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!

Monday, June 27, 2016

Monday. June 27. 2015-Week 98





Before Luis Arevalo's  baptism.

Practicing.



Mi Familia

The soccer tournament ended today and lets just say we're not the champions haha. Well we went in fighting like crazy fools and pulled off another win and then a loss.......I was sad haha. But it was honestly a ton of fun and I scored some serious goals!! Tater watch out dude because I am going to take you to school on that soccer field!! 

So the first good news of the day. Luis Arevalo got baptized this Sunday!!!!!!!!!!!! After months of hard work and dedication we were finally able to help Luis to take the steps to gain his testimony and to make the most important decision of his life. Before his baptism he was super nervous like crazy nervous but when the reunion started there was just a calmness that came over him. When the time to baptism him came he just looked up at me and said Elder Wilson, I'm ready. Let me just tell you all something. There is nothing better that hearing that from someone. He didn't just say that he was ready to be baptized but he said that he was ready to read his scriptures every day, pray to God in every moment, keep the commandments that he has given us, go to church every Sunday, and to just serve the Lord in every thought, action and deed. Those 2 words, I'm Ready, are not easy to say because it means a life full of sacrifice but they are exactly what we need to say and feel to be able to receive the blessings of God in our lives. So he was baptized and he came up out of the water fist pumping and crying and just full of the spirit. He told us that he didn't think that he would get emotional but the feeling of being totally clean is something that surprised him so much. It was an amazing day and we are so proud of him. 

We had a crazy experience this week with an investigator accepting a day to be baptized but I want to share with you guys the quote that did it all for us. 

This is from a talk called The First Great Commandment by Elder Jeffery R. Holland. It is honestly one of my favorite talks ever. He is talking about what the apostles did after the death of Christ. We all know that they grew to become powerful teachers of the truth but many times we forget that right after Jesus died all of his apostles went back to doing exactly what they were doing before their time as apostles. They went fishing. One day the Lord went and visited them and talked directly to Peter. He asked Peter 1 question 3 times. Peter do you love me? He responded yes the 3 times but this quote by Elder Holland is his interpretation of what Christ said to Peter after his 3rd response.

To which Jesus responded (and here again I acknowledge my nonscriptural elaboration), perhaps saying something like: “Then Peter, why are you here? Why are we back on this same shore, by these same nets, having this same conversation? Wasn’t it obvious then and isn’t it obvious now that if I want fish, I can get fish? What I need, Peter, are disciples—and I need them forever. I need someone to feed my sheep and save my lambs. I need someone to preach my gospel and defend my faith. I need someone who loves me, truly, truly loves me, and loves what our Father in Heaven has commissioned me to do. Ours is not a feeble message. It is not a fleeting task. It is not hapless; it is not hopeless; it is not to be consigned to the ash heap of history. It is the work of Almighty God, and it is to change the world. So, Peter, for the second and presumably the last time, I am asking you to leave all this and to go teach and testify, labor and serve loyally until the day in which they will do to you exactly what they did to me.”

Many times on our path to life eternal we forget. We have seen miracles, we have been guided by the spirit, we know of the truth and the power of the true and restored church but many times we just go back to doing exactly what we were doing before. Back to work and school and sports and friends. Back to what we were before we had our conversion. Let us not lose our faith or our purpose in this great search!! The Lord expects more of us. So I just want to invite all of you to do something. Take a step back, take a break from the world and just think, Am I right back on the same "beach" that I was on before? Or have I moved on to become the person that the Lord needs me to be? Let me just say that there is no reason to wait to become this person. Take the chance, make the sacrifice and serve the Lord with all of you mind, might, heart and strength. You will never regret it. 

Ok I'm not going to write too much today because next week I'll send out my testimony and my feelings about the mission. I love you guys so much and I thank you for the two years of help and support. I hope you have a great week. Keep me in your prayers!! Your always in mine!!

Much Love 

Elder Wilson
 

Monday, June 20, 2016

Monday. June 20. 2016-Week 97

Service project!!


The translators.

The crew.


Team Paita!!


Where we played.

Mi Familia

Holy Cow!!! Lots of news for me today hahaha. Speaking in church (Ohh ya and you should ask Bishop Hansen what my theme is going to be), seeing the family, playing LAX!!!! Well I just figure that even though all of that stuff sounds crazy to me right now the Lord will help me out. If I could serve 2 years in Mission Peru Piura I am pretty sure that I can do anything haha;)

Today was a sweet P Day!! We started up the second round of Copa Piura Vida!! Its the huge soccer tournament that we play in the mission and honestly some of the best times here in the mission. Our Paita squad is solid!! We won our first game and lost the second but next week were going to play another one and if we win it we've still got a chance to win it all!! Sometimes I just like being competitive just a little bit haha. 

This week I got the chance to be part of a super cool service project. A group of doctors from the states came here to Paita the other day to check the eyes of the people here and give away glasses. Honestly here in my mission one of the biggest problems that I have seen is that everyone is blind!! Not very many people read just because they can't see!! I don't know what it is that's destroying their eyes but yes it is a huge problem. These people were a huge answer to many prayers for the people of Paita. So my part in all of this was translator. These people that came didn't know any Spanish so we got to work with them as translators and it was super cool. I learned a lot from them and just loved serving all of these people and seeing how happy they were to be able to see again. In the end people started getting crazy because there weren't any glasses left and they sort of had to put me to work as a body guard escorting people out and blocking up the door haha gotta do what you've gotta do right?

Hermana Rosio couldn't get baptized this week. It was really hard to hear after all the work that we've put in with her but she just didn't feel ready. She wants a little more time to just get herself ready. She is still scared and nervous and we think that a little bit more time will be what she needs. So please just keep her in your prayers. She is fine and still going to church and all that good stuff but just needs to feel a little bit more sure. Mom how did you end up feeling ready to get baptized?

This week our investigator Luis is going to get baptized!! He is a heaven sent person that has helped me learn so much in this last part of my mission. He is 20 years old and trying to get his life in order. Like most kids this age he was walking around in stuff that he shouldn't have been for a long time and was a little lost. We found him and as soon as we started teaching him he just took off. He reads his Book of Mormon every single day (he's already in the middle of second Nephi and understands everything!!), he doesn't ever miss church, he goes to all the activities and he has made many friends in the church. With all of that said there is something even better that he has done. He has decided that there in nothing more important in his life that completing with what God expects of him. He has dropped all of his problems and is enjoying the blessings that the Lord promises us. As the Lord has said, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you" ( Matthew 6:33). Also had a super cool experience with him at church this Sunday. 3 kids from our ward just got their mission calls and Luis was asking me all about them. He then told me that he wanted to serve a mission when he was 23 because he wanted to help his family out for a few more years before going because they are super poor. He asked me what I thought about it. I didn't know exactly what to say so I just felt that I needed to tell him to listen to the speaker, so I did. The man that was speaking was the second counselor of the stake and he was talking about mission work and his mission. Right when I said that to Luis he started talking about how he didn't want to leave on the mission and how his family had been really bad off but that when he went and just dedicated himself to serving the Lord his family has been blessed in ways that he had never imagined. Luis just looked at me and said Elder Wilson now I understand. He is amazing. Please keep Luis Arevalo in your prayers this week!! 

So that's all for right now. I love you guys and I thank you for all the support that you give me. Talk soon!!

Much Love 

Elder Wilson

Monday, June 13, 2016

Monday. June 13. 2016-Week 96











Mi Familia!

The Wilson Family summer has begun and it looks like all of you are off to a good start. Here in Peru were in the middle of winter haha but here in Paita at night time it is actually cold. Like cold enough that I want to go out in a sweater cold!! I haven't felt cold for the last 2 years so it's actually been pretty nice. 

Today we went to a beach that was supposed to be 15 minutes away, well it was like 55 minutes away so I don't have very much time today to write!!

This week we have a baptism!!!! The first time in who knows how long that missionaries are going to baptize in this area so we are pretty excited. Hermana Rosio Chapilliquen is going to be baptized this Saturday and she is very excited. This week we were thinking of what we could do to help her to just feel totally sure of what she was doing and when we were thinking a scripture came to our mind. 

"Nevertheless they did fast and pray oft, and did wax stronger and stronger in their humility, and firmer and firmer in the faith of Christ, unto the filling their souls with joy and consolation, yea, even to the purifying and the sanctification of their hearts, which sanctification cometh because of their yielding their hearts unto God."

Obviously what we are trying to do as missionaries is help all people to sanctify and purify their heart by yielding them up unto Christ but in this moment it just hit us hard that we needed to invite her to fast with us. So we talked to her and planned it all out but she told us that she wanted to fast by herself. We said ok but passed by later that day to see how it had gone. She told us that she wanted to tell us what she was fasting for and she told us that she was fasting for her husband so that he too could accept the gospel in his life. She knows it's true and now she wants all her family to receive the same blessings!! She wanted an answer and she worked and sacrificed for it and for all that she did the Lord blessed her. 

If there is anything that we need in our lives (work, school, family, etc.) we can trust that the Lord wants to give it to us. He doesn't want us to walk without a light because He is our great light but he needs us to do our part. It's all in our confidence and trust in Him. That doesn't mean to have that confidence and trust in ourselves or our own abilities but it means that we need to turn our heart and soul over to him through ever single one of our daily actions.
"And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."   Col 3:17
It just makes me so happy to think that the Lord desires so much for us in this life. He wants us to become everything that He is and more and all we have to do it trust in Him more than in any other thing on this earth. 
"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." Proverbs 3:5-6
Just trust in Him and do His will and He will never let you down. Even in your hardest times, even when your mind and heart are full of questions just trust in Him and trust that He will guide you in your path. 

So that's all for now. Sorry for the short one. I love you guys!! See you soon!!

Much Love 

Elder Wilson



Monday, June 6, 2016

Monday. June 6. 2016-Week 95

The green sweater vest is back!!

With Elder Mooring.

Lunch with the Rasmussens!!

The zone!!




Mi Familia

Hey guys!! This one is going to be super short because we just got back from a long day in Piura. We took off early this morning to go to Catacaos to check out the market and buy some stuff to bring home and it ended up being quite the adventure because we found President and Hermana Rasmussen there!! We talked with them forever and then they took us out to lunch. It was honestly super good to see them and catch up on everything but ya now I am running a little late. 

Crazy to think that you guys are already in summer break!! 2 years ago during this time I was getting ready to go on the mission and now it's almost time to come home. Crazy how time flies!! But I hope you guys can enjoy it and make the most of every second.

This week for us was another solid week!! We are seriously preparing ourselves for some serious success right before I take off. We have an amazing group of people that are investigating the church and really getting ready to take the last step to be baptized (or get married and then baptized) and we have just been trying to think of ideas that we could do to help them feel the confidence to just do it. So we prayed and talked with President Rasmussen and came up with the idea that we needed to help them to see how far they have come and that they truly are prepared to do it. So we ready Mosiah 18 with each and every one of them and the miracles were huge!! For example we are teaching a young kid (well he's 20) and he has been reading the BOM every day, going to church every Sunday, going to all of the activities in the church and praying every day to get his answer but he just didn't feel too sure about anything. He told us that he was scared about what was going to happen in his life after his baptism. So we read Mosiah 18 with him (it's when Alma is teaching all the people about what Abinadi had said in front of King Noah) and he got it. In this chapter it basically gives the requirements to be baptized and as we were reading we would just ask him do you feel this way? or have you done this? and in the end do you feel prepared to be baptized? and he said yes. He told us that after all he had done he just didn't realize how far he had come. So he is going to be baptized in 2 weeks  (his name is Luis Arevalo Please pray for him!!!!). It was also a huge lesson for me. Sometimes when we are working and training or studying or really anything we are doing we can lose track of what has happened and become discouraged. Sometimes after doing so much we feel like we haven't accomplished anything but my invitation to all of us is to just pause, take a step back and look at the big picture. I can promise you that if you just turn around and look you will see just how far you have come along this long path of the life and will be able to continue forward with even more strength 
than before. 

As for what brother Wiggins said I am right there with him. JUST GO ON YOUR MISSIONS!!!!! THERE IS NO BETTER THING THAT A YOUNG MAN OR WOMAN COULD DO IN HIS OR HER LIFE THAN JUST LOSING YOURSELF IN THE SERVICE OF OUR LORD AND GOD. IT IS WHAT HE EXPECTS OF US AND AS BROTHER WIGGINS SAID THERE ARE MANY PEOPLE THAT ARE WAITING FOR US. 

So that's all for today because I need to go and buy food for the week haha!! I love you guys and hope all is well. Keep me and the people that we are teaching in your prayers. You're always in mine. Talk soon. 

Elder Wilson