Covey arrives in Uruguay! A letter from his mission president

July 26, 2011

Dear Wilson Family,

                Today we went to the airport in Montevideo, Uruguay, to pick up Elder Wilson and welcome him into our mission.  He arrived a little tired, but full of excitement and enthusiasm to get to work.

                We have spent the day with him getting to know him, and we have recognized that he will be an asset to us here in the mission.  With this time that we have had with him he has shown many talents that will be put to use in blessing the lives of many wonderful people.

                Today was the day of transfers; he met his trainer and then headed off for his first area so that he could start ¨ [bringing] to pass the immortality and eternal life of man¨.

                We are now sending you a photo that we took with him this afternoon.  As you can see, he is extremely excited and ready to start.  We are so excited to have your son with us and hope that you receive this photo with excitement and pride in all that your son has done to prepare himself for the opportunity that he now has to serve the Lord for the next two years.

                                                                                                                                             Love,

                                                                                                                                             The Da Silva´s

Covey leaves the CCM

Monday, July 25, 2011

Hey family,

 

So I leave the CCM tomorrow morning at 4:00, and I get just a couple minuits today to write home a little email. I am so excited and a little nervous to leave the CCM, but I feel as ready as it gets. I have learned so much here, but still have a whole lot to go. My spanish is going well, and I feel like it will progress really really fast when I get out into the field. It was funny, but is my last proselismo, a couple people asked me where in Argentina I was from, and couldnt believe that I had only been learning castillano for a month and a half - actually exactly two months today! I have learned so much here in the last two months about the gospel, how to teach, and really just how to be a missonary. I feel like I have grown up a lot.

 

I the thing I am most looking foreward to tomorrow is meeting my Mission Presidents and my trainer. I hope I get a good trainer who can help me learn everything, but I trust that I will, I heard that trainers are the best missionaries. Cant wait to teach every day!

 

So, I think that from now on my p-days will be on mondays. Write me at the mission adress from now on. Thanks for your prayers, and I hope everybodys summers are going well. I love reading your letters that you send and hearing all about your summers and everything. -  keep it up!

 

Elder Wilson

Handwritten letter from Covey

7/4/2011

Family!

Happy 4th of July! Yay America! I wish the people down here liked America too, I've lost a couple good contacts because they figure out I am a Nortamericano. People down here don't like Obama very much. But my English Comp he's got it even worse! People in Argentina  are still way upset about the Falkland War, and at least a couple of times a day we get a good yelling at for starting the Falkland War. It's kind of funny actually.

I think that you guys are up in Hebgen right now, and I sure hope that everybody is having a blast, and it's working out good with like 1,000 people staying in the Ranch. But it's impossible to not have a blast up there I think. I just barely heard the news about Dave's hand! That is so terrible, and I wish there was something I could do to help. But I pray for him and hope everything is healing up good.

I am doing great though. The Spanish is coming along great, and I am still enjoying the CCM. But every week I get more and more excited to leave and get out into the field. Not because I get tired of CCM life, but because I get more and more excited to do full-time proselyting. I always look forward so much to Saturdays when I get to go out and work and teach. I can't believe that I am already 2/3 of the way through my CCM time. The weeks seriously fly be so quickly.

One thing that for some reason I have been thinking about a lot this week is Doctrina y Convenios 84:88. The verse is directed towards missionaries, but it really applies to anyone who is in the service of God. Among all of the amazing things that this verse promises, is that God will "send his angels to bear you up." I love this promise. We are never alone. There are countless angels, people who have died before us and people who are waiting to come into this world who are banking on our every decision. I especially feel lucky because although the other elders have their moms who send them nice letters and candy every week, I get to have my mom by my side every minute of every day. It's great.

Anyways, that's just a thought I've had on my mind this week. Hope everything is going well! I miss everyone and wish I could be with you to have fun with you. But I'm glad you understand why I am here around the world instead. I love being a missionary, and am so lucky to be able to have the ability to preach while I am still in the CCM.

Love you all,

Elder Wilson

Last week in the CCM

Wow!! so this is my last time emailing home from the CCM!!! On monday morning I hop on an airplane and head over to Montevideo!!! These last two monthes have gone by so fast, and I am so excited to get out in the field!

This week we were in a new area for our proselitismos, and it is my favorite area that i have been in so far. My last areas were completely urban and way busy, but this area is pretty rural and poor, we were able to visit almost the entire area in one day. The people in the area are so humble and poor, i wish i could take pictures of it. The people are so nice there! We were able to teach lots of full lessons inside of peoples yards (the houses were too small and run down to go into, so mostly the people just kind of live in their yards). Also, it was funny, but a bunch of little kids were following us around for awhile, and wanted me to teach them how to play american football (I dont know how they knew I was northamerican, i mean its not like i have an accent or anything), so i agreed that I would teach them a little only if they let us teach them a lesson about jesus christ. So i showed them how to pass the football around a little and for like 10 minuits, then we sat them all down (probly about 25 of them) and taught them about jesus, and told them the storey of angel moroni saving himself in battle and hiding the plates in the ground for Joseph Smith to find, and i showed them the book of mormon and stuff. It was maybe the most fun teaching experience i have ever had. pretty soon some pretty grim-looking parents started coming, and I was worried that they were going to come and end the party, but they actually the parents seemed to be just as interested as the little kids, and we got a bunch of little return appointments with lots of families to teach this week. it was a really fun experience to teach all of the little kids, and just made me more excited to leave the CCM and get to do that stuff every day. Also, I have been slowly growing in my dislike for dogs, sorry all  you dog lovers at home, but they are the most annoying things in the world down here. I have had to kick many-a-dog down here. But, another reason that I like this area is that the dogs here are generally nicer than the ones in the city. Hope my first arean in Uruguay is rural like this one!

Anyways, here are a few end-of-the-CCM stats:

Pounds gained: 1.6 KG (i actually dont know how many pounds i have gained, but i hope a KG is not worth a lot of pounds!)
Cows eaten: at least 4 of 5 and this includes mostly evey part of the cow
Goals scored: 63 and counting
Languages learned: Más o menos 1, pero pienso que es más que menos!
Hours of real live prosolyting: 70 -  this is the best part of the CCM experience

anyways, I cant beieve that i and alreay 1/12th of the way into my mission. it is going to fly by soooo fast! but i am so excited to leave here and get to montevideo. I love the expirience that i had here, I learned so much about the language and the gospel, and the scriptures, but mostly i learned how to be a good missionary, and just how fun and satisfying missionary work is. I still have so much more to learn though, and I am excited to get out into the field!! Cant wait to meet my first companion. And its nice that I cant say "thats not the language they taught me in the MTC", because the best part is that i was taught the language by the navives.

Write me to my adress in Uruguay, that is on my FB info page i think!

Thanks for your prayres! Heads up Uruguay!
Elder Wilson

Only 2 weeks left in the CCM!

Im just gonna cut to the chase today, ANOTHER BAPTISMAL COMMITMENT!!! 

So here is the story: remember the woman Sol that I was talking about last week? the one that we taught in her house last week, and were hoping to commit a ser bautizado? Well here is her storey about last week. So me and my companion had been planning all week all day all the time a lesson for her. We prayed for her all day every day to just be back so we could teach her (when you only have one investigator you have a lot of time to plan for her). so we were hoping sooo hard for her to be able to hear our lesson, because she had so much faith. But, we went to her house on saturday at the time (11:00) that we had planned, and she wasnt there. we were way way devistated, but we werernt going to give up that early! so we returned 5 times to her house and were preying so hard that she would be there, but she never was. But for some reason, the spirit kept on telling us over and over to just go back and try again, and we were almost ready to say to the holy ghost "look, we have been going back over and over again, and i think we can recognize a regection when we get one". finally, it was half an hour from the time we had to run to get our bus back to the CCM, and we decided that we would just go back one last time and check to see if she was there. nothing. so we just decided to just leave a nice little note and head out. But, while i was writing this note, that i planned to be short, for some reason I just couldnt end it, I kept on being prompted to write more and more to her, and soon we had been standing in the little dirty street writing her a letter for 15 whole minuits i wondered if it would have just been faster to put the whole Preach my Gospel in her mailbox! but just as I was about to drop the letter in her mailbox, we figgured out why the spirit told us to spend so much time writing the letter. just before i dropped it in, around the corner came Sol!!!! As soon as we saw her the spirit was soo srong and.. long-super-spiritual-experience-short, we taught her our lesson out in the dirty argentine street, literally about 20 feet away from a busy train track, we taught her, and the spirit testified it was true, and she commited to be baptized in 2 weeks from today! Man, i wish I had more time to explain all of the storey, and all of the so many little miricles that happened in order for this experience to happen, but it was the coolest experience i have ever had, and i am so amazed that I have had the opertunity to feel the spirit commit 2 people to baptism, and still be in the MTC! i love it. but it does make me more and more eager to leve the CCM and do that stuff every single day. only 11 days till i leave!

Oh, and something else that i have forgotten to mention all these weeks, but I am the district leader for my dist. in the CCM. It has been such a humbling experience to learn how to be a leader of a group of elders, but i have learned so much, and its nice to get personal instruction from the president of the CCM (pres george) almost every day. 

Anyways, sorry didnt have much time to type this week, but thanks for all your prayers! Church is true! 

Elder Wilson

Third and Final Transfer in the CCM!

The temple, shows a little progress from last pickture. But the construction really is sooooo slow down here!!

Me and my companion elder mclucky de oxford. We work way hard together. It was a freezing cold day though!

My district! Districto Arón. The sun was sooooo bright in our eyes, but it gives us character i guess...

Thought i should include a nice little action photo. not to brag or anything... but i am getting pretty good Leading scorer of the CCM. it makes all the latinos pretty mad...

So, I am in my last transfer in the CCM, and it is so weird to think that I am part of the oldest group here! First I want to talk about the best part of last week (Which is always proselitismos). So last week we contacted a woman named Sol (Spanish for Sun), and set up a return appointment with her. She was the one that speaks. Alllll week we preyed so hard for our return appointment with her to work out, because in our experience, they never seem to go through. It is expecialy hard to work with investigators because we can only set up the appointment and hope they remember, because we are not able to make any sort of contact with our investigators during the week, which is really hard! So last saurday we went by her house at the time, and she didnt answer. We were sooo dissapointed, because we had worked so hard that week to plan a lesson for her, and she just seemed like such a golden investigator. But we had a good day still, we were able to teach 9 full lessons!!! and tech an inactive family and commit them to church, it was a really great day. But here is the best part... About an hour before we had to head back, we felt the super strong impression that we should walk the half mile to Sol's house and try it again, we were already pushed for time, but we just did it anways. This time she answered, and explained that she was gone earlyer, and for the first time since ive been here she let us into her house with her husband and two little kids. Elén y Agousto. We taught her modified Restoration lesson that we had planned and it all went sooooooo well. The spirit was so strong and she alredy preyed and reads the bible every day with her family, and everyting that you could hope for. When we were finishing up, we gave her the book of mormon, assigned her the reading, but  just before we were leaving, while she was saying the prayer, i had the impression that we needed to change the reading assignment. At first i kind of ignored it because we had already given her one that fit in perfectly with our lession and lead into our next lession. but I kept on feeling that I needed to ask her and her family to read moroni 8. After she was done preying it was kind of quiet for a second, and i said "I feel like we should change your reading commitment for our next lesson". My companion looked at me like i was a little crazy, but i did it anyways. I told her about Moroni 8, and how it talked about how infant baptisms are evil and everything, and the spirit immediately filled the room so strongly, and her husband explained that their 5 year old son had died, and their misister had explained all about how he was doomed to hell forever because he was not baptized, and they might have to go to hell too because they didnt baptize him, and how it was the saddest thing they had to deal with. It was so amazing to have been guided by the spirit in what to say. Every day I am here I am more and more amazed about how true the church is, and just how powerful the atonement and restoration of the gospel is. So, this week we are going to teach them about baptism and why its improtant and everything, and hopefully we will be able to commit them to prepare to be baptized. Anyways, prey for their family!! 

Other cool things that happed to me, Almost got ran over by a loose horse (its weird to have horses running around the busy Buenos Aires city), Got a very passionate explination of why my church is wrong by a nice catholic priest we met, and thats about all i can think of at the moment. I LOVE PROSIRITISMOS. Cant wait to be able to get out in the field and be able to do this kind of stuff all day every day.

Oh, also, one of the teachers is sick, so me and my companion have been assigned to teach their districto spanish and how to be a missionary. Its way hard, but such a cool responsibility. we have learned so much about how to teach effectively, and have gotten lots of good practice with teaching. 

Anyways, things are going so great! I love being on a mission, its the hardet thing ive ever done, but so far it has been the most rewarding. i have learned and grown so much here, but man, I still have such a long way to go. Thanks for all your prayrs! And I know that the mail will come through eventually! Ive got faith that ive got some coming on the way, some of the elders here are really really panicked about the whole mail situation :) ¡Español Rocks!

Miss everyone, 

Elder Wilson

Weekly letter

¡Hola mis amigos en los Estadios Unidos!

I feel like I was just writing last weeks email home just yesterday! thats how fast time seems to go here. Sorry if my english is bad, but its weird how hard it is to write in english now! i havnt said a single word in english for a week and a half!! The spanish is going great, and im starting to feel comfortable in my prosilitismos talking to people, and mostly just understanding what they are trying to say!

I just experienced the most frightning experience ive had yet a couple minuits ago. I got my first hair cut, and the guy who the church hires to cut hair is way scarey! he has got arms about the size of my legs, and a massive beard and wears just this little tank top. But i summoned up all my courege and sat mysielf down in the chair. It ended up being more of a hair pull than a hair cut, and im bleeding down my neck for some reason, but if thats the price ive got to pay to maintain up my beautiful missionary comb over, than the pain is way worth it!

We all got new areas for our prosilitismos this week, and my new area is good, but i liked my old one way more. The difference is that my new one is way nicer and has more money. This is nice because im not walking in mud all day, but for the missionary work, its not as nice. There is a poliece stand on every singe corner, and the poliece just glare at us, so it is a little scarey. Oh, one cool thing is that in my area I have the historical house that Eva Paron used to live in! Man, argentine people have a lot of pride!! But its just hard cus its hard to get good contacts. in my old area the streets were full of people going about their busness and just enjoying their day, so we could talk to so many people, but in my new area we spend most of our time just fighting to talk to people! Its kind of a frustrating adjustment, but the hard work paid off and we got some good return appointments for next week. We found this one inactive woman who says she is wanting to get reinvolved in the church (YESSSS), so we are going back to her house again next week to work with her.. but were struggling to think of what to teach her about... what do you teach an inactive member anyways? We will fugure it out. and the best part is that she has a 9 year old unbaptized son (YESSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!) that we are going to try soo hard to get him baptized! she says she wants him to, but only as long as he wants to. it will be a challange to teach clear enough for him to understand everything we are saying, i mean sometimes even adults struggle understanding us. 

Also we have an appointment with a probably upper 20´s year old girl named sol who is an active christian, but is not happy with her church´s teachings completely, so we will teach her. She happens to be fluent in english, but we decided to teach the whole lesson in spanish, just cus we have gotten pretty good at bringing the spirit in spanish, and we have noticed that we have a harder time bringing it in speaking in english. i think that the difference maybe is because when im speaking in spanish i think about every word so its more sincere. 

In one day of prosilitismos i get more kisses than my whole life put together! but dont worry, they are all from old catholic grandmas who want to give us their blessings. Despite how hard we try to resist, they are pretty good at sneaking in. my comp had a cute dard red kiss mark on his cheek for a few minuites untill i noticed it and warned him... i wonder what some of the people we contacted thought about it.. 

But, I am having such an amazing time, and am working so hard and progressing so much in my spanish and my understanding of what it means to teach. 

Thank you for all your prayers!

Till next time, 

Elder Wilson