Not surprised to hear dad sold the car he does it all the time haha but let me know what sweet ride you get!! And I love hearing about football keep the updates coming and go Big Red!! They’re doing awesome!! And the BYU game should be so much fun!! I wish I was going with you!!

This week I also had a companionship swap for one day with our district leader Elder Russell. It went really well. He is a cool guy. 20 years old and 13 months into his mission. From Morgan Utah and he likes to make videos on the computer and do drama and acting. A little different than me but still really cool.

We had a really awesome experience with a family this week. They were all sick with some nasty stuff so they asked us for blessings. That was one of the strongest times I had ever felt the spirit. Wow I swear I could see it in the room. That was not us talking but the Lord through our mouths.

Well that’s about it for this week yall. I hope all is going well at home and you’re having no problems. Always put the Lord first and you will receive his blessings!! I hope you know I pray for all of you every day so I hope everything is ok I love you all so much!! Alma 32 is my share for the week. It’s all about faith and building your testimony it’s awesome!! Well that’s all until next week. I love you all so much! This church is true. Mission work is of vast importance and your boy is in the front lines of preaching this gospel. I know it’s true and my job is to tell everyone who will listen. Ok I love you all but I’ve got to go. 

Much Love, 

Elder Wilson

Bats in the tree behind our casa.

Our desks.

Part of my area.

Moto taxis.

Nuestro area.

Nuestro



Hermana Romez, the sweet lady who cooks for us. It's about a 5 minute walk from us and yes she is awesome!! She cooks something different every day but it always involves rice hahaha. Rice for every single meal here in Peru but its ok because the food is amazing!! And lots of it!

Pier and the home of the Ramoz familia ‏ 


Dogs in the street, They are seriously everywhere!! And some are freakin mean haha These were small ones, a lot of them are really big‏



Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Monday. September 22. 2014-Week 7

Mi Familia!!

Semana 2 aqui en Zarumilla!! What a week. We seriously have been working our butts off non stop for every single second of the day and then crashing hard every night haha. We teach about 5 to 6 set lessons each day and then we contact about 6ish mas personas each day so we never stop spreading the Evangelio, it’s amazing!! The people aqui are honestly a lot nicer and much much more accepting of the gospel. When they hear about something that could be true they want to hear more about it and learn more not just say no, not now. It’s awesome!! The gospel is so true! I feel like Elder Holland, I just want to scream it to the world haha!! 

This week we had about a 24 hour power outage. That sucked haha. No water, no light, and worst of all no fan. That fan is our way of life because there’s no such thing as A/C here, so we seriously just roasted all day in nuestro casa. But it eventually came back on and all is well here once again. Also I have cleaned our casa and that place is cleaner than it’s ever been, trust me. I feel like you mom hahaha.

The worst part about this week is that I have had some stomach issues!! It must have been something I ate, but all we eat is rice, chicken, and fish!! I took some medicine and that made it better but wow....my intestines will nunca be the same hahaha.

We have a zone conference next week en Miércoles so that should be good. My district has to do a special musical number for it so we are singing I Need You Every Hour. Half in español and half in ingles. 

I forgot my list that I make every week today so I am just telling you everything off the top of my head so sorry. We worked a lot with Pier this week which was good!  He’s gonna be a great missionary in about 1 month!!! His mom Hermana Ramoz, the lady who cooks for us, wanted to see pictures of mi familia this week so I showed her one of the photo books. She loved it!!! She really wants to visit the Estados Unidos so she loved seeing an american familia. She also kept saying over and over that Perry should be a model and kept calling her a barbie doll haha.

This week I studied a lot about the Atonement de Jesucristo. It is seriously just so dang amazing to know that he died for us so we can return to him and be forgiven of our sins!! What a blessing!! If you want to learn more about it, I read a lot of it in Mosiah chapter 3.

Ok I have some questions for you. First off Gaven’s b day is the 6th correct? Next in the package I want an ingles version of the Ensign with conference talks because I have to watch conference in español. I also want more peanuts por favor. Oh and Elder Orellana says he wants a floppy hat tambien haha. Sounds like all is going well at home and you’re having a bunch of fun with the old grannies haha. I wish I could be there with you guys. Tate keep up the hard work bro!! Sports will pay off for you and next thing you know well be chillin at BYU being sports studs together hahaha. I love the sports updates keep em going!! So Nebraska and BYU are awesome and BSU is picking it up!! GO BIG RED!!

Well guys keep up the good work at home and always remember to put the Lord first!! Ohh ya i put a picture of you guys in the cover of my LdM so I can have you with me everywhere I go!! I love you all so much hope you have a great week!!

Much Love,

Elder Wilson


P.S we went to the beach for p day today, it’s about a 20 minute drive by moto taxi, because there are no cars here. It was awesome, and yes dad I did wear sunscreen haha. And we saw a bunch of dolphins!!!!!


The outside of Elder Wilson's casa.



Elder Wilson's dumb bells. He said the yogurt bottles are about a gallon each and are filled with rocks and concrete so they have got some good weight to them.

A tiny lizard found behind Asher's pile of books.











Monday. September 15. 2014-Week 6

Mi familia!!!!

First off what the heck dad!!! I  can’t believe that old fart messed himself up that bad. I’ll be praying for ya but next time try to have a little athleticism hahaha!!!  Oh real quick dad asked about diet coke here ohhh ya they have it!

My communication with Elder Orellana is great. I can tell him whatever I need to and I understand just about everything he says. So ya the español is really coming along well. I still have a lot to learn but I can teach a solid half or more of every leccion now and the people here are so helpful here with spanish. If I’m not saying something right they’ll let me know and help me fix it and give me 1000 more grammar points of español. It’s awesome!!

We have been teaching a lot of investigators and less actives this week and it’s been so amazing to bring first-hand the Spirit into these wonderful people’s homes. I feel it 24/7 here. The Spirit is just so strong.

Church was awesome this weekend. We have a ward of 100+ people and let me tell you they all looooooove the missionaries! Every family wants to feed us or have us over or has a reference for us or just wants to talk, I Love it!! I had to get up in sacrament and introduce myself to the ward and give my testimony and at first I was sorta slow to start but then the Spanish just started flowing!! The gift of tongues is so real its insane.

We email from a little internet shop down the street from our house because no one here has internet, it’s a crappy place but it gets the job done.

The food here is out of this world. Our lunch lady knows how to seriously cook and she feeds us plenty. Rice, Chicken, fish, vegies, cheese, the whole deal and its good. At nuestro casa we cook just college food basically. Anything we can throw in the microwave or warm up on the stove is good. Cereal, yogurt, and eggs for breakfast. It’s all good with the food.

I have been getting up early every morning to work out for an hour or so and it’s so funny because now Elder Orellana is on this I’m gonna get huge phase so he does work outs with me every morning.

Today was the first P day and we met up with our zone and one other zone to play futbol and basketball. It was way fun!! And I kicked some serious butt haha.  Tell Tate to watch out my  soccer skills are catching up!! 

So for Tate, how’s the driving going and how’s school? And for Perry, how’s the kindness journal going and how’s school? Ahhhh I miss you guys so much.

So ya my house is a shack right!? It’s awesome, I’m getting the whole Peruvian experience!!! Well thats about it for this week. Just know I love it here and i am totally ok. I love you all so much and can’t wait to hear from you next week. Love you guys!!

Much Love,

Elder Wilson

Sunday, September 14, 2014

Thursday. September 11. 2014

Hey guys!!!!!

I am in Piura!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This place is even more awesome than I thought it would be. I get to email a little bit today but I’ll email you more on Lunes, it’s nuestro p day.

Mi compañeros nombre es Elder Orellana. This guy is awesome!!! He is 20 almost 21 and is from Chile (Santiago) and the best part is he doesn’t speak a lick of ingles!!!!! I am gonna have to learn fast.

So I left from Lima on Tuesday morning and flew to Piura. The flight was awful but very uneventful so that’s good. Flying over Piura all you can see is desert and sand everywhere. Which actually isn’t too far off of what it is here.

When we landed we went straight to Presidente Rowley’s casa. He is an awesome guy and going to be a great Misión Presidente except he leaves in like 5 months. So at his house we got lectured for like a whole day on how to be good missionaries. It was good but super boring. Ok so skip all the boring stuff at his house that I’ll talk about in my next email. That night we went back to the Misión home to sleep and there wasn’t room for all of us so Elder Mooring, Elder Merrell, and I went and stayed in a hotel by ourselves in downtown Piura. It was awesome to have some freedom and it is easily the nicest place I will see in my two years aquí. So the next day we went back to Presidente Rowley’s place and found out nuestro compañeros y nuestro nuevo áreas. That’s where I met Elder Orellana and found out that I am going to be serving in Tumbes for a while. My área is called Puyanyo o Zorumilla. This place is seriously amazing and full of poverty and everything that I was looking for in this misión. It is about 5 hours away from Piura and we can take like a 10 minute walk and be in Ecuador so that’s pretty awesome!! We are also the closest misión to the beach!! We get to go there for p day once a month!!!!

So today was my first day out really proselyting and it was also awesome!!! Sometimes when we talk to people with heavy accents I can’t understand them but it’s ok because I still teach em!!!! I understand most people without too much of a problem so that’s awesome but I still have a bunch to learn!!!!!

We have a lady who cooks lunch and does our laundry. Freakin Score!!!!!!! OK so like I said I don’t have too much time right now but I will on Lunes (Monday) so I thought I would just give a little update and say all is well, I love the people, I’m trying to love the language, I love mi compañero, and I love Tumbes!!!!!! and el Evangelio!!!!!! Talk to you on Monday!!!!!!!

Much Love,

Elder Wilson

Elder Wilson & Elder Orellana


Elder Wilson & Elder Orellana's casa


Kitchen


Bedroom



Thursday, September 11, 2014

Wednesday. September 10. 2014

Dear Brother & Sister Wilson,

     We are so happy to have Elder Wilson serving in the Peru Piura Mission!  He arrived eager to go to work and we are impressed with his enthusiasm and desire to serve our Heavenly Father as a missionary.  After meeting him at the airport we had a luncheon at the Mission Home followed by a devotional and an interview.  The following day was a morning of training and the assigning of his trainer/companion.  Trainers are chosen for their obedience, patience, dedication and the guidance of the Holy Ghost.   We know that as these two missionaries study, pray and work together they will be blessed and guided in their service and find joy in teaching and sharing the gospel message. We are attaching a photo of your missionary with his new companion and us. 

We are grateful to you for sharing your son with us.  We know that thru hard work, obedience and prayer Elder Wilson will find joy in serving the Lord and the beautiful people of Peru.  Please encourage him to share his experiences with you and your family.  Write to him weekly and express your love, support and confidence in him.  You will witness miraculous changes in him as he learns to serve and love those with whom he works.

     We know that the Gospel of Jesus Christ brings joy and peace to all who will follow Him.  We are grateful to be a part of this great work and to serve with the wonderful young Elders and Sisters of our mission.

Sincerely,
President & Sister Rowley

Peru Piura Mission




This is sort of hard to read, it says: " Hey guys!! I have officially made it here to Piura. It is so crazy hot here it's ridiculous!! This whole place is a desert, sand everywhere. I don't know who my companion is yet or what area I will be serving in but I am way excited to get out there!! We have just been chillin at President Rowley's casa & it's really nice here (and HOT!!). But I was just writing to tell you guys that I made it & I love you!! I will write you more on Monday because that's my P-Day!!

This is Elder Wilson with his new companion (we don't know his name yet), President Rowley, and Sister Rowley.

Thursday, September 4, 2014

Thursday. September 4. 2014-Week 5

Hey guys!!!!!

Well this has been sort of a slow last week here in the great CCM hahaha. We really haven’t done too much. We taught our fake investigator his last lesson and scheduled him for baptism so that was pretty cool.

Ok I’m just gonna work on answering your questions this week. 

So yes, I still work out every single day. We made a sweet weight bar and it is awesome. I also do pull ups and push ups and all kinds of other workouts.

The food is amazing! Rice and chicken for lunch and dinner. Eggs and yogurt with cereal for breakfast.

The laundry is annoying. People come in and pull your clothes out when they’re not done so they can put theirs in. So I have begun to leave notes on the machines that say I’m going to freakin beat you if you touch my stuff. It has worked great and my laundry life is improving hahaha. And heck no I have never ironed anything here and am not planning on it.

My hair cut. As scared as I was for it, it actually turned out really good. I just got a 4 all the way around so it really couldn’t have gone bad but I am pleased with it and you will see it very soon when I can send pictures in Piura. 
P.S. my shower sandals sucked so I went and bought camo crocks and they are awesome!!!!

I never really work with sister missionaries at all......thank the Lord haha ;).

What I miss most about home is obviously seeing everyone. I miss you guys sooooooo much and I miss Erin and I miss my crew and I miss our ward. It’s just crazy to think that I won’t see you all for soooo long!!! 94 Sundays exactly but who’s counting haha. I also miss Crash. I haven’t seen a dog in a long time that wasn’t trying to kill me or infect me with some sort of disease, so that would be nice.

My journal writing is spot on. I write for about 20 minutes a day in it so yes I am writing a lot. I have decided that when I get home I’m going to combine all of my journals and make a book and trust me that sucker would sell haha. This journal I’m doing right now is in English but my next journal will for sure be in español.

My companion is doing great, a little bit annoying at times but we have a really awesome relationship and love each other.

So I leave for Piura on Tuesday morning anywhere between like 6 and 10.

The thing I love most about the CCM is the Spirit here. I have never been somewhere where there are so many people with the same goals coming together to accomplish the Lords work. Plus the full size turf soccer field is pretty awesome too hahaha!!!

My leadership calling is pretty easy I just go and check up with people in my zone and see if everything is going good and then I have meetings on Sunday where I report how everything is going.

Sundays are great here. We have leadership meetings then go to church then we watch usually about two talks that have been broadcast from the Provo MTC with apostles talking. We've gotten 2 of Elder Holland!!

We have had two speakers from the 70 come here. The first one was Elder Waddell and he was awesome and huge. The other one I can’t quite remember his name but he was Peruvian so he spoke 100% in español and I understood the whole dang thing so that was really awesome. Those men spit the Spirit!!

There’s nothing that I wish I would have brought I don’t think.

Sleeping here is not weird at all. Usually when I go to bed I am so tired that I just fall right asleep but sometimes we all sit up and talk and stuff and it’s really awesome. I have been blessed with amazing roommates. Elders Mooring, Spencer, Volcanes, Walgren, and Clawson are all men!!!

Nothing totally overwhelmingly spiritual that happened to me this week but I do want to say that the gift of tongues is real. All I can say is that if God can make my sorry, not even close to bilingual butt learn español, then there is nothing in the entire world that he can’t do. I love it here, I love this mission, and I love the gospel of Jesus Christ.

So it sounds like you had some fun adventures this week and that’s awesome!! That’s amazing that Tate is kicking butt and that Erin won her race!!!! I am so proud of them holding it down for me while I am gone. Well I love you all so so so so so much!! You guys are my everything. This church is the truest thing on Earth and I hope you take every opportunity you get to share it with everyone. I don’t know why I’m telling you this but my favorite scripture is Hel 5:12 it’s awesome!! I love you all I hope I answered all of your questions and I will talk to you next week!!!! IN PIURA!!!!!!!

Much Love,

Elder Wilson