Merry Christmas!

This week was soo good! We had a lot of miracles and I can just feel Heavenly Father opening the windows of heaven for us!

We hadn’t been able to find Marita for a while and I was super worried.  But, we finally found her on Friday again! It was incredibe, we could just feel how special she is.  The whole time we were talking to her I just kept feeling like I should share my testimony in English with her.  We had given her a Book Of Mormon in English because she told us she feels more comfortable in English, but I had never spoken English with her.  I just kept thinking it, so at the end of our cita, I switched into English and bore my testimony.  At that point, The Spirit was so strong and I could see that she really felt it. She didn’t go to church on Sunday, but I’m just so grateful we found her and I know that I’m here to teach her.  

Ricardo is also progressing super super well.  He should be getting baptized this Saturday, but we’re praying really hard because his daughter is traveling and won’t get back until Sunday and he really wants his daughter there.  He’s going to talk to her about coming home early and then let us know tomorrow. So, we’re praying really hard! But, he’s doing super well! This week we taught him about the temples and he was like "obviously only members should enter and members that are worthy, because it’s a sacred place".  Literally, so prepared.  I don’t know what I did to deserve to teach such a prepared investigator, but I’m super grateful!

Hermana Roxanna has gone to church twice, for the three hours! Miracle! And, we went to visit her with the Bishop’s wife and they hit it off, so she’s is starting to feel comfortable in the ward! She’s so wonderful and I love her so much!

I can’t believe I’m going to be 20 tomorrow, crazy!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We have our Christmas conference tomorrow with the whole mission, so it should be super good! Almost everyone I want to see is in Santa Cruz, so I’m super excited!

It was a really good week and I’m so excited for Christmas! To be honest, I think this has been/will be the best Christmas ever, because I’m a representative of my Savior Jesus Christ and I get to testify of Him all day long! What better Christmas present could I ask for?

I hope you all have the very best Christmas and I love you all so much! 

Hermana Willes

I'm So Grateful The Lord Led Us to His Door

This week I almost melted from the heat, but it was still really good!

Ricardo continues to be golden.  He’s getting baptized on the 27th and is progressing so well. The elders had a baptism on Saturday and Ricardo went and loved it.  He was kind of worried about getting baptized, but after he prayed about it he told us he knows he just needs to trust in Heavenly Father and take the leap.  He’s so great! Literally, I have never ever had an investigator so prepared.  I’m so grateful the Lord led us to his door!

Hermana Roxana went to church on Sunday, for all three hours! She also brought her daughter-in-law and her son with her! I’m so sad her son and his wife don’t live in our area because I just love them so much, but that’s ok! Hermana Roxana is really great too and we want to work on getting her husband to be baptized, but poco a poco!

This will probably be the hottest Christmas I have ever had, but I’m excited for it! I’m so grateful for my Savior, who gave His life for me. And I’m so grateful to be his missionary down here in Bolivia! 

Love you all!

Hermana Willes

It felt really good to be able to be an instrument in the Lord's hand

This week was really good! Ricardo is still doing stellar! We had him read Moroni 10 this week and when we verificed (spanglish for checked) how it went, he talked about how much he loved that it talked about charity. Then, in his closing prayer he prayed for charity.  I’ve never had an investigator do that.  When we asked him how he has felt hearing the gospel he said "I just feel really peaceful, like this happiness inside me.  It’s my time, God always knows when it’s our time." He is so golden! 

We also had a really cool experience the other day.  We went to visit Hermana Roxanna, the menos activo we found in the street the other day, because she didn’t go to church yesterday.  So, we stopped by her house and her son, who is also menos activo, and her daughter-in-law, who isn’t a member, were there.  They were putting up Christmas decorations and so we helped them for few minutes and just chatted, getting to know them.  Then we shared a message with them about service and invited them to find someone extra to serve for Christmas.  There was just a really sweet spirit there and the whole time I kept thinking "I need to give her daughter-in-law, Laura, a Book of Mormon at the end of the lesson.” So we ended the lesson and I asked her if the elders ever visit them in their house (she lives in mision norte) and she said sometimes, but they live with her parents and they aren’t big fans of the church.  Then I asked her if she had a Book of Mormon and when she said no, I offered her one.  She lit up! I’ve never seen anyone that excited to recieve a Book of Mormon! She turned to her husband and said “ Paul, look. Now I have a Book of Mormon to read!" She told us she always read her mother-in-law’s, but now she had one to read on her own.  It just felt really good to be able to be an instrument in the Lord’s hand to bless her life.  I don’t know what’s going to happen with her, but I’m so grateful for the guidance of the spirit!

Bruno also went to church again! The young adults in our ward are awesome and they have just welcome him with open arms! They invited him to their acitivies and he told us he has never had so many people be so friendly to him and make him feel so important.  He told us he is going to get baptized, si or si.  But, he’s going home to Brazil this week for Christmas and won’t get back until febuary, so we’re going to send the reference to the elders in Brazil! Merry Christmas to them! 

This week was a really good week and I’m so grateful for the spirit, who is always guiding us and leading us, even when we don’t realize it! 

I hope you all have a great week!

Hermana Willes

This was another week full of miracles!

This was another week full of miracles!

 

Ricardo is so golden! Seriously, he went to church again this week.  He came late so he missed sacrament.  After church, he apologized to everyone for being late but promised that next week he would be on time! And, he asked us what the topics were during sacrament so he could study.  Most of the time I forget he’s not already a member! 

We also started teaching a couple.  The wife is menos activo and her husband isn’t a member.  The husband, Ismael, at first didn’t really want to talk to us but by the end of our first visit, warmed up a ton.   They told us that they are looking for a church because they are only married civilly and want to be married in a church as well! Temple anyone? He’s so prepared and his wife really wants to go back to church.  I just love them so much!

We are also teaching a young medical student from Brazil who went to church yesterday for the first time.  Luckily, we have return missionaries in our ward who served in Brazil and speak Portuguese and they are already great friends with him! 

It has just been amazing to see the hand of the Lord in our area this week! He has prepared so many people for us and everyday showers miracles upon us.  I’m so grateful to be a missionary and to be serving the Lord in Bolivia! I’ve really come to know my Heavenly Father and feel His very real presence in my life.  I’ve gained such a strong testimony of my Savior and of the scriptures.  I know that Heavenly Father is aware of me and has been with me every step of the way!

I hope you all have a great week!

Hermana Willes

It was a really great week!

This week was a week full of miracles! I don’t even know where start!

First, on Tuesday, we were walking in the street in the morning and this woman stopped us and said "are you two working in this zone now?  When are you going to come and visit me?" Turns out she is a menos activo who was baptized in Spain, even went through the temple over there, but has been less active for a while now.  We went and visited her that same day and we have been teaching her ever since.  She’s super interested in family history and so we’ve been really working with her on that! Her husband isn’t a member, so little by little we are working on him too! They are both super great!

Also, as we were going through our carpeta de area to make sure we know all the menos activos we found one for a jovencita named Marita who we didn’t know. So we went and visited her and it was incredible! She told us that last week two elders just randomly gave her a Book of Mormon and she was super confused why and then a week later we called and visited her! She actually grew up in the states and was baptized in New York and was even preparing to go on a mission but went inactive when she moved down here.  She’s really great and I already love her so much!

We also have another investigator who is just golden.  We found him finding following up on a reference and we ended up inviting him to an activity for all of Santa Cruz to celebrate fifty years of the church here! As missionaries sang at the beginning and then all the wards danced.  He ended up going and then went to church on Sunday for all three hours, which in itself is a huge miracle! He’s really progressing and has a baptismal date for the twentieth of December!

It was a really great week! There were a lot more miracles but those are the big ones! I’m so grateful to be a missionary and I know the Lord is truly in the details of our lives! 

Love you all!

Hermana Willes

Opening a New Area

This week was super crazy! We ended up splitting areas with the elders and so we are now opening a new area! So, lots of time trying to find people and getting to know members! But Hermana Garcia and I both feel really strongly that the Lord has lots of miracles prepared for us in our new area and we are really excited to find more people to teach!

We have one new family that are old investigators hace anos but we met with them yesterday and they seem really great, so hopefully they will be ready to progress!

I really love my new ward.   It’s in the same stake as la villa, where I was a few months ago, so I’ve been able to see members from that ward! I saw Maria Elena, which was so great! She’s doing so well! She’s getting ready to dance in a festival for the church to celebrate 50 years in Bolivia!

The elders had a baptism yesterday, a joven with about 20 anos.  It was incredible because when I got here for my first Sunday he was handing out programs for ward conference and I thought he was a member.  He even helped us teach a lesson this week. It’s just incredible to see how quickly someone can embrace the gospel, especially when the members just accept them!

I hope you all have a great week! The church is true and I’m so grateful to be a missionary in Bolivia! I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else!

Hermana Willes

The Spirit does the Teaching

Well, I had a change! I’m now in a new area, Guapilo, with Hermana Garcia! She’s super sweet and my new area is a lot like the villa, which I love.  The people here are so humble and the members are so willing to work.  I know we are going to have so many miracles in this area. 

On Tuesday,  we had a conference all based on chapter four in Preach my Gospel, como reconocer el espiritu.  It was incredible.  President got up and,  instead of speaking himself, called up two new gringos up and told them that they were going to give his talk for him.  It was incredible, because as they spoke in their brand new, halting Spanish,  the spirit was so strong.  It made me remember when I was new in the mission and I didn’t know Spanish but it didn’t matter because The Spirit always gave me the words.  It made me want to be a new missionary again!  I’m so grateful for how merciful the Lord was with me and still is with me.  And I’m so grateful for The Spirit who does the teaching.

Sorry this is so short, (hearing this way too often now :) the internet here takes years to load! But,  I love you all and I hope you all have a great week!

Hermana Willes